A health worker sanitises the equipment at a gym in New Delhi, a day before it reopens after a period of five months, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
Delhi recorded 1,076 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally in the national capital to over 1.4 lakh, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 4,044, authorities said. Eleven deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours, as per the latest bulletin, which is the lowest number of Covid-19 fatalities reported in a day, since July 1. Also, Tamil Nadu reported single day highest Covid-19 deaths of 112, taking toll to 4,461 while 5,175 fresh cases push tally to 2.73 lakh, says the state government bulletin.
In the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday, India reported 52,509 cases of the novel coronavirus and 857 deaths. This took the country’s tally to over 19 lakh cases (19,08,255), including 5,86,244 patients who are undergoing treatment for the disease, 12,82,216 who have recovered and 39,795 fatalities, the Union Health Ministry confirmed. Wednesday marked the seventh consecutive day that Covid-19 cases increased by more than 50,000 in the country.
Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are the key states to watch, but smaller states like Goa, Tripura, Manipur and Puducherry are also have a significantly large spread of Covid-19. (Also read the latest on the Covid-19 vaccine front). The services sector is facing the brunt of the pandemic. From food to aviation, and IT to hospitality, the sector is still struggling to get back on its feet given physical contact is an intrinsic prerequisite. The sector is estimated to employ more than 33 per cent of the employed population and contribute over 55 per cent to the GDP. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was discharged from hospital after recovering from the disease. He had been admitted to Chirayu Hospital in Bhopal after he tested positive for the disease on July 25. He has reportedly been advised to remain at home for another seven days, during which his health will be monitored.
Meanwhile, global coronavirus cases rose to 18,466,594 Wednesday, with as many as 699,134 fatalities. At least 11,058,317 people have recovered from the disease so far, data by John Hopkins showed.
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: Sanitation work at malls in Mumbai.
The Covid-19 surge continued as Andhra Pradesh registered 10,128 fresh cases after easing a little in the last few days as the overall tally rose to 1,86,461 on Wednesday. After registering 10,000 plus cases for the third straight day on July 31, the state's daily count dipped till Tuesday with the fresh infections going below 9,000 mark on two days.
The fresh cases on Wednesday are just behind Maharashtra (10,309) even as AP remained in the top three states in the country behind Tamil Nadu in overall tally. The state also saw a record number of 77 coronavirus deaths in a day, pushing the toll to 1,681, the latest bulletin said.
In the last 24 hours ended at 10 AM, a total of 8,729 patients recovered from the infection, it said. The state now has 80,426 active cases after a total of 1,04,354 patients got cured and discharged so far. The infection positivity rate increased to 8.34 per cent after a cumulative number of 22,35,646 tests.
The number of Covid-19 cases mounted to 2,498 in Nagaland on Wednesday after 93 fresh infections were detected, Health and Family Welfare Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. "Ninety-three new positive cases have been confirmed out of 455 samples tested. Of them, 88 are from Dimapur and five are from Kohima," Phom said in a statement.
The state now has 1,804 active cases, while 685 patients have recovered from the disease, seven died and two migrated to other states, a health official said. Of the total caseload of 2,498, armed forces and paramilitary personnel accounted for 1,078 infections, while 1,045 were returnees and 167 were frontline Covid-19 workers, the official said. The remaining cases are traced contacts and others.
Dimapur, the state's commercial hub, has reported 51 per cent of the confirmed cases at 1,296, followed by 539 in state capital Kohima, 238 in Mon and 252 in Peren districts. The rest of the cases were registered in six other districts. Kiphire is the only corona-free district in the state.
Maharashtra reported 10,309 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 4,68,265 on Wednesday, while 334 patients succumbed to the infection, the state health department said. The state also reported the death of 334 more patients, taking the toll to 16,476, said a health official.
The tally of 10,309 coronavirus cases was one of the highest single-day detections so far, he said. Also, 6,165 patients were discharged from hospitals in the state, taking the number of recovered cases to 3,05,521, he said. With this, there are now 1,45,961 active cases in the state, the official said.
