India's daily caseload further slipped to 14,830 on Tuesday, officials said. According to health ministry data released on Tuesday morning, 14,830 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,920,451 in the South Asian country. The new cases reported on Tuesday mark a decrease from the Monday daily caseload of 16,866. With the reporting of fresh cases, the number of active cases currently stands at 147,512 in India. The country also logged 36 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 526,110 since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the ministry said. With the increase in cases, the daily positivity rate stood at 3.48 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.53 percent, the ministry data showed. The ministry said that so far 43,246,829 COVID-19 cases have been cured and discharged from hospitals in the country, including 18,159 new recoveries. According to the health ministry, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country has exceeded 2 billion vaccine doses as 2,025,057,717 doses have been administered until Tuesday morning. Read: From Dec, only Covid booster dose will be available in Bangladesh So far over 873 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday. Out of them 426,102 tests were conducted on Monday. The Indian government said recently that an estimated 40 million eligible people in the country have failed to take a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The government is currently focusing efforts on promoting booster doses as the uptake for the third dose has been low. Last week the Indian government said that given the emergence of COVID-19 sub-variants with variable transmissibility and other public health implications, the health ministry was closely following the COVID-19 trajectory globally and in the country. Local governments in various states have issued advisories urging people to wear face masks and follow COVID-19 protocols at mass gatherings in the wake of an increase in daily infections.

India on Saturday recorded over 20,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day, officials said. According to federal health ministry data released on Saturday morning, 20,044 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,730,071. Read: Covid claims five more lives in Bangladesh, infects 1,007 others With the new infections, India's active caseload stands currently at 140,760. The South Asian country also logged 56 deaths from the pandemic during the cited period, bringing the death toll to 525,660 since the beginning of the pandemic. Currently the daily positivity rate stands at 4.80 percent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.40 percent, the ministry data showed.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 43,062,569 on Tuesday with 2,483 new cases registered during the past 24 hours in the South Asian country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. This is the seventh consecutive day when the number of daily new cases has surpassed the 2,000-mark, after lower tallies were reported in recent weeks. Meanwhile, 1,399 deaths due to the pandemic recorded since Monday morning took the death toll to 523,622. Read: Global Covid cases top 510 million This is a spike in the number of deaths in a single day, as the figure has been around 50 for the past few days. "The sudden rise in the number of deaths is because the state of Assam has reconciled 1,347 deaths today," said an official at the federal health ministry. There are currently 15,636 active COVID-19 cases reported in India, an increase of 886 in the past 24 hours. The number of active cases had been on the decline in the past two-and-a-half months, but started to rise in recent days. So far 42,523,311 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals in India, including 1,970 new recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours.

As the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 started a downward spiral in India, health experts have begun to press the alarm bells for another wave of the outbreak, citing the flouting of health protocols amid eased restrictions and a sluggish vaccine rollout. On Wednesday morning, India reported 50,848 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the case tally to cross the 30 million mark and reach 30,028,709, while the death toll reached 390,660. The recovery rate in the country has increased to 96.56 percent. The declining number of daily cases allowed local governments across the country to order relaxations, but warnings from experts and watchdogs pointed towards the risks of another wave of outbreak. The devastating second wave of the pandemic caught India unawares. It saw the country's hospitals overwhelmed especially in major cities and towns. Unable to cope with the rush of patients, doctors saw themselves struggling for oxygen supplies and essential medicines. Experts have blamed Indian authorities for ignoring warnings and going ahead with conducting elections in several states, besides allowing a mega Hindu religious congregation called Kumbh Mela. CALLS FOR CAUTION The easing of restrictions in the capital Delhi recently saw thousands crowd metro stations and shopping centers, prompting health experts to warn of the possible resurgence in COVID-19 infections. Last week, the Delhi high court warned that the breach of COVID-19 protocol will only hasten the third wave of the pandemic. It asked authorities to take strict measures against violators and sensitize shopkeepers about the COVID-19 protocol. The high court said if flouting of COVID-19 norms continues, "we will be in great trouble." Also read: India's COVID-19 tally crosses 30 million With the resumption of business in the capital, doctors have also cautioned that Delhi could face a "worse than second wave situation" if people lower their guard or do not adhere to safety norms. Director of India's premier health institute - All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Randeep Guleria said last week that the third wave of COVID-19 could hit the country in the next six to eight weeks. "It (third wave) could happen within the next six to eight weeks or maybe a little longer. It all depends on how we go ahead in terms of COVID-19 appropriate