Coronavirus June 23 Highlights: INS Airavat arrives in TN with nearly 200 Indians from Maldives

On Tuesday, Assam reported 203 new COVID-19 cases taking the state’s total tally to 6056. Earlier in the day 197 patients were discharged taking the total number of recoveries to 3762.

“With this we have reached an impressive recovery rate of 64.3 %,” said Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Twitter. The state has tested 3.23,258 people in its 12 labs so far. Since a number of the new cases are from capital Guwahati city, parts of the city (on the basis of wards) have been put under total lockdown from today for 14 days. Assam currently has 2282 active Covid cases.

On Tuesday, Assam reported 203 new COVID-19 cases taking the state’s total tally to 6056. Earlier in the day 197 patients were discharged taking the total number of recoveries to 3762. “With this we have reached an impressive recovery rate of 64.3 %,” said Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Twitter. The state has tested 3.23,258 people in its 12 labs so far. Since a number of the new cases are from capital Guwahati city, parts of the city (on the basis of wards) have been put under total lockdown from today for 14 days. Assam currently has 2282 active Covid cases.

With twenty three more people testing positive of COVID-19 in Tripura today, the state's coronavirus tally now rests at 1,264 cases. Out of them, 482 are active patients while 782 others have already recovered and were discharged from hospital.

In a late evening Tweet today, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb wrote, "Out of 975 samples tested for COVID-19, 23 people found POSITIVE. All of them have travel history & 1 is truck driver. The count includes : Sepahijala: 9 South: 5 Dhalai: 4 Khowai: 2 Gomati: 1 North: 1 West: 1 #TripuraCOVID19Count".

According to latest reports, 6400 persons are still under surveillance for coronavirus in Tripura, out of which 853 are admitted in different quarantine centers and 5547 others are under home quarantine.

Arunachal Pradesh reported 10 new Covid cases on Tuesday, taking the total tally of the state to 158. The new cases are from people who have returned to the state from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Maharastra, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur and Delhi. All ten but one are asymptomatic. As per a release by the Directorate of Health Service, 16 cases were released on Tuesday, after testing negative. Currently Arunachal Pradesh has 120 active cases, out of which 2 are symptomatic. (Express Web Desk)

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat reached Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday afternoon with 198 Indians from Male in Maldives under 'Operation Samudra Setu', said the Navy on Tuesday. 'Operation Samudra Setu' was initiated by the Indian Navy on May 8 to bring stranded citizens from abroad.

The Navy, in a press release, said, "The evacuees were received by local authorities at Tuticorin and arrangements were in place for speedy disembarkation, health screening, immigration and transportation of the evacuees."  "INS Airavat, deployed by the Indian Navy for 'Operation Samudra Setu', entered Tuticorin harbour early morning today, Jun 23, 2020 with 198 Indian nationals embarked from Male, Maldives," it added.
Till date, the Indian Navy has brought back 2,386 Indians from Maldives to India under this operation. (PTI)

An estimated 120 million children living in South Asian countries, including India, could slip into poverty within the next six months due to the COVID-19 crisis, taking the total number of such kids in the region to 360 million, according to a new UNICEF report.

The report — Lives Upended – How COVID-19 threatens the futures of 600 million South Asian Children — covers eight South Asian countries namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

With the government approving rapid antigen detection test for Covid-19, the PMC has decided to carry out a test for one lakh citizens residing in the containment zones for faster identification of infected persons from large populations and check the spread of disease.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved the rapid antigen test for Covid-19 and negotiated the price at Rs 450 per kit with the SD Biosensor company. It has approved it for municipal corporations for mass testing in containment zones.

“The PMC is facing an emergency situation due to the outbreak. It is necessary to procure Standard Q Covid-19 antigen detection kit immediately. It is impossible to purchase the kit through the tender process due to time constraints, so it has to be purchased at the rate decided by ICMR and make it available for testing in civic hospitals and containment zones. A total of one lakh kits will be purchased for Rs 4.5 crore,” said Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad. Read more here

Delhi records biggest single-day spike of 3,947 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking tally to over 66,000; death toll rises to 2,301. (PTI)

For the first time in living memory, the gigantic chariots of Lord Jagannath and his celestial siblings rolled on the streets of Puri on Tuesday, a pale shadow of the grand spectacle, with the pilgrim town under curfew and the sea of devotees missing.