The BMC reported 1,125 cases in Mumbai, taking the cumulative figure to 1,19,240, while the Pune Municipal Corporation reported 1,282 cases, taking the total to 65,136. Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 4,68,265, deaths 16,476, discharged 3,05,521, active cases 1,45,961, people tested so far 24,13,510.
Tamil Nadu reports single day highest Covid-19 deaths of 112, taking toll to 4,461 while 5,175 fresh cases push tally to 2.73 lakh, says state government bulletin.
Delhi recorded 1,076 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally in the city to over 1.4 lakh, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 4,044, authorities said. Eleven deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours, as per the latest bulletin, which is the lowest number of COVID-19 fatalities reported in a day, since July 1.
The death figures were revised multiple times by authorities in June. On Tuesday, the daily cases count had dipped to 674 and 12 deaths were recorded. The active cases tally on Wednesday rose to 10,072, from 9,897, the previous day. On June 23, the national capital had reported the highest single-day spike of 3,947, till date.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Delhi stood at 4,033 on Tuesday. The Wednesday bulletin said the death toll from the coronavirus infection has risen to 4,044 and the total number of cases climbed to 1,40,232.
A total of 51,706 patients have recuperated from Covid-19 in India in a span of 24 hours, the highest in a day, pushing the recovery rate to 67.19 per cent on Wednesday while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 2.09 per cent, the Union health ministry said. The recoveries have surged to 12,82,215 and are more than twice the active cases of the coronavirus infection, it said.
Due to the record highest daily recoveries, the active cases have reduced to 5,86,244 and comprise 30.72 per cent of the total Covid-19 caseload. 'With an increasing number of Covid-19 patients recovering, there has been a 63.8 per cent increase in the recovered cases in the last 14 days, indicating that the Covid-19 response and management driven by the Centre's 'test, track, treat', strategy is yielding the desired results,' the ministry said in the statement.
Coordinated implementation of the strategy by the Union and state and Union Territories governments has also ensured that the COVID-19 case fatality rate has been low when compared to the global scenario. 'It has been progressively falling and stands at 2.09 per cent as on date,' the ministry said. The aggressive testing along with ramped up hospital infrastructure by collective efforts of the public and private sectors has ensured the increasing recovery rate, which has improved from 63 to 67 per cent in the last 14 days, it said.
Meghalaya's COVID-19 caseload rose to 937 on Wednesday as 20 more people, including a BSF personnel, tested positive for the infection, a senior health official said. East Khasi Hills district reported 19 fresh cases, while West Garo Hills registered one, he said. The fresh infections have pushed the number of active cases in the state to 594, while total recoveries rose to 338 as eight more people were cured of the disease, Health Services Director Aman War said, adding five COVID-19 patients have died so far.
East Khasi Hills district, under which Shillong falls, has 488 active cases, followed by Ri-Bhoi (51), East Jaintia Hills (17), West Jaintia Hills (16), West Garo Hills (15), West Khasi Hills (5) and South Garo Hills (2), he said. Four districts -- South West Khasi Hills and East, North and South West Garo Hills -- are coronavirus-free at the moment, War said.
Of the 488 active cases in worst-affected East Khasi Hills district, 240 are civilians, while 189 are Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and 59 are from the armed forces, he said. A total of 38,977 samples were sent for COVID-19 tests till Tuesday, and 25,218 people have returned to the state since the imposition of the nationwide lockdown, officials said.
In a first, military bands will perform for a fortnight across the country ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, officials said on Wednesday. The bands of the army, navy and police have performed at Porbandar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Raipur, Amritsar, Guwahati, Allahabad and Kolkata so far, they said.
“The performances are intended as gestures of gratitude and appreciation of the nation towards the corona warriors who have been steadfastly fighting to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the country even at the risk of their lives,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. READ MORE
Drug firm BDR Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday said it has launched its antiviral drug Favipiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in India at a price of Rs 63 per tablet. The company has also come up with a patient assistance programme which will allow patients and institutions who have limited resources to purchase the medicine at a highly subsidised rate, BDR Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.
