As many as 1,27,39,490 samples have tested for the virus till July 15, out of which 3,26,826 samples were tested on Wednesday, the ICMR has said.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India surged past 10 lakh on Thursday, according to news agency PTI and private aggregator Covid19india.org. On Thursday, as many as 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had announced. More than 25,000 people have lost their lives to the novel coronavirus in the country.
India’s numbers are currently being powered by high growth rates in Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. These states have seen sharp increases this month — they were reporting 400 to 600 cases every day till the end of June, but are now adding over 1,000 cases a day.
Globally, at least 13,512,692 people have been infected while 583,359 have died so far, according to the latest tally by the John Hopkins University. The United States continued to remain the worst-affected nation followed by Brazil, India, Russia and Peru. The economy in China, where the pandemic first broke out, rebounded from a painful contraction to grow by 3.2 per cent over a year earlier in the latest quarter as anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened.
People are tested for Covid-19 at a NDMC Dispensary in Pilanji Village, New Delhi. (Express Photo: Abhinav Saha)
Anticipating a surge in Covid-19 cases in the next few weeks based on the current infection curve, Kerala is moving fast to set up 100-bed first line treatment centres (FLTCs) in every panchayat, to accommodate those with mild or no symptoms.
This will keep the rush away from the frontline Covid-19 hospitals, where the critical cases can be admitted, the government said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Thursday that district administrations, working with local bodies, are taking over auditoriums and community halls in every panchayat and municipality to set up the FLTCs. The government has allotted Rs 10 crore each to district collectors for this. Read more
The total number of coronavirus cases in India surged past 10 lakh on Thursday, according to news agency PTI and private aggregator Covid19india.org. On Thursday, as many as 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had announced. More than 25,000 people have lost their lives to the novel coronavirus in the country.
A day after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a three-day lockdown from Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded its withdrawal, calling it “illogical” and “unscientific”.
AAP Goa General Secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar on Thursday accused Sawant of hurriedly imposing the lockdown ahead of his review meeting with the state’s Governor Satya Pal Malik to show that his government was “doing something”.
Pointing to the crowds that had allegedly gathered in Goa’s markets and stores Thursday, party spokesperson Valmiki Naik expressed concerns that the CM’s decision could encourage panic buying and increase the risk of contracting the illness. He urged the BJP-led state government to set “ego and politics aside” and come up with a coherent plan to fight Covid-19.
Less than two per cent coronavirus patients in the country are admitted in ICUs while the number of recovered cases in the country exceeds that of the active ones by 2,81,668 as on Thursday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.
Vardhan's remarks came after he inaugurated the new block of the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur OPD on Thursday at AIIMS, Delhi along with Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, news agency PTI reported.
Over 6.87 lakh Indians have returned from abroad after the government launched the "Vande Bharat" evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
The fourth phase of the Vande Bharat mission, which is currently underway, has been augmented with the addition of around 120 flights between July 15-31, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing.
"These additional flights will cater to the demand for repatriation from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Europe, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine," Srivastava said.
With this augmentation, this phase now has 751 international flights catering to 34 airports in India, he said. (PTI)
North Goa District Magistrate issues an order restricting the movement of people for all non-essential activities between 8 pm to 6 am with immediate effect till August 10.
According to data provided by the West Bengal government, COVID-19 infection numbers have peaked in the state. As many as 1,690 new COVID-19 cases were recorded on July 16, with 23 deaths in the state.
Kolkata has recorded 496 fresh COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths. Infection numbers in the North 24 Parganas district also witnessed a spike with 403 new cases today.
With fresh COVID-19 cases continuing to surge, Kerala's tally breached the 10,000 marks and the death toll climbed to 37 with two more fatalities on Thursday.
The state reported 722 fresh cases, the first time that the daily spike crossed 700, as the total infection count touched 10,275, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters.
Twelve health workers, including five doctors from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, three Border Security Force and three Indo-Tibetian Border Police personnel are among the infected on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Thursday issued an appeal asking recovered Covid-19 patients to visit Assam and donate their plasma.
