Coronavirus highlights: Trials of HCQ for treatment to resume, says WHO

At least 500 doctors have been infected with Covid-19 across Maharashtra, data gathered by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has revealed. Officials said the actual count may be higher, since they only managed to keep a tab on cases reported by IMA members in Maharashtra.

The most infected are the resident doctors working in government hospitals. In Mumbai, while Sion hospital has 70 infected resident doctors, KEM hospital has 40 and Nair hospital has 35, according to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors. Read more here

Almost three months after it suspended visas granted to foreigners, the central government has finally allowed arrival of foreigners for purposes of business, healthcare, engineering and technical works. It has said they would be allowed to fly into India on non-scheduled chartered flights.

In an order issued on Monday, MHA said, “Foreign businessmen coming to India on a Business visa (other than on B-3 visa for sports) in non-scheduled commercial/ chartered flights would be permitted.”

The ministry said certain other category of foreigners who could avail of this relaxation included “foreign healthcare professionals, health researchers, engineers and technicians for technical work at Indian health sector facilities, including laboratories and factories”.

Over 150 people tested positive with COVID-19 in Tripura on Wednesday. In a late evening Tweet, Chief Minister Debraj Deb said, "Out of 728 samples tested today, 102 people found COVID-19 #POSITIVE. Most of them have travel history and contact's. #TripuraCOVID19Count".

With these cases, Tripura now has 622 cases, out of which 173 patients have recovered. Rest 449 active COVID-19 patients are under treatment at GB Panth Hospital at Agartala and few COVID care centers set up near it.

According to latest reports, out of 35,254 people placed under surveillance for coronavirus, 21,480 completed their 14 days observation period and were discharged from hospital. 507 others are still housed in different quarantine centers and 13,267 are under home quarantine.

Debraj Deb reports from Agartala

In the last two days, 16 sailors of the Indian Navy have tested positive for Covid-19 at the naval base in Porbandar of Gujarat, official sources said on Wednesday.

The infected sailors are being shifted to the military hospital in Jamnagar where a Covid-facility has been created for defence personnel. "Eight of the nine sailors who were tested for Covid-19 reported positive on Wednesday. This is in addition to eight others who tested positive on June 2 at the same naval base in Porbandar," an official told The Indian Express. Read more here

Arunachal Pradesh reported 9 new cases on Wednesday taking the state's active cases count to 38. However, at least 27 of those who have tested positive are asymptomatic.

Assam’s COVID-19 tally went up to 1830 as 269 cases were reported on Wednesday. These cases are spread across different districts of the state. The surge in cases has been reported following a large number of people returning to the state after the relaxation on inter-state movement on May 4. The state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that 76 people recovered and discharged today. The state currently has 1410 active cases.

WITH 122 deaths on Wednesday, Maharashtra’s toll due to Covid-19 rose to 2,587, while an addition of 2,560 new cases took the total number of positive cases to 74,860. Mumbai, with 1,276 new cases, touched a total of 43,492 positive cases. There are 39,935 active Covid-19 cases in the state, of which 24,597 are from Mumbai alone. Read more here

The Delhi government on Wednesday reduced the 14 days mandatory home quarantine period to seven days for all asymptomatic travellers arriving in the national capital.

In an order, the government also instructed all district magistrates to keep a watch on the implementation of the norm. The airport, railway and transport departments will submit passenger manifests to the office of the principal secretary of revenue department on daily basis, said the order by Delhi Chief secretary and chairman of executive committee of Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) Vijay Dev.

"All asymptomatic passengers who enter/deboard in NCT of Delhi shall home quarantine themselves for 7 days (in place of 14 days of self monitoring of health...)," said the order, which came on a day Delhi recorded 1,513 fresh coronavirus cases, highest single-day spike.

The World Health Organisation Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tody said that the organisation continues to work through regional and country offices to monitor the COVID19 pandemic. Addressing a presser, the WHO chief said that the Executive Group endorsed continuation of all arms of the Solidarity Trial, including hydroxychloroquine.

Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/aWTcs3Tpp4

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 3, 2020

GOA recorded its highest number of positive cases in a single day on Wednesday with the state government shifting 47 patients to the Covid Hospital at Margao, south Goa. Of the 47, 42 are residents from the containment zone at densely populated Mangor hills, Vasco. The rest include two who traveled by road from Maharashtra, another two passengers from Dubai who had traveled in the first Vande Bharat flight that arrived in Goa early hours of Wednesday. One passenger from a Hyderabad flight also tested positive, confirmed the daily bulletin by Directorate of Health Services.

With Mangor hills declared a containment zone, the residents of the cluster were being supplied essentials on price through government channels. The Chief Minister also confirmed the three access routes to the cluster were heavily policed with arrangements made to ensure no one leaves the cluster till they are tested.

In the last two days 553 swabs have been collected in this containment zone itself, with 353 collected on Wedneday. The Health officials are relying on interviews and symptoms and also perimeter distance on collecting swabs.

On June 3, Goa has recorded 126 Covid cases with a total of 69 active cases. 57 have recovered so far. Out of the 2418 samples sent, 1230 are negative with reports for 1141 awaited. 391 people continue to be home quarantined.

Delhi reported a surge in cases on Wednesday. The latest update shows a rise of 1513 cases today and 50 more deaths.

#JUSTIN 1513 cases of #COVID19 reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours. The govt has updated 50 more deaths with nine reported in one day. The death toll in Delhi is 606 while the total number of cases have reached 23645@IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/kILSYtMMQw

— Astha Saxena (@Asthasaxena88) June 3, 2020

Manipur reported six more COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday evening, taking the total number for the day to 19. Earlier in the morning 13, positive cases were reported. Adding up the latest figure, the total number of positive cases in the state has reached 108, with 70 active cases.

As many as 12 COVID-19 patients hospitalised at JNIMS were also discharged on Wednesday after testing negative. The total of recovered has increased to 38 with 35.18 per cent recovery rate.

Manipur government has increased the testing capacity of samples for COVID-19 to 1400 per day. So far, the labs at JNIMS and RIMS have tested 11,653 samples.

Total number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday rose to 25,872.

#TN reports 1,286 #Covid_19 cases today, taking the total cases to 25,872. For the first time, more than 1,000 cases reported in Chennai today; so far the city has reported 17,598 cases. | Discharges today - 610| |Deaths - 11| @IndianExpress

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) June 3, 2020

For the first time since the nation-wide lockdown was announced in March, the government has allowed foreign businessmen, healthcare professionals and engineers to visit India but they will have to obtain fresh visas. In an order, the Home Ministry said the foreign nationals, holding a valid long-term multiple-entry business visa, would also have to get their travel documents re-validated from the Indian missions.

Those who are allowed to visit India are: foreign businessmen coming to India on a business visa (other than on B-3 visa for sports) in non-scheduled commercial and chartered flights.

*Foreign healthcare professionals, health researchers, engineers and technicians who wish to come for technical work at Indian health sector facilities, including laboratories and factories.

*This is subject to a letter of invitation from a recognised and registered healthcare facility, registered pharmaceutical company or accredited university in India.

*Foreign engineering, managerial, design or other specialists who wish to travel to India on behalf of foreign business entities located in India.

Karnataka COVID19 tally crossed 4000-mark with 267 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Total: 4063. Deaths: 53. Discharges: 1514 (June 3). Over 3000 cases reported since May 15.

Karnataka reported 267 new #COVID19 cases on Wednesday. With this, the total number of positive persons in the state has gone up to 4,063. It includes 53 deaths and 1,514 discharges. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/CgbDma8RuO

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) June 3, 2020

Traders in Noida’s Sector 18 market opened their shops after over two months, following the relaxation in lockdown guidelines as well as in curfew timings for citizens. With overhead costs increasing by the day, traders are hopeful that sales will pick up over the next few weeks as people begin stepping out.

“Customers usually shop if they are around the market for lunch or dinner. If restaurants are not opened, we won’t have footfall,” says Shalabh Gautam, managing a shop selling opticalware. Gautam says most of his customers are buying only what is essential, that too on an order basis. “In my shop, the sale of sunglasses have gone down at least 75 per cent since all the orders have been for spectacles.” 