behavior and preventing crowds." "We don't seem to have learnt from what happened between the first and the second wave. Again crowds are building up. People are gathering. It will take some time for the number of cases to start rising at the national level," Guleria said. "Mini-lockdown in any part of the country, which witnesses a surge and a rise in positivity rate beyond 5 percent, will be required. Unless we're vaccinated, we're vulnerable in the coming months," he said. Jai Prakash Narain, a former regional official of the World Health Organization, also expressed his concern. "Sadly we... tended to celebrate victory prematurely, much before the battle was actually won. As a result, the country was caught off guard and unprepared to respond adequately when the second wave suddenly hit us and many lives were lost and families tragically devastated by the rampaging virus," Narain wrote in an article in a local daily. Also read: Vaccine hesitancy puts India’s gains against virus at risk SLUGGISH VACCINATIONS Currently, vaccinating its huge population remained one of the main challenges facing the Indian government. V K Paul, member (health) of the Indian government's top policy think tank, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog (commission), said vaccination against the COVID-19 gives at least 94 percent protection from the infection and reduces the chances of hospitalization by 75-80 percent. The nationwide vaccination against COVID-19 started in India on Jan. 16, and so far only about 50 million people, or some 5 percent out of the country's total adult population of 940 million, have received two doses of the vaccine, according to the health ministry. As per the health ministry, over 294 million doses have been administered across the country. A vast majority of the population that have been vaccinated have so far received only one dose. As the Indian government aims to vaccinate the entire eligible population by the end of this year, experts said the country needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve this target.

Starting Monday, every adult in India will be eligible for a free vaccine paid for by the federal government. The new policy, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, ends a complex system introduced just last month of buying and distributing vaccines that overburdened states and led to inequities in how the shots were handed out. India is a key supplier of vaccines around the world, and its missteps at home have led it to stop exports of shots, leaving millions of people around the world waiting unprotected. Only about 3.5% of Indians are fully vaccinated and while supporters hope the policy change will make vaccine distribution more equitable, poor planning means shortages will continue. Here’s a look at the changes to India’s vaccine policy and what they mean. THE EARLIER POLICY India has vast experience in running large immunization programs, and each year it distributes 300 million shots to infants and mothers for free. For these programs, the federal government is in charge of buying the vaccines and then works with the states to figure out how best to distribute them. But the scale of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is unprecedented. And a massive surge in March pushed India’s health system to the breaking point. As hundreds of thousands of people became infected each day and hospitals overflowed with patients gasping for air, the states complained they weren’t getting enough shots from the federal government and clamored for more control over how the vaccines were distributed. Also read: To launch J&J Covid shot in India, Biological E begins talks with govt lab to test vaccine So, starting in May, the federal government agreed to buy just half of all vaccines produced for use in India and continued to give them out for free to health care and frontline workers and those over 45. The other half became available for states and private hospitals to buy directly. These vaccines were destined for people between 18 and 45; they were free if obtained from the states, but cost money if obtained privately. WHY IT DIDN’T WORK The states had never bought vaccines before and a limited supply meant they were competing with one another as well as with private hospitals. They were forced to pay higher prices than the federal government could have negotiated, said Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, a health policy expert. “That essentially makes it inefficient,” he said. Private hospitals passed that cost on to people, and amid shortages at government centers, people had to either pay for a vaccine, or not get a shot. The change in policy also expanded eligibility to all adults. Expanding the criteria despite shortages meant shots weren’t always going to the groups the federal government initially said it would prioritize: those with essential jobs and the elderly. Since May, more people younger than 45 have received their first shot than those older than 60. More than 74 million people over 60 remain unvaccinated. Modi said these decisions were taken to satisfy the states’ demands, but the fractured response may have cost lives, said Dr. Vineeta Bal, who studies immune systems at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune city. Also read: After Black & White: First case of Green Fungus reported in India WHAT HAS CHANGED NOW? The federal government has now decided to buy a larger portion of vaccines — but it’s still not returning fully to its original policy. It will buy 75% of all vaccines made for use in India and likely renegotiate prices. These shots will be given to states and will continue to be distributed for free. Private hospitals can buy the remaining 25% at prices that have been capped and can charge for them. States will receive vaccines based on their populations, disease burdens and how many people have been vaccinated. They will be penalized for wasting doses. But supply remains a challenge. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: “Where will the vaccines come from is a big question.” India has placed orders for vaccines still in development, but for the moment it will continue to rely on existing, overstretched suppliers like the Serum Institute of India.