“I hope that not only people from Assam but those from other states will also come forward and join our plasma bank development,” Sarma told reporters.
Sarma said that in many states plasma bank development work has not begun, and hence recovered patients in those states should come forward and donate their plasma in Assam. He also said that the state government would bear all cost.
“In the initial phases, Assam did not have many patients. So we do not have a large number of eligible donors right now," Sarma said.
Sarma encouraged Assam patients to come forward and donate their plasmas too. He said that every donor would be given a certificate and that they would be in an advantageous position regarding government benefits in the future for this donation.
Till now, Assam has reported around 20,000 Covid patients, with 6,800-odd active patients and 48 deaths. State capital Guwahati is under a lockdown till July 19.
Sarma said that to bring the Covid situation in Guwahati city under control, at least 3 lakh people — out of the 10-11 lakh residents of the city — have to be tested. Till Thursday, 1.1 lakh residents of the city have been tested.
Recent studies suggest that those recovering from COVID-19 may have antibodies for only a few months, a signal that long-term immunity is difficult to achieve, but several scientists dispel the gloom and say it is too soon to determine if such individuals can contract the disease again.
Some special cells of the immune system may still offer protection against the disease, the scientists said as questions swirl on whether people who have recovered from COVID-19 can get it again — even those whose antibodies dwindle progressively as the days and weeks pass.
It is too soon to say whether people with lowered levels of novel coronavirus-blocking antibody levels (nAbs) after recovery are at risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease on re-exposure to the virus, Vineeta Bal, an immunologist from the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research in Pune, told PTI.
Andhra Pradesh saw yet another day's new high of 2,593 coronavirus cases as the state's overall tally reached 38,044 on Thursday.
Another 40 related deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours while 943 patients were discharged from hospitals across the state, the latest bulletin issued by the state said.
The state's Covid-19 toll now stood at 492 and the total number of discharges at 19,393, leaving 18,159 active cases, the bulletin added.
China has permitted movie theatres in low-risk areas to resume business beginning July 20 with 30 per cent capacity as the coronavirus cases abated in the country. China has the world's second-largest film market after Hollywood with a box office revenue of over 60.9 billion yuan (over USD 10 billion) in 2018. There are around 70,000 film theatres across the country.
Chinese movie theatres in low-risk areas have been allowed to resume operation starting from July 20 following an improvement in the COVID-19 epidemic situation, the China Film Administration announced on Thursday. The theatres should reopen on the premise that proper prevention and control measures have been put into place, it said, noting that cinemas should suspend their operation once their localities are adjusted to be medium- or high-risk areas.
Attendance per show must not exceed 30 per cent, the Chinese Film Circulation and Projection Association said on Thursday. --PTI
Scientists have developed a surface coating which when painted on common objects, such as door knobs, light switches, and shopping carts can inactivate the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, an innovation that may help stop the spread of the pandemic.
The research, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, noted that after one hour on coated glass or stainless steel, levels of the virus reduced by about 99.9 per cent on average, compared to the uncoated sample.
According to the scientists, including those from Virginia Tech in the US, the coating adheres well to glass and stainless steel, as well as everyday items that people may fear to touch during a pandemic like doorknobs. Click here for more info.
Varavara Rao, the 80-year old Telugu poet-litterateur and activist who is behind bars since 2018 in the Elgaar Parishad case on Thursday has tested positive for Covid-19.
On Wednesday, he was taken to JJ hospital on Monday for a few tests after he complained of dizziness. Rao’s family had demanded that he be shifted to a hospital from the Tajola Central Jail in Navi Mumbai after receiving a call from him on July 11. The family told media persons on Sunday said that during the phone call, Rao was unable to speak coherently and spoke about events that had taken place decades ago. His co-inmates have informed the family that he had been unable to do any of his chores by himself and was dependent on others in the hospital ward where he was being kept.
