Prabhu Shisharnappa Banshette, 37, offers rides to citizens, including Covid-19 patients, wearing a PPE kit in Pune. (Express Photo: Pavan Khengre)The Centre estimates to receive and utilise 40-50 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine covering 20-25 crore of the country’s population by July next year, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. He added that the government is preparing a format for the states to submit by October-end their list of priority population group to receive the vaccine. He said that priority would be given to health workers engaged in COVID-19 management in getting the vaccine.
All schools in the national capital will remain closed till October 31 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delhi government officials said on Sunday. The Delhi government had earlier extended the school closure till October 5, though the Centre had permitted calling students of classes 9 to 12 to schools on a voluntary basis from September 21. The Centre had, in its announcement for “Unlock 5”, or the fifth phase of easing of Covid restrictions, allowed state and union territory governments to decide on reopening schools, colleges and other educational institutions in a graded manner after October 15.
With 75,829 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India on Sunday crossed the 65 lakh-mark. As many as 940 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the toll to 1,01,782. Of the 65,49,374 cases, 9,37,625 are active, while 55,09,967 patients have been discharged. Only the United States, where over 2.12 lakh people have died and Brazil, where about 1.45 lakh have succumbed, are ahead of India. Globally, over 34 million people have been infected while more than one million have succumbed to the virus.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) second round of survey covered 5,384 people in three wards – Matunga (F North), Dahisar (R North) and Chembur (M West). (File)
Punjab reported 857 new cases of Covid infections in a day on Sunday, less than 1,000-mark after around two months when 988 cases were reported on August 10, the day after the fresh cases started to show a spike reaching peak of 2,896 cases on September 17. Read More
The recovery rate of coronavirus positive patients in Haryana continues to be more than the new cases of infections across the state. In the last 24 hours, while 1,302 new cases of coronavirus infections were reported, 2,083 patients recovered. While the recovery rate of Covid positive patients in Haryana reached 89.89 per cent, the Covid positive rate came down to 6.64 per cent and Covid case doubling rate reached 32 days. Read More
The UT on Sunday reported 85 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths, taking the total tally to 12,445.
The total number of deaths due to the disease is now 174 and the number of active cases is 1,673. As many as 202 people were also discharged from various facilities.
An 87-year-old woman, a resident of Sector 19, a case of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, tested positive and expired at GMCH-32, on October 3. A 67-year-old man, a resident of Manimajra, a case of coronary artery disease and SARI, tested positive and passed away at GMCH-32, on September 3. Read More
Aiman Siddiqui, a 26-year-old resident of Ankleshwar in Bharuch district, had never imagined that the joy of being a first-time mother would turn into a long fight for life.
Aiman, who delivered a baby girl in February — days before the Covid-19 outbreak in India — was at a hospital from August until October 1. She battled Covid-19 and a ruptured artery of the heart due to a rare pre-existing condition, Marfan syndrome. Read More
A rally car driver succumbed to Covid-19 in Rajkot after he ran out of medical oxygen supply on Sunday Gujarat reported nine deaths and 1,302 fresh cases, taking the state tally to 1,42,981 and toll to 3,524. Read More
s to COVID-19 Visakhapatnam, Oct 4 (PTI): YSR Congress leader and former MLA Dronamraju Srinivas succumbed to COVID-19 here on Sunday. He was 59 and survived by his wife, son and daughter. Srinivas got infected with coronavirus a month ago and was shifted to a corporate hospital for treatment after the initial home isolation period, YSRC sources said. --PTI
A total of 206 new Covid-19 cases, 124 recoveries & 3 deaths reported in Manipur today. Total positive cases now at 11,855, including 2,576 active cases, 9,205 recoveries & 74 deaths till date. Recovery rate is 77.64 %, said Govt of Manipur.
Tamil Nadu reported 5,489 new Covid-19 cases, 5,558 recoveries & 66 deaths today, taking total positive cases to 6,19,996, including 5,64,092 discharged cases, 9,784 deaths & 46,120 active cases, said the State Health Department.
