Coronavirus July 30 updates: Lockdown in Bihar extended till August 16; flight restrictions to Kolkata from 6 cities to continue till Aug 15

Announcing further easing of curbs, the Karnataka government on Thursday said there will be no lockdowns on Sundays in the State from August 2, as it issued Unlock 3.0 guidelines in line with the Centre's norms.

In view of the rising coronavirus cases, the government had imposed total lockdown on Sundays starting from July 5. Also restrictions on the movement of individuals during the night (night curfew from 9 pm-5 am) have been removed under unlock 3.0.

For the first time since the coronavirus lockdown came into force on March 25, the government has allowed the opening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums from August 5. The order said, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for this will be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare (MoHFW) and Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka. (PTI)

Teerth-purohits of Gangotri have withdrawn their decision against allowing pilgrims from outside Uttarakhand to visit the Himalayan temple after being warned of stern legal action by the Chardham Devasthanam Board.

The priests withdrew the decision after it was conveyed to them that the temple is managed by the Chardham Devasthanam Board and they cannot stop any pilgrim from visiting the temple in violation of its orders, said Tehsildar Pratap Singh Chauhan who was sent to Gangotri by the district magistrate to talk to the priests. There is no bar on any pilgrim with proper documents visiting the temple, Chauhan said. (PTI)

Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday said that home care isolation as per ICMR guidelines will be implemented in the state on a trial basis, initially for the Covid infected healthcare workers.

Addressing the media, the Chief Minister said, “Based on the ICMR’s guidelines and the recommendations of the expert committee, home care isolation will be implemented in Kerala for asymptomatic patients. Majority of the people infected by Covid have no symptoms and they do not require much treatment. They are placed in CFLTCs to prevent the spread of the disease to others. These patients can be at home but must fully comply with isolation conditions. Home care isolation is being implemented on an experimental basis for healthcare workers. They are being selected initially because they are aware of the system. But at the same time, no one is being forced into home isolation. Interested healthcare workers will have to give an affidavit.”

The Manipur government Thursday extended the total lockdown in the state till August 6 after the state reported its third COVID-19 fatality. The victim, a 48 years old man from Langol Imphal West district succumbed at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) on Thursday around 11 am. The report comes close on the heels of the death of second COVID-19 patient at the hospital. 

The Chief Secretary in the order has directed all the deputy commissioners of the districts to strictly enforce the total lockdown and curfew. Manipur Chief Minister last Wednesday announced total lockdown and curfew for seven days with a sudden surged in the COVID-19 positive cases in the state. Since then, the entire state was under complete curfew starting from 2 pm of Thursday.

(Inputs from Jimmy Leivon, Imphal) 

Restriction on flights to Kolkata from 6 cities, including Delhi, extended up to August 15: NSCBI Airport authorities.

The government has imposed additional restrictions, in-state headquarters, district headquarters, sub-divisional headquarters, block headquarters, and all municipal areas in the state from August 1-16 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bihar government has extended the lockdown imposed in the state till August 16.

Bihar lockdown extended till 16 August @IndianExpress

— Santosh Singh (@santoshchitra) July 30, 2020

Kerala on Thursday reported 506 new cases of Covid-19 in the state. Out of the total new cases, as many as 375 were infected through local contacts, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed during a press brief.

#IndiaFightsCOVID19 #KeralaCovid19 Kerala reports 506 cases today till noon. 375 of them through local contacts. 794 recovered. CM said list of positive for the day is not final @IndianExpress

— shaju philip (@shajuexpress) July 30, 2020

With the coronavirus pandemic affecting consumers’ behaviour and purchasing pathways, new fashion trends are now emerging across the world.

Global fashion search platform Lyst analysed the shopping behaviours of more than nine million people per month over a three-month period from April to June. According to the 2020 Lyst Index report, athleisure, sandals, and face masks are becoming the most popular fashion choices now.

The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Thursday issued fresh guidelines for Unlock 3.0.