Announcing the resumption of international commercial flights, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said India had established individual bilateral bubbles with France and the US that would allow airlines of these countries to operate flights. Puri said air bridges or air bubbles would be the way to resume international air travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Till international civil aviation can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, I think the answer will lie through bilateral air bubbles which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries are still imposing entry restrictions incl India,” he said.
The concept of air bridges is based on reciprocity with the said countries allowing Indian citizens to fly into their borders and India allowing their citizens to fly into its borders. For more information click here.
The Meghalaya government has decided to close all entry points to the state from July 24 to 31 to intensify COVID-19 surveillance, as its caseload rose to 354 on Thursday with 16 more security personnel testing positive for the infection.
"It is hereby notified that all current operation entry point of the state located at Byrnihat, Ratacherra, Bajengdoba, Tikkrikkilla, Mirjumla and Hallidayganj shall remain closed from midnight of July 23rd to midnight of July 31st, 2020," an official order issued by the government said.
"Only movements related to emergency, medical and essential services, goods and inter-State transit vehicles will be allowed during this period," it added.
The government has also requested people visiting/returning to Meghalaya during this period to reschedule their travel plans.
Researchers at the University of Oxford believe they may have a breakthrough in their quest for a Covid-19 vaccine after the team discovered that the newly found agent could provide ‘double protection’ against the deadly coronavirus following early-stage human trials, PTI quoted media reports in the UK as saying.
Blood samples taken from a group of UK volunteers given a dose of the vaccine showed that it stimulated the body to produce both antibodies and ‘killer T-cells’, a senior source from the trial was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as saying.
The discovery is promising because separate studies have suggested that antibodies may fade away within months while T-cells can stay in circulation for years.
Uttar Pradesh reported a record 2,061 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the tally to 43,444, while 34 more fatalities pushed the death toll in the state to 1,046.
"A total of 26,675 patients have been treated and discharged, while there are 15,723 active cases in the state," Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.
He said a record 48,086 samples were tested on Wednesday and soon, the number of tests conducted per day would be increased to 50,000.
Officials said after Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh has conducted the highest number of tests for COVID-19 so far. (PTI)
Addressing a press briefing, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said: "Our negotiations are at an advanced stage with 3 countries. Air France will operate 28 flights from July 18 to Aug 1 between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris. US will be flying 18 flights between July 17-31 but this is an interim one. We have a request from Germany too."
A nine-month-old boy died of COVID-19 in Puducherry on Thursday, taking the toll to 22, while a single-day high of 147 fresh cases pushed the overall tally to 1,743, news agency PTI reported.
Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar told reporters that the child was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Women and Child hospital here with complaints of diarrhoea yesterday and tested positive for the virus and died.
The health department has stepped up efforts to trace the source of infection for the baby.
In an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, the district administration in Indore has prohibited gathering of more than 20 people at weddings and funerals, an official said on Thursday. As per an order issued by district collector Manish Singh, which is effective immediately, not more than 20 people can take part in weddings and funeral processions. Similarly, not more than 10 people can attend home weddings and birthday celebrations, the official said, adding that religious functions and public ceremonies have been banned in the run up to the festive season.
A woman employee at the district collectorate here has tested positive for coronavirus following which all offices in the collectorate have been closed for two days, a senior official told PTI. District Magistrate Indra Vikram Singh said on Thursday that all necessary precautions are being taken and government orders in this regard are being strictly followed.
The Odisha government on Thursday commenced plasma therapy for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at a hospital in Cuttack, an official told PTI. The procedure was conducted on a 48-year-old patient at the Ashwini Hospital for the first time in the state, technical advisor to the health department Dr Jayant Panda said. "The patient has been administered B-positive plasma," he said. Meanwhile, a plasma bank has started functioning at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack from Wednesday, a health department official said. "Four persons, including a doctor, who had recovered from COVID-19, have donated their plasma at the facility," he said.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar has tested positive for coronavirus in the state's Latur district on Thursday, a senior official told news agency PTI. The 88-year-old leader has been shifted to a hospital in Pune, located around 320 km from Latur, the official said.