The Ministry of railways on Wednesday said that the operation of Shramik trains from Delhi ended as no new demand emerged from the Delhi government. A total of 242 trains originated from railway stations in Delhi since May 1; 101 went to Uttar Pradesh, 111 trains terminated in Bihar.

Last three Shramik trains from Delhi operated on May 31; Anand Vihar to Purnia, Anand Vihar toBhagalpur, H. Nizamuddin to Mahoba, said the ministry of railways. 

*India reported 8,908 covid-19 cases in last 24 hours taking the tally to 2,07,614 on Wednesday. The numbers include 5,815 deaths and 1,00,302 recovery.

*For the first time in two months, the growth rate of infections in Maharashtra declined. And because the state accounts for more than a third of the national caseload in the country, this has slowed down the national growth rate as well. ( Can cut and make two-points)

*Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Nivedita Gupta has said that the country is still “very far away from the peak”.

*India is currently on the 7th spot on the global list of countries worst-hit by Covid-19.

*Globally, over 6,378,239 cases have been reported, while 3,80,250 people have succumbed to the infection.

*The United States continues to be the worst-affected nation with 1,831,821 cases and 1,06,180 deaths.

*Italy has opened its borders for tourists within Europe in an attempt to revive its flailing tourism sector.

*With over 233,515 recorded COVID-positive cases and 33,530 deaths, Italy is the third worst-hit European nation after the UK and Spain.

*A record 1,262 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded in Brazil - taking the country’s total death toll to 31,199 - but the president continues to downplay the pandemic. 

The number of coronavirus cases in the state surged to 8,361 byTuesday evening, with an addition of 296 cases in the past 24 hours. For the second consecutive day, Noida recorded the highest number of cases in UP at 27, taking the number of active cases there to 194 — the highest in the state. Most of the  news cases reported are  by are inter-state migrants coming back from Delhi, Mumbai, Surat.

Tripura crossed 500 mark of coronavirus patients on Wednesday as forty-nine more people tested positive.  Most of them had recent travel history or they were in close contact with those affected by the virus earlier. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb Tweeted about the new cases and wrote, "Out of 821 samples tested today, 49 people found COVID-19 #POSITIVE. Most of them have travel history and contact's. #TripuraCOVID19Count". Tripura now has 521 cumulative coronavirus patients, out of which 173 have 'recovered' and were discharged from hospital.

Visited a village quarantine center at Nabincherra village under Pencharthal RD Block.

Interacted with local officials and HealthCare staffs.

Instructed them to provide all facilities. pic.twitter.com/rudakrw0SG

— Biplab Kumar Deb (@BjpBiplab) June 3, 2020

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday imposed Rs 10,000 as cost on a runaway couple for not wearing masks at the time of the marriage ceremony. The couple from Punjab had married against the wishes of their families and approached the High Court for protection against the threats to separate them.

While directing the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Gurdaspur, take appropriate remedial measures regarding their threat perception and ordering the officer to pass a necessary order to ensure that no harm is caused to their life and liberty, the court also took note of the photographs attached with the petition which showed the couple and other attending persons were not wearing masks at the time of marriage ceremony. The masks are otherwise mandatory in Punjab in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here

A homoeopathic drug, Arsenicum album 30, has become a subject of debate after several states recommended it for prophylactic (preventive) use against Covid-19. This was after the Ministry of AYUSH listed the drug among “preventive and prophylactic simple remedies” against Covid-19. The debate stems from the fact that there is no scientific evidence that the drug works against Covid-19, a fact stressed not only by medical scientists but also by some homoeopathic practitioners themselves.

Arsenicum album 30 has been recommended by the state governments in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. While the Maharashtra government is yet to take a formal decision, Mumbai civic authorities have been distributing the drug to high-risk populations in at least two wards. The Haryana prisons department and Mumbai police too are also distributing the drug to prisoners and officers respectively.

As states began phased reopening of most activities on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government has passed an order to test 290 people every day in each district to track prevalence of infection in the community.

From construction workers to agricultural labourers, and vegetable vendors to shopkeepers, there are 15 categories of people who will be tested every day in each district as part of the sentinel surveillance, the state Health Medical and Family Welfare Department has ordered.