Under these, schools, colleges, educational institutions, cinema halls, swimming pools, parks will remain closed while Yoga centers and gyms will be allowed to open from August 5.

Social, political, and religious gatherings will also not be allowed.

Last month, a report published by the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had underscored the importance of wearing face-masks by citing a case study of a hair salon in Missouri. Despite two stylists at the salon having confirmed coronavirus infections with symptoms, nearly 140 people who interacted with them finished their 14-day quarantine periods with no signs of illness. The reason: the stylists wore face coverings.

Now in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, a similar case study, though much larger in scale, has emerged.

The benefits of wearing face coverings and gloves have come to light after a total of 2,123 people are believed to have been spared from contracting the coronavirus infection after visiting a laboratory where four staff members tested positive for the virus. On Wednesday (July 29), health and local body officials in Aryad block panchayat were relieved when all of them completed their two-week mandatory quarantine with no symptoms of the infection. Click here to read our report.

It’s dog eat dog in the world of COVID-19 vaccines.

That’s the fear of global health agencies planning a scheme to bulk-buy and equitably distribute vaccines around the world. They are watching with dismay as some wealthier countries have decided to go it alone, striking deals with drugmakers to secure millions of doses of promising candidates for their citizens.

The deals – including those agreed by the United States, Britain and the European Union with the likes of Pfizer (PFE.N), BioNtech (22UAy.F), AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Moderna (MRNA.O) – are undermining the global drive, experts say.

The concern is that vaccine supply and allocation in this pandemic will echo the last – caused by the H1N1 flu virus in 2009/2010 – when rich nations bought up the available supply of vaccines, initially leaving poor countries with none. Click here to read the full report.

A pregnant woman tested positive for COVID-19, had to deliver her baby in an ambulance when she was being transferred from a district hospital in Tripura’s Kumarghat area to the apex state referral hospital in Agartala, which is 130 km away.

Laxmi Rani Chowdhury, 25, was taken to a district hospital at Kailashahar in Unakoti district on the morning of July 28, Tuesday. She underwent a mandatory rapid antigen test on arrival, where she tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital authorities referred her to Govind Ballabh Panth (GBP) Hospital in Agartala immediately on grounds of infrastructure shortage.

The ambulance carrying her also dropped another COVID-19 patient to Kumarghat Hospital, which was 30 km from the district hospital. Once there, Laxmi developed pain and her relatives sought help from the hospital authorities, who kept her under observation for an hour. Since the patient did not go into labour, she was again referred to Agartala. Click here to read our report.

After a few staff members at Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio’s residential complex in Kohima tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the residential office has been closed for 48 hours. However, the normal functioning of the CMO continues, with all guidelines in place. “Few persons in the Chief Minister’s Residential Complex have tested positive for COVID-19. All SOPs are being implemented. The complex is being sanitized and the residential office closed for 48hrs” said a tweet from the Chief Minister’s official handle. Nagaland currently has 961 active Covid-19 cases. Its two main centres, Dimapur and capital Kohima are currently under lockdown.

Few persons in the Chief Minister’s Residential Complex have tested positive for COVID-19. All SOPs are being implemented. The complex is being sanitized and the residential office closed for 48hrs. The normal functioning of the CMO is continuing following all guidelines.

— CMO Nagaland (@CmoNagaland) July 30, 2020

"Over 1,81,90,000 tests have been conducted in the country including RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests. There has been a week on week increase in average tests per day. India is conducting 324 tests per 10 lakhs population per day," R Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health said.

Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that herd immunity in a country of the size and population of India can’t be a strategic option. “It can only be achieved through immunisation. Health Ministry thinks it’s possible in the future but for now, we have to follow COVID appropriate behaviour,” R Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health was quoted as saying by ANI.

