India Coronavirus Dispatch: Interest in Ivermectin remains strong

Tickets issued for Covid violations soar in Delhi, 76% of parents polled in a survey don't want to send kids to schools, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 54,069 fresh cases reported

India reported 54,069 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to about 30.1 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 1,321 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 391,981. The active caseload is at 627,057, while the total recoveries have surged to 29.1 million. As many as 301.6 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 6.5 million were given on Wednesday. Read more

Interest in Ivermectin remains strong despite lack of evidence on efficacy

The University of Oxford has kickstarted a study to probe the use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 even as several experts have suggested the anti-parasitic drug does not work against the virus, a report in ThePrint said. Many guidelines around the world have warned against the use of the drug. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the drug can only be used in clinical trial settings, the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against its in humans. However, researchers continue to probe Ivermectin’s efficacy in treating Covid, mainly because of the drug’s low cost, well-established safety profile and widespread availability, the report said. Read more

76% parents polled in survey don’t want to send kids to schools

As many as 76 per cent of parents polled in a new survey by community social media platform LocalCircles are not willing to send their children to school till Covid cases in their district drop to zero or the children are vaccinated, a report in ThePrint said. The survey interviewed 19,000 people across 293 districts in 23 states in the country, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The survey was conducted between 25 May and 15 June. Read more

Delhi: Tickets issued for Covid violations soar

The number of tickets issued by authorities in Delhi for violating Covid protocols has been rising over the past three weeks since lockdown restrictions began to be eased, a report in The Indian Express said. In the first week of the unlock process, from May 31 to June 6, when construction and factories were allowed to function, a total of around 20,900 tickets were issued. The following week, between June 7 and June 13, when markets, malls and the Metro (at 50% capacity) were allowed, the number of tickets issued were over 29,000. Between June 14 and 20, when weekly markets, restaurants, and markets were allowed to reopen, the weekly tickets went up to almost 37,000. Read more

Vaccination helped bring down Covid cases and deaths in Maharashtra police

Vaccination against Covid has helped reduce both infection and mortality rates in Maharashtra's police force, a report in The Indian Express said that cited official figures. The state police department's data has revealed a 40 per cent drop in both the number of positive cases and deaths of police personnel during five crucial months of the second wave of the pandemic, compared to the corresponding numbers during the five crucial months of the first wave. Meanwhile, the number of infections and death toll rose significantly during the second wave in the state. Read more