Forty Kerala doctors who had come to Mumbai at the request of the state government to help the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the battle against Covid-19 are on their way back home as the civic body has not yet paid their salaries. Fifteen have already left for Kerala while the remaining 25 will be heading back Thursday. At least four of the 35 nurses from Kerala, who had joined Seven Hills hospital last month, too, have not received their salary from the BMC. “All 40 doctors who came to Mumbai have not been paid. They were supposed to work for two months. Fifteen of them decided to return home last week due to salary issues,” said a doctor associated with the South Asia chapter of Doctors Without Borders that had facilitated the movement of these professionals to Maharashtra during the lockdown.
Maharashtra, the state worst-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, has partially lifted the freeze on capital works in a bid to stimulate economic growth. In an order issued on Wednesday, the Uddhav Thackeray government announced the easing of curbs it had previously imposed on development spend. Projecting the economic situation to remain gloomy this year, and anticipating a sharp erosion in its own revenues, the government had on May 4 stayed all new works except “operational expenses” for Covid-19 control measures. Barring procurement of infrastructure and items required for combating the pandemic, it had ordered all departments to withhold tenders for new purchases and approvals for new development works.
Zydus Cadila's move to begin human trials of its indigenously developed vaccine candidate for Covid-19 is an important milestone for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup said on Thursday. Zydus Cadila on Wednesday said it has initiated Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. ZyCoV-D, the plasmid DNA vaccine designed and developed by Zydus, has been partially funded by the Department of Biotechnology under the National Biopharma Mission. "This is an important milestone for Atmanirbhar Bharat as Zydus begins human clinical trials for the indigenously developed vaccine. We hope that the vaccine continues to show positive outcomes as it has done so far in the pre-clinical phase where it was found to be safe, immunogenic and well tolerated," she said.
Novartis’s Sandoz division will not make a profit on 15 generic drugs it is making available to developing countries to treat symptoms of COVID-19, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. Novartis said it would provide medicines ranging from antibiotics and steroids to diarrhea pills to 79 countries on the World Bank’s list of low- and lower-middle-income nations. The Basel-based drugmaker plans to maintain the zero-profit programme until the pandemic ends or a vaccine or cure is found, Novartis Global Health Chief Operating Officer Lutz Hegemann said in an interview.
The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of both Houses of the Maharashtra Legislature is likely to meet next week to discuss the pandemic situation in the state and on holding the monsoon session of the Legislature, Assembly Speaker Nana Patole said on Thursday. The monsoon session, which was earlier scheduled to start from June 22, was deferred to August 3 in view of the pandemic. Patole told PTI that the BAC is likely to meet next week to discuss the prevailing situation. Nearly 1,500 people, including legislators and other staff, are present at a time in the VidhanBhavan when the Legislature session is in progress. The Vidhan Bhavan has a total staff strength of 750, Patole said. "At the BAC meet, the prevailing situation would be reviewed and views of the government and the opposition would be sought," he said.
With Karnataka witnessing a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, its Health Minister B Sriramulu has said only God can save the state, insisting that public cooperation was key to controlling the spread of the pandemic. The Minister’s statement in Chitradurga on Wednesday came in response to the opposition Congress’ charge of the government failing to tackle coronavirus spread, but he later claimed his remarks were ‘misinterpreted’ by a section of the media. “Tell me whose hand it is (to control the disease). Only God has to save us all. Awareness among people is the only way. In such a situation, the Congress leaders have stooped to the lowest level of politics. It doesn’t suit anybody,” Sriramulu told reporters on Wednesday.
The Kerala High Court has banned all gatherings, specifically demonstrations, processions and agitations in the state till July 31, except the ones permitted under the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) last month, PTI reported. In its order on Wednesday, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly said the Chief Secretary of Kerala and state police chief should ensure that no political party violates the guidelines and orders of the court. "Public gatherings not permitted under the orders of the National Disaster Management Authority shall not also be allowed. So long as the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority is in force up to July 31 or for subsequent period, depending upon the situation, police have to ensure strict action against all those, who violate the guidelines," the court said.