BDR pharma has received an approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture Favipiravir to treat mild to moderate patients with COVID-19 symptoms. The drug has been launched under the brand name 'BDFAVI', it added. "BDR has been at the forefront in benefiting patients in this pandemic and supporting India's fight against COVID-19. This launch further strengthens our commitment to the patients to provide better outcomes for patients with mild to moderate COVID symptoms in India," BDR Pharmaceuticals CMD Dharmesh Shah said.
'The company has developed Favipiravir tablets in 200 mg strengths with a strip of 10 tablets, BDR Pharmaceuticals said.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported the first death of a child due to COVID-19 as an eight-year-old boy succumbed to the infection on Wednesday, a health official said. The boy, who was a resident of Junglighat area of Port Blair, was suffering from diabetes. He died of COVID-19 at the G B Pant Hospital here, the official said, adding the fresh fatality has pushed the coronavirus death toll in the islands to 12.
Ninety-eight more people have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the Union Territorys caseload to 928, he said.Three of the new patients have travel history, while 95 people tested positive for the infection during contact tracing, the official said, adding the number of active cases in the archipelago now stands at 639.
Fourteen more people have been cured of COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries to 277 in the Union Territory, he said. The administration had till Tuesday sent 25,034 samples for COVID-19 tests, of which 24,313 reports were received and 721 were awaited, the official added.
Odisha on reported 1,337 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking its tally to 39,018. The state reported nine new deaths taking its toll to 225. Ganjam district reported the highest number of cases (201), followed by Khurda (196), Cuttack (168), Sundergarh (83), Keonjhar (80), Gajapati (75), Puri (72) and Nayagarh (60).
The person incharge of the Covid-19 hospital in Goa's Margao has been removed for "negligence". The State Health department has transferred Dr Ira Almeida, who was heading the facility, after it was found that conditions at the hospital were not up to the mark. Almeida has been replaced by a senior doctor from the Goa Medical College, Dr Uday Kakodkar. Goa has reported around 7,000 cases of Covid-19 so far.
Over 10,000 personnel of the Maharashtra Police have contracted the disease so far, while 107 have succumbed. "So far, 10,026 personnel have tested positive for Covid-19. Of them, 107 personnel, including 10 officers, have died," an official told news agency PTI. The official claimed over 50 per cent of the fatalities were from the Mumbai Police force.
Singer S P Balasubrahmanyam has tested positive for Covid-19. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai.
With novel Coronavirus spreading rapidly all over the country, there are only three states right now, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, that have less than 1,000 people infected with the disease. Lakshadweep, of course, still hasn’t reported even a single case till now, the only region in India entirely free of the epidemic.
Otherwise, even the relatively smaller states now have significantly large spread of the disease. Goa, for example, has seen more than 7,000 of its people infected by the virus till now. Tripura has over 5,500 cases, while Manipur has more than 3,000, and Nagaland a little less than 2,500. Puducherry has more than 4,000 cases, while even Daman and Diu has over 1,300 people infected. How did the infection spread so rapidly in these states? Read Amitabh Sinha's explainer
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been discharged from hospital after recovering from Covid-19. He had been admitted to Chirayu Hospital in Bhopal after he tested positive for the disease on July 25. He has been advised to remain at home for another seven days, during which his health will be monitored, reports ANI.
In the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday, India reported 52,509 cases of the novel coronavirus and 857 deaths. This took the country’s tally to over 19 lakh cases (19,08,255), including 5,86,244 patients who are undergoing treatment for the disease, 12,82,216 who have recovered and 39,795 fatalities, the Union Health Ministry confirmed. Wednesday marked the seventh consecutive day that Covid-19 cases increased by more than 50,000 in the country. Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are the key states to watch.
As the novel coronavirus has forced Indians to eat more home-cooked food — eateries haven’t fully reopened, while the ban on weddings and social functions remains — it is also showing up in the pattern of edible oil consumption.