With COVID-19 infections coming down to the lowest level country-wide in nearly two months to 120,529 new cases during the last 24 hours, India’s major cities today announced significant relaxations in lockdowns in New Delhi and Mumbai. Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance from Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said at a media briefing. Markets and malls will reopen on an odd-even basis from 10 am to 8 pm. Delhi Metro will operate at 50 percent capacity. In Mumbai too, offices will only be allowed from Monday to function with 50 percent capacity till 4 pm. The same restriction will apply to restaurants both in occupancy level and timing of service. Fifty persons will be permitted at weddings and 20 at funerals. Also read: Increase in Covid-19 vaccine production in India to be 'game changer' beyond borders: US Malls and entertainment places, such as theatres, will continue to be locked down, but individual stores may stay open till 4 pm. Local train services will be restricted to those engaged in essential services, but buses may operate at full capacity with no standee passengers. In Maharashtra state, the government has announced a five-level plan to relax the lockdowns based on the weekly positivity rate and the occupancy of oxygen beds. Also read: Serum gets govt nod to produce Sputnik vaccine in India Kejriwal said the Delhi government was preparing for the third wave of COVID-19 infections and projecting 37,000 daily cases at its peak. It was making arrangements for beds, ICUs and medicines with that projection in mind. India’s latest infection figures show less than 200,000 daily new cases for nine days consecutively and a decrease in active cases by 80,745 in the last 24 hours. Such a pattern of decreases over a sustained period has prompted cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to relax restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Both cities had high infection rates during the second wave of COVID-19.

The government has extended restrictions on the movement of passengers through land ports with India, up to May 31, as India's surge in coronavirus cases continues. Although borders with India will remain closed to people, goods will continue to cross. Also read: Bangladesh detects first case of Indian Coronavirus strain However, Bangladeshi citizens, stranded in India, could enter through Benapole, Akhaura, Burimari Darshana, Hili, and Sonamasjid. The general movement of people between Bangladesh and India, through all the other land ports, will remain suspended. Also read: Bangladesh loses 26 more lives to Covid, toll reaches 12,310 Railroads will be encouraged for the export and import of goods between the two countries during this period. Bangladesh citizens now stranded in India, who qualifies and are willing to return to the country, will have to submit a Covid-19 negative certificate with QR code (RT-PCR) to obtain a no-objection certificate from Bangladesh missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala, the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's Agartala India said Friday.  Also read: ​​​​​​​Shutting border with India: Experts praise it as prudent decision Earlier, the government closed the border with India for 14 days with effect from April 26 but cargoes carrying goods were allowed to operate as usual.   Later on May 8, the border suspension was extended for 14 more days.

