Govt Panel Says Superspreader Events Like Weddings Behind Recent Coronavirus Surge, National Covid Task Force Warns Country in Midst of Second Wave

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Superspreader events like weddings might have led to the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases in India, a preliminary assessment by the Union government suggests adding that people were found becoming less careful in the recent months when the daily cases were low.

“That (role of superspreader events) is what it looks like, as people have become lax in their behaviour. We must understand that there is still a large section of population that is vulnerable, especially in villages. We cannot afford to lower our guard at this stage, and should avoid mass gatherings as it can become superspreading events,” Dr VK Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog reportedly said, according to Hindustan Times.

India on Friday recorded around 40,000 new coronavirus infections, the highest single day rise recorded so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,15,14,331, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The daily rise in infections (39,726) was the highest recorded in 110 days, while the death toll increased to 1,59,370 with 154 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Dr Paul said that testing, especially RT-PCR testing needs to be increased in districts reporting high positivity rate.

Some experts also said that the country is in midst of second Covid wave and it could witness even more cases in the coming weeks.

“We are in the midst of second wave of Covid. 1,00,000 new cases could be added in the next 6-8 weeks if specific steps aren’t taken,” Dr NK Arora, Head, Operations Research group of National Covid-19 Task Force told CNBC TV18.

Punjab authorities said that they had found at least 30 super-spreader instances, where more than 10 cases were recorded from a single event.

“In around 75-80 percent of the cases, patients were found asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. Contact tracing, after one person from the event was found, led to detection in these functions,” a nodal officer reportedly said.

Doctors in Delhi also blame weddings, social outings and get-togethers for the current surge in cases.

“I have personally seen several cases where groups of people got the infection at a wedding. There are cases where five to six people in one group who travel for a destination wedding get it. Then, there are kitty parties where four to five people have contracted the infection. We need to change our behaviour, there is no other way to control the spread of the infection,” Surajit Chaterjee, senior consultant at Apollo hospital said.

Recently, a large gathering of people in a funeral turned into a superspreading even in Telangana where 33 people got infected after attending a funeral on February 18.

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‘Strictly enforce Covid norms’: MHA writes to states amid rising cases | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Friday wrote a letter to all states and union territories asking them to take all necessary measures to promote Covid-19 appropriate behaviour amid rising cases across the country.
The home ministry noted that the sudden rise in cases is due to laxity in Covid-19 behaviour.
“After the steady decline in Covid-19 cases for about 5 months, for the last few weeks, the number of Covid-19 cases are showing an increasing trend in several parts of the country. It has been observed that it is largely due to laxity in the observance of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour by the people, especially in crowded places,” Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla said in his letter to states.

The Centre further urged states to enforce strict Covid guidelines such as wearing masks, hand hygiene and social distancing ahead of upcoming festivals.
“Take necessary measures to create awareness among people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour and simultaneously take necessary action for its strict enforcement, so as to fully overcome the pandemic,” MHA told states.
Over the past five days, India has seen the sharpest surge in Covid-19 infections in at least the last 10 months, with the seven-day rolling average of daily cases rising by as much as 39% during this period.
The count of daily cases almost touched 40,000 on Thursday, with 39,670 fresh infections recorded in the past 24 hours. This was the highest single-day tally of cases since November 28 last year.
Maharashtra logged its highest-ever daily case count of 25,833, while 15 other states/Union territories reported their highest single-day tallies since January or earlier.

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Lockdown an option going ahead, says CM Uddhav as Maharashtra tightens Covid curbs | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that lockdown could be an option to control the spread of coronavirus as the state continues to witness a worrying surge in cases.
Thackeray’s statement comes a day after Maharashtra registered its highest-ever single-day spike of 25,833 Covid-19 cases on Thursday.
Speaking about the alarming rise in cases, Thackeray said that the Covid-19 situation in the state has become grimmer as the number of new cases on Thursday breached the previous high which was recorded in September last year.
“I see lockdown as an option going ahead. But I trust people of the state to cooperate (and follow the Covid-19 norms voluntarily) like the last time,” he said.
However, the chief minister said that unlike the previous wave, now we have vaccines to fight the virus.
“When the pandemic began last year, there was nothing to fight the virus with. But now at least we have vaccines as a shield,” he said.
Thackeray said the priority now is to ensure that everyone is vaccinated and urged people to come forward to get inoculated without fear.
“There have been a few instances where a person caught infection after vaccination, but such cases are not life- threatening,” the chief minister said.
Fresh curbs in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, the state government has also announced fresh restrictions to curb the rise in infections.
According to the new guidelines, all drama theatres and auditoriums in the state will operate on 50% capacity till March 31 and no entry will be allowed without proper wearing of masks.
Theatres and auditoriums will not be used for cultural and political events, the order said.
All private offices have been asked to function at 50% capacity.
If found violating the norms, the premises will be shut down till the time Covid-19 stays notified as a disaster by the Centre, it said.
Earlier, the government had ordered cinema halls, hotels and restaurants to operate at 50 per cent capacity till March 31.