On the one hand, imports of palm oil —the predominant frying medium used by hotels, restaurants/dhabas, canteens and caterers as well as namkeen and mithai makers — have fallen by almost 40% year-on-year during April-June. On the other, oils directly used in home kitchens — whether soyabean and sunflower or indigenous mustard, groundnut, coconut and sesame — have reported no decline, if not increase, in consumption. Read Gopal B Kateshiya's explainer here
Here are the latest developments on the Covid-19 vaccine development front:
Read our Covid-19 vaccine tracker here
The number of global deaths is nearing the 700,000 mark, with 699,134 fatalities as of now. Global coronavirus cases rose to 18,466,594 this morning, with as many as 11,058,317 people recovering from the disease, data by John Hopkins showed.
Assam recorded 2,886 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday — so far, the highest increase of cases recorded in one day. The state also tested 59,064 people, which is the highest number of tests in a single day. The districts with maximum cases are Kamrup (M)- 550, Kamrup (R)- 294, Nagaon- 213, and Dibrugarh- 201. “In pursuit of our commitment to contain COVID 19 infections in our state, today we have completed 59,064 number of tests. By far, this is the highest number of tests we have achieved in a single day. For the next ten days, we will continue with massive testing across the state,” said Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Twitter. This takes the total number of reported cases in the state to 48,161, with 14,615 active cases and 115 reported deaths
Another private hospital in Hyderabad is under fire following several complaints regarding overcharging coronavirus patients. On Tuesday evening, the Telangana government issued orders prohibiting Virinchi Hospital from offering treatment to COVID-19 patients — nearly 24 hours after it took a similar action against Deccan Hospital over ‘surplus billing’.
According to the latest orders, both hospitals are barred from admitting or treating any confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19.
The office of the director of Public Health and Family Welfare has directed the management of Virinchi hospital to ensure the treatment to patients who are currently admitted there and charge them in accordance with the government’s fixed price-cap. It has also warned the hospital against cancellation of its registration if it failed to comply with government norms. Read the full report here.
Kerala reported 1083 fresh positive cases and three more fatalities on Tuesday, taking the infection tally to 27,950 and the death toll to 87. According to Health Minister K K Shailaja, as many as 902 people were infected through contact and source of infection in 71 cases is unknown. 51 of the new cases are those who arrived from abroad and 64 are from other states.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan Tuesday said India’s testing rate is low when compared to some of the countries such as Germany, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan that are successfully trying to curb the coronavirus, adding that without adequate testing, fighting the virus is like “fighting fire blindfolded”, PTI reported.
In an interactive session through video conference, Swaminathan said, “India as a whole, the testing rates are much lower compared to some of the countries, who have done well like Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan.”
“Even the United States is testing a huge number of people. So we need to have some benchmark and every public health department needs to have benchmarks on what is the rate of testing per lakh or per million, what is the test positivity rate,” she was quoted as saying by PTI.
Curfew has been imposed in several villages of Himachal Pradesh's Una district for conducting an active case finding (ACF) campaign, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday.
The curfew will remain in force in Dehlan, Bangarh, Jakhera, Bhatoli, and Mehatpur gram panchayats from 8 pm on Tuesday to 7 am on August 9, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.
In his curfew order issued under Section 144 of CrPC, the DC stated that the outbreak of COVID-19 was noticed in Bhatoli and Dehlan gram panchayats.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said that he has tested positive for Covid-19. “After seeing symptoms of COVID-19, I got tested. The report has come positive,” he tweeted. “On the advice of doctors, I have been admitted to hospital and I am healthy,” he said.
Karnataka has received a fresh batch of 681 ventilators from the Centre under the PM-Cares fund, officials at the state health department Tuesday confirmed. Another batch of 1,279 ventilators is expected to arrive later this month, they said.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is admitted at Bengaluru’s Manipal Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, held a review meeting over phone to assess the situation in the state.