The Rajasthan government Tuesday imposed a surcharge of up to Rs 30 on Liquor to mop up the revenue amid the coronavirus crisis.The state finance department said the decision has been taken to mitigate natural or man-made calamities like floods, epidemic etc

Similarly, the surcharge on Indian-made Foreign Liquor will be Rs 5 for 180 ml and 375 ml bottles, breezers, miniature and other packaging, while it will be Rs 10 on 750 ml bottles.

Voters navigated curfews and health concerns in a slate of primary contests on Tuesday that tested the nation’s ability to host elections amid dueling crises and moved Joe Biden closer to formally clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.

In all, nine states and the District of Columbia held primary elections to decide a series of state and federal contests, including the 2020 presidential race . With no real competition, Biden and President Donald Trump easily won their respective primary elections in Indiana, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Mexico, Montana and the night’s biggest prize: Pennsylvania. Biden also won South Dakota. Read More

Haryana witnessed the highest single-day spike with 296 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with the maximum cases again recorded in Gurgaon district (160), followed by Faridabad (26) and Sonipat (21). With the total number of cases reaching 2,652 Tuesday, the case-doubling rate in the state also reached six days.

Haryana ACS (Health) Rajiv Arora issued notices to various private laboratories in Gurgaon for not sharing proper data of testing samples with the state government. Sources said Arora had also written to ICMR and the Union government apprising them that as many as 20 private laboratories in Gurgaon were not sharing any testing samples’ reports with the state government. He wrote that samples from Delhi were also being tested in Gurgaon’s labs.

With Bihar deciding to do away with mandatory quarantine for migrants returning to the state, the centres will be closed on June 15 after the last batch of registered migrants finish their period. While staying cooped up indoors could get pretty monotonous and difficult to pass time, a video of migrants dancing at a quarantine centre while maintaining social distance has gone viral on social media.

Tweeted by Uttar Pradesh police officer Rahul Srivastav, the video shows residents of Juafar Quarantine Centre in Siwan, Bihar, standing in five rows and trying to match the steps of an instructor who is seen dancing to the tunes of ‘Sandese Aate Hai’ from the 1997 war-action film Border.

Business activity across India’s service sector fell drastically during May as the unfavourable economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic impaired business operations, restricted consumer footfall and led demand to collapse, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index stood at 12.6 in May. Although the headline figure rose from April’s unprecedented low of 5.4, it remained at a level which, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, was unparalleled in over 14 years of data collection and pointed to an extreme drop in services activity across India, the survey noted.

Business conditions in the Arab world’s three largest economies deteriorated at a slower pace in May as governments began to lift some lockdown restrictions while companies adjusted by slimming down staff and cutting salaries.

Following a pandemic-driven plunge, non-oil private sector activity improved in Saudi, Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys compiled by IHS Markit. The gauge in each country still remained below the threshold of 50 that separates growth from contraction. Read More

Delhi govt has formed a five-member committee to assess the overall preparedness of the city for COVID19. This is the second committee to be formed by the government in the last two months. The committee has been asked to submit its report by June 6.

Delhi govt has formed a five-member committee to assess the overall preparedness of the city for #COVID19. This is the second committee to be formed by the government in the last two months. The committee has been asked to submit its report by June 6. @IndianExpress

— Astha Saxena (@Asthasaxena88) June 3, 2020

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said on Wednesday he would use the air tickets he is entitled to as an MP to help stranded migrant workers reach Patna from Delhi by flights. He would take migrant workers on two flights to Patna on Thursday. In a tweet, Singh said that he will use 34 flight tickets received by an MP during the year to send migrants to Patna with the help of colleagues and voluntary organisations. An MP is entitled to 34 business class tickets in domestic flights annually.

The decision was praised by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said it would be an inspiration for everyone. "Everyone will be inspired by this unique initiative of Sanjay ji. Those whom God has given means, it is their responsibility to put their resources in the service of others. Sanjay ji deserves to be congratulated," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? 34 ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ?? 4.6.2020 ?? ?? 180 ? 12 ??????? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??????, ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?????

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) June 3, 2020

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appealed to the Centre to give one-time assistance of Rs 10,000 each to migrant workers amid the COVID-19 crisis.

