India reported 3.62 lakh cases, 4,120 deaths on Wednesday
New Delhi,May 13 : India reported 3.62 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Maharashtra’s count remained under 50,000 for the fourth consecutive day, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu recorded new highs of over 43,000 and 30,000 cases, respectively. The country reported 4,120 deaths on the same day, led by Maharashtra (843) and Karnataka (517). Active cases have increased to 37.10 lakh.
As India grapples to contain the second wave of Covid-19, records analysed by The Indian Express show a pattern of vaccine inequality, with seven states accounting for a staggering 85 per cent of all doses administered to those in the 18-44 age group so far. Of the 34.66 lakh doses administered from May 1-May 12, over 85 per cent were administered in seven states: Maharashtra (6.25 lakh), Rajasthan (5.49 lakh), Delhi (4.71 lakh), Gujarat (3.86 lakh), Haryana (3.55 lakh), Bihar (3.02 lakh), and Uttar Pradesh (2.65 lakh).
Leaders of 12 Opposition parties, including four chief ministers, have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Centre to procure vaccines centrally from global and domestic sources and begin a free, universal mass vaccination campaign across the country.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has deferred hearing the suo motu matter on the Covid situation in the country after Justice D Y Chandrachud contracted the infection.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, in an interview to The Indian Express, said aid is limited, and optimal use of resources will have to be made. “Priority will be given to high-case burden states,” he said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a global Expression of Interest (EoI) for procurement of one crore doses of vaccines for Mumbai. The EoI includes a condition that bids from companies in countries that share land borders with India will not be considered, which effectively bars any company from China.
Interested companies are required to respond by May 18. The company finalised will have to deliver the vaccines within three weeks of the issue of work order, according to the EoI.
Hearing a PIL on Uttar Pradesh’s handling of the Covid pandemic, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday issued a string of directions to the state government — from giving 48 hours to set up a three-member grievance committee in each district, to seeking a roadmap from the state and central government on how they plan to vaccinate “illiterate labours and other villagers” in the 18+ category “if they are not able to register online for vaccination”.
A two-judge bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar also took note of discrepancies in death figures submitted by the government in its affidavit to court, saying they don’t match with what the court-appointed judicial officers have submitted.
Saligaon resident Ashley Delaney’s former teacher Avito was among the 26 Covid-19 patients who died Tuesday at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), the state’s largest Covid facility, of suspected oxygen shortage. Delaney, whose father-in-law is admitted in the same ward of GMCH, has been going to the hospital every day since April 21. He said he has been flagging the drop in oxygen levels at night to the administration for days.
“I used to keep pointing it out. At one point my father-in-law survived only because he got the cylinder of someone who didn’t make it,” said Delaney.
-The Indian Express