“Of these, 335 (including 166 in Bengaluru) have already been added to hospitals to be used to assist COVID-19 patients in need of the same. The remaining 346 ventilators will be installed by the end of this week,” officials apprised Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
Giving a break-up of the mortality rate according to gender, a Health Ministry official Tuesday said that about 68 per cent of Covid-19 deaths were reported among male patients and 32 per cent among female patients in India.
In terms of age, he said 50 per cent of such deaths took place in the age group of 60 years and above.
"About 37 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in India took place in the age group of 45 to 60 years, while 11 per cent of deaths were recorded in the age group of 26 to 44 years," he said during a press briefing.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja Tuesday dismissed charges that the state is covering up Covid-19 deaths, clarifying that not all deaths detected as Covid-positive in the preliminary examination can be recorded as part of the official tally. Read the full report here.
China and the World Health Organization are discussing plans to trace the origin of the coronavirus outbreak following a visit to the country by two experts from the UN agency, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters the experts conducted “preparatory consultations on scientific research cooperation on virus tracing” during their two-week stay, which ended Sunday.
Their talks touched on research in the areas of population, environment, molecules, animal traceability and transmission routes of the coronavirus, as well as plans for further scientific research, Wang said.
The two sides also further investigated the possible animal source, intermediate host and transmission route of the coronavirus to “more effectively prevent and control the epidemic,” Wang said. (PTI)
At present, we have 3 Indian vaccines which are in different phases of clinical testing: ICMR
"At present, we have 3 Indian vaccines which are in different phases of clinical testing. The 2 vaccines- Bharat Biotech vaccine and DNA vaccine of Zydus Cadila have completed phase 1 and will begin phase 2," Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR was quoted as saying by ANI.
Union Health Ministry Tuesday said that the recovered cases at 12.30 lakh are two times the number of active cases of COVID-19 in India. Currently, there are 5,86,298 active COVID-19 cases in the country.
"Many states have increased their testing capacity, both RT - PCR & Rapid Antigen tests. 28 states and union territories performing more than 140 tests per day per million population. Goa, Delhi, Tripura, and Tamil Nadu have increased their testing capacity," Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health was quoted as saying by ANI.
"More than 2 crore Covid-19 tests have been conducted, including more than 6.6 lakh tests in the last 24 hours," Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health said in a press briefing on Tuesday. He also said that India is currently conducting 479 tests per day per million population.
(Source: ANI)
Authorities of Netaji Subha Chandra Bose International Airport Tuesday announced that flight operations at the airport will remain suspended on al the revised seven days of total lockdown in West Bengal this month starting from August 5.
The airport had suspended flight operations on July 2 and 29 due to the total lockdown announced by the state government.
"As per the state government order dated 03.08.2020 flight operations at #KolkataAirport will remain suspended o the revised lockdown days: 5th, 8th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th 31st August 2020," the Kolkata airport said in a tweet.
The West Bengal government had earlier decided t impose a biweekly complete lockdown in the state to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. (PTI)
The COVID-19 crisis in the country will disappear with the blessings of Lord Ram, the Shiv Sena said on Tuesday, and pointed out that veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi won’t be present in Ayodhya for the temple ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony.
An editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana” took a dig at the August 5 ceremony being held amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country. “There is no other golden moment like the one when Prime Minister Modi performs the ‘bhoomi pujan’ at Ayodhya, the Sena said. “Coronavirus is there, but will disappear with Lord Ram’s blessings,” it added.
Advani and Joshi, key leaders associated with the Ram temple construction campaign, will witness the ceremony via video conferencing from Delhi, the editorial noted. They were advised not to attend the ceremony in view of their age and the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ayodhya, it said. Read the full report here.
Indonesia recorded 1,922 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 115,056, official data by the country's COVID-19 task force showed.
The data also showed there were 86 additional deaths, taking the overall number of fatalities to 5,388, news agency Reuters reported.
COVID-19 can bring on neuromuscular complications in patients who previously had none, and exacerbate symptoms in those with preexisting conditions on therapies to stimulate the immune system, according to a new research.