In a tweet, she said financial aid should also be provided to those engaged in the unorganised sector to help them cope with the ongoing economic crisis arising out of the lockdown. Banerjee suggested that a portion of the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES) could be used for the purpose. "People have been facing economic hardship of unimaginable proportions bcz of the ongoing pandemic. I appeal to Central Govt to transfer Rs 10,000 each as one-time assistance to migrant labourers including people in unorganised sector. A portion of PM-CARES could be used for this," she tweeted.

People have been facing economic hardship of unimaginable proportions bcz of the ongoing pandemic. I appeal to Central Govt to transfer ?10,000 each as one-time assistance to migrant labourers including people in unorganized sector. A portion of PM-CARES could be used for this.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 3, 2020

Sitting on the verandah at her home in Begusarai’s “vegetable village” of Chhapki, Rupam Kumari, a class V student at a private school, is busy solving a mathematics problem as her mother watches from a corner. She said she has to rely on self-learning these days as there are hardly any online classes at her school.

Nearly all the villagers grow vegetables in Chhapki, which has a population of around 1,300 and nearly 400 school-going children.

Over 350 children are enrolled at the only middle school in the village, but most of them either don’t take classes or are admitted to private schools at the same time. While the average income of a vegetable farmer is anywhere around Rs 10,000-15,000, 90 per cent of families have enrolled their children in private schools. Read More

While the number of novel Coronavirus cases in the country has been rising steadily, between eight and nine thousand a day these days, the growth rate has been coming down, nationally as well as in most of the states with major caseloads.

At the start of May, the compounded daily growth rate of cases in India was around 6.2 per cent. It rose to about 7 per cent before starting a decline that has continued since then. On Tuesday, the national growth rate was 4.67 per cent. Read More

One of the main reasons for the decline in growth at the national level is the fact that Maharashtra, which accounts for more than a third of all cases in India, has been slowing down for more than two weeks now. And that has happened at a rate much faster than that what is observed at the national level. Till the middle of May, Maharashtra’s growth was about one per cent higher than the country as a whole. As that started to decline, it dragged down the national growth as well. On June 2, Maharashtra’s growth rate was 4.05 per cent, well below the national rate.

The clinical administration of the blood component plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to those severely affected by the disease could be a safe option without adverse side effects, according to a study which may lead to better treatment protocols against novel coronavirus infection. On March 28, researchers from the Houston Methodist Hospital in the US, began clinical trials to transfuse plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into critically ill patients, they noted in a statement. In the study, published in The American Journal of Pathology, the scientists described the clinical outcomes of the convalescent plasma transfusion trial, showing 19 out of 25 patients improving with the treatment, and 11 discharged from the hospital. -- PTI

Flying in the times of a pandemic, which has already affected more than two lakh Indians, is easier said than done. Following fervent calls from my panic-stricken parents to return to Kolkata after seeing the rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi, where I work, I managed to shore up my confidence to make the over 1500-km journey.

With West Bengal opening its airport three days after the DGCA allowed domestic flight operations to resume, I managed to book a ticket for June 2 as fares for the initial days showed anywhere between Rs 9000 and Rs 11,000 — this despite the aviation regulator capping prices for the Delhi to Kolkata route between Rs 3000 and Rs 10,000.

The next task at hand was akin to a student preparing for his school exams. With the DGCA issuing a host of guidelines for both airports and in-flight, every procedure had been modified as I geared up to take my first flight in a post-COVID world. Read More

With asymptomatic people getting tested for Covid-19 and then insisting on getting admitted to hospitals, the Delhi government is learnt to have conveyed to several private labs and hospitals to keep ICMR guidelines in mind while testing. “Some letters have been sent to a few private labs since they were not following ICMR guidelines. A meeting regarding this was also held last week,” a government spokesperson told The Indian Express.

According to sources, the meeting was called by the Delhi government’s health department last week, and several private lab owners and representatives were asked about the nature of patients visiting the facilities. Read more

Days after the ICMR issued a revised strategy for testing #COVID19 patients, Delhi govt has also issued a new set of rules for the labs. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/NOYxILQZP9

— Astha Saxena (@Asthasaxena88) June 3, 2020

The Karnataka excise department has allowed liquor shops to remain open from 9 am to 9 pm and permitted microbreweries to brew fresh beer. The department has also allowed bars and restaurants to procure stock for liquor sale, subject to existing conditions related to the lockdown.

