India Coronavirus Dispatch: Railways seeing no spike in migrant travel

Private vaccination centres in Mumbai closed till Monday, EC pulls up political parties over breaking coronavirus protocols at rallies, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Active cases cross 1 million

 

India reported 145,384 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 13 million according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 794 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 168,436, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 1,046,631—the highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic. Read more here

 

Railways says no spike in migrant travel due to Covid fears

 

The Indian Railways has said it has not witnessed a rush among migrants to travel back home amid a resurgence in Covid cases, a report in The Indian Express said. The Railways has no plan to curtail or stop train services. A number of officials denied reports of an exodus of migrant workers by trains. “There is no plan to curtail or stop train services. We will run as many services as required. There is no cause for alarm. We can run trains immediately on demand if there is any rush. This rush is normal during the summer season and we have already announced trains to clear the rush,” Chairman Railway Board Sharma said. Read more here 
 

Vaccine shortage: Private vaccination centres in Mumbai closed till Monday 

 

Due to “insufficient supply” of Covid-19 vaccine, private vaccination centres in Mumbai will be shut from Saturday to Monday, a report in Scroll said citing an announcement from the city’s civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The civic body also asked private vaccination centres to cancel their sessions, if already scheduled, for the next three days and let the vaccine recipients know. As many as 86 out of 120 of the vaccination centres in the city could not administer vaccines on Friday due to a shortage. “99,000 doses of Covishield will reach Mumbai late Friday night and they will be distributed at the municipal and government centres on Saturday morning,” Additional Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, Suresh Kakani reportedly said. Read more here

 

EC pulls up political parties over breaking Covid protocols at rallies

 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has warned political parties for being negligent in following Covid-19 protocols during the ongoing election campaigning, a report in the Hindustan Times said. The warning comes ahead of the fourth phase of voting in West Bengal on Saturday. Three states and one Union territory have already finished canvassing and polling. Read more here 

 

3 UP women given rabies vaccine instead of Covid shots

Three elderly women were given rabies vaccine when they went to get Covid-19 shots in the Kandhla area of Shamli in western Uttar Pradesh, a report in The Hindu said. The incident came to light after one of the women felt side-effects such as dizziness and nausea after the vaccination. The woman approached a private doctor and handed him the slip given to her at the community health centre. The slip mentioned she was given a rabies vaccine. Read more here