Coronavirus August 29 Updates: No local lockdowns outside containment zones without consulting Centre, MHA tells states

MHA also said states and UTs may permit upto 50% of teaching and non-teaching staff to be called to the schools at a time at a time for online teaching and counselling and related work.

Among other guidelines are:

• Social, cultural, religious, academic, sports or political gatherings will be permitted with a ceiling of 100 persons from September 21.
• There will be no restriction on inter and intra-district movements of people and vehicles
• Schools and colleges will continue to remain closed
• Use of Aarogya Setu app will be continued to be encouraged

Announcing Unlock 4.0 guidelines, the Centre said Metro Rail services can be started from September 7, while open-air theatre can be opened from September 21. 

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday claimed that coronavirus cases in the coastal state were on the rise since Ganesh Chaturthi and this was because people violated safety norms during the festival.

There has been a spike in cases, as people did not wear masks or follow social distancing norms during the festivities, Sawant said. "We have noticed that the number of COVID-19 cases have increased after Ganesh Chaturthi. Daily count was hovering around 150 cases per day before the festival, but now there has been a rise," Sawant said.

India's coronavirus cases and fatalities for every million population are one of the lowest compared to the global averages, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was informed on Saturday. At its 20th meeting on Saturday, the GoM was apprised of the current status of the coronavirus situationin India, the health ministry said. The meeting was informed that as of Saturday, eight states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana contribute around 73 per cent of the active cases, PTI reported.

Puducherry PCC president A V Subramanian tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and has been advised home quarantine, health department sources said. Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar told PTI that samples collected from Subramanian had tested positive. Subramanian, the former Speaker of the Puducherry assembly, has been placed under home quarantine. (PTI)

Bangladesh has extended the shutdown of educational institutions, except madrasas, till October 3 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the education ministry has said. Schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions were ordered to close since the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in March. The shutdown has been extended several times since then. "The ongoing holiday for all educational institutions, except Qawmi madrasas, has been extended to October 3 because of the global coronavirus pandemic," bdnews24 quoted the education ministry as saying on Thursday. (PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was admitted to AIIMS, Delhi, for post-COVID care, is likely to be discharged shortly.

A 110-year-old woman successfully fought the coronavirus to become the oldest Covid survivor in Kerala after being discharged from Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri on Saturday. The woman, Variyathu Pathu, had only minor symptoms. Her victory over the virus became a major achievement for the state.

#covidsurvivor #COVID19 #keralamodel, #IndiaFightsCOVID19 110-year old Variyathu Pathu, Kerala's oldest Covid survivor. She was discharged from Govt MCH, Manjeri, on Aug 29. She had only minor symptoms. Her victory over virus is a major achievement for state @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/zs08koGz9z

— shaju philip (@shajuexpress) August 29, 2020

Haryana Power Minister Ranjeet Singh Saturday said that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Singh, an Independent MLA supporting the BJP-JJP government, had got his test done just before the one-day Assembly session on Wednesday and his report returned negative. However, he developed symptoms after the session and got himself tested again. "I got my COVID test done again and the report came positive," the cabinet minister tweeted. "My health is alright, but I am under home quarantine on the advice of doctors," he added.

Children can shed the coronavirus, even if they are asymptomatic, or for long after their symptoms have vanished, according to a new study which sheds more light on the significance of the pediatric population in the pandemic's spread. The study that has been published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics observed 91 children at 22 hospitals throughout South Korea, infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and found that they carried the viral genetic material RNA for a longer period than expected, reported PTI.

The rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has led to a 35 per cent increase in the demand for hospital beds in the city, according to government data. On July 30, the occupancy of beds which were reserved for coronavirus patients was 18 per cent, with only 2,958 out of 16,038 beds being filled up. The occupancy was 23.02 per cent on August 10 and 23.40 per cent on August 11, while increased to 28 per cent on Saturday, with 4,004 out of 14,135 beds occupied, shows the data shared by the hospitals on Delhi Corona app.