The annual chariot festival, which in normal times attracts lakhs of devotees from across the world, was held "smoothly and peacefully", a day after the Supreme Court modified its earlier order and cleared the decks for the yatra, an emotive issue for Hindus in several parts of the country.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who refrained from visiting Puri and witnessed the proceedings on television, thanked people, particularly the servitors, Puri district administration, health and police officials for the conduct of the event. (PTI)

Eleven more people succumbed to the COVID-19 in West Bengal on Tuesday, taking the death toll due to the disease to 580, while confirmed coronavirus cases reach 14,728 with 370 fresh infections, a state health department bulletin said.

Nine of the 11 deaths were due to co-morbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, it added.

The number of active cases now stand at 4,930. (PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday countered Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's claim over a new COVID care facility being set up in the national capital, saying a decision for a?10,000-bed care centre to be operationalised by June 26 was taken three days ago.

In a series of tweets, Shah also said that a 1,000-bed full-fledged hospital with 250 ICU beds is being developed for COVID-19 patients and the facility, to be manned by armed forces personnel, will be ready in the next 10 days.

"Dear Kejriwal ji, It has already been decided in our meeting 3 days back and MHA has assigned the work of operating the 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre at Radha Swami Beas in Delhi to ITBP. The work is in full swing and a large part of the facility will be operational by 26th Jun," he said.

Shah's counter came after Kejriwal wrote to him inviting him to inspect the 10,000-bedded centre and requested him for deployment of doctors and nurses from ITBP and Army at the Centre. (PTI)

In Tamil Nadu 2,516 Covid-19 cases reported today, taking the infection count to 64,603. With 39 deaths today, the toll rose to 833 in the state. Of the fresh infections, Chennai accounted for 1,380 cases taking its total to 44,205.

2,516 #COVID_19 cases reported in Tamil Nadu today, taking the infection count to 64,603. With 39 deaths today, the toll rose to 833 in the state. Of the fresh infections, Chennai accounted for 1,380 cases taking its total to 44,205. @IndianExpress

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) June 23, 2020

Karnataka reported 322 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. With this, the total number of positive persons in the state has gone up to 9,721. It includes 150 deaths and 6,004 discharges.

Karnataka reported 322 new #COVID19 cases on Tuesday. With this, the total number of positive persons in the state has gone up to 9,721. It includes 150 deaths and 6,004 discharges. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/WJOl36fodl

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) June 23, 2020

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Government to file an affidavit indicating the steps taken by Western and Central Railway to convert coaches into isolation or quarantine centres and why ICU facilities in coaches are not considered necessary.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik heard through video conference public interest litigation (PIL) by one Naresh Kapoor filed through advocates Prerak Choudhary and Jigar Kamdar raising various concerns and reliefs in view of Covid-19 treatment.

The PIL sought that all hospitals, nursing homes, and dispensaries, which are presently closed either due to departmental orders or judicial orders, should be re-opened to meet the needs of patients who have tested positive for Covid as well as patients suffering from other ailments. (reported by Omkar Gokhale)

Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia. His wife also tested positive.

"The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)

Karnataka govt announces cap on Covid-19 treatment rates in private hospitals -- Rs 5,200 to Rs 10,000 for those referred by public health facilities and Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 for patients admitted directly. (PTI)

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served notice over alleging high Covid mortality rate in Agra

The Agra administration on Tuesday served a notice to Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after she alleged that 28 coronavirus patients died within 48 hours of hospitalisation in the city.

Tagging a media report, the Vadra had on Monday tweeted that 28 coronavirus patients died within 48 hours of hospitalisation in Agra. She had described it as a "matter of shame" for the Uttar Pradesh government, accusing it of suppressing the truth.

Calling the information shared by Gandhi as "misleading and false", Prabhu Narain Singh, District Magistrate Agra, asked her to take back her claim in 24 hours as it may negatively impact the common public as well as Covid-19 warriors. (reported by Maulshree Seth)

As against the global average of 6.04, India has one COVID-19 death per lakh population which is one of the lowest in the world, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday, and credited timely detection of cases, extensive contact tracing and effective clinical management for the low mortality rate.

Till date, 14,011 people have died in India due to the viral infection with 312 fatalities reported in 24 hours till Tuesday 8 am, while 14,933 new instances of the disease took the total caseload to 4,40,215.

Citing WHO Situation Report 154 dated June 22, the ministry said the United Kingdom has registered 63.13 coronavirus-related fatalities per lakh population, while in Spain it is 60.60, Italy 57.19, the US 36.30, Germany 27.32, Brazil 23.68 and Russia 5.62.