“Permission is hereby accorded to microbreweries for fresh brewing/production and sale of beer as takeaway in glass, ceramic or stainless steel container (up to 2 litre) till 30-06-2020, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the Excise Commissioner said in a letter to Deputy Excise Commissioners of all districts.

The #Karnataka excise department permits fresh brewing of beer & its sale at microbreweries as takeaway in glass, ceramic or stainless steel container (up to 2 litre) till 30 June. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/vNTUiqh7X0

— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) June 2, 2020

The officer who had prepared the list of products meant to be banned for sale through canteens of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) is likely to be removed from his post and repatriated to his parent cadre, sources told The Indian Express. The list was withdrawn by the government on Monday amid uproar over items of various Indian companies being included in it.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), sources said, is now working with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the nodal ministry responsible for the Make in India initiative, to prepare a new list of items to be classified as “purely imported”. These will be kept off CAPF canteen shelves.

With the lockdown sending lakhs of migrant labourers back to their villages, over 2.19 crore households utilised the rural job guarantee scheme in May, which is the highest for the month in the last eight years, according to official data.

An analysis of data in this category — available currently from 2013-14 on the MGNREGA portal — shows that the number of households that worked in May was 7.10 lakh higher than the 2.12 crore during the same month last year. Sources in the Ministry of Rural Development told The Indian Express that jobs adding up to over 41 crore person-days were generated in May 2020 as against about 36.95 crore in the same month last year.

With India reporting 8,908 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus infections in India crossed the 2 lakh-mark to reach 2,07,614 on Wednesday, including 5,815 deaths and 1,00,302 cured/ discharged. As many as 217 people have died in the last 24 hours across the country. 

Faced with the challenge of ensuring physical distancing in crowded hostels upon reopening, the IITs have sought a year’s extension to the 2021 deadline set by the government to add new seats for accommodating the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota, The Indian Express has learnt. The 23 premier engineering institutes collectively approached the Centre with the request last month, citing the COVID lockdown.

Government sources said the HRD Ministry will refer the request to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which had moved the EWS quota proposal that was later approved by the Union Cabinet early last year. Read More

Only seven per cent of coronavirus samples have a “high viral load” — meaning these people would, on average, transmit the infection to 6.25 other people. The vast majority (84%) have a low infectiousness, transmitting to only 0.8 persons on average. Nine per cent have a moderate viral load. Viral load refers to the quantity of a virus in an organism and is a reflection of how quickly the virus is replicating. These are new findings by ICMR’s National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, based on a study of over 1,000 samples collected in the state in April and May. The results will be submitted to ICMR’s Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR) this week and underline the need to include viral load figures in Covid test reports.

With 8,171 new cases and 204 deaths being reported yesterday, the total case count is now 1,98,706, including 5,598 deaths and 95,526 cured/ discharged.

As the total Covid-19 case count nears the 2-lakh mark, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Nivedita Gupta said on Tuesday that the country is still “very far away from the peak”. In an infectious disease, a peak signifies the point at which the daily case count will start to fall. Over the last few days, over 8,000 new cases have been reported from across the country daily.“We are very far away from the peak. Our preventive measures have been very effective. We are in a much better position vis-a-vis other countries and you will see the data soon,” Dr Gupta said.

As the Covid count increases across the country, touching the 2-lakh figure Tuesday, a small silver lining has emerged. For the first time in nearly two months, the growth rate of infections in Maharashtra has slowed to fall below that of the country as a whole. The seven-day compounded daily growth rate (CDGR) for Maharashtra has remained below the national average for three consecutive days now. This trend may not endure as the spread gets wider but it is significant. For, the rate in Maharashtra has been declining for over two weeks now. And because the state accounts for more than a third of the national caseload in the country, this has slowed down the national growth rate as well.

With the return of migrant labourers to West Bengal and the subsequent spike in coronavirus cases, the state government has decided to set up 15 more Covid-19 hospitals across the state, an official said on Tuesday.