The West Bengal government has written a letter to the Railway Board, stating that metro and local train services can be resumed in a limited manner in the state but with all health safety protocols. The government also requested the board to put in place the required logistics for smooth operations of the services.

In a letter to the Railway Board chairman, state Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said, "This is to bring to your notice that state government is of the view that metro and local train services can be resumed in Bengal in a limited manner maintaining the norms of physical distancing and health hygiene protocols." Before resumption of the services, the required modalities and logistics to ensure smooth operation may be worked out in consultation with the state government, the letter, sent to the board on Friday, said.

Malaysia has extended its pandemic movement restrictions including a ban on foreign tourists until the end of the year. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address late Friday that global cases have been rising and the country has seen sporadic virus clusters even though the situation was under control.

Malaysia has recorded more than 9,000 cases with 125 deaths. Muhyiddin said the extension of restrictions will not disrupt daily activities as most businesses and schools have resumed. Only nightclubs and entertainment centres remain shut and international sporting events prohibited. Borders will stay closed and those entering the country will be quarantined.

Nevada officials are reporting what may be the first documented case of coronavirus reinfection in the United States, following similar reports earlier this week from Hong Kong and Europe. A 25-year-old Reno man with mild COVID-19 symptoms initially was found to have the virus in April, recovered and tested negative twice, and then tested positive again in June. He was much sicker the second time, with pneumonia that required hospitalization and oxygen treatment.

Genetic tests from each episode showed that viruses were similar in major ways but differed in at least 12 spots that would be highly unlikely from natural evolution of the bug if the man had it continuously rather than being infected a second time, said Mark Pandori, director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory.

Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik, who is undergoing treatment for COVID-19, is recovering steadily with "stable vitals and good respiratory efforts", a senior Goa health official said on Saturday. Naik was admitted to a private hospital near here on August 12 after he tested positive for the infection.

"Naik is having a steady recovery with stable vitals and good respiratory efforts. The RT-PCR test conducted on him on August 28 came out positive, detecting COVID-19 virus in his body," the health department official said. The test will be conducted once again after 48 hours, he added. "Overall, Naik is making a very good progress," the official said.

Odisha on Saturday registered the highest single-day spike of 14 COVID-19 fatalities, which pushed the death toll in the state to 470, a health department official said. At least 3,252 fresh cases were recorded in all the 30 districts of the state, raising the coronavirus tally to 97,920, he said. Of the new fatalities, two each were reported from Balasore, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Malkangiri and one each from Bargah, Jajpur, Puri and Sundargarh districts, the official said. "Regret to inform the demise of fourteen #COVID-19 positive patients while under treatment in hospitals," the Health and Family Welfare Department said on Twitter.

Pakistan is all set to reopen educational institutions from mid-September after a six-month hiatus with the steady improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the country, which recorded just one death due to the disease in the last 24 hours, officials said on Saturday. Education institutions are closed from March 16 due to the coronavirus. Only one death due to the viral infection has been reported overnight, the health ministry said, adding that the death toll now stands at 6,284. The coronavirus tally reached 295,372 with the detection of 319 new cases in the last 24 hours, it said. (PTI)

In what was the first virtual National Sports Awards ceremony forced due to the coronavirus pandemic, a record 74 sporting heroes of India were bestowed with the honours on the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, annually celebrated as India’s sports day.

The five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardees and 27 Arjuna awardees, with the exception of a few, logged in from multiple cities to be honoured by President Ram Nath Kovind. 60 out of the 74 attended the virtual ceremony conducted across 11 Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres in various cities.

With Assam joining the league on Friday, the top ten states with maximum caseloads now all have more than one lakh people infected with novel coronavirus.

Simultaneously, Mizoram discovered 29 new cases on Friday to take its confirmed infections beyond 1,000. With that, every state and union territory in the country, except Lakshadweep, now has at least 1,000 people who have been infected with the disease. Lakshadweep continues to remain completely untouched by the epidemic, with no case of infection having been reported from the islands so far.