In a novel way to pep up the spirits of COVID-19 infected prisoners, the Amphalla district jail here organised a musical concert with trained inmates performing live for their fellow mates. The 40-minute programme on Saturday saw a group of trained prisoners, including two women, performing live amid adequate preventive measures to check the spread of the infection. "Music is a great healer and we have started the concert on humanitarian grounds to uplift the morale of the inmates who were recently tested positive for the viral disease and isolated in separate blocks," District Jail Superintendent Mirza Saleem Ahmad Beig told PTI. More such concerts will be organised for the COVID-19 positive prisoners to lift their spirits, officials said. --PTI
The Centre estimates to receive and utilise 40-50 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine covering 20-25 crore of the country's population by July next year, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. He added that the government is preparing a format for the states to submit by October-end their list of priority population group to receive the vaccine. He said that priority would be given to health workers engaged in COVID-19 management in getting the vaccine.
For the first time, the annual conference of the country's top police brass will be held virtually next month amid pandemic situation, officials said Sunday. About 250 officers of DGP and IGP ranks from all states, Union Territories and central government will take part in the two-day meeting which is to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval among others, PTI reported.
The number of new detections of coronavirus infections in India fell further down on Saturday. Less than 76,000 people were found positive on Saturday, about three thousand less than the number on Friday, which itself was the lowest in a month that had not been caused by low testing
The last few days have thrown up very interesting numbers, for which no good explanation seems to be available right now. The new detections have dropped off significantly, but not because of any significant reduction in testing numbers. The number of samples being tested across the country is roughly the same as second and third week of September, when more than 90,000 cases were getting reported every day. And yet, in the last one week, less than 80,000 new cases have been discovered every day on an average.
That would seem like a very welcome development, but it is not clear what exactly is powering this decline. People’s movement and interactions would only have increased, not gone down, during this time. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that adoption of face masks and adherence to physical distancing measures are far from being universal. And the disease prevalence in the community, as measured by the sero-survey results, do not indicate to have reached levels from where the epidemic would be expected to begin its decline.
Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board (PKVIB) plans to honour doctors who are at forefront of the war against Covid-19.
The announcement was made by the PKVIB chairperson, Mamta Dutta, on Friday at a function to commemorate the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi.
“Doctors have led this battle from the front by taking enormous risks to their own lives. Doctors, especially who work for charitable hospitals which are not financially supported by either government budgets or big corporate houses, would also be honoured,” said Dutta.
New policies should be more targeted than current large-scale social restrictions as Indonesia seeks to combat the coronavirus without further impacting the economy, President Joko Widodo said. Southeast Asia’s largest economy is poised to report first annual gross domestic product contraction since 1998. At the same time, Covid-19 cases have risen to about 4,000 cases a day.
A very small, limited number of people donning the white terrycloth garment symbolic of the Muslim pilgrimage circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday after Saudi Arabia lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place for months. The kingdom had taken the rare step of suspending the smaller "umrah" pilgrimage that draws millions year-round from across the world in early March as the coronavirus morphed into a global pandemic and prompted countries to impose lockdowns and curfews to slow down transmission. But as nations begin to ease those restrictions, the Saudi government on Sunday started allowing a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims a day to enter the sprawling Grand Mosque in Mecca. Only Saudi citizens and residents will be permitted to enter the mosque during this first phase of reopening, and each person has up to three hours to complete the pilgrimage.
All schools in Delhi will remain shut till October 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Center had, in its announcement for "Unlock 5", or the fifth phase of easing of COVID restrictions, allowed state and union territory governments to decide on reopening schools, colleges, and other educational institutions in a graded manner after October 15.
Sri Lanka on Sunday imposed an indefinite curfew on two western provincial towns to contain the spread of the coronavirus following the detection of a community case after a gap of nearly six months, officials said. The island nation has so far recorded 3,395 coronavirus cases and 13 fatalities due to the disease. An indefinite curfew has been imposed on Divulapitiya and Minwangoda towns in the suburbs of Colombo after a COVID-19 positive patient was detected on Sunday, Army Commander and COVID-19 prevention task force head Shavendra Silva said. He said a female from Divulapitiya who works in an apparel factory was found positive for coronavirus after she was admitted to a hospital in Gampaha for fever. Nearly 50 people from her workplace and the hospital have been sent for home quarantine after she was detected positive for COVID-19.
Biju Janata Dal MLA Pradeep Maharathy died at a private hospital in the early hours of Sunday, family sources said. He was 65. The seven-time MLA from Pipili in Puri district is survived by wife Prativa, son Rudra Pratap and daughter Pallavi.
Maharathy, who had tested positive for COVID-19 on September 14, was discharged from the hospital after recovery but was admitted again as his condition became critical. He was on ventilator support since Friday.
