India sends 150 tonnes of oxygen to Sri Lanka while states see surge in Covid-19 cases

Cases spike among children in Odisha; K’taka CM says the govt not considering the reopening of schools for classes I to V

India has sent about 150 tonnes more oxygen to Sri Lanka to help the island nation combat the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka on Friday extended its nationwide lockdown till September 13 amidst a surge in the number of Covid-19 deaths and mounting pressure on the healthcare system. “Lifeline from India to Sri Lanka close to 150 tonnes of oxygen from Vizag and Chennai reached the shores of Colombo,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted on Saturday. India since mid last month has been sending urgent supplies of oxygen to Sri Lanka following a personal request for assistance by the Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, it said.

Indian naval ship Shakti in August delivered 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen to Sri Lanka to help the country. India’s assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based. Close to 26 tonnes of essential medical supplies were gifted in April-May 2020. A currency swap of USD 400 million was provided in July 2020. The first consignment of vaccines, which was donated by India in January 2021, enabled Sri Lanka to roll out its vaccination programme ahead of schedule, the Indian High Commission said.

Spike among Odisha children

Coronavirus infection among children continued to rise in Odisha even as the total number of new cases dropped to 681 on Saturday, a Health Department official said.

Children on Saturday attend a class organised by an NGO as schools remain closed in West Bengal due to Covid-19 restrictions. Pic/AFP

The state had reported 849 new cases on Friday, he said. Among the new patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, there were 118 children, which was 17.32 per cent of the total fresh cases detected. It was 14.13 per cent on the previous day, the official said.

Odisha has so far reported 10.1 lakh Covid-19 cases. Khurda district reported the highest number of new cases at 222. Four districts—Bolangir, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Nuapada—did not report any new case. Five more people died in the state, taking the toll to 8,040.

No classes for I-V: K’aka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the government has still not considered reopening schools for classes I to V, and guidelines will be issued once again to restrict organising large-scale events and rallies, in view of violation of Covid-19 protocols. “No, we have not considered it yet. We will see how things will function with class VI, VII and VIII, and based on that we will take further decisions,” Bommai said. The government has already allowed reopening of schools for students from class IX to XII since August 23, and classes VI, VII and VIII will reopen from September 6. To a question about large-scale events linked to political parties taking place despite restrictions, Bommai said, “we are taking all these things seriously... we will once again announce guidelines for such events.”

India records over 42k cases

India’s Covid-19 infection tally rose by 42,618 in a day to reach 3,29,45,907 while the number of active cases touched 4,05,681 following an increase for the fourth consecutive day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll climbed to 4,40,225 with 330 more people succumbing to the viral disease, showed the data updated at 8 am.

3,29,45,907
Total No. of cases in the country as of Saturday

4,40,225
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

3,21,00,001
Patients Recovered and discharged in India as of Saturday

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