With 147 fresh cases, the tally in Puducherry rose to 1,743 on Thursday, Puducherry Health Department said.
Shops and public areas remained closed in Bihar in view of the total lockdown in the state till July 31.
The high court of Himachal Pradesh has restrained The Lawrence School, Sanawar, a co-educational boarding school in the Kasauli hills, from charging an additional fee of Rs 1,70,800 from the students for the current academic year. The court's order came based on a petition filed by the father of a student who alleged that the school was not complying with the the state government's directive to only charge tuition fees in view of the pandemic. The petitioner saidthat the annual fee of the school is around Rs 6.36 lakh and the school had already collected an amount of around Rs 4 lakh each from the students in February. Most of the students were only able to spend 28 days in school before they were taken home in March. The school cut down the remaining amount in the second installment from Rs 2,34,500 to Rs 1,70,800, despite a joint representation from 140 parents requesting the school to waive off the fees this year, he said.
Since the start of July, the total number of infections in Andhra Pradesh has increased from about 15,200 to about 35,400 now. Uttar Pradesh has seen its numbers grow from about 24,000 to over 41,000, while West Bengal has increased from about 19,000 to more than 34,000 during the same period. Click here to read more.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today inaugurated the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur OPD building at AIIMS Delhi premises today. The building is dedicated to the OPD services and physiotherapy of elderly people. "Despite being such a largely-populated nation, we can perhaps claim to have performed better than any other country. Today our fatality rate is 2.57% and recovery rate is 63.25%," he said. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Choubey was also present at the event.
A 61-year-old man died early Wednesday morning after his family’s desperate search to find an ICU bed for him in the city’s private hospitals, as well as the government-run Sassoon Hospital, proved futile. The family of Dr Lakshmi Narsimhan, a scientist who retired from the Botanical Survey of India last year, first went to a private hospital located on Nagar Road where they were reportedly told that no ICU bed was available. “On Tuesday evening, my brother-in-law had breathing problems. His wife and daughter then rushed him to a private hospital, where the doctors said there was no ICU bed available. They then contacted me, and I got in touch with Congress leaders and friends Ramesh Iyer and Arvind Shinde. All of us tried to contact different private hospitals, but none of them had ICU beds available. We then decided to take him to Sassoon Hospital,” said S Madhavan, a close relative.
Less than two months after setting up a Covid-19 Testing Centre on its campus, the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Pune, now plans to expand its testing capabilities. A formal request for the same has been submitted to the office of Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar. Since the centre was established on May 21, a total of 7,500 tests have been performed there (till July 14). Samples from government hospitals in the city are sent to this centre, run by research scholars, undergraduate students and faculty volunteers. Even as the nation went into a lockdown in March, many researchers in IISER worked on projects and studies related to Covid-19. These include teams working on developing diagnostic tests and tools, identifying potential drugs or vaccines candidates, research on drug repurposing, designing low-cost ventilators, creating Covid-19 mapping localities, molecular studies to understand the virus morphology, in addition to public engagement and raising awareness about the disease.
While Karnataka has been the focus of attention for its rapid rise in number of novel Coronavirus cases, there are three other states in the top-ten list which are growing very fast and have followed very similar trajectories. Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have all seen a sharp increase in their Coronavirus numbers this month. The total number of infections in each of these states has nearly doubled since the start of July. While Uttar Pradesh has the highest caseload among these three, with more than 41,000 people having so far been infected, it is Andhra Pradesh which is growing at the fastest pace. The current daily rate of growth in Andhra Pradesh is 6.87 per cent, which is second only to Karnataka, which is growing at 7.29 per cent. Uttar Pradesh is growing at 4.14 per cent, while West Bengal is growing at 4.78 per cent right now. Click here to read more.