British Prime Minister Johnson’s government will try to look beyond the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, and honour Conservative Party election commitments in its agenda for the next year, Johnson’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
Since winning power with an election campaign built on a promise to get Brexit finished and start fixing regional imbalances and ageing infrastructure, Johnson’s leadership has been forced to take a different course by the COVID-19 outbreak.
His efforts to control the spread of the virus have been widely criticised, and the deal on trade with the European Union he hoped to secure easily is now in serious doubt. Both have caused public confidence in his leadership to fall.
Aide Nick Luna, who serves as personal attendant to President Donald Trump, has tested positive to coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter. Luna, who runs Oval Office operations, joined Trump on his trip to Cleveland for the presidential debate on Tuesday and was also on the Minnesota flight where adviser Hope Hicks first started experiencing symptoms. (Bloomberg)
The preliminary data of the Sero Survey conducted by PGIMER, to detect the prevalence of Covid-19 in Chandigarh, has shown that 7.6 per cent of the tested samples had antibodies against the virus. Briefing about the Sero Survey, PGIMER Director Professor Jagat Ram said, “We are at a very preliminary stage of the study which is aimed at identifying the sero prevalence of Covid-19 at the community level and monitoring the transmission trends. It is too premature to say anything conclusively. The study is ongoing to collate more evidence to reach a definite result on the subject.”
Professor Mini P Singh of the institution’s Department of Virology, who is spearheading the study, shared, “PGIMER’s Department of Virology conducted the test on 80 Covid-19 recovered patients, comprising participants who had donated plasma and also the healthcare workers of the institute. Out of the 80 tested, 66 which is 82.5 per cent were found to have IgG antibodies, meaning thereby, that they developed antibodies post their recovery from Covid-19.”
Jharkhand’s Minority Welfare Minister Haji Hussain Ansari died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday at a private hospital in Ranchi. Ansari had earlier tested positive for Covid-19 and had been admitted to hospital 10 days ago. However, a hospital spokesperson said Ansari tested negative for the virus on Friday.
A person known to the minister, who was at the hospital, told The Sunday Express, “He died on Saturday at 4 pm. He spoke to us on Friday after he tested negative (for the virus) and it seemed that he would soon recover. We are deeply saddened by his death.” Sources said Ansari had recently undergone heart surgery.
With 75,829 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India on Sunday crossed the 65 lakh-mark. As many as 940 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the toll to 1,01,782. Of the 65,49,374 cases, 9,37,625 are active, while 55,09,967 patients have been discharged.
With Covid-19 cases continuing to spike across Kerala, prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 have been clamped across the state.
The ban on assembly of more than five persons will continue till the end of this month. In some districts, gazetted officers from various government departments, other than revenue, police, health and local self-government departments which are already in the Covid-19 battle, have been appointed as executive magistrates after invoking the disaster management act.
Although prohibitory orders have been declared across Kerala, there is no ban on mobility of people or functioning of offices and trade centres
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will depart for Japan on Sunday but will not go to Mongolia and South Korea as originally planned, the State Department said on Saturday, after President Donald Trump was diagnosed and hospitalized due to the coronavirus. Initially, Pompeo planned to visit all three countries between Oct. 4 and Oct 8. He is still set to leave for Tokyo on Sunday but will be returning to Washington on Oct. 6 after consultations with his Japanese counterparts and attending a wider meeting with foreign ministers of India and Australia.
President Donald Trump, who was admitted to a military hospital for treatment of COVID-19, said he has started to "feel much better" and thanked the American people and global leaders for their support. “I came here. Wasn't feeling so well. I feel much better now. We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a video message from the military hospital in a suburb of Washington on Saturday. However, White House physician Sean Conley has said the president is "not yet out of the woods". “While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic,” Dr Conley said, adding that the plan for Sunday is to continue observation in between doses of Remdesivir, closely monitoring his clinical status while fully supporting his conduct of presidential duties.