Food insecurity for US households last week reached its highest reported level since the Census Bureau started tracking the data in May, with almost 30 million Americans reporting that they’d not had enough to eat at some point in the seven days through July 21. In the bureau’s weekly Household Pulse Survey, roughly 23.9 million of 249 million respondents indicated they had “sometimes not enough to eat” for the week ended July 21, while about 5.42 million indicated they had “often not enough to eat.” The survey, which began with the week ended May 5, was published Wednesday.

The number of respondents who sometimes had insufficient food was at its highest point in the survey’s 12 weeks. The number who often experienced food insufficiency was at its highest since the week ended May 26.

This follows deep recession resulting from the pandemic, which put millions of Americans out of work. Unemployed Americans have been receiving an extra $600 per week benefit, which is set to expire at the end of July as Congress debates a new relief package.

India is currently conducting around five lakh COVID-19 tests every day and the plan is to double the number in the next one-two months, Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.

During the launch of a compendium on ‘Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Technologies for COVID-19 Mitigation’, Vardhan, who is also the Union health minister, said that the country’s recovery rate of over 64 per cent is the best in the world while the fatality rate is nearly 2.2 per cent, news agency PTI reported.

"In April, we used to conduct 6,000 tests daily. Today, we are conducting over five lakh tests every day. Our plan is to take it to 10 lakh tests daily in 1-2 months and we are working towards it," Vardhan said.

Vietnam has had one of the world’s best records in containing the coronavirus despite bordering China, its biggest trading partner, where the virus was first reported.

But after more than three months with no reports of local transmission, new cases have now been reported in six cities and provinces in the past week and authorities in the communist-ruled country are scrambling to contain the new outbreak. Click here to read our explainer.

Maharashtra will start clinical trials using convalescent plasma therapy for 472 severely ill patients across 21 medical colleges next week. As an incentive to encourage donors, the state government will give Rs 2,000 to each plasma donor. The recovery rate in Maharashtra is 59.24 per cent and till Tuesday, as many as 2.32 lakh patients in the state had recovered from the infection. The state government already has a list of 3,000 eligible donors and authorities are hopeful that at least 20 per cent will be ready after counselling. The ‘Platina trial’, an initiative of the state Medical Education Department, was announced by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray a month ago. Rs. 16.65 crore has been allocated for this project from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

The Maharashtra government has allocated Rs 31.14 crore to Sassoon General Hospital for recruiting 926 healthcare staff, including experienced medical professionals like intensivists, physicians, nurses, ICU technicians and Class IV staff, to deal with the rising number of coronavirus cases. An order issued on July 28 has given the approval to outsource personnel appointment for six months. Work is underway to step up the bed strength, sources said. The capacity in the 11- storey building is 530 beds and the district administration is hoping to increase it to 850. While work orders and instructions have been issued to the Public Works Department to set up oxygen pipelines on other floors, officials said that 400 beds are currently functional. “We received 40 ventilators last night from the state government and 120 ICU beds will be set up in three days,” said S Chokalingam, land settlement commissioner who has additional charge as nodal officer for Covid-19 at Sassoon Hospital.

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey today inspected the Patliputra Ashok Hotel, which has been converted into a 75-bedded Covid hospital.

Patna: Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey inspects the Patliputra Ashok Hotel, which has been converted into a 75-bedded COVID Hospital. pic.twitter.com/0XUaMtMthk

— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2020

All universities/institutions “obligated to conduct terminal semester/ final year exams by the end of September 2020”, the University Grants Commission told the Supreme Court today. It added that its revised guidelines provide for “special examination...as and when feasible” for students who can’t appear. The board also said that the decision of states like Maharashtra and Delhi “to either cancel” exams “for UG/PG students and/or to graduate” them “and confer degrees without appearing for the final year /terminal semester examinations is plainly contrary to the UGC guidelines”.