Former minister and Samajwadi party leader Ghoora Ram died of coronavirus early Thursday morning at the King George's Medical University in Lucknow, his family said. According to the SP leader's son Santosh Kumar, he was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after he complained of a cough and difficulty in breathing. He tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, Kumar said, adding that his condition deteriorated in the evening. Ghoora Ram, confidant of BSP founder Kashi Ram, was elected from the Rasra (reserved) assembly seat in 1993, 2002 and 2007, and was also health minister in the Mayawati government. Recently, he had joined the Samajwadi Party and was made a member of the national working committee.
Andhra Pradesh will require another 17,000 doctors and 12,000 nursing staff in the coming months to handle the pandemic, as estimated by an action plan prepared by health officials on the directions of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The number of cases have drastically increased — by 10,029 — since July 11 with 160 deaths reported till July 15. The state reported 44 deaths and 2,432 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of positive cases and deaths to 35,451 and 458, respectively. The state has so far conducted 12,17,963 tests. CM Reddy Wednesday called on people not to hesitate to get themselves tested and get treatment. “The main reason for the spike in deaths is that the patients are showing up at hospitals in an advanced stage of Covid-19,” Special Chief Secretary (Health) Dr K S Jawahar Reddy said.
Snehashish Ganguly, brother of BCCI president and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly, tested positive. He has been admitted to a private hospital in south Kolkata, sources said. Following this, Ganguly went into home quarantine as a precuationary measure.
Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, head priest of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, succumbed to Covid-19 on Thursday. He was 78. Last week, the temple trust had appointed Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swami as his successor. In the wake of the pandemic, an arrangement for a live telecast for his followers has been made by the temple trust before his cremation which is scheduled for this afternoon. The priest was admitted at CIMS hospital, Science City, on June 28 after he was tested positive for coronavirus. He was put on ventilator and also administered two doses of plasma therapy.
Five inmates lodged on the premises of a government hostel, designated a temporary prison due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at Yerawada in Pune escaped in the early hours of Thursday. This is the third such incident of inmates escaping over the last one month from the temporary prison. As per information given by local police and Prison Department officials, five inmates — four of them arrested by Pune Rural Police and one more arrested by Pimpri Chinchwad police — fled around 4 am. The details of the offences registered against them and the status of their cases were awaited.
Maharashtra's first woman chief election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan succumbed to Covid-19 in Seven Hills hospital on Thursday. She was 72. The author-cum-poet is the first IAS officer in the state to succumb to the virus. She had penned several books, was a 1972 batch IAS officer, and also composed music for a few films. After retirement, she was appointed as the state's Chief Election Commissioner.
Based on a suggestion by an expert committee, the Karnataka government Wednesday announced an incentive of Rs 5,000 to recovered Covid-19 patients who come forward and donate their plasma. An order issued by the government stated: “A one-time incentive will be given to plasma donors who have recovered within 14-28 days from Covid-19.” Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar Wednesday said, “We have decided to give an incentive of Rs 5,000 to the plasma donor. Please come forward voluntarily and help patients recover by donating plasma.”
Pune Police keep a check on vehicles and lockdown violators at Bajirao road on Wednesday. A special plastic shield and a sanitizer stand has been installed at the check point.
Amid the increasing number of covid-19 cases and with citizens failing to follow the norms, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Wednesday announced a junta night curfew in the state till August 10. He also declared imposition of a three-day lockdown, from Thursday night to 6 am, Monday, July 20. Those found violating the lockdown will be taken into custody, said Sawant at a press meet. With heavy monsoon having begun, the CM added that the government had an estimate of a “possible surge in the cases in the midst of monsoon”. “The night curfew which we will call junta curfew will be between 8 pm and 6 am. Only those working in industries in second and third shifts will be allowed to step out and those with any medical emergencies. We have issued orders that anyone other than these categories found roaming will be stopped at every check point,” Sawant said.
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 968,876 on Thursday after 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced.