India on Saturday said a decision to re-open the Kartarpur corridor would be taken in accordance with the protocols relating COVID-19 and easing of restrictions. The comments by spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava came in the wake of Pakistan's proposal to reopen the corridor which was shut in March in view of the coronavirus pandemic. In November last year, the two countries threw open the corridor linking Dera Baba Sahib in Gurdaspur in India and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, in a historic people-to-people initiative. 'As you are aware, movement was suspended in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. We remain in touch with all concerned authorities including ministries of home affairs and health and family welfare,' Srivastava said, responding to a media query on the issue. (PTI)
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Saturday said domestic passenger traffic could reach the pre-COVID level by the end of current year. He said the daily domestic traffic has reached 1.76 lakh passengers from 30,000 passengers when the civil aviation operations resumed on May 25 following a two-month gap due to the pandemic. (PTI)
Uttarakhand reports 503 new Covid-19 cases taking the total number of cases to 50,062, said State Control Room COVID-19.
In a huge relief for passengers ahead of the festive season, the Railways has allowed the sale of cooked food at its catering and vending units on stations for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak but said the food plazas, Jan Ahars, cell kitchens and refreshment rooms will open only for takeaways. These units were earlier allowed to sell only packaged food. Read more
The Maharashtra Government on Saturday issued COVID-19 safety guidelines for restaurants and other eateries which have been allowed to reopen from October 5. Hotels, food courts and restaurants can operate from Monday at 50 per cent of their seating capacity. As per the guidelines, customers should be screened at the entry point for coronavirus symptoms such as high temperature, cough, and cold. Only asymptomatic customers will be allowed inside. Click for full guidelines
Chandigarh reports 148 new Covid-19 cases.
Kerala recorded 7,834 cases from 54,563 samples tested in last 24 hours.
There is growing hope that a vaccine against coronavirus may be given the green light by health regulators by the end of this year to be rolled out for a vaccination programme in six months' time or even less, according to a UK media report.
The vaccine candidate under trial by University of Oxford scientists in collaboration with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is the furthest in the process of trials and, according to a report in 'The Times', it could be given the required clearances by Christmas in December.
The newspaper quoted UK government sources involved in the making and distribution of vaccines as saying that a full vaccine roll-out programme for adults could take six months or less after approval. (PTI)
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan donated blood plasma at SCB Medical College & Hospital in Cuttack on Saturday, for COVID-19 patients.
Jharkhand’s Minority Welfare Minister Haji Hussain Ansari died while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 on Saturday, news agency PTI reported.
A total of 3,665 new cases of Covid-19 & 4,860 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours. There are total 47,823 active cases, while 3,56,826 have recovered. The recovery rate stands at 86.89%. The death toll stands at 5,977 now, said Uttar Pradesh Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad.
In a relief to individual borrowers and medium and small industries, the Centre has agreed in the Supreme Court to waive compound interest (interest on interest) charged on loans of up to Rs 2 crores for a six-month moratorium period announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It said the government will seek due authorisation from parliament for making appropriate grants in this regard and “the endeavour shall be over and above the support of Rs 3.7 lakh crore to MSMEs, Rs 70,000 crore for home loans etc. already extended through the Garib Kalyan and Aatma Nirbhar packages announced by government earlier”. Read more here
Two US Senators, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, his campaign manager and three White House journalists have tested positive for COVID-19, joining several officials working at the presidential palace to have contracted the infection.
Trump, 74, and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. The president is receiving treatment at the Walter Reed Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington DC. Melania has stayed back at the White House.
Hours later, Republican Senators Thom Tillis from North Carolina, and Mike Lee from Utah confirmed they have been tested positive for coronavirus. "Over the last few months, I've been routinely tested for COVID-19, including testing negative last Saturday, but tonight my rapid antigen test came back positive," Tillis said in a statement on Friday night.
With Kerala witnessing massive surge in COVID-19 cases, prohibitory orders came into force across the state on Saturday morning as per which not more than five people can assemble at any place, including banks, shops and commercial establishments.
There is no restriction on movement of public transport and government institutions, commercial establishments, industries, hospitals can function adhering to social distancing and break the chain protocols.
While in Idukki, only town areas, including the tourist hotspot of Munnar, Adimali and Vandiperiyar, the CrPC 144 order will come into force, in Kasaragod district, the order would be implemented till October 9. In the remaining12 districts, the prohibitory orders would be in place till the month end.
US President Donald Trump, who was flown to a military hospital near Washington for treatment of Covid-19 on Friday, is undergoing Remdesivir therapy and so far does not require oxygen support, according to a statement from White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. What is Remdesivir? Where is the drug being produced and the various clinical trials it is under currently? We explain.
