Active Coronavirus cases rise again in India: Govt

A health worker takes nasal swab of a passenger from Maharashtra for a COVID-19 test upon her arrival at the Bikaner Railway Station on Saturday. PIC/PTI

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,11,92,088 with 18,327 fresh cases being reported in a span of 24 hours in the country after 36 days. Active cases registered an increase for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday and were recorded at 1,80,304, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The death toll reached 1,57,656 with 108 more fatalities. On January 29, 18,855 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours after which the daily rise in fresh cases remained below 18,000.

The number of people
who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,08,54,128, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.98 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.41 per cent.

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have reported a high number of COVID-19 daily new cases, cumulatively accounting for 82 per cent of the new cases reported in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said.

15 lakh people vaccinated
Nearly 15 lakh people were inoculated on March 5, the highest in a day so far, taking the total number of vaccine doses administered in the country to over 1.94 crore, official sources said on Saturday.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) had started from February 2.

Administering of second dose of COVID-19 vaccine started on February 13 for those beneficiaries who had completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose.

Mexico wants Covaxin
A technical committee of experts in Mexico gave a unanimous favourable opinion on Friday on approving the Covaxin vaccine made by the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech.

The report by the committee for new molecules will be sent to the federal medical safety commission's approval board, which usually follows such recommendations.

The interim results from the vaccine manufacturer's late stage trials shows its COVID-19 vaccine to be about 81 per cent effective in preventing illness from Coronavirus.

Dalai Lama receives vax
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was administered the first dose of anti-Coronavirus vaccine at Zonal Hospital here on Saturday morning.

The Dalai Lama's office thanked the Government of India and the Himachal Pradesh dispensation for facilitating the first dose of the vaccine to the spiritual leader.

After getting inoculated, he asked people to come forward in large numbers and get themselves vaccinated for the greater benefit.

‘Multilayer masks most effective'
Multilayer masks are most effective at preventing aerosol generation, says a new study conducted by a team led by researchers at Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The study was carried out in collaboration with scientists in UC San Diego and University of Toronto Engineering. According to IISc, when a person coughs, large droplets (>200 microns) hit the inner surface of a mask at a high speed, penetrate the mask fabric and break up or "atomise" into smaller droplets, which have a greater chance of aerosolisation and thereby carrying viruses like SARS-CoV-2 with them.