India’s surge in coronavirus cases is having a dangerous effect on neighboring Bangladesh. Health experts warn of imminent vaccine shortages just as the country should be stepping up its vaccination drive, and as more contagious virus variants are beginning to be detected. On Saturday, health authorities said that for the first time, a coronavirus variant originally identified in India was detected in Bangladesh, without providing further details. For weeks, South African variants have dominated the samples sequenced in Bangladesh. There are concerns that these versions spread more easily and that first-generation vaccines could be less effective against them. Experts say that declining infections in Bangladesh over the last two weeks compared to March and early April — for reasons that aren’t fully understood — provided the perfect opportunity for the nation to scale up vaccinations. Also read: Bangladesh detects first case of Indian Coronavirus strain “This is the time to vaccinate, keep infections low and make sure that new variants don’t emerge here,” said Senjuti Saha, a scientist at the Child Health Research Foundation in Bangladesh, who is also sequencing the virus. However, India has banned the export of vaccines as it grapples with the crisis at home. The country’s Serum Institute was supposed to supply 30 million vaccine doses — 5 million doses a month — to Bangladesh by June. But the institute has only supplied 7 million doses and has suspended further shipments since February. “It’s caused a real problem,” said Dr. A.S.M. Alamgir, a scientist with the government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research. Also read: Border with India to remain shut for another 14 days Fearing shortages, the government late last month stopped allowing people to register for a first vaccine dose, and the administration of second doses is also being hampered. The densely-populated country of 160 million is desperately seeking new avenues for vaccines other than India, and is attempting to produce Russian and Chinese vaccines at home by bringing technology from both countries. Bangladesh is expecting 500,000 doses of Chinese vaccines next week as a gift from Beijing, and has also sought help from the United States. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, a scientist of the Dhaka-based International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, said threats from new variants remained a big concern, especially when vaccines are not available. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 45 more deaths with 1285 new cases Although the border with India is closed to people, goods continue to cross. Virus sequencing in Bangladesh, like other countries including the U.S., has been scant. This means there could easily be blind spots. “We can’t rule out that the Indian variant would not make a new wave in Bangladesh. We have a porous border with India,” Alamgir said. Since March of last year, when the first COVID-19 case was detected in Bangladesh, the country has reported 770,842 confirmed virus cases and 11,833 deaths. Also read: India's surge hits southern states, prompts more lockdowns A nationwide lockdown has been extended until at least May 16, but many businesses, markets and local transportation remain crowded. Although inter-city travel is banned, tens of thousands are expected to leave the capital of Dhaka for their home villages to celebrate next week’s Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. “If we fail to maintain safety procedures across the country, the virus will make its natural progression, that’s for sure,” he said.

The government has decided to extend the closure of border with India for another 14 days keeping movement of cargoes carrying goods uninterrupted as the  Covid-19 situation keeps worsening in India. “It has been extended for another 14 days. The previous conditions will remain unchanged," Secretary (East) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mashfee Binte Shams told UNB over phone. The latest decision of the extension was taken at a virtual meeting held on Saturday with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in the chair. Earlier, the government closed the border with India for 14 days with  effect from April 26 but cargoes carrying goods were allowed to operate as usual. Also read: Bangladesh detects first case of Indian Coronavirus strain As per the previous decision, general movements of humans between Bangladesh and India will temporarily stay suspended through land ports. The Bangladeshi citizens currently travelling to India for treatment and having visas with validity for less than 15 days could enter Bangladesh through only Benapole, Akhaura and Burimari after taking permission from Bangladesh Missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala and with a mandatory Covid-negative certificates done through PCR test within 72 hours of entry. People entering Bangladesh through this process would have to stay officially quarantined for two weeks. Except for the aforementioned three land ports, all kinds of human movements through all other land ports between the two countries would completely stay suspended for two weeks. Also read: Indian Covid Strain: Two more cases identified in Jessore The vehicles carrying imported goods from India would have to be properly sterilised before entering Bangladesh borders. The drivers and helpers concerned would have to observe the Covid-19 safety protocol strictly. Railroads will be encouraged for the export and import of goods between the two countries during this period. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 45 more deaths with 1285 new cases Bangladesh Missions in New Delhi, Kolkata and Agartala will convey the relevant information in this regard to the authorities concerned in India in the light of the friendly relations between the two countries. India’s crematoriums and burial grounds are being overwhelmed by the devastating new surge of infections tearing through the populous country withb a terrifying speed, depleting the supply of life-saving oxygen to critical levels and leaving patients to die while waiting in line to see doctors, reports AP from New Delhi. India recorded over 4 lakh new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday, taking the country’s total caseload to over 2.18 crore. Out of these, over 37 lakh cases are currently active while over 1.79 crore people have recovered. Also read: India's surge hits southern states, prompts more lockdowns With 4,187 new deaths, the toll now stands at over 2.38 lakh. At least 14 states are reporting cases in five figures. Maharashtra reported about 54,000 cases, Karnataka had nearly 49,000, while Kerala had over 38,000. Indian variant coronavirus found in Bangladesh A confirmed case of Indian Coronavirus strain has been detected in Bangladesh, says theInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research(IEDCR) on Saturday. Also read: Shutting border with India: Experts praise it as prudent decision "The Indian variant of Coronavirus was detected in a sample test at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. It has been published on Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data(GSID)," said chief scientific officer of IEDCR ASM Alamgir. Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) DG Dr ABM Khurshid Alam also told the media that the Indian variant of Coronavirus has been found in Bangladesh.