"In India, early detection of cases, timely testing and surveillance, extensive contact tracing coupled with effective clinical management have helped to check case mortality," the ministry said in a statement.

This is also a testimony to the graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach the Centre along with the states and Union Territories have taken for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19, it said.

"The recovery rate continues to improve and it is 56.38 per cent as on date," the ministry said. (PTI)

A man walks past a wall painted with anti-spitting and maintain cleanliness slogans in the times of coronavirus pandemic in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Following the recommendation of the Health Department of Assam, eleven municipal wards in Guwahati — including large areas like Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, Pandu — will go under lockdown from 9 pm, June 23, as per an order by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. The order comes a day after Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he feared community transmission in Guwahati after more than a hundred cases were found without travel history in the city. As per the order, the list of prohibited activities include the opening of shops, business/commercial establishments, government and private offices, movement of vehicles, among others. The lockdown will be enforced until further orders.

11 wards in Guwahati, comprising large parts of the city, to be under lockdown from 9pm tonight, until further orders. @IndianExpress

— Abhishek Saha (@saha_abhi1990) June 23, 2020

In Puducherry, Covid-19 toll rises to 9 with another death. Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said the UT's total Covid cases rose to 402 with 19 new cases. Active cases are at 228. (PTI)

Two more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the total number of such infections in the state to 46, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.

Both of them had recently returned to South-West Garo Hills from Uttar Pradesh, he said.

"Two persons who came from UP to South West Garo Hills have tested positive. They are under quarantine. Total Cases 46. Total Active cases 8. They came in a private vehicle and under home quarantine," the CM tweeted late on Monday.

At least 37 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the state, which recorded its first coronavirus case on April 13. One person has succumbed to the disease so far. (PTI)

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has written to L-G Anil Baijal regarding the latter's order that everyone who tests positive for Covid-19 will have to spend a minimum of five days in Covid care centres, after which they would be cleared for home quarantine if they meet the criteria.

Deputy CM @msisodia writes to @LtGovDelhi Anil Baijal, says the new policy of making all new Covid patients visit #Covid care centres is creating problems and putting others at risk. Where will ambulances to take 3,000 people to centre come from, he asks. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/ESk6WXcu73

— Mallica Joshi (@mallicajoshi) June 23, 2020

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, during a CWC meeting today, said the government's “mismanagement” of the coronavirus pandemic will be recorded as one of the “most disastrous failures” of the Modi government. She said the economic crisis due to the two-month-long lockdown has only become worse. “The Modi government refuses to listen to good advice,” she added. Read more here

The World Health Organisation has come up with a new public service announcement to remind people to wash their hands, show kindness and maintain physical distance. And this one features global comedy cartoon star Mr Bean. Watch the video:

Starting the final year of post-graduation, the batch was expecting their last year in medical school to be a mix treating a wide variety of presentations while equipping themselves for the challenges of the future. Now they are doing 36-hours of duty nine or ten times a month in the COVID-19 ward, fighting one disease. Traumatised and sleep-deprived, the young doctors are being tested on a daily basis. Read our special Stories of Strength story 

Here are some of the top global coronavirus stories:

• WHO says coronavirus outbreak moving towards a peak: The record levels of new daily COVID-19 cases are due to the fact that the pandemic is peaking in a number of big countries at the same time and reflect a change in the virus’ global activity, the World Health Organization said.
• Beijing sees a rise in cases: The Chinese capital reported 13 additional local coronavirus infections June 22, up from nine the day before, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. The number of cases in the city’s fresh outbreak has now reached 249.
• UK museums, cinemas next in line as UK eases curbs: Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce the latest stage in lifting the coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday in a move expected to give the green light for cinemas and museums in England to open their doors from July 4.
• Tokyo's Disneyland set to reopen: Oriental Land, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, is in the final stages of reopening the parks July 1, the Nikkei reported.
• Trump says tests make US 'look bad': The US President has said coronavirus testing makes the US “look bad” but that they’re the right thing to do, and that he was mostly joking on Saturday when he said at a rally that he had asked his administration to slow down the diagnostics.

