India Coronavirus Dispatch: Mumbai announces strict measures to curb virus

Pandemic delays therapy for eye diseases, Patanjali's Coronil makes a comeback, cherry-picking of Covid vaccination figures, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

IN NUMBERS: Nearly 14,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 13,993 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,09,77,387, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 101 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 1,56,212, according to central health ministry data. The total recoveries have surged to 1,06,78,048 while the active caseload is at 1,43,127. As many as 1,07,15,204 healthcare and frontline workers have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

OPINION: Govt cherry-picking Covid vaccination figures

The central government is cherry-picking figures related to the Covid-19 vaccination programme, an opinion piece in ThePrint said citing its editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta. Only 0.63 per cent of Indians have been inoculated so far, compared to 80 per cent of Israelis, 27 per cent of Britons and 17 per cent of Americans. On a per million people basis, India's rate is 6,300 vaccinations compared to 8,00,000 vaccinations per million in Israel, 170,000 in the US, 260,000 in the UK and 540,000 in the UAE. However, the Indian government is focused on how fast certain milestones have been crossed in a given period of time, the article said. Read more here

Patanjali Ayurveda’s Coronil comes back as ‘supportive treatment’

Patanjali Ayurveda's coronil tablet has been upgraded as a "supportive" treatment against Covid-19 by the central government, a report in ThePrint said. The company can also export its medicines—Divya Coronil Tablet and Divya Swasari Vati—to 158 countries as it has received the certification of pharmaceutical products (CoPP) from the World Health Organization (WHO). The firm has cited the publication of its study in the peer-reviewed journal Science Direct in its April 2021 edition. Read more here

Mumbai announces strict measures to curb virus

Authorities in Mumbai have issued a number of fresh guidelines to contain the spread of the virus including booking violators of home quarantine rules and sealing buildings, a report in Hindustan Times said. Under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) could file first information reports (FIR) against those who violate home-quarantine and then send them to mandatory institutional quarantine. The "high-risk" contacts of those who are Covid-positive in Mumbai may face up to six months in prison, or a fine of Rs 200, or both if they violate home quarantine rules. Read more here

Covid blow: Delayed therapy, WFH worsened eye disease cases, say doctors

The pandemic aggravated the severity of most eye conditions in people, with an increased number of patients suffering from advanced cataracts, infections, severe dry eyes, and even corneal graft rejection, according to doctors at Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Business Standard reported. The worst impact was seen in cases of advanced cataracts and dry eyes, all resulting from delayed treatment or loss of work-life balance due to working from home, they added. Read more here