Also on Friday, Andhra Pradesh crossed the four-lakh figure for confirmed infections and is all set to overtake Tamil Nadu in a couple of days to become the state with the second highest caseload in the country. After a few days of relative dip, Andhra Pradesh has once again started reporting more than 10,000 new cases every day, next only to Maharashtra, which has been discovering more than 14,000 cases for the last few days.

Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Satish Mahana said on Saturday that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and isolated himself at home. Mahana requested those who have come in contact with him in the past few days to get their coronavirus tests done. "After initial symptoms of COVID, I got myself tested yesterday (Friday) and the report came positive," the infrastructure and industrial development minister tweeted. "I have isolated myself at home on the advice of doctors."

With 2,560 fresh infections, Assam's COVID-19 tally crossed the one lakh mark on Friday, while eight more deaths were reported, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The state's caseload has reached 1,01,367 and the death toll mounted to 286. Kamrup Metro reported 562 new cases, Jorhat 167, Cachar 165, Dibrugarh 19 and Hailakandi 135.

The state conducted 40,102 tests during the last 24 hours and the positivity rate is 6.38 per cent, the minister said. So far, the state has tested 21,46,938 samples for COVID-19.

The new deaths were recorded in Dibrugarh and Golaghat (two each) and Sibsagar, Tinsukia, Kamrup Metropolitan and Kamrup rural districts (one each), Sarma said. Till now, 79,307 people have recovered and discharged from hospitals and three migrated. Assam now has 21,771 active COVID-19 cases.

Uttarakhand BJP Chief Bansidhar Bhagat has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???
??? ??? ?????? ???????????? ?? ???????????? ?? ???? ???? ???, ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???, ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????
?? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????????

— Bansidhar Bhagat (@bansidharbhagat) August 29, 2020

With India reporting 76,472 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus infections in the country crossed the 34 lakh mark to reach 34,63,973 on Saturday. This is the third consecutive day when over 70,000 cases have been recorded in India. Also, with as many as 1,021 deaths in the same period, the country's toll has reached 62,500.

As per the latest data by the health ministry, active cases stand at 7,52,424 and the number of recovered patients is now 26,48,999.

HAVING averaged a Covid-19 case mortality rate substantially higher than the national average even last month, Indore has left authorities surprised with its first ever sero survey, showing antibodies only among 7.75% of the population covered. This is the lowest for cities in India where sero surveys have been conducted, with officials saying it indicates that there is no community transmission in Indore.

In another interesting finding, the survey, conducted between August 11 and 23 and including a sample size of 7,103, found a high share of antibodies among the 60-plus age group, which is the most vulnerable to Covid-19. The report of the survey was released on Friday.

Ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament,Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has written to chairpersons of parliamentary committees, urging that the panels should not take “those subjects for examination where the issue is pending in the courts”.

The August 25 letter has led to a debate among MPs and experts who say there have been a number of instances in the past in which matters subject to judicial review came up for discussions in parliamentary panels, and this new directive will set an unusual precedent.

Veterans who have headed key panels point out that parliamentary committees are an extension of Parliament itself and the fundamental rule — Parliament is supreme — stands true for the committees as well.

The timeline for a novel Coronavirus vaccine seems to have got firmly advanced, from early next year to this year-end. On Friday, US President Donald Trump promised to produce a vaccine before the end of this year, “or may be even sooner”.

And in a separate development, Britain said it would amend its laws to ensure that a novel Coronavirus vaccine is given emergency approval as soon as it is declared to be safe in clinical trials. It said it would not wait for the full licensing process to get completed. The new legal provision could kick in as early as October this year, enabling its drug regulator to grant emergency approvals to a vaccine that has been proven safe. The changed law would also protect the pharmaceutical companies from being sued if the vaccines produced any side-effects.

The Supreme Court Friday ruledthat universities and other institutions of higher education will have to conduct the final-year exams and “cannot” promote students on the basis of internal assessment or other criteria.