For more global news, click here

A day after Saudi Arabia announced that “very limited number” of people will be allowed to perform Haj this year due to the coronavirus, the government on Tuesday decided to refund the application money of pilgrims without any deduction. “We have decided that Haj pilgrims from India will not be sent to Saudi Arabia for Haj 2020. Application money of more than 2.3 lakh pilgrims will be returned without cancellation deductions through direct transfer,” said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Read more here

In keeping with the social distancing norms and other Covid-19 protocol, much has changed at Annapoorna, Coimbatore's iconic chain of restaurants, where many would drop in for a cuppa, ghee roast, and a lot more every day before the lockdown came into effect.

The Agra District Magistrate has issued notice to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi regarding a tweet she made on the death of Covid-19 patients.

Agra DM sents notice to #priyankagandhi for her tweet about death of corona patients in 48 hours. Notice says that the tweet is misleading and creats fear. Asks her to contradict in next 24 hrs. @IndianExpress

— Maulshree Seth (@MaulshreeSeth) June 23, 2020

The Centre and CBSE Tuesday told the Supreme Court it would take a decision on holding examinations by Wednesday evening. It said discussions on the same were at an advanced stage. The apex court was hearing a petition challenging CBSE's decision to hold the remaining Class 10 exams between July 1 and 15. The matter will be taken up for hearing next on June 25.

SC has also asks Centre to take a call on exam conducted by ICSE. ICSE says it will broadly follow CBSE decision. @IndianExpress

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) June 23, 2020

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has restricted repatriation flights being operated by Air India, accusing India of being “unfair”, and engaging in “discriminatory practices”. Air India will now need specific authorisation from the DOT to conduct such flights.

“…Effective 30 days from the service date of this Order, it shall not perform any Third- and/or Fourth-Freedom charter flights unless the Department has granted it specific authority in the form of a statement of authorisation to conduct such charters,” the Department said in an order dated June 22.

What has the US accused India of? What is the reason for this decision? Has the US government conveyed this to the Indian government? All your questions answered

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has restricted repatriation flights being operated by Air India, accusing India of being “unfair”, and engaging in “discriminatory practices”. Air India will now need specific authorisation from the DOT to conduct such flights.

“…Effective 30 days from the service date of this Order, it shall not perform any Third- and/or Fourth-Freedom charter flights unless the Department has granted it specific authority in the form of a statement of authorisation to conduct such charters,” the Department said in an order dated June 22.

What has the US accused India of? What is the reason for this decision? Has the US government conveyed this to the Indian government? All your questions answered

Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown for 20 more days, pointing out the recent surge in the number of fresh cases and fatalities across the country.

“I urge the Prime Minister to notice that the selective seal-down in containment zones has not served its purpose of arresting the pandemic and to impose a further 20 days national lock down. Lets not put economy ahead of peoples' safety,” he wrote on Twitter.

I urge the Prime Minister to notice that the selective seal-down in containment zones has not served its purpose of arresting the pandemic and to impose a further 20 days national lock down. Lets not put economy ahead of peoples' safety.
3/4

— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) June 23, 2020

Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K Shanmugam has written a letter to all district collectors requesting them to be highly vigilant to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Aggressive testing, shifting high risk patients to quarantine centres are some of the things he has mentioned

TN Chief Secretary K Shanmugam has written a letter to all district collectors requesting them to be highly vigilant to control the spread of #COVID19. Aggressive testing, Shifting high risk patients to quarantine centres are some of the things he has mentioned. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/dChuV1oU1z

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) June 23, 2020

There has been a sudden surge in novel Coronavirus cases in Telangana. With the increase in testing, Telangana is likely to emerge as one of the biggest trouble spots in the country in the next few days. Amitabh Sinha explains the numbers

The US administration on Tuesday said it was extending the 60-day ban on immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. Popular work visas including the much-coveted H-1B and H-2B, and certain categories of H-4, J, and L visas shall also remain remain suspended until December 31, the White House said in a press note. Read our explainer on the order, the reason behind the decision and who will be impacted

India Tuesday reported 14,933 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 312 deaths. This takes the country’s Covid-19 tally to 4,40,215, including 1,78,014 active cases, 2,48,190 recoveries and 14,011 deaths. Maharashtra has the most infections (1,35,796). Delhi has overtaken Tamil Nadu to become the second worst-hit state with 62,655 cases against the latter’s 62,087.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest count, 13 experimental vaccines are being tested in humans and more than 120 others are in earlier stages of development even as the infections near nine million, including 468,484 deaths. Read our explainer on the progress of Covid-19 vaccines

The US government has said it will restrict flights from India amid the coronavirus pandemic. Air India has been operating repatriation flights to bring back stranded Indian nationals from that country. The US government, according to a Bloomberg report, accused India of "unfair and discriminatory practices" as US airlines are prohibited from flying to India due to the pandemic.