UGC says decision of states like Maharashtra & Delhi “to either cancel” exams “for UG/PG students and/or to graduate” them “and confer degrees without appearing for the final year /terminal semester examinations is plainly contrary to the UGC guidelines”. @IndianExpress

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) July 30, 2020

# Curfew time to keep grocery and vegetable shops open in Chennai has been extended to 7 pm
# The previous order to not allow more than five persons to gather in public places will continue to be in force
# Curfew will continue without any relaxation in quarantined zones
# The existing prevention practices will continue in railways and airways
# Following the guidance of the Central Government, Independence Day will be celebrated on August 15
# The ban on bus transport In Tamil Nadu will continue until further orders
# Theatres, gyms, swimming pools and parks will continue to remain closed until further orders
# Metro and electric train services will remain closed until further orders
# Schools and colleges will remain shut until further notice
# The ban on international flights will continue except for tasks permitted by Union Home Ministry
# In Tamil Nadu, 144 restraining orders will remain in force
# Curfew will be in effect for the next five Sundays in August
# The ban on the use of air conditioners in restaurants will continue
# Though eateries cannot entertain customers post 7 pm, they can still offer parcel service till 9 pm
# All shops can function in Chennai till 7 pm
# All products can be sold online
# Extension of ban on luxury hotels and hotels with accommodation

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in the national capital has started providing free testing and treatment to patients in its Covid-19 Health Centre, the AYUSH ministry said today. AYUSH Minister Sripad Yesso Naik had visited the centre on July 28 to review the arrangements for treatment of Covid-19 patients. During the visit, the minister announced that CHC will provide free testing and treatment facilities to all the patients, the AYUSH ministry said in a statement.

# Private industries in Chennai can function with 75% employees
# Eateries in Chennai can open from 6 am to 7 pm but only with 50% seating arrangements
# Temples in Panchayats and Municipalities earning less than Rs. 10,000 per annum can open
# Temples, churches and mosques are to remain shut in corporations

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy today extended the lockdown till August 31. Intense lockdown will be in force Sundays. An e-pass is mandatory for inter-district travel. Parks, beaches, cinema halls, and educational institutions will also continue to remain closed. The ban on inter-state transport will remain in place.

In spite of claims by Pune district authorities that there is no shortage of oxygenated beds or ventilator beds in ICUs in Pune city and Pimpri-Chinchwad, a resident of Aundh Road had to knock on the doors of at least 10 hospitals in a span of 24 hours before he received admission in the ICU of Ruby Hall Clinic. The family of the patient, who had symptoms of Covid-19 including fever, cough, fatigue and breathlessness, ran from pillar to post but were turned away from several private hospitals, which claimed that they had no ventilator bed available in ICU. In a letter sent to District Collector Naval Kishore Ram on Wednesday, 51-year Kutubuddin Shaikh, an engineer, has demanded a probe into his plight. “I was a suspected Covid-19 patient when my family went looking for beds in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad hospitals. More than 10 hospitals said they had neither an oxygen bed nor a ventilator bed available. The district collector should put the facts before Pune residents on whether there is a shortage of oxygenated beds or ventilator beds… I want the collector to order a probe,” stated Shaikh in the letter. Click here to read more.

Sanitation workers in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka can now avail benefits from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or the state government's insurance scheme. "In the case of untimely death of pourakarmikas during this pandemic, they are entitled for benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or the insurance scheme of the State Government," the order issued by Karnataka Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey read. Last week, the Karnataka High Court had directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to check whether these schemes were applicable to sanitation workers, known locally as pourakarmikas. The BBMP informed the court that a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each was given to the families of four pourakarmikas who succumbed to the coronavirus infection.

Bypolls to two Rajya Sabha seats -- one each in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala -- will be held on August 24, the Election Commission announced today. The bypolls were necessitated following the death of Beni Prasad Verma from UP and M P Veerendra Kumar from Kerala earlier this year. While the term of Verma was till July, 2022, Kumar's term was to end in April, 2022. The notification for the bypolls will be issued on August 6 and the election will be held on August 24. As per established practice, the counting of votes will be held on the same evening.

