States and Union Territories across the country are conducting a dry run of the coronavirus vaccination process today. It is being held in 116 districts across 259 sites, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
The dry run will exercise end to end testing of COVID-19 vaccination process and will include planning and preparations for vaccine introduction and primarily, the testing of CoWIN (COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network).
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are live updates:
Caseload update
India records less than 20,000 fresh COVID-19 cases
The number of fresh COVID-19 cases was recorded below 20,000 in India on Saturday, taking the country”s caseload to 1,03,05,788, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 99 lakh, according to the health ministry.
A total of 19,079 people tested positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 1,49,218 in the country with 224 new fatalities, the ministry’s data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 99,06,387, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.12%, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45%.
The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below three lakh for the 12th consecutive day. There are 2,50,183 active coronavirus cases in the country, which accounts for 2.43% of the total caseload, the data stated. – PTI
Vaccine Dry Run
Safety of vaccine our prime concern, says Health Minister
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who visited the GTB Hospital in Delhi to review a dry run for the COVID-19 vaccination, said that the “safety of vaccine is the prime concern.”
“I want to assure all Indians that the vaccine is aimed at safeguarding your health,” he said, adding that “positive news” can be expected soon.
For the vaccination trial run, each booth has three rooms: waiting room, vaccination room, and another waiting room.
| Photo Credit: Nikhil M. Babu
“All misconceptions and disbelief is detrimental to ensuring that we have sustained and suitable coverage. The dry run will cover urban/rural/hard to reach terrains and private setting. Besides giving the vaccine the dry run will cover all other aspects. This will help us weed out any gaps,” he said. – Bindu Shajan Perappadan
Kerala
In Kerala, schools reopen, minus the cheer
It was back to school for students of Classes X and XII in the district on New Year’s Day. The schools remained closed during this academic year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools were all geared up to usher in students for revision classes and practicals in preparation for the public examinations scheduled to begin on March 17, but not all students were upbeat.
Thermal scanners and sanitisers welcomed students at the school gates. Inside, they headed in small groups of 10 and 15 to classrooms allotted to them in order to maintain physical distancing. Guidelines issued by the General Education and Health Departments were followed to make arrangements and guide students on the dos and don’ts.
India
COVID vaccine trial run starts across the country
Dry run for COVID19 vaccine administration is being conducted in all States and Union Territories in 116 districts across 259 sites on Saturday, said the Health Ministry. It added that the objective of the drive is to gear up for the roll out of COVID19 vaccine across the country.
The run will also assess operational feasibility in the use of Co-WIN application in field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide way forward prior to actual implementation.
“This is also expected to give confidence to programme managers at various levels,” said the Ministry. The planning for the vaccine introduction will be as per the Operational Guidelines issued by the Ministry on December 20, 2020.
For each of the three Session Sites, the concerned Medical Officer In-charge will identify 25 test beneficiaries (healthcare workers).
States and UTs have been asked to ensure that the data of these beneficiaries are uploaded in Co-WIN. These beneficiaries will also be available at the session site for the dry run. – Bindu Shajan Perappadan
Chennai
When timely care saved two COVID-19 patients at RGGGH
With pneumothorax being one of the complications in COVID-19, timely intervention by doctors saved two patients at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).
One of them, a 45-year-old man, was discharged from the hospital after 103 days of treatment, while the other, a 37-year-old man, returned home after undergoing treatment for 95 days.
U.K. re-activates emergency COVID-19 hospitals, closes London primary schools
Britain reactivated emergency hospitals built at the start of the pandemic and shut primary schools in London on Friday to counter the rapid spread of a much more infectious variant of the coronavirus.
With more than 50,000 new daily cases of COVID-19 for the last four days, the health service said it was preparing for an anticipated rush of patients and needed more beds.
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