It is an anti-viral drug that prevents further replication of virus and works best in mildly ill patients and in early stages of hospitalisation. Trump reportedly has “mild symptoms”. Based on advice from specialists of Johns Hopkins and Walter Reed Hospital, he has been administered the first dose of Remdesivir.
The mechanism of novel coronavirus to duplicate is based on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) enzyme. This enzyme helps the RNA in the virus to replicate in a human cell and eventually spread itself. When Remdesivir is injected intravenously, it inhibits this enzyme — in simple terms it makes the enzyme incapable of replicating the coronavirus.
India continues to occupy the top global position with the maximum number of COVID-19 recoveries and accounts for 21 per cent of the recovered cases worldwide, while its share in the total cases stands at 18.6 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. India has also maintained its global position with one of the lowest COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFR) when compared to several other countries. While the global CFR stands at 2.97 per cent as on date, the comparative figure for India is 1.56 per cent, it said.
"The deaths per million population in India is one of the lowest in the world. While the global average is 130 deaths per million population, India is reporting 73 deaths per million population," the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 54,27,706, with 75,628 recovering in a span of 24 hours, pushing the national recovery rate to 83.84 per cent, according to the ministry data updated at 8 am on Saturday.
President Donald Trump has been given remdesivir, after which he is “resting comfortably”, the White House said on Saturday.
There has been a global debate over the efficacy of remdesivir in treating Covid-19 patients. How does the drug act — or is meant to act — against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2?
Remdesivir is designed to obstruct the stage of replication — the stage when the virus creates copies of itself, followed endlessly by the copies creating copies of themselves.
India maintains top global ranking with maximum recoveries of 54,27,706, accounting for 21 per cent of the global recovered cases. India has also maintained its global position with one of the lowest case fatality rates (CFR) of 1.56 per cent when compared to global CFT of 2.97%: Health Ministry
The daily detection of new coronavirus positive cases dropped below 80,000 on Friday, only the fourth time this has happened in the last one month. But on earlier occasions this drop had come on a Monday, and was attributable to the low test numbers on a Sunday. Friday’s count of about 79,000 new cases is thus the lowest since September 1 that is not a direct result of reduced testing the previous day.
One of the reasons for India’s relative low coronavirus numbers in the last few days has been the decline in Maharashtra. There has been a significant reduction in the number of cases being reported by Maharashtra compared to two weeks ago when it had been reporting over 22,000 cases daily. It has come down to a level of 15,000 to 18,000, and that is getting reflected in the daily national count as well. Importantly, it has kept India’s number well under the peak of about 98,000 cases that was achieved in the second week of September.
Life came crashing down for 51- year-old Biju Pushkaran, the head clown of India's famous Rambo Circus, along with its over 100 artistes when the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed in March this year, forcing the circus to fold its tent. But after six months of despondency, smile returned on the faces of these artistes as the circus went online and presented a virtual show for the first time on September 25.
The crew members say that they felt hopeless and dejected during the lockdown, but this virtual way of presenting the show through pre-recorded videos has given a new lease of life to the circus. The artistes, especially the clowns, say that although they are happy to be back in the game, they are missing the fun of the live shows like getting hugs from children and selfies with them.
Overwhelmed by the response to this special fundraising show 'Life Is A Circus', organised in association with LaQshya Live Experiences and Production Crew Entertainment, the circus is now planning to hold more such shows in the near future. "After the lockdown was imposed, we thought it was a temporary phase, but as the severity of the pandemic increased so as the lockdowns, our artistes stranded at Airoli in Navi Mumbai, started feeling the pinch in terms of food and income," said Pushkaran. (PTI)
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19, and the White House said he was given an experimental treatment designed to combat the virus as well as a small array of treatments including aspirin and Vitamin D.
Trump, 74, has a slight fever, a source said, and is being taken to Walter Reed military hospital for several days as a precaution. Trump’s gender, age and weight make him more vulnerable to developing severe COVID-19, and give him a notional risk of around 4% of dying from it, health experts said.
What is the experimental treatment Donald Trump is taking?
One of the most anticipated classes of experimental COVID-19 drugs is monoclonal antibodies: manufactured copies of human antibodies to the virus. The injected antibodies are designed to begin fighting the virus immediately and are being developed to prevent and treat COVID-19.
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and several other politicians have wished President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania a quick recovery from the novel coronavirus. Trump, 74, and Melania, 50, were tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. "Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden tweeted on Friday.
