India records lowest daily growth rate in COVID-19 cases on Saturday since it crossed 100 cases
New Delhi: The average doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in the country is 9.1 days as of now and from Friday 8 am to Saturday 8 am, India recorded a six-per cent growth in new cases, which is the lowest daily growth rate recorded since the country crossed 100 cases, the government said on Saturday.
The 13th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was held under the chairpersonship of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.
The GOM was briefed on state-wise details of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, along with the adequacy of isolation beds and wards, PPE kits, N95 masks, drugs, ventilators and oxygen cylinders, among others, the health ministry said.
The GoM was informed that domestic manufacturers, which were identified earlier, have already started producing PPE kits and masks, and that an adequate quantity of the same was available.
"As on date, more than one lakh PPE kits and N95 masks are being manufactured every day in the country. There are, at present, 104 domestic manufacturers of PPE and three of N95 masks in the country," the ministry said in a statement.
In addition, production of ventilators vide domestic manufacturers has also started and orders have been placed for more than 59,000 units through nine manufacturers, it added.
"The GoM was apprised that as of now, the death rate is around 3.1 per cent while the recovery rate is more than 20 per cent, which is comparatively better than most of the countries and may be taken as a positive effect of the lockdown in the country, along with the cluster management and containment strategy.
"The average doubling rate of the country is 9.1 days as of now," the ministry said.
The GoM was also informed that as of now, 5,062 people have been cured with a recovery rate of 20.66 per cent. Since Friday morning, an increase of 1,429 cases has been reported, the ministry said.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 775 and the number of cases climbed to 24,506 in the country on Saturday, according to the ministry.
The GoM also reviewed the testing strategy and availability of testing kits across the country, along with the strategy for hotspots and cluster management.
It was briefed about the number of public and private laboratories presently testing for COVID-19, along with the number of tests that are being conducted every day through this network of laboratories.
A detailed presentation on the COVID-19 status in the country, along with the response and management of the disease, was made for the ministers.
The GoM had a detailed deliberation on the measures taken as on date by the Centre and various states and Union territories for prevention, containment and management of coronavirus and all the districts were asked to follow and further strengthen their contingency plans to combat COVID-19, the ministry said.
The GoM also deliberated on the various tasks assigned to several empowered committees and it was informed that around 92,000 NGOs, self-help groups (SHGs) and civil society organisations were working and contributing by providing food to migrant workers across the country.
It was also informed that the national level meta-data of health workers, NSS, NYK, NCC, doctors etc. has been shared with all the states, districts and other officials to mobilise resources and volunteers (COVID warriors) to much-needed locations.
There is presently data for more than 1.24 crore human resources on the dashboard and it is continuously being updated with the addition of new groups and sub-groups according to specialisation, the GoM was informed.
The dashboard contains state and district-wise information about the number of human resources available from each group, along with the contact details of the respective state and district nodal officers.
"These COVID warriors are being trained through online platforms such as the ministry of health website and the iGOT training portal," the statement said.
Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep S Puri, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai and Minister of State for Shipping and Chemical and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya, among others, were present at the meeting, along with other officials.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