However, the court allowed states and Union Territories, which may have postponed the exams in view of the Covid outbreak, to approach the University Grants Commission (UGC) for extension of the September 30 deadline.

Maharashtra and Delhi had earlier decided to cancel the exams and promote students on the basis of other parameters.

Gujarat reported its highest single-day spike on Friday with 1,272 fresh Covid-19 cases being reported, taking the tally to 92,792. The death toll in Gujarat has now crossed 3,000, adding a thousand deaths in over seven weeks since July 6. The spike comes following testing in the range of 72,000 to 76,000 each day, in the past three days.

Ahmedabad has now crossed 30,000 cases and 1,700 deaths, seeing a cumulative case fatality rate in the district of 5.6 per cent. Among the 29 areas declared as micro-containment zones on Friday, was also the UGVCL sub-divisional office in Shilaj.

A group of surgeons in a Chennai hospital successfully carried out a bilateral lung transplant on a Covid-19 patient. The transplant was performed on a 48-year-old patient from Delhi, who was suffering from severe lung infection with Covid-19. The lungs were severely damaged due to Covid-19-related fibrosis. Read the full report here.

Jharkhand has extended lockdown restrictions in the state till September 30. State Disaster Management has issued new SOPs and restricted all inter state bus services.

The state's COVID-19 tally rose to 34,676 on Friday as 1,365 more people tested positive for the infection, while 11 more fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 378, a health bulletin said. The fresh infections have taken the number of active coronavirus cases in the state to 10,799, while 23,499 people have recovered so far, it said.

#Jharkhand government extends #Lockdown in the state till September 30. State Disaster Management issues new SOPs and restricted all inter state bus services. pic.twitter.com/s9Q80ZQKvF

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 28, 2020

Seven passengers who travelled from Delhi to Auckland in New Zealand on Sunday on an Air India flight have tested positive for COVID-19 three days after their arrival, a senior government official said on Friday. Earlier this month, all Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong till August-end after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival. "Seven passengers on Sunday's Air India Delhi-Auckland flight have tested positive for COVID-19 three days after arrival," the government official said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh quarantined himself after two Congress MLAs who met him during the assembly session here on Friday tested positive for COVID-19. The MLAs, Nirmal Singh and Kulbir Singh Zira, got tested for the disease after the one-day monsoon session. The 12th session of the 15th Vidhan Sabha began at 11 am here with strict protocols in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Punjab chief minister @capt_amarinder has decided to go into 7-day self quarantine, as per government protocol and the advise of his doctors, after two MLAs who met him in the Vidhan Sabha tested positive for #COVID19," tweeted Raveen Thukral, the media advisor to the chief minister.

Andhra Pradesh on Friday went past the grim mark of four lakh COVID-19 cases as over 10,000 were added afresh for the third straight day. It took just 10 days, the shortest span so far, for the number of coronavirus cases to swell from three to four lakh in the state. Going by the pace at which new cases are being added, AP is expected to climb to the second spot, behind Maharashtra, in the overall national tally, surpassing neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which had crossed the four lakh mark on Thursday, in a day or two. As on Friday, the COVID-19 count in AP read 4,03,616 total cases, 3,03,711 recoveries and 3,714 deaths.

Congress MP from Kanyakumari H Vasanthakumar (70) passed away on Friday. He was undergoing treatment for Coronavirus in Chennai. The 70-year old leader was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on August 10 with coronavirus infection. He was a first time MP from Tamil Nadu. 

The Congress expressed condolences to his family. 

We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Shri H. Vasanthakumar. A staunch Congressman, true leader of the people & beloved MP.

He will be sorely missed by all members of the Congress party & his followers. Our prayers are with his family in this time of grief. pic.twitter.com/BU49MrbNXg

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 28, 2020

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday chaired a meeting with  officials from health ministry, ICMR, AIIMS and DRDO to discuss preparation for the Monsoon session. 