The review of studies, published in the RRNMF Neuromuscular Journal, assessed research mentioning COVID-19 and neuromuscular conditions, published since the beginning of the pandemic through June 18, 2020 — a total of 547 publications.
It analysed cases of serious neuromuscular complications and outcomes associated with the viral infection, and management considerations for patients on therapies to boost their immune system function during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the latest list of the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 165 vaccines for the novel coronavirus were being developed across the world. There are possibly more. As Dr Davinder Gill, former CEO of Hilleman Laboratories, puts it, the actual number would probably be three times the number listed by WHO.
Those listed have all entered at least the pre-clinical trials stage. Some are in the final stage of human trials, possibly only a few months away from hitting the market (a Russian vaccine promises to be ready in weeks), while many others are just getting into animal trials, and are perhaps a couple of years away from becoming ready.
But why are so many vaccines being developed all at the same time? Here are some possible answers
India’s top drug regulator has approved the application of Serum Institute of India (SII) to conduct late-stage human trials in the country for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine candidate. While the vaccine is already being tested in other countries, it is important for India to be a part of these global trials.
The world, including India, is still learning how this virus works in different populations because it is relatively new. India, for instance, is now planning on rolling out a registry to collect data from patients in hospitals across the country to understand how they can improve treatment strategies.
In clinical trials for any new drug or vaccine, the third phase of testing looks for the effectiveness of the product in thousands of participants to get an idea of whether it will work in a large and diverse population. It is also important to note that these late stage trials check for any adverse reactions in the population that the product is intended for. Prabha Raghvan explains the significance of having the Oxford phase-III vaccine trials in India.
A fresh lockdown has been imposed in the Philippines capital Manila and outlying provinces for two weeks. Public transport stayed stagnant and public travel has been restricted following the lockdown.
The lockdown is milder than the first one imposed in which most people were confined to their homes for months, but is more severe than the quarantine restrictions the capital had been under recently.
Businesses previously allowed to partly reopen including barber shops gyms dine in restaurants and tourist destinations will again be closed. Over 106,000 people have been infected including more than 2,100 who have died
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Army General Walter Souza Braga Netto, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently under isolation, his office said on Monday. Netto is the seventh Brazilian minister to have contracted the disease till now.
Last week, Brazil’s first lady and one of his ministers tested positive for COVID-19. Bolsonaro also contracted the disease but his latest test showed he was no longer infected.
The Latin American region surpassed 5 million coronavirus cases on Monday making it the hardest hit region for the pandemic in the world. The coronavirus was initially slower to reach Latin America than much of the world. But health experts say that the region that has a population of about 640 million has been hard to control the virus due to the region’s poverty and densely packed cities.
The region has now topped 200,000 deaths with toll rapidly rising in Brazil and Mexico, the countries that have the highest death toll in the world after the United States.
President Donald Trump has said that as compared to big countries, America is doing "very well" in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, while India is having a "tremendous problem" battling the disease and China is witnessing a "massive flare up" in infections.
"I think we're doing very well. I think that we have done as well as any nation. If you really look, if you take a look at what's going on, especially now with all these flare ups and nations that they were talking about," Trump said.
"As such, compared to larger countries, the US is doing much better in the fight against the coronavirus. Don't forget, we're much bigger than--other than India and China. China is having a massive flare up right now. India has a tremendous problem. Other countries have problems," he said in response to a question.
It might not be easily evident, but the daily growth rate of novel Coronavirus cases has once again been on the decline, even as the absolute number of new infections scaled new highs this past week. In the last ten days, the daily growth rate, averaged over 7-day periods, has come down from 3.67 per cent to 3.25 per cent. During this same period, the new detection of cases reached a high of over 57,000 before climbing down to a level of just over 52,000 now.
What is satisfying is that the growth rate in almost every state, including fast-growing ones like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, has been dropping off (see charts below) in the last few days. Andhra Pradesh, which had touched almost a 10 per cent growth last week, has seen its growth rate slide down to 7.21 per cent. There has been an encouraging drop in the number of new cases reported by the state, from three consecutive days of 10,000-plus to below 8,000 now.