Authorities in Kathua on Wednesday ordered weekend lockdowns for an indefinite period in the district, beginning July 31, to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions will begin at 5 pm on all Fridays and will last till 6 am on Mondays, Kathua District Magistrate O P Bhagat said. Kathua is the second district after Jammu to announce a weekend lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir. An official order stated,: “There shall be complete restriction on movement of individuals, vehicles and all activities within the jurisdiction of district Kathua, except the movement for emergency medical requirements, from 5 pm on all Fridays till 6 am on all Mondays’’.

The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supporting various projects to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic in areas of boosting national healthcare capacities, reducing risk of transmission, mitigating socio-economic impact and catalysing transformative recovery, according to a UN-supported website. According to information on the website South-South Galaxy, a global knowledge sharing platform, supported by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), projects in Antigua and Barbuda focussed on strengthening national health capacities and reducing socio-economic and human development negative impacts of Covid-19 crisis. A one million dollar budget has been approved for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) implementation of the project, which aims to develop a food security strategy, identifying vulnerable households and develop mechanisms for cash-transfers and in-kind support.

As the national capital struggles to recover from the economic loss due to the pandemic, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced to slash the VAT on petrol and diesel from 30% to 16.75%.

Malaika Arora just showed us how to wear a face mask correctly at a time the safety equipment has become the new ‘normal’ amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a picture the Chhaiya Chhaiya star posted on Instagram, she shows how to place the mask such that it covers from the nose up to the chin. Make sure the nose does not remain exposed. Nor should you pull it down to your chin. “Please wear a mask and wear it the correct way. Protect urself and others,” Malaika wrote on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please wear a mask n wear it the correct way . Protect urself and others ? @my_bmc

A post shared by Malaika Arora (@malaikaaroraofficial) on Jul 28, 2020 at 12:11am PDT

The crime branch of Mumbai Police on Wednesday seized duplicate N-95 and V-410 V masks worth Rs 21.39 lakh from Lower Parel area, an official told PTI. These masks were going to be sold at higher prices, he said. Such masks, which are mainly meant for healthcare personnel, are in high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Acting on a tip-off, the Unit -3 of the crime branch laid a trap near Poddar Mills Compound on Tuesday evening and intercepted a tempo which was transpiring masks, the official said. Safdar Hussain Mohammad Jafar Momin (42), a resident of Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane was arrested.

The Karnataka government has put on hold a controversial proposal to drop certain chapters, including on Islam, Christianity, Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali, from social science textbooks to reduce the 2020-21 syllabi for students of classes 1 to 10, PTI reported. Citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption caused to the academic calender of the year, the government had earlier dropped the chapter on Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali from the Class 7 social science textbook, saying chapters on Tipu Sultan have been retained in the Class 6 and 10 textbooks.

The new coronavirus appears to have circulated unnoticed in bats for decades, scientists found. Horseshoe bats are the most plausible origin of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen, researchers led by Maciej Boni of Pensylvania State University’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics said in a study published Tuesday in Nature Microbiology. The virus’s origins have been at the center of much debate as the pandemic continues to stymie economies and the death toll surpasses 654,000. The World Health Organization sent experts to China to study the issue this month after U.S. government officials stoked speculation that the pathogen escaped from a Chinese lab. Click here to read more.

Between July 1 and July 29, Covid-19 cases in Bihar climbed from 10,205 to 45,919. And of the total 273 Covid-19 deaths reported in the state so far, 195 have occurred in the past 27 days. As the cases spike, the state government faces five key challenges in its fight against the virus.

Uttar Pradesh continued to record more than 3,000 coronavirus cases for a fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, taking the total count to 77,334. The new case count was 3,260 on Sunday, 3,578 on Monday, 3,490 on Tuesday and 3,570 on Wednesday. With this, Uttar Pradesh became the sixth state to surpass the 75,000 mark after Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It also saw at least 33 new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 1,530. Ten districts witnessed 100 or more cases and two of them over 200 cases since Tuesday. Lucknow and Kanpur Nagar witnessed 262 and 260 new cases. Gorakhpur saw 177 new cases, followed by 162 in Bareilly, 150 in Prayagaraj, 148 in Jaunpur, 144 in Moradabad, 127 in Varanasi, 103 in Bhadohi and 100 in Ballia. Click here to read more.