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Amid Covid Surge, Bhopal and Indore Authorities Crack Down on Those Breaking Safety Rules

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Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital Indore has reported 309 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, prompting authorities to mount pressure on the public for adhering to safety norms. Reacting to the spiralling cases, district collector Manish Singh said enough efforts have been made to spread awareness among the people and now rules on masks and other measures will be strictly imposed and those found to be violating the norms will be sent to jail under section 151 (unlawful assembly of five or more people) of the Indian Penal Code.

“We have slipped into the danger zone so strictness is imperative now,” said Singh.

The district administration has already taken up stringent measures to deter violators. Continuing action against those breaching night curfew, authorities in Indore registered over 20 FIRs against commercial establishments including eateries, restaurants, shops, pubs, etc, which were open after 10pm on Thursday.

In a single day, about 2,600 locals were penalised for not wearing masks in the city, and over Rs 3 lakh was recovered from them in spot fines.

After December 25, for the first time the city has reported over 300 new cases in the past 24 hours with 309 fresh patients emerging, and active cases have surged to 1,960.

The administration is also planning to hike vaccination by administering 25,000 doses daily.

Participation of locals in social and religious events has been capped at 100 persons. Indore, once among the top ten cities most impacted by the pandemic, has till now reported 944 deaths due to the deadly virus.

The Bhopal district administration too has ramped up measures amid rising cases.

Collector Avinash Lavania on Friday formed eight teams to implement the safety norms and empowered them to slap spot fines on violators.

A breach of the mask and social distancing rules could attract a fine of up to Rs 500, violation of rules by those home quarantined could lead to a financial penalty of up to Rs 1,000 fine, and a fine of up to Rs 5,000 could be imposed on commercial establishments or private organisations over neglecting set guidelines.

The city has been reporting up to 200 fresh cases daily in the past few days.

Social and religious events have been permitted with only 100 participants while rallies, protests, and fairs have been banned till further orders.

Residential societies have also been asked to adhere to safety measures including masks, social distancing, etc.

Covid-19 cases are also on the rise in Chhindwara, adjoining Maharashtra, Ujjain, Jabalpur and Gwalior.

Despite a tough stand from the state government, observers say residents across the state aren’t too keen on safety measures and can be seen crowding and not wearing masks at public places.

As an added step, inter-state bus services between MP and Maharashtra will be suspended for ten days starting from March 21. Maharashtra travellers are required to furnish RT-PCR reports procured 48 hours before their arrival in MP.

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Shooting World Cup: Top shooter tests Covid positive; is asymptomatic | More sports News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: A leading shooter, who’s a three-time Olympian and multiple gold medallist at the ISSF World Cups, has tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the ISSF Combined Shooting World Cup, beginning here on Friday.
The shooter, who is currently ranked world number 2 in his event, is asymptomatic and has been shifted to Faridabad’s Sarvodaya Hospital and Research Centre, it’s been learned. The concerned Embassy office in the Capital has been informed about the shooter’s positive result.
The shooter, who’s a Tokyo Olympic quota holder, was informed about his positive report on Wednesday evening at his official team hotel – Taj Vivanta. He had been tested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on early Tuesday morning upon his arrival from his country, but his test report was made available to him 42 hours later. As per rules, an RT-PCR test report has to be made available to the concerned within 24 hours of his/ her testing.
It’s been learned that the shooter was subjected to second round of testing at the team hotel on Thursday, as his event was to begin on Friday.
His second test has also come positive, which means his participation in the WC is over. The shooter, who was one of the finalists in his event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had complained of spicy Indian food being served to him at the team hotel and wasn’t happy with the bio-secure bubble arrangements made by the WC’s Organising Committee (OC) at the five-star facility.
In fact, according to sources, he wasn’t allowed to collect fruits and dry fruits being sent by an Indian shooter friend from outside his hotel room owing to his positive report. The shooter, along with his team members, was holed up at the IGI airport for seven hours as they waited for the airport security officials to clear their ammunition.
There was no separate lane created for the foreign shooters as directed by the ISSF. The biosecure arrangement made for the shooters hasn’t been strictly followed as the birthday parties and marriage ceremonies are being hosted at the hotel lawns and halls and people could be seen roaming around freely without any restrictions.