THE PUNJAB government has collected a whopping Rs 15 crore in fines amid the Covid-19 pandemic for violations ranging from not wearing masks, to spitting in public places to flouting home quarantine and social distancing guidelines.
The lion’s share of the amount (Rs 14.90 crore) came from those not wearing masks in public places (till July 31), showed official data accessed by The Indian Express. As many as 3,54,173 people were fined in the state and 1,460 FIRs were registered for this violation.
The highest number of FIRs for not wearing masks was registered in Jalandhar (551), followed by Ludhiana (291) and Batala police district (258). Ludhiana and Jalandhar have reported the highest number of Covid cases and deaths so far. While Ludhiana has recorded 115 deaths and 3,714 cases so far, Jalandhar has reported 2,610 cases and 55 deaths. Amritsar has reported 1,985 cases and 85 deaths.
Police in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district on Monday said they have identified at least 235 persons who have become addicted to consuming sanitisers due to non-availability of alcohol. Last week, 16 people in the district’s Kurichedu mandal died after consuming sanitizer in lieu of alcohol.
SP Siddharth Kaushal said police on Sunday identified 35 persons and another 200 on Monday who have been consuming sanitisers. “We are in the process of identifying more people. It is an ongoing process and we are in continuous engagement with them, counselling them and telling them about the dangers of consuming sanitisers,” he said.
As most of the areas in Kurichedu, Darsi and Vinukonda mandals have been identified as containment zones, all the liquor shops in these areas have been shut. Due to non-availability of liquor, several people who are addicted to alcohol have turned to consuming sanitisers.
Of the total number of passengers that have flown on domestic flights since resumption of services on May 25, around 1,500 have tested positive for coronavirus at their destinations, according to official data. However, data pertaining to how many air passengers were actually tested was not centrally available.
According to the Airports Authority of India data, around 45 lakh domestic passengers were recorded at Indian airports between May 25 and June 30.
The numbers, however, may not tell the full story, given that many of the jurisdictions like Punjab, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh are only testing passengers at airports on a random basis, while several others like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, West Bengal are testing only symptomatic passengers.
A key bellwether of activity in the manufacturing sector slipped in July after two months of steady growth reflecting the adverse impact of localised lockdowns by states to fight the surging Covid curve. For those who lost their jobs, this fresh metric three months into the lockdown — PMI falling to 46 in July from 47.2 in June — is a disquieting reminder that a return to normalcy, or even a sustainable uptick, is far away.
More so for the thousands, who because of job losses or lacking a safety net if infected, moved from metros and urban industrial hubs to their hometowns and villages. Many of them are now realising that the rural economy has hit a saturation point and cannot absorb more workers. Read More
The number of novel coronavirus cases in Maharashra has crossed 4.5 lakh, over one-fourth of which is reported from Mumbai. The state has 4,50,196 infections and 15,842 deaths; at least 1,47,018 people are being treated for the disease. Mumbai has 1,17,406 cases and 6,493 deaths.
As Maharashtra shows signs of stabilisation in its active cases, the state has begun opening up with new guidelines easing restrictions and permitting activities under its ‘Mission Begin Again’. From August 5, all shops will be allowed to open every day, and on both sides of the road from 9 am to 7 pm. Till now, only non-essential and standalone shops were allowed on one side of the road on odd days, while those on the other side were open for business on even days.
Indian drugmaker Wockhardt has entered into an agreement with UK government to help supply Coronavirus vaccines through the production facility of a subsidiary located in the North Wales.
The company said the agreement with UK government was not specific to any particular vaccine, and would supply the vaccines of whichever developers the UK is able to enter into an agreement with. “It depends on what the UK government wants. They have worked on a strategy to tie up with multiple manufacturers, and they will decide… what kind of vaccines they want for themselves,” Wockhardt’s founder chairman Dr Habil Khorakiwala said.