In a late night development, the Telangana government Wednesday transferred A Shanti Kumari, special chief secretary in charge of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, and Dr Yogita Rana, the Commissioner for Public Health and Family Welfare. While Kumari will be replaced by 1999-batch IAS officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi, V Karuna was appointed as the new commissioner. The state government has been under severe criticism from various quarters, including the Telangana High Court, for its handling of the coronavirus situation in the state.
A man turning 100 on Wednesday has recovered from Covid-19 and was discharged from Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray hospital, where he was seeking treatment for the past fortnight.
Hours before being discharged, Arjun Govind Naringrekar received a surprise on Tuesday as doctors and staff from the hospital gathered to celebrate his birthday with a chocolate cake and pink candles at the hospital lobby.
Clad in white and blue protective gear, attendants, nurses, and doctors sang the birthday song. Relatives of other patients also joined in as the 100-year-old patient nibbled on cake. Naringrekar, a retired government school headmaster, was hospitalised on July 1 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. He remained admitted for a fortnight.
Punjab Wednesday reported eight more coronavirus fatalities as 288 fresh infections surfaced, pushing the numbers to 221 deaths and 8,799 cases.
Three deaths each were reported from Amritsar (men aged 47, 65 and 70) and Jalandhar (two men aged 61 and 63 and a woman aged 65) and one each from Pathankot (63-year-old man) and Ludhiana (68-year-old man).
Jalandhar reported maximum new positive cases (92), including DSP Phillaur, eight employees of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) office and five Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel. Jalandhar RTA had tested positive Saturday. Of the fresh cases in Jalandhar, 49 were contacts of positive cases and 43 new cases for which source of infection was not immediately known.
Ludhiana reported 61 new cases. Five personnel from Ludhiana Rural police, one from Ludhiana city police and one from Moga police tested positive, Wednesday. Three Assistant sub-inspectors, one Punjab Home Guard (PHG) and one woman constable, from Mullanpur Dakha police station of Ludhiana rural, tested positive, taking total number of cases from this police station to nineteen. A 30-year old head constable from division number 2 police station, tested positive in Ludhiana city. A 50-year old assistant sub-inspector from Nihal Singh Wala police station tested positive in Moga.
The other districts which reported new cases were Patiala (26), Amritsar (22), Ferozepur (21) Mohali (13), Nawanshahr (9), Pathankot (7), Faridkot and Muktsar (6 each), Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib (5 each), Bathinda and Hoshiarpur (3 each), Tarn Taran, Ropar and Barnala (2 each) and Fazilka, Moga and Gurdaspur (1 each).
Punjab Wednesday reported eight more coronavirus fatalities as 288 fresh infections surfaced, pushing the numbers to 221 deaths and 8,799 cases.
Three deaths each were reported from Amritsar (men aged 47, 65 and 70) and Jalandhar (two men aged 61 and 63 and a woman aged 65) and one each from Pathankot (63-year-old man) and Ludhiana (68-year-old man).
Jalandhar reported maximum new positive cases (92), including DSP Phillaur, eight employees of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) office and five Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel. Jalandhar RTA had tested positive Saturday. Of the fresh cases in Jalandhar, 49 were contacts of positive cases and 43 new cases for which source of infection was not immediately known.
Ludhiana reported 61 new cases. Five personnel from Ludhiana Rural police, one from Ludhiana city police and one from Moga police tested positive, Wednesday. Three Assistant sub-inspectors, one Punjab Home Guard (PHG) and one woman constable, from Mullanpur Dakha police station of Ludhiana rural, tested positive, taking total number of cases from this police station to nineteen. A 30-year old head constable from division number 2 police station, tested positive in Ludhiana city. A 50-year old assistant sub-inspector from Nihal Singh Wala police station tested positive in Moga.
The other districts which reported new cases were Patiala (26), Amritsar (22), Ferozepur (21) Mohali (13), Nawanshahr (9), Pathankot (7), Faridkot and Muktsar (6 each), Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib (5 each), Bathinda and Hoshiarpur (3 each), Tarn Taran, Ropar and Barnala (2 each) and Fazilka, Moga and Gurdaspur (1 each).