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Gaganyaan astronauts’ Russia training completing this month: Minister | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: The training of four astronauts in Russia for India’s first human space flight will complete this month and the second phase of training, which will be module specific, is scheduled to take place in the country, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
India’s first human space flight, ‘Gaganyaan‘, will be preceded by an unmanned flight by 2021, followed by another flight carrying “Vyom Mitra”.
“Four astronauts are being trained for India’s first human space flight. Their one-year training in Russia is completing this month, with some delay on account of the COVID pandemic,” Singh told PTI.
“The second phase of training, which will be module specific, is scheduled to take place in India,” the minister said.
The ‘Gaganyan’ flight, estimated to be around Rs 9,023 crore, is scheduled sometime before or on the eve of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
India’s heaviest launch vehicle, ‘Bahubali’ GSLV Mark-III, will the carry astronauts to space.

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Coronavirus vaccine: COVID vaccines can relieve long COVID symptoms, claims research | The Times of India

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The study, which is yet to be peer reviewed, looked into the cases of 44 vaccinated and 22 non-vaccinated long COVID patients.

Before vaccination, most patients showed serious symptoms and complained of fatigue, breathlessness and insomnia.

In January and February, a few of the participants received their vaccine shot, following which their symptoms were matched to those who were yet to get vaccinated. A month later, both the groups were reassessed and were asked whether their symptoms had improved, worsened or stayed the same.

Researchers found a 5.6 per cent decrease in worsening symptoms and 23.2 per cent increase in symptom resolution among the vaccinated participants in opposition to 14.2 percent and 15.4 percent for the unvaccinated respectively.

However, the scientists clarify that the study is too small “to make firm conclusions.” According to them, more research needs to be conducted in support of the claim.

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Mamata skips meeting with PM on Covid, Bengal urges for more vaccines | India News – Times of India

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KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday skipped a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers of different states on the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in some parts of the country.
Banerjee could not attend the meeting as she was busy campaigning for the state elections, a top state government official said.
Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay attended the meeting that happened through the virtual mode, he said.
At the meeting, Bandyopadhyay raised the issue of the need for more Covid-19 vaccine doses in West Bengal, the official said.
The Covid-19 situation has been deteriorating in some parts of the country, raising concern over a possible second wave.
The Centre has urged the states concerned to step up containment efforts wherever needed.

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Coronavirus Vaccine: Do you have full protection immediately after vaccination? And other things you should know | The Times of India

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The COVID vaccine shot can certainly prevent you from the many complications associated by the virus that’s still surging across the globe. However, if you think the jab would also suffice complete protection against the newer, deadlier COVID strain, there’s something you should know.

Even with the best vaccine shot, there still would be a marginal chance that one can get infected with the virus.

With the newer coronavirus strains in circulation, there still exists a high risk of infection. However, as scientists are observing, there may be a difference in the way you develop symptoms.

Here are some things you need to know before getting prepped up for your vaccination turn.

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Merc tries to keep pace with post-Covid demand – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: After a massive crash in 2020 due to Covid woes, Mercedes-Benz — the top luxury car seller in India — expects sales to bounce back strongly this year. The company is looking to sell over 10,000 cars at a growth of nearly 25% as it plans to drive in as many as 15 new cars.
Mercedes-Benz India, which saw a 43% decline in 2020 on sales of 7,893 units, said that inquiry levels for cars have “already crossed the pre-Covid numbers” and added that many models are currently stocked out as supplies remain a challenge.
“The market has come back strongly, and the pace of recovery has even taken us by surprise. We are expecting a high double-digit growth this year, something in the range of 25% or more,” Mercedes-Benz India director (sales & marketing) Santosh Iyer told TOI.
The company leads the luxury market in India, but the loss of business during the Covid lockdown and the subsequent pressure meant that a full recovery remains a task.

“The demand has been strong, and we had under-estimated the pace of recovery. We have a back-log of customer deliveries at this point, and models such as the GLE and GLS SUVs are having a waiting period of over two months, while the EQC electric is sold out till May.”
The market for luxury cars in India is still to mature to levels seen in the developed countries of the Western world and China, despite the presence of brands such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover.
The contribution of luxury to overall car sales fell to under 1% in 2020, with estimated industry volumes at around 21,000 units — a 37% decline over the near-34,000 units sold in 2019. This number for the luxury players is the lowest since 2010 when the companies had cumulatively sold 15,280 vehicles, according to numbers sourced from the industry.
Iyer said that the government should consider softening the taxes on larger cars to give an impetus to demand, and added that the GST rates should be relooked at. The company also drove in the new version of its E-Class sedan, pricing the model between Rs 63.6 lakh and Rs 81 lakh (ex-showroom).
Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Martin Schwenk said the E-Class remains the company’s largest-selling model with more than 46,000 units on the road. “Sedans remain a key focus for us even as we continue to strengthen our SUV portfolio,” Schwenk said.

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