The decision was taken even as the state health department announced 10 more Covid-19 deaths and the highest single-day increase in positive cases, with 396 new cases of infection. Read more here

Two more Mumbai policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/two-more-mumbai-policemen-die-of-covid-toll-climbs-to-18-6439883/(ASI), died due to Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the total number of police personnel having succumbed to the viral infection in Mumbai to 18 and the state to 28.

So far, more than 1,500 Mumbai policemen have tested positive for the infection of whom 533 have recovered and 1,758 others have been asked to observe home quarantine. Read more here

Strongly objecting to an order of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) allowing the Popular Front of India (PFI) to facilitate the burial of Muslim victims of Covid-19, former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday sought to know the Uddhav Thackeray government’s stand on the decision.

Fadnavis also tweeted the BMC order entrusting the PFI with the task, which states, “Whenever there is a suspected Covid-19 death of a Muslim person all hospitals should inform the coordinators of the PFI. Task force team of the PFI will facilitate burial of Muslim dead bodies.” Read more here

Ganesh Kumar had just enough time Tuesday to pack some essentials before his family of four was shifted to the St Mary’s School building at Dahanu in Palghar district along with other villagers on Tuesday. For the next 40 hours, they have to stay put inside the building, a concrete safe house, as ‘Cyclone Nisarga’ surges through the western coastline of the state — a first in this part of the coast. Read more here

In a decision set to speed up Covid-19 testing, BMC on Tuesday decided to remove the compulsion of producing a doctor’s prescription for high-risk contacts – even asymptomatic – to undergo tests.

Until now, BMC’s testing guidelines allowed a person showing symptoms to undergo Covid-19 swab test if the person had a doctor’s prescription recommending it. Read more here

A 59-year-old woman from Tandalja area in Vadodara, Farzana (name changed) waited inside an ambulance on oxygen support for over six hours for admission to a bed with ventilator at Vadodara’s GMERS-run hospital in Gotri, a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, on May 21.

Her family members alleged that they then approached the Vadodara Municipal Corporation- run SSG hospital, which also refused to admit her. A few hours later, the woman died. Read more here

With more than 400 new cases reported across Gujarat for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, the state’s total Covid-19 count crossed 17,500 while a record 1,100-plus patients were discharged. Of these, 95 were discharged from 15 districts and the remaining were discharged from hospitals in Ahmedabad. Read more here

Pune recorded 22 deaths on Tuesday, so far the highest in a day. District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the district administration will conduct a review on Wednesday as to why there was a spike in the number of deaths. “Till last week, there were several critical cases that required ventilator support, and of these several succumbed in the last two days,” Ram told The Indian Express. Read more here

A baby boy born to a couple placed under institutional quarantine in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district after returning from Goa has been named Emmanuel Quarantino, officials said on Tuesday.

Quarantino is the first baby born at a quarantine centre in the northeastern state, they added. “As they are under quarantine and the name of the isolation centre is Emmanuel School, they named the baby Emmanuel Quarantino,” an official said.

Haryana witnessed the highest single-day spike with 296 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with the maximum cases again recorded in Gurgaon district (160), followed by Faridabad (26) and Sonipat (21). With the total number of cases reaching 2,652 Tuesday evening, the case-doubling rate in the state also reached six days. Read more here

While the testing capacity of Amritsar’s government Covid-19 testing lab has gone up to 3,000 samples per day, the district is still struggling to convince people to come forward for random sampling leading to low testing, district authorities admitted Tuesday.

Punjab Cabinet Minister for Medical Research and Education O P Sony Tuesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art Covid-19 testing lab at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital Amritsar that will allow around 3,000 samples to be tested daily. Read more here

The state's COVID tally now rests at 472 with 48 new cases identified today alone. In a late evening Tweet, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb wrote, "Alert. More 25 people found #COVID19 POSITIVE in Tripura today out of 581 samples tested. Among them, 23 people have travel history & 2 people are contacts of COVID19 patients. Requesting everyone to be cautious. #TripuraCOVID19Count".

As per latest reports, 173 of these patients have recovered and 299 are still under treatment.