MPs will be requested to get themselves tested for COVID-19 at least 72 hours before the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday. The Monsoon Session is likely to start from September 14 and conclude on October 1. Besides MPs, all those who are expected to enter the Parliament premises, including officials from ministries, representatives from the media and staff of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats, will get tested for the coronavirus before the start of the session, Birla said.

This decision was taken at a meeting Speaker @ombirlakota had today with officials from health ministry, ICMR, AIIMS and DRDO to discuss preparation for the Monsoon session @IndianExpress

— Liz Mathew (@MathewLiz) August 28, 2020

The Chandigarh Administration on Friday ordered discontinuation of weekend closure of markets and said that congested markets will continue to open on odd-even formula till September 3. It also added that Sukhna Lake will  remain closed on weekends. 

Ahead of the next phase of unlocking in Maharashtra, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) on Friday urged the state government to allow hotels to operate with full capacity. "Right now, the industry's biggest challenge is survival. One of the worst affected industries during this pandemic is the hospitality industry and we are in a dire need of the state government's support," said HRAWI President Gurbaxish Singh Kohli in a statement. HRAWI also urged the government to allow sale of liquor at restaurants and also recommended that open spaces and terraces be used at the premises of these establishments. "Allowing the sale of liquor will be a boon to not only restaurants but also to the state in terms of the tax revenues. As the government already allows sale of liquor online and at stores, it should also be permitted at restaurants as well," HRAWI Vice-President Pradeep Shetty said. He added that after the lockdown is lifted, the social distancing norms at restaurants will reduce the seating capacities. "Therefore, we request the government to allow us to use the open spaces and terraces for restaurants to serve food and liquor."

The cumulative tests for detection of COVID-19 has reached 3,94,77,848 in the country, and more than one crore samples have been tested in the past two weeks, the Union Health Ministry said, highlighting that the Tests Per Million have increased to 28,607.

India has tested more than 9 lakh samples for the detection of COVID-19 for the second consecutive day, keeping a sharp focus on the 'test, track and treat' strategy of the Union Government. India has already created a capacity of doing 10 lakh tests per day.  A total of 9,01,338 samples were tested in a span of 24 hours on Thursday taking the cumulative tests to 3,94,77,848 so far. 

"More than 1 crore samples have been tested for COVID in the past two weeks," the ministry said. "The Tests Per Million too have seen a sharp surge to 28,607. It is only by aggressive testing that positive cases can be identified at an early stage, their close contacts promptly tracked and isolated as well as timely and effective treatment can be ensured," the ministry underlined. 

The Goa government plans to focus on the COVID-19 containment zones in the state and urge the recovered patients of coronavirus from these areas to donate their plasma for treatment of others. Talking to reporters, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday said that next week, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant would hold a meeting with those MLAs, in whose constituencies the containment zones fall, in order to involve them in the plasma donation drive. "The MLAs, cutting across party lines, would be asked to encourage recovered coronavirus patients in the containment zones in their respective constituencies to come ahead and donate their plasma," he said. 

A drug used to cure a deadly viral disease in cats may be effective as a treatment for humans against the novel coronavirus, according to a study that may lead to the development of new therapeutics to treat COVID-19. According to the research, published in the journal Nature Communications, the drug is effective at inhibiting viral replication in lab-grown cells infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. "This drug is very likely to work in humans, so we're encouraged that it will be an effective antiviral treatment for COVID-19 patients," said Joanne Lemieux, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Alberta. The scientists noted that the drug interferes with the virus' ability to replicate, and may help end infection.  