The agreement with UK will make use of the 400-million vial capacity of Wockhardt’s subsidiary, CP Pharmaceuticals, in Wales.
India’s drug regulator has given its approval to a proposal to carry out phase-II and phase-III clinical trials of the Oxford University vaccine in India. The trials are to be carried out by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which also has a contract to manufacture and supply the Oxford vaccines, when they get ready, in poor and middle income countries.
The Oxford University vaccine, being developed in partnership with pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca, are already in phase-III human trials in some other countries. India’s regulatory rules require a drug or a vaccine to be tested on local population as well, before being allowed to be used in India.
The Serum Institute plans to test the vaccine on 1,600 volunteers at different locations within the country. Between 10 and 15 hospitals are expected to participate in the human trials, including at least four in Pune — government-run BJ Medical College, KEM hospital, Bharati Hospital, and Jehangir Hospital. Besides these, ICMR’s Regional Medical Research Centre in Gorakhpur, and Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna are also said to be part of the trials, which are expected to begin later this month.
Fast-moving clinical trials, and optimistic remarks from corporations as well as health experts, have been offering hope that a Coronavirus vaccine was, at most, just a few months away. But the World Health Organisation has once again sought to give a reality check.
In a virtual press interaction, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus suggested that the development of a magical vaccine that will protect humanity against the Coronavirus was still not guaranteed. “A number of vaccines are now in phase-III clinical trials, and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection. However, there is no silver bullet at the moment, and there might never be,” Tedros said.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan continues to share his experience of dealing with coronavirus. The actor on Tuesday took to his blog to write about the uncertainty of the disease and its treatment.
In his latest blog post, Big B wrote, “The World doth change..it changeth each hour..it changeth now more than before..an invisible little unknown virus has laid humanity to rest, and brought it to its knees..and the efforts to know about it..to assess the cure..to develop its vaccine..to determine how it needs to be, under what medical protocol..how to give substantiated care..how to firmly determine the swob test..its veracity, its value, its delivery without fault..nothing..nothing is known..and yet each hour the medical profession of the Universe are determinedly trying every possible experience education academic and practical to find some results that can be termed as patented, or given its authority of correctness.”
About 20% of those who expressed an interest in enrolling at AIIMS for clinical trials of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, had already developed antibodiesagainst coronavirus, making them unfit for the trials.
Sources said that two weeks after AIIMS began enrolling participants, the institute has screened more than 80 volunteers, but only 16 have been recruited. The medical institute is to administer the vaccine to 100 people, who will be monitored for at least two weeks after getting the first shot.
Those between 18 and 55 years of age with no heart, kidney, liver or lung illness and no uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension are eligible for the study. Routine investigations like liver, kidney function, Covid-19 detection, and rapid antibody tests are performed on volunteers before recruitment.
A spike of 52,050 cases in the last 24 hours pushed India’s COVID-19 caseload to 18,55,745 on Tuesday. The death toll also soared to 38,938 with 803 new fatalities, according to the latest data by the health ministry. Of the total, the total number of active cases stand at 5,86,298, while 12,30,509 people have recovered. The number of testing has crossed the two-crore mark, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that the state is facing a threat from coronavirus spread because of its highest population density, and hence, needs to remain alert. “There is definitely a threat to Bihar (from coronavirus) as our population density is highest in the country. It is three-fold of the national average and hence we need to remain alert and cautious,” Kumar said in the state assembly.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah Tuesday became the latest high-profile leader in the state to test positive for the novel coronavirus. The 71-year-old Congress leader was admitted to a hospital on the advice of doctors.
“I have been tested positive for #Covid19 and also been admitted to the hospital on the advice of doctors as a precaution. I request all those who had come in contact with me to check out for symptoms and to quarantine themselves,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Good morning and welcome to our coronavirus LIVE blog. Former Karnataka CM and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah has tested positive for COVID-19. India’s Covid-19 tally crossed the 18-lakh mark on Monday. Follow to get all the latest updates here.