18 states report decline in Covid-19 cases; numbers rising in 16 states

NEW DELHI: After days of unfolding horror unleashed by the second Covid wave, there is a glimmer of hope.
India is finally seeing an early trend of decline in new cases and also in the number of deaths due to the virus, according to the government.
And this decline is being led by the states that have been among the worst affected in the second Covid wave till now.
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana are among the 18 states and Union territories showing continued plateauing or decrease in daily new Covid-19 cases.

However, the relief is partial.
There are several states and cities that are showing a worrying trend of increase.
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Assam, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura were among the 16 states and Union territories showing continued increasing trend in daily new Covid-19 cases, according to the Centre.
Here are the top developments from the day:-
Recoveries outnumber new cases in India after 61 days
For the first time in 61 days, recoveries outnumbered new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, when India reported 3,29,942 fresh cases. As many as 3,56,082 people recovered from the disease during the same time period.
India's cumulative recoveries stood at 1,90,27,304 on Tuesday, with a national recovery rate of 82.75 per cent.

182 districts show decline in positivity rate week-on-week basis
The number of districts with a week-on-week increase in tests and decline in positivity rate has increased from 73 (on April 15-21) to 182 (April 29- May 5)
Districts which are showing continued decline in cases since last two weeks include Pune, Nagpur, Palghar and Nashik districts of Maharashtra; Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar (Uttar Pradesh); Bhopal, Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh); Surat (Gujarat); Patna (Bihar); Ranchi (Jharkhand); Raipur, Durg (Chhattisgarh); and Kota (Rajasthan).
Districts showing continued increase in cases since last two weeks are Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru in Karnataka; Chennai, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu; Ernakulam and Malappuram in Kerala; 24 Paraganas North and Kolkata in West Bengal; Jaipur in Rajasthan; Dehradun in Uttarakhand; East Godavari and Visakhapatanam in Andhra Pradesh; Satara in Maharashtra; and Khordha in Odisha.
24.44 per cent of the total active cases in the country have been reported from 10 districts including Bengaluru Urban, Pune, Delhi, Ernakulam, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Thrissur, Jaipur, Kozhikode and Mumbai, according to the Union health ministry.
Locals go global for vaccine as shortages continue
Delhi and Karnataka joined many other states in declaring their intent to float a global tender for securing vaccine for its residents. Earlier, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and UP governments also said they are looking to procure vaccines to inoculate its residents as India battles the second wave of the coronavirus.

A notice that reads 'Vaccine is not Available' pasted at a Covid-19 vaccination centre after the vaccination was stopped due to shortage of supplies, at Dharavi in Mumbai. (PTI)
26 states have positivity rate over 15%, 42% districts above national average: Govt
The national Covid-19 positivity rate is around 21 per cent and about 42 per cent (310/734) of the districts are reporting a positivity rate more than the national average.
Thirteen states have more than 1 lakh active Covid-19 cases each and 26 states have a positivity rate of over 15 per cent.
6 states have 50,000 to 1 lakh active cases and 17 states have less than 50,000 active cases.
Those eligible for second dose of Covid-19 vaccine should be given priority: Govt
The Union government on Tuesday insisted that those eligible for the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine should be given priority and that vaccination wastage should be minimised.
In this regard, states can reserve at least 70 per cent of the vaccines supplied to them from the Government of India channel for second dose vaccination and the remaining 30 per cent for first dose.

Maintaining Covid testing despite infection among laboratory staff: ICMR
India is conducting 18-20 lakh tests for detection of Covid-19 per day, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said, underlining that despite infection among laboratory staff, the test performance is still being maintained.
On April 30, India conducted 19,45,299 tests for detection of Covid-19 that is the highest number of tests by any country ever, he said, stressing even the US has never reached this number. 19,23,131 tests were conducted on May 5.
With the second wave of coronavirus raging, Bhargava stressed on aggressively increasing the usage of Rapid Antigen Tests in rural and hard to reach areas to ensure faster isolation.
He recommended setting up multiple 24X7 RAT booths in cities, towns and villages. He said RATs are to be allowed at all government and private healthcare facilities and no accreditation is required.

A health worker collects swab samples from security personnel for Covi-19 testing at old Civil Hospital, amid a countrywide surge in coronavirus cases, in Gurugram. (ANI Photo)
Ten states account for 72.28 per cent of the new recoveries.
Mortality rate below just above 1%
The National Mortality Rate currently stands at 1.09 per cent. A total 3,876 deaths were reported in a span of 24 hours and 10 states account for 73.09 per cent of the new fatalities. Karnataka has seen the maximum casualties (596) followed by Maharashtra (549).

Over 17 crore vaccine doses administered
The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has increased to 17.27 crore.
A total of 17,27,10,066 vaccine doses have been administered through 25,15,519 sessions, according to the provisional report till 7 am on Tuesday.

An youngster gets Covid-19 vaccine at Kankarbagh branches of Kendriya Vidyalaya vaccination centre in Patna.
These include 95,64,242 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 65,05,744 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 1,40,54,058 frontline workers (FLWs) who have received the first dose and 78,53,514 FLWs who have taken the second dose and 25,59,339 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years who have been administered the first dose.

Besides, 5,55,10,630 and 71,95,632 beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 have been administered the first and second dose respectively while, 5,38,06,205 and 1,56,60,702 people aged above 60 have taken the first and second dose.
According to the health ministry, 5,24,731 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group have received their first dose of COVID vaccine in the last 24 hours and cumulatively 25,59,339 across 30 states and UTs since the start of the phase-3 of vaccination drive.
Ten states -- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh account for 66.7 per cent of the cumulative doses given so far in the country, it said.
(With agency inputs)