Former US president Barack Obama also wished the couple a speedy recovery. "Michelle and I hope that the President, First Lady, and all those affected by the coronavirus around the country are getting the care they need and are on the path to a speedy recovery," he said.
The coronavirus has so far infected 7,332,019 people and claimed 208,693 lives in the US -- both the numbers highest in the world.
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,858 on Saturday as 10 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. Five new patients have travel history, while five fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.
Eight more people were cured of the disease, the official said. The Union territory now has 174 active coronavirus cases, while 3,631 people have been cured of the disease and 53 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, he said. The administration had till Friday sent 59,676 samples for COVID-19 tests, of which 43 reports were awaited, the official added.
In a corner of his cramped office, amidst piles of steel sheets, Ajay Gupta is in a discussion with his staff on ways to jack up oxygen production.
Until August, the Air Suppression Unit (ASU) at Gupta’s factory in Bhopal would run for about 10 hours a day, using atmospheric air to make oxygen amounting to 325 cylinders, of which about 250 would be supplied to steel and other industries in Bhopal. The rest he would use at his factory for the cutting and welding of steel sheets.
But, on September 17, the state government directed Gupta and the 10 other ASU owners in Madhya Pradesh to increase capacity and supply 90 per cent of their oxygen to hospitals.
India's COVID19 related deaths cross 1 lakh mark with 1,069 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Also, with India reporting 79,476 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am, the tally reached 64,73,545 including 9,44,996 active cases and 54,27,707 recoveries.
With the UP government allowing programmes in the open outside containment zones in the next phase of coronavirus lockdown, decks have been cleared for holding Durga Puja and other religious events in the upcoming festival season. Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said the district administrations will permit such programmes with necessary availability of face masks, thermal scanners, hand sanitisers and social distancing. The new guidelines will come into effect from October 15 while the festival season will kiCk off with Navratras from October 17. The new guidelines have been issued under which the lockdown will be effective only in containment zones, which have been converted into micro containment areas, he said. Sehgal said in closed halls, permission will be given with 50 per cent capacity but a maximum of 200 people. Earlier this week, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said all precautions must be taken during upcoming festivals in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kerala government on Friday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in eight of its districts as the state recorded its highest single day spike of 9,258 Covid cases. The orders will be in effect starting Saturday, 9 am onwards. Not more than five people will be allowed to gather at a time. The infection count touched 2,12,499 today while the death toll rose to 791 with 20 new fatalities. The state has the third highest number of active cases at 77482.
The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Bihar increased to 92.82 per cent on Friday, while 1431 fresh cases took the tally of positive cases to 1,85,706 in the state, health department bulletin said. Bihar reported four fresh casualties from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from COVID to 910. Maintaining the momentum of higher number of tests for the virus, the state examined a total of 1,20,128 samples in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. Over 75.06 lakh samples have been tested across Bihar so far, the bulletin added. The recovery rate of COVID patients in Bihar has been more than 92 per cent for the past one week. A total of 1497 people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 1,72,364, the bulletin said. The state has 12,432 active cases of coronavirus at present.
Many scientists and health experts do, in fact, believe that deaths in India might be somewhat under-reported, but no one is quite sure to what extent. The daily reporting of deaths remained steady between 1,000 and 1,200 in September. For most of the month, 80,000-90,000 new cases were reported every day. Any surge in cases is usually reflected in death numbers after a gap of about two weeks.
Deaths per million population are still less in India – nearly half the world average. Only about 72 deaths per million population have occurred in the country so far; globally this number is 131. This has led to questions about the authenticity of India’s death numbers. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump, in an effort to defend his own government’s record in minimising loss of lives, suggested that India was under-reporting deaths.
India’s coronavirus-related deaths crossed the 1 lakh mark on Friday, three days after the global toll touched 1 million. This means India now accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the world’s Covid-19 deaths.
Only the United States and Brazil have had more deaths. More than 2.12 lakh people have died in the US, and about 1.45 lakh in Brazil.
India has of late been contributing between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of global deaths daily. Between 4,000 and 6,000 people have been dying every day; and India has been reporting more than 1,000 daily deaths for over a month now. This is not surprising given that India has been discovering far more cases than any other country.
Welcome to our Coronavirus LIVE blog. India has over 6.3 million Covid cases while the death toll has crossed the 1 lakh mark. Globally, over 34 million people have been infected while more than one million have succumbed to the virus. Follow to get latest updates here