Top 10 Covid updates: Death due to oxygen shortage is not less than genocide, says Allahabad HC
A look at the biggest coronavirus developments of the day.
- India on Tuesday registered 3,57,229 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 2,02,82,833 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. This is the third consecutive day when the daily infection count dropped after crossing the 4-lakh mark. The toll climbed by 3,449 to 2,22,408. The number of active cases in the country stood at 34,47,133.
- The Allahabad High Court criticised the management of coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, according to Bar and Bench. It said: “We are at pain in observing that death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen.”
- The installation of medical oxygen plants at two Delhi hospitals – AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia – was expected to be completed on Tuesday night, the Union health ministry said. They may start functioning by Wednesday evening.
- The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the central government asking why contempt action should not be initiated against it for not complying with its orders on oxygen supply to the Capital.
- The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday extended a ban on entry from travellers coming from India amid the surge in coronavirus cases. A statement by the foreign ministry, however, does not specify a date to lift the suspension, which was first announced on April 22.
- A day after Scroll.in reported that several states were yet to hear about their share of Covid-19 relief supplies sent by other countries, the Central government said on Tuesday that the material had been dispatched to 31 states and Union territories. However, interviews with state officials revealed that the distribution process itself began as late as Monday evening, May 3, more than a week after the first batch of emergency Covid-19 assistance arrived in India.
- Karnataka declared journalists as frontline workers to vaccinate them on priority. Several other states such as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil nadu have taken similar measures.
- Maharashtra recorded 51,880 new Covid-19 cases and 891 deaths on Tuesday, pushing the tally in the state to 48,22,902. The toll reached 71,742. Out of these cases, Mumbai reported 2,554 new cases and 62 deaths, taking the city’s tally to 6,61,175 and the toll to 13,434. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the Covid-19 positivity rate in the state has fallen from 27% to 22%.
- Karnataka reported 44,631 cases in 24 hours, pushing the total Covid-19 infection count in the state to 16,90,934. Of these, Bengaluru alone registered 20,870 cases. Actor Deepika Padukone, who is currently in Bengaluru, has also tested positive for Covid-19.
- The coronavirus has now infected 15.31 crore people across the world and killed over 32.09 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 8.99 crore people have recovered from the infection.