Here are the top 5 news updates of May 28, 2021:
1. Central allocation of Remdesivir to states discontinued as production is ramped up 10X
Much like COVID-19 vaccines, the Centre has now discontinued allocation of Remdesivir to states. Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday took to Twitter explaining that daily production had increased tenfold, with supply now exceeding the demand for the drug.
The Union Minister said that the Centre has decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic stock. At the same time, production had increased from from 33,000 vials per day to 3,50,000 vials per day as the number of plants producing Remdesivir increased from just 20 to 60 within a month.
"I am delighted and satisfied to inform you all that the Production of Remdesivir is ramped up ten times from just ~33,000 vials/day on 11th April 2021 to ~ 3,50,000 vials/day today under the astute leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji," Mandaviya tweeted.
"But I have also directed @nppa_india & @CDSCO_INDIA_INF to continuously monitor the availability of Remdesivir in the country. Government of India has also decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic stock for the emergency requirement," he added.
Delhi recorded around 900 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reminding that this the lowest single day tally since the second wave of the pandemic began. Friday's numbers bring the total number of active cases to 14581 - a drastic drop from earlier weeks wherein the national capital had become the worst affected city in India.
"Around 900 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours. This is for the first time (during second wave) that we have reported cases below 1,000," exulted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
As per Health Ministry data, Delhi has recorded nearly 24 thousand deaths since the pandemic began in 2020, even as 13,85,158 people have recovered.
It is not just Delhi. Over the last few days, daily cases in India have dropped gradually to stand well below the two lakh mark. The active case load continues to drop, now standing at 22.28 lakh.
3. Dominica Court extends stay on Mehul Choksi's deportation, allows him to meet lawyers
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) on Friday, after taking note of submissions made in the Mehul Choksi's hebeas corpus petition, restrained Dominican authorities from removing the fugitive diamantaire from the Commonwealth of Dominica until further hearing in the matter.
The next hearing in the matter is scheduled to take place on June 2.
Justice ME Birnie Stephenson of the ECSC on Friday put an injunction restraining the respondents whether by themselves, servants, agents and/or representatives from removing the applicant from the Commonwealth of Dominica until further.
The Court also allowed Choksi to meet his legal counsel and be transported to a hospital for medical attention and for the administration of a COVID-19 test.
India's COVID-19 case tally continues to drop, with the single day rise remaining well above the 2 lakh mark for the second consecutive day. As per Health Ministry data on Saturday morning, India reported 1,73,790 new cases and 3,617 deaths in the last 24 hours. At the same time, 2,84,601 people were discharged.
With this, the active case load has declined further to now stand at a little more than 22.28 lakh. With 2,84,601 patients recovering in the past 24 hours, there have now been a total of 2,51,78,011 recoveries reported across the country till date. The recovery rate has now increased to 90.80%, while the weekly positivity rate stands at 9.84%.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met met his counterpart, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, with the two reportedly discussing a broad range of issues. Held against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister said that the vaccine partnership between India and the US, and Quad-based discussions on vaccines was perhaps the most important subject of their talk.
"Secretary Blinken and Jaishankar discussed a broad range of issues, including COVID-19 relief, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad, and a shared commitment to combating the climate crisis and enhancing multilateral cooperation, including at the UN Security Council," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. Both the leaders also discussed regional developments, the coup in Burma, and continuing support for Afghanistan.
(With inputs from Agencies)