Instead of the weekend, shops, offices and shopping malls in Haryana, except those dealing in essential services, will now remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays until further orders. The order on Friday comes barely a week after the Haryana government had re-imposed weekend lockdown restrictions, ordering that all shops and offices will remain shut on Saturdays and Sundays. Read more

The Punjab Assembly, which met under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, paid tributes to the soldiers killed in Ladakh's Galwan valley, the Covid warriors and Olympian Balbir Singh Senior, PTI reporters. The 12th session of the 15th Punjab Assembly began at 11 am with strict protocols in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thirty MLAs in the state, including four ministers, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing his disagreement with a proposal to curtail the Question Hour and Zero Hour during the upcoming Parliament session as it will prevent lawmakers from raising issues of national importance. In a two-page letter to Birla, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha urged him to ensure that there is no curtailment of the two important parts of the proceedings. "There, however, appears to be a proposal for curtailing the Question Hour as well as the Zero Hour during the session by way of restricting the allocation of time as well as the number of notices that could be filed by the members. You will kindly appreciate the fact that raising questions in Parliament, and issues of public importance during the Zero Hour are foremost of the procedural methods available to members to vent issues of national and public importance," Chowdhury wrote.

The civic limits of Kalyan and Navi Mumbai have over 3,000 active cases of coronavirus, while Thane city is nearing 2,000 active cases, district authorities said on Friday. According to an official report, with an addition of 1,172 new cases on Thursday, the Covid-19 tally in Thane district has now reached 1,18,911. Moreover, 37 latest casualties in the district, including 10 from Kalyan alone, have raised the toll to 3,423, the report stated. Most Covid-19 cases have been reported from Kalyan, Thane and Navi Mumbai areas that have so far recorded 27,684, 25,076 and 24,585 cases respectively, an official said. The recovery rate in the district stood at 86.75 per cent, while the mortality was at 2.88 per cent, he said.

The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) entrance examination was held in the Salt Lake Sector Five area, near Kolkata, on Thursday amid a biweekly total lockdown across the state. Fewer students appeared for the exam compared to previous years. As public transport stayed off the road, students took private vehicles to reach the examination centre to write the entrance test. Social-distancing norms were strictly followed, and students were allowed to enter the examination hall only if they wore masks. Proper arrangements for thermal screening and sanitisation were made. “Student count was low maybe because there was no transportation available in the city. My dad had pre-booked a car so that we could reach the centre on time,” said Pratibha Singh, one of the aspirants.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday targeted the BJP over the holding of the JEE and NEET exams amid the pandemic, saying the party's attitude towards students is "devoid of humanity". "Adamant on conducting JEE and NEET examinations, BJP has now clarified why it has changed the name of the Ministry of Human Resources. It is because its attitude towards education and students is devoid of humanity," the former chief minister said in tweet in Hindi, and tagged pictures of the protest by his partymen in the state capital on Thursday.

JEE, NEET ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ‘???? ?????? ????????’ ?? ??? ????? ????, ??????? ?????? ? ????????????? ?? ????? ???? ????????? ‘????????’ ?? ????? ??.

??????? ?????! #StudentLivesMatter#ProtestAgainstExamsInCOVID#PostponeNEET_JEE pic.twitter.com/WRM2b9lq8p

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 28, 2020

Kolkata Police on Thursday said 260 people had been arrested till 12 pm for violating the curbs imposed as part of the state government’s total biweekly lockdown strategy to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven vehicle owners were prosecuted violating the lockdown, while 199 people were booked or prosecuted for not wearing a face mask. The law-enforcement officials booked nine people for spitting in public places. The police patrolled major traffic intersections here. Lockdown violations were reported in some districts, including Howrah and Hooghly. At many places, policemen stopped people from venturing outside their house, and asked them to remain indoors.

Even as it grapples with over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus infection every day, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has a sliver of good news in its fight against the pandemic, as the recovery rate among Covid-19 patients in the city has crossed 80 per cent. The recovery rate has reached 80.48 per cent in PMC areas, inching closer to the 81.32 per cent recovery rate in Mumbai, though Pune has a higher rate of active cases than the state capital. The percentage of active patients in PMC areas is 17.11, while it is 13.03 per cent in Mumbai, 23.57 per cent in state and 21.94 per cent nationally. “The recovery percentage of PMC has crossed 80,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Rubal Agarwal on Thursday.