"The charters go beyond true repatriations, and it appears that Air India may be using repatriation charters as a way of circumventing" that nation's flight restrictions, the US Transportation Department was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend by three months the supply of 5 kilogram of free food grains to members of “priority households” and migrant workers to address what she called “the hunger crisis” faced by some of the most “vulnerable people” in the country.

“Nearly three months since the country went into a strict lockdown, millions of Indians are at risk of slipping into poverty. The adverse impact on livelihoods has led to chronic food insecurity for both our urban and rural poor. In light of the current situation, food entitlements must be expanded to address the hunger crisis facing some of the most vulnerable people in the country,” she wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister.

According to mortality statistics in the UK, fewer deaths were recorded from December 2019 to March 2020, the initial phase of the pandemic, in comparison to the previous five years. This finding has been noted in a study published in the Journal of International Medical Research. Read more here

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend H-1B visas till the end of the year. The order will help Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis. H-1B visas are popular among Indian IT professionals. Other foreign work visas will be suspended as well.

For the second consecutive day, the number of active Covid-19 patients in the state dropped with a surge in the number of people recovering. In the last three days, the number of active cases has dropped from a high of 6,237 on Saturday to 6,152 on Monday. Read More

Ahmedabad saw a trend reversal for the third consecutive day when the number of patients discharged — 401 — exceeded the number of new Covid-19 patients in the district — 314 — even as Gujarat reported a total of 563 new cases on Monday. With this, the total number of cases reported in the state, so far, has neared 28,000. Read More

Maharashtra on Monday recorded 3,721 new Covid-19 cases, taking its overall tally to 1.35 lakh. While 113 deaths were added to the toll, only 62 people had succumbed to the virus in the last 48 hours, health officials said. The state has reported 6,283 deaths so far. Read More

“I am leading the fight against Covid-19, I had to get it no?” Dr Sanjay Oak, chairman of the government-appointed task force for Covid-19 treatment, says on a light note. Oak was hospitalised last week after testing positive. He is now recovering, has been discharged and continues to work for around four hours every day. Read More

The BMC on Monday sealed an entire building on Nepean Sea Road after 21 Covid-19 cases were reported from the society in the last seven days.

Nineteen of the 21 patients were domestic helps, drivers and security staff. “The domestic helps work in different flats in the building and may have spread the infection. The entire building had to be sealed to break the chain,” said Assistant Municipal Commissioner (D Ward) Prashant Gaikwad. Read more

Days after the Ministry of Home Affairs capped charges of RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 at Rs 2,400 in Delhi, several top private labs have stopped home collection of samples. The move could impact the number of RT-PCR tests being performed in the city and add to the hassles of people who don’t want to or are unable to visit collection centres. The test used to earlier cost Rs 4,500.

At present, Delhi carries out 20,247 tests per million population.

On Monday, The Indian Express spoke to several private labs who confirmed they are no longer taking samples from home. “Lifting a sample from a patient’s home requires a separate PPE kit, gown, goggles, mask, gloves, vial transport medium, etc. All this is spent on a single person who is risking his life to attend to a suspected patient, but the rates fixed by the government are not at all cost-effective. We have completely stopped home collection services and are requesting patients to visit the collection centre,” said a private lab owner, who did not wish to be named. Read more here

In a bid to identify more Covid-19 patients and get faster test results, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to tie up with private laboratories that can test samples sent by the civic body. It has also decided to revise the containment zones in the city every week instead of once in 15 days. Read more

Eight cadets at INS Shivaji have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Indian Navy’s training campus located in Lonavala. Now, the district administration and INS Shivaji authorities have decided to test all the 150 cadets in the same batch as the eight cadets. Read more

With three more Covid-19 patients discharged today, Mizoram's total coronavirus tally now rests at 142. The new recoveries have taken the state's recovery graph to twelve, who were discharged from isolation centres, most of them from Zoram Medical College in Aizawl. The Department of Information and Public Relations today said that the three recoveries include two from Aizawl and one from Mamit district.

Sixteen more people were tested positive for Covid-19 in Tripura on Monday. All the new patients have recent travel history while one of them is a driver for other state currently stuck in Tripura.  With these new cases, Tripura's tally now rests at 1,241, out of which 482 are active. So far, 759 coronavirus patients have recovered and were discharged from hospitals and the state has one Covid casualty so far.

