April 30 coronavirus news

India has fully vaccinated more than 26 million people, which is just over 2% of its population of 1.3 billion, according to a statement from the Indian health ministry released Thursday.  

The country has administered more than 152 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 since starting its nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 16, the ministry data showed. Out of the total shots, the second doses account for nearly 17.5%. 

Despite administering the most number of coronavirus vaccines in the world after China and the United States, India ranks much lower in per capita vaccination, according to CNN data. 

The country started its vaccination program in January for health care workers and priority groups, with the goal of fully inoculating 300 million people by August. 

As new daily cases accelerated in March and April, several states began reporting major vaccine shortages. 

The central government announced last week that those aged 18 or older will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine starting May 1 but several states including Maharashtra and Delhi have announced that they do not have vaccine supply for the new drive. 

The White House will announce a new milestone soon: 100 million adults in the US are now fully vaccinated, according to a White House official. 

President Biden's coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients will announce during a briefing with reporters shortly that the US is expected to hit 100 million at some point today.

The news comes as CNN reported that Biden's coronavirus advisers are moving into the next phase of their response, from ramping up availability to reaching those who have not yet gotten their shot. 

White House officials have three overarching goals for the next 100 days:

Some Indians have been desperately waiting in line for hours or even overnight to obtain oxygen for loved ones suffering from Covid-19, CNN’s Clarissa Ward reported from New Delhi. 

“People are taking shifts, taking turns to wait in this long line. … Once you get to the front of the line — and I have to tell you, the line does not move quickly — there's absolutely no guarantee even that you're going to be able to get any oxygen, because the demand is so huge,” Ward reported. 

The country has started a program to try to deploy liquid oxygen via railways to cities that need it most, according to Ward.

Many have been critical of the government response to Covid-19. 

“There's a lot of anger as well, because just a few months ago … this country's leadership was basically doing a victory lap saying that essentially Covid had been defeated,” Ward said. 

Huge political rallies, weddings, cricket matches and pilgrimages were allowed to take place.

“A lot of people here feel that was completely irresponsible and that the steps weren't taken that needed to be taken, such as ensuring there were more hospital beds, ensuring there was enough oxygen concentrate, ensuring there’s enough remdesivir, ensuring there are enough vaccines,” she added.

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Argentina's President Alberto Fernández announced the coronavirus measures currently in place in the country will be extended until May 21. 

Fernández said even though the exponential growth of Covid-19 cases in the ​​Buenos Aires metropolitan area has been contained, the situation is still "critical." 

"The next few weeks can be tough when it comes to therapy beds occupancy. For this reason, we must continue with the measures to ensure that everyone can access the health care they need and deserve," he said. 

Some of the measures that are currently in place across the country include a ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people, the suspension of tourist and student group travels and the suspension of work attendance for people at higher risk of contracting the virus. 

Turkey granted emergency use authorization for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Friday, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. 

On Wednesday, Koca said he expects difficulty in vaccine procurement over the next two months.    

Turkey has administered 22,808,726 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, according to the Health Ministry Covid-19 vaccine dashboard on Friday. So far, 13,708, 098 people have received both doses, according to the ministry.   

Turkey has so far relied primarily on China’s Biotech Sinovac with smaller batches of Pfizer/BioNTech for its vaccine campaign.   

Turkey went into lockdown on Thursday for the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the following Eid al Fitr holiday.    

British music fans will gather by the thousands on Friday at a live music event without face masks or social distancing, as part of the government’s Events Research Program (ERP). 

The event will provide scientific data to help officials determine how nightclubs and events might return to the UK this summer, according to a government notice 

The "First Dance" event will be hosted in a specially converted warehouse near the docks in the northern English city of Liverpool and will feature live music acts including Fatboy Slim and Jayda G, according to the city council.

Those living in the area can apply for tickets online and would need a negative result to enter the event. Partiers are advised to take another test five days after the event.

Normal coronavirus restrictions, like social distancing, will apply to attendees until they enter the event. While England has eased some restrictions – including allowing outdoor dining from April 12 – large indoor events are still banned.

Yousef Zahar – a DJ and founder of the nightclub hosting the event – said he couldn’t wait to see the dance floor erupt for the first time after nightclubs were closed fourteen months ago. 

Speaking on BBC radio Friday morning, Zahar said the event was going to be “monumental” and the response on social media had been encouraging.

The city’s Director of Culture, Claire McColgan, said, “This hasn’t been an easy process, and it’s particularly hard as the night time sector hasn’t been open for over a year,” according to a statement from Liverpool council.

The experiment will see revelers enjoy an outdoor music event at Sefton Park in Liverpool on Sunday, with The BRIT Awards, London also welcoming a live audience to its annual UK music industry awards show on May11.

The Indian government has invoked special provisions and granted emergency financial powers to the Armed Forces to combat the second wave of Covid-19 in the country, the country's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Twitter Friday.   

This is the ninth day in a row the country has added more than 300,000 cases a day, bringing the total number to 18,762,976. 

The first US plane carrying shipments of Covid-19 aid to India landed in Delhi this morning.

India is battling a deepening coronavirus crisis: 379,257 new cases were reported on Thursday, a new global record, according to figures released by the country's health ministry. The country also reported 3,645 deaths, the highest number of Covid-19 deaths the country has reported in a single day. Even more deaths and cases may be going unreported.

Those US aid shipments — the first by the Biden administration — left Travis Air Force Base in California aboard a US Air Force aircraft on Wednesday. Another shipment will leave Travis Air Force Base on Friday with PPE, oxygen, test kits, masks.

Jeremy Konyndyk, the senior advisor coordinating agency-wide Covid-19 efforts at the United States Agency for International Development, told CNN Thursday that the shipment of supplies on its way to India "has been developed really closely in coordination with them."

Earlier in the week, US President Joe Biden pledged to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the United States would provide "a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics."

An intensive care unit chief in India said the devastating coronavirus wave in the country is “nothing short of an apocalypse.” 

“We are feeling very, very tired. And the fact that we’ve not able to control the numbers is something which is extremely shocking for us,” she told CNN's John Berman. 

Husain said that the health care system has been overwhelmed, and many were not expecting the crush of the second wave. 

“It’s like … Covid is there in every house,” Husain said. 

She encouraged people to get vaccinated when they can to prevent severe sickness and hospitalization. 

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