Doctors treating coronavirus infection have cautioned that parents and pediatricians should be vigilant about a rare hyperinflammatory syndrome as a post Covid-19 complication in children, as early recognition and treatment of the condition can save lives. A seven-year old boy, who was diagnosed with the hyperinflammatory syndrome, was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit with complaints of fever, pain in abdomen and vomiting. The boy is the son of a Pune Municipal Corporation employee. His family members had tested positive for Covid-19 in July, after which they recovered. “The child had persistent symptoms and we suspected diseases like dengue and septic shock that have similar features,” Dr Jitendra Oswal, deputy medical director of Bharati Hospital, told The Indian Express. Click here to read more.

Delhi Congress leaders and workers, including its president Anil Kumar, were detained by police today during a protest against the holding of the JEE and NEET exams amid the pandemic. Several Congressmen were detained by the police near the Shastri Bhawan and taken to the Mandir Marg police station, Kumar said. "The Centre and its education ministry are endangering the lives of 25 lakh students by being adamant on holding the JEE and NEET when the number of coronavirus cases is going up in the country," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Maharashtra is working on modalities of undertaking a screening drive to check for hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis and Covid-like symptoms to pick high-risk populations and provide them early intervention. The drive is likely to commence from the rural pockets of the state. Earlier this week, the central government issued guidelines to conduct bi-directional screening for tuberculosis and Covid-19 to ensure none of the two respiratory illnesses are missed. “In two-three days we will plan the entire screening process and start it across the state. We plan to screen high-risk populations for hypertension, diabetes and severe acute respiratory illness. We are in early stages of planning,” said Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas. He said for massive screening of Covid-19 patients for TB and vice-versa, state has to strategise on testing machinery. “CBNAAT (cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) can be used for TB and Covid-19, but we have to get as many cartridges and look at cost. RT-PCR and antigen test cost are expected to go further down,” Vyas said.

Six ministers, one each from Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, today approached the Supreme Court, seeking review of its August 17 order to conduct NEET and JEE examinations amid the pandemic.

Six ministers, one each from Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan & Chattisgarh approach Supreme Court seeking review of its August 17 order allowing conduct of NEET & JEE exams. @IndianExpress

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) August 28, 2020

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today launched the second round of serological survey to ascertain the immune strength of people against coronavirus. Five teams will collect 1,500 samples from various locations in the city, an official told PTI. "The current exercise will provide an indication of the community exposure level which was found to be very low during the first round of the serological survey," he said. The Regional Medical Research Centre is providing technical support to the BMC to carry out the two-day survey in the city.

The Supreme Court today also refused to entertain a PIL, seeking postponement of Bihar assembly polls till the state was declared Covid-19 free. Coronavirus cannot be a ground for postponement of Bihar elections, the poll panel will consider everything, the top court observed.

The Supreme Court today said that states and universities cannot promote students without holding final year exams by September 30. Upholding the UGC decision to hold final year exams, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said if any state feels they can't conduct exams by that date, they must approach the UGC for new dates to hold the exam.

Challenge to UGC direction to Universities/Institutions to hold final exams by Sep end: SC says states can’t promote students without holding final exam. States/UTs can approach UGC to seek an extension of deadline for holding exams. @IndianExpress

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) August 28, 2020

The government has permitted the airlines to serve pre-packed snacks, meals and beverages on domestic flights and hot meals on international flights, according to an official order, PTI reported. Moreover, any passenger who refuses to wear a face mask in a flight can be put on the no-fly list by the airline, said a senior official of the aviation regulator DGCA. In an order issued on Thursday, the Civil Aviation Ministry said, "Airlines may serve pre-packed snacks/meals/pre-packed beverages on domestic flights depending on the duration of flight. Airlines and charter flight operators can "serve hot meals and limited beverages" on international flights "as per the standard practices."  The ministry said only single-use disposable trays, plates and cutlery should be used while serving food or beverages in domestic and international flights. "Crew shall wear a fresh set of gloves for every meal/beverage service," it noted.