Out or 859 samples tested for COVID-19, 1??6?? people found #POSITIVE. 15 persons among them have travel history & 1 is truck driver.

The count includes :

?Khowai Dist: 5
?West Dist: 4
?Sepahijala Dist: 3
?North Dist: 2
?Dhalai Dist: 1
?Unakoti Dist: 1#TripuraCOVID19Count

— Biplab Kumar Deb (@BjpBiplab) June 22, 2020

Telangana health minister has appointed Dr Vimala Thomas, a professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Gandhi Medical College, to helm the newly-conceptualized Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) in Hyderabad. The 1500-bed hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 center in Gachibowli, was expected to start treating patients from the third week of May.

Health minister Eatala Rajender Monday asked health department officials to get TIMS ready in a week. He directed the entire staff to be divided into two batches which will work on alternate weeks, and work in three shifts. He said that the state has a testing capacity of 2290 tests a day, and the same is being increased to handle another 4,310 samples a day, taking the overall capacity to 6,600 samples a day. With inputs from Rahul V Pisharody

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan (GKRA), a scheme to boost livelihood and employment opportunities for migrant workers who have returned to villages from metro cities due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. The scheme for migrant workers’ welfare, however, leaves inter-district migrants completely out of its purview, focussing only on 116 districts across six states which see high inter-state migration.

GKRA is a programme to provide livelihood opportunities to returning migrant workers by employing them under 25 government schemes. The works include laying of gas pipelines, water supply, internet set up, building housing for the rural poor, waste management infrastructure, rural roads and work on Anganwadis, among others, under 12 different Union ministries.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the districts chosen for the scheme are those where more than 25,000 migrant workers have returned in the last few months. These districts are estimated to cover about 66 per cent of such migrant workers. Read more here

Even as the Covid-19 pandemic has set off an unprecedented response among the global scientific community to find a vaccine, the race is set to kick up a notch from next month as three candidates — the ones developed by Moderna Inc, China’s Sinovac Biotech and UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca — are set to enter late-stage trials.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest count, 13 experimental vaccines are being tested in humans and more than 120 others are in earlier stages of development even as the infections near nine million, including 468,484 deaths. China has six candidates undergoing human trials, the maximum.

If all goes well, we may have a vaccine for emergency use by November even though experts have said getting regulatory approval followed by mass production and supply chain issues may push the development into next year. Click here to read our Explainer.

The Supreme Court Monday asked the Odisha government to make necessary arrangements to conduct Puri’s Rath Yatra, scheduled to start from June 23, in a restricted manner in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The apex court also said it cannot “micro-manage” the rituals and left it to the wisdom of state, the Centre and temple management to deal with that issue.

“If it is confined to Puri alone in a limited way without public attendance as proposed by Gajapati Maharaj of Puri, Chairman of the Puri Jagannath Temple administration, state govt will endeavour to make necessary arrangements to conduct it accordingly,” the SC bench said.

The court has directed the Odisha government to maintain a record of persons allowed in Rath Yatra with details of medical conditions after testing. It also said that those engaged in pulling chariot will maintain social distancing before, during and after Rath Yatra. More details here.

Tamil Nadu government Monday announced complete lockdown in Madurai corporation limits, Paravai Town Panchayat, all village Panchayats of Madurai East, Madurai West and Thirupparankundram blocks of Madurai district from June 24 early morning to June 30.

#TN government announces complete lockdown in Madurai corporation limits, Paravai Town Panchayat, all village Panchayats of Madurai East, Madurai West and Thirupparankundram blocks of Madurai district from June 24 early morning to June 30. @IndianExpress

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) June 22, 2020

A 72-year-old general physician succumbed to COVID-19 at state-run Gandhi General Hospital in Hyderabad Sunday evening.

The doctor, a senior member of IMA-Hyderabad, had been running private clinics in the Old City area of Hyderabad, as well as in Khairatabad in the city, for phe last 40 years. He was a medical graduate from the 1966-batch of Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal.

A few days ago, the doctor had complained of high fever and cough. On June 16, he was admitted to a hospital. After testing positive for Covid-19, he was admitted to Gandhi hospital, where he passed away.  "He succumbed to the disease due to multi-organ failure. Considering his age, he had stopped medical practice since the end of March,” said Dr. Saikumar Pagadala, a doctor and a relative of the deceased, over phone.  Rahul V Pisharody