After an employee was tested positive, West Bengal speaker Biman Banerjee announced that the state Assembly premises shall remain closed for 10 days.
*Bengal death toll reaches 1,000 with 20 more fatalities; state records highest single-day rise of 1,589 cases
*Maharashtra's tally rises to 2,75,640 with 7,975 new cases; 233 deaths take toll to 10,928
*TN reports 4,496 new cases and 68 fatalities; 5000 patients discharged in a single day, taking total recoveries to 1.02 lakh
*Tripura registers 90 fresh cases, count rises to 2,184
*Nagaland reports 6 cases, tally at 902
*29 more deaths take toll to 1,012 in UP, 1,659 fresh cases raise infection tally to 41,383
* Delhi records 1,647 fresh coronavirus cases, taking tally to 1,16,993; death toll climbs to 3,487
The West Bengal government has announced that a comprehensive town-wide lockdown will imposed in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area (Darjeeling district) for a period of seven days w.e.f July 16, at 9 am to contain the spread of COVID-19. Only essential services will be available. The following will be closed till further notice:
1) All government and private offices except those providing essential services like law and order, Covid-19 management, treasury, banking, disaster management.
2) All religious and social events except marriages and last rites with allowed number of people.
3) All markets and shops selling non-essential items.
4) All industrial activities involving non-essential activities.
*Amid the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday told youth it was important to "stay relevant" as businesses and markets were changing, along with work culture and the nature of jobs.
*The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 9.3 lakh Wednesday, after 29,429 new infections were reported from across the country a day before. Over 24,300 people have succumbed to the disease, while nearly 60,000 have recovered.
*Karnataka has overtaken Gujarat to become the third worst-hit state in the country after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
*Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation in the national capital was "under control", but warned against complacency.
*Goa announced a lockdown from July 16 to July 20. The state has 1,128 active cases of the coronavirus.
Worldwide
*More than 13 million infections have been recorded and 577,000 deaths. The rise in cases is being fuelled by the Americas, which account for over half the world’s infections and half the deaths.
*China is further easing restrictions on domestic tourism after reporting no new local cases of COVID-19 in nine days.
*South Africa surpassed the United Kingdom in terms of total coronavirus cases. The country now has the world’s eight highest number of cases, with 2,98,292.
*Thailand revised rules for foreign visitors. The government said diplomats will be asked to stay in state-supervised quarantine for 14 days, instead of self-isolating, adding that it is postponing the recently allowed entry of some foreign visitors.
*Hong Kong Disneyland Park is closing Wednesday until further notice following the city’s decision to ban gatherings of more than four people to combat newly spreading infections.
On Tuesday,Delhi recorded 1,606 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the city to over 1.15 lakh, while the death toll from the disease mounted to 3,446.
Several senior bureaucrats, including the Commissioner and Secretary to Assam Governor, have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Wednesday. At least five senior officials have tested positive for novel coronavirus in the last 2-3 days, an official told PTI. Commissioner and Secretary to the Governor of Assam, S S Meenakshi Sundaram, his wife and mother have tested positive for COVID-19 and they are being treated at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here. Senior IAS officer Oinam Sarankumar Singh, the Commissioner of Industries Department and also the MD of Assam Industrial Development Corporation, has also tested positive for COVID-19, he said.
While most of the 160 Covid-19 vaccine candidates under various stages of development are conventional intramuscular injection, several research groups and firms, including in the United States, Canada and India, are working on nasal coronavirus vaccines. Instead of a jab into the upper arm, these types of vaccines will be delivered to the respiratory tract, either via a nasal spray or aerosol delivery. Since coronavirus is a respiratory infection and invades the airway, scientists from the UK’s Oxford University and Imperial College and US’ Yale University have said administering a vaccine at the entry points would train the mucosa to identify Covid-19 and block it from getting through. Scientists have identified two specific types of cells in the nose as the likely initial infection points for SARS-CoV2.