India recorded over 3.46 lakh new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday. The rapid uptick in new cases has taken India’s total infection count to over 1.66 crore. Out of these, over 25.52 lakh cases are currently active while over 1.38 crore people have recovered after testing positive. With 2,624 new fatalities the death toll is now over 1.89 lakh.

Delhi on Friday reported a staggering 348 deaths due to Covid-19 as hospitals in the national capital continued to grapple with a severe shortage of medical oxygen. As many as 24,331 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during his meeting with PM Modi, highlighted the crippling oxygen crisis in hospitals in the capital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday held a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers across the country, asking them to utilise the industry’s full potential to meet medical oxygen demand in the coming days. The PM said there was a need to increase the availability of oxygen cylinders as well as to upgrade logistical facilities for its transportation.

Chairing a meeting with chief ministers of different states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the railway and Air Force have been deployed to reduce the travel and turnaround time for oxygen tankers so that states facing a shortage of medical oxygen could get it in time. The PM also said that every state should ensure that no oxygen tanker, meant for any state, is stopped or gets stranded.

In another development, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved emergency use for Zydus Cadila’s Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b, ‘Virafin’ for the treatment of moderate Covid-19 infection in adults. A single dose of Virafin shows significant improvement as 91.15% of patients were tested RT PCR negative by day 7. It also reduces hours of supplemental oxygen in the patients.

Source: The Indian Express

BDST: 1300 HRS, APR 24, 2021
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