Coronavirus live updates: Vaccine availability to see exponential rise in coming months, says Harsh Vardhan

The number of people discharged from hospitals on a daily basis after recovering from Covid has outnumbered the number of those getting admitted since May 14, government data shows. Officials said the decline in hospital admissions can be attributed to the decline in positive cases.

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed 19.32 crore, the Union health ministry said on Friday. It said 6,63,353 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 received their first dose on Friday, and cumulatively 92,73,550 across 37 states and UTs since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

Covid-19 death toll in Bihar rose to 4,339 on Friday with 98 fresh fatalities, as many as reported on the previous day, even as the number of people testing positive in the state continued to show a downward trend. The second wave has proven to be deadly for the state, where the death toll has risen by more than two-fold in the past one month.

Days after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the launch of an oxygen concentrator bank, a Delhi government official said a total of 351 such machines have been delivered across 11 districts. Kejriwal had said each district in Delhi will have a stock of 200 concentrators that will be rushed to the doorsteps of patients within two hours. Patients can contact helpline number 1031 and oxygen concentrators will be provided for free after it is recommended by doctors, he said.

As thousands of people began flocking to Krishnapatnam village in SPS Nellore district to get what is being touted as a miracle cure for Covid-19, the state government on Friday roped in the Central Ayurvedic Research Institute to conduct a "very scientific and authentic exercise" to determine the efficacy of the medicine.

The defence ministry in a statement said that the kit offers a significantly faster turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross-reactivity with other diseases.

Telangana on Friday reported 3,464 new Covid cases, taking the tally to over 5.47 lakh, while 25 fatalities pushed the toll to 3,085. Total number of active cases stands at 44,395 and the total number of cases is 5,47,727. The overall number of recoveries reached 5,00,247.

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 4,384 new coronavirus cases and 79 fatalities. The tally of infections rose to 7,57,119 and the toll to 7,394, an official from the state health department said.

The Covid-induced curfew imposed in Bhopal has been extended till May 31. The decision has been taken in a meeting of Bhopal Crisis Management Team.

Uttarakhand reports 3,626 new Covid cases, 8,731 recoveries and 70 deaths on Friday. The total number cases stands at 3,07,566 and total recoveries at 2,33,266.The state's death toll has reached 5,600.Active cases 63,373

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, reviewed public health response to Covid-19 and the progress of vaccination with nine States and UTs. “Recovery outnumbers new active cases for the last 8 days consistently," the minister said, adding "Vaccine availability will witness exponential rise in the coming months."

Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday announced extension of lockdown in the State from May 24 to June 7. Stringent restrictions are already in effect from May 10.

Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Friday said that Ludhiana has reported 30 cases of black fungus till now.

Chandigarh administration has announced weekend curfew from 5 am on Saturday to 5 am on Monday.