Under order by the Supreme Court, India's government agreed on Thursday to provide more medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, potentially easing a 2-week-old shortage that worsened the country's exploding coronavirus crisis. Government officials also denied reports that they have been slow in distributing life-saving supplies donated from abroad. The government raised the oxygen supply to 730 tons from 490 tons per day in New Delhi as ordered by the Supreme Court. The court intervened after 12 COVID-19 patients, including a senior doctor, died at New Delhi’s Batra Hospital when it ran out of medical oxygen for 80 minutes last week. On Wednesday night, 11 other COVID-19 patients died when pressure in an oxygen line dropped suddenly at a government medical college hospital in Chengalpet in southern India, possibly because of a faulty valve, The Times of India newspaper reported. Hospital authorities said they repaired the oxygen line last week, but the consumption of oxygen had doubled since then, the newspaper said. The number of new confirmed cases in India on Thursday breached 400,000 for the second time since the devastating surge began last month. The 412,262 new cases pushed the country's official tally to more than 21 million. The Health Ministry also reported 3,980 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 230,168. Experts believe both figures are an undercount. K. Vijay Raghvan, a principal scientific adviser to the government, called the explosion of cases “a very critical time for the country.” Demand for hospital oxygen has increased sevenfold since last month, a government official said, as India struggles to set up large oxygen plants and transport oxygen to where it is needed. India on Tuesday stated ferrying oxygen tankers from Bahrain and Kuwait in the Persian Gulf, officials said. Most hospitals in India don't have their own plants that generate oxygen for patients, As a result, hospitals typically rely on liquid oxygen, which can be stored in cylinders and transported in tank trucks. But amid the virus surge, supplies in hard-hit places such as New Delhi have run critically short. Dr. Himaal Dev, chief of the critical care unit at Apollo Hospital in the southern city of Bengaluru, said COVID-19 patients in ICU wards require at least 10-15 liters of oxygen per minute because of their reduced lung function. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India has enough oxygen but is facing capacity constraints in moving it. Most oxygen is produced in the eastern parts of India while the demand has risen in northern and western parts. The outbreak has been spreading to neighboring countries which share porous borders with India. In Nepal, thousands of people rushed to leave the country ahead of a halt to all international flights because of spiking COVID-19 cases. Nepali citizens leaving to report back for jobs in foreign countries or to visit family members and a few foreign tourists lined up at Kathmandu’s airport before flights ceased at midnight Thursday. Domestic flights in Nepal have been halted since Monday. Nepal’s main cities and towns have been in lockdown since last month as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continues to surge. Nepal recorded its highest daily infections with 8,659 on Wednesday and 58 deaths, also a record. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the coronavirus situation with top officials on Thursday and told them to ramp up the vaccination drive. The country, with nearly 1.4 billion people, has so far administered 162 million doses but is facing vaccine shortages. The United States, Britain, Germany and several other nations are rushing therapeutics, rapid virus tests and oxygen, along with materials needed to boost domestic production of vaccines to ease pressure on the country's fragile health infrastructure. India’s vaccine production is expected to get a boost with the United States supporting a waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine components from the U.S. that have arrived in India will enable the manufacture of 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, said Daniel B. Smith, the senior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Last month, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, appealed to President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on U.S. export of raw materials, which he said was affecting its production of COVID-19 shots. The government meanwhile described as "totally misleading” Indian media reports that it took seven days to come up with a procedure for distributing urgent medical supplies that started arriving from overseas on April 25. It said in a statement that a mechanism for allocating supplies received by India has been put in place for effective distribution. The Indian Red Cross Society is involved in distributing the supplies from abroad, it said.