In Maharashtra, indoor gymnasiums and other fitness centres will remain closed in the next phase of 'Mission Begin Again'. Only outdoor centres for exercise and gymnastics can remain open from August 5, in line with the Centre's latest guidelines, following all social distancing and hygiene protocols, the government announced.

Andhra Pradesh detected more than 10,000 new cases of novel Coronavirus infections on Wednesday, and it was the first time since mid-March that any state had reported more cases than Maharashtra on any day. Maharashtra found 9,211 new cases on Wednesday, and the number of people who have been infected in the state so far went past 4 lakh. It was also only the second time that any state had reported more than 10,000 positive cases in a single day. On July 22, Maharashtra had detected over 10,500 new cases. Click here to read more.

Amid the bi-weekly lockdown, Kolkata Airport on Thursday announced that flight services will remain suspended on August 5th, 8th,16th,17th, 23rd, 24th and 31st. Passengers are requested to contact concerned airlines for changes in flight schedule, it said.

As many as 18,190,382 samples have been tested for Covid-19 so far.

COVID-19 Testing Update . For more details visit: https://t.co/dI1pqvXAsZ #ICMRFIGHTSCOVID19 #IndiaFightsCOVID19 #CoronaUpdatesInIndia #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/CpnWp6BjVc

— ICMR (@ICMRDELHI) July 30, 2020

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with the Health Ministry and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, plans to roll out a project to create a rigorous database of Covid-19 patients admitted in hospitals across the country in an effort to understand how treatment can be improved. The project, a national clinical registry, will also serve as a crucial platform to conduct clinical trials to study the effectiveness of newer therapies being used as part of treatment for this disease. Around 15 institutions are expected to help create this network and get hospitals and medical colleges on board as part of the exercise, which is awaiting clearances from a common ethics committee of the ICMR.

As many as 52,123 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, taking the total to 1,583,792. The death toll also rose to 34,968 from 34,193, according to data released

No fans inside the stadium at least in the beginning, commentators to sit six feet apart in studios, less crowded dugouts, not more than 15 players in a dressing room, post-match award presentations to follow social distancing norms — and four Covid tests in two weeks for all players. These are some of the key norms in the Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the Indian cricket board to be sent soon to IPL franchise owners for the T20 tournament that is expected to be held in the UAE from September to November. While the government’s approval to move IPL-13 to the UAE is awaited, the Emirates Cricket Board has confirmed its interest in hosting the event after receiving a request from the BCCI. Speaking to The Indian Express, a BCCI official said it’s not just the players on the field, even their wives and girlfriends, and franchise owners, will have to follow the norms for the “bio-bubble” that will be defined

Over 65% of Covid-19 deaths that have occurred in Bengaluru since July 1 — when cases and mortalities in the city began rocketing — happened within 24 hours of hospital admission or involved patients who were already dead when brought to hospital, an analysis of daily health bulletins put out by the Karnataka government shows. Bengaluru saw 860 coronavirus-linked deaths between July 1 and July 28. Of these, 479 (55%) died within 24 hours of hospital admission while 94 (10%) were declared dead on arrival, shows the data, that includes date of admission in each case and date of death in case of fatalities. The data also shows that all the patients who died within 24 hours of hospitalisation had been admitted in a state of breathlessness.

The Russian candidate vaccine for novel Coronavirus is back in the news again. According to report by Bloomberg, Russia was planning to ‘register’ its novel Coronavirus vaccine by August 10-12. The vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was likely to be approved for public use “within three to seven days of registration by regulators”, said the report. This is the same vaccine that was, earlier this month, reported to have successfully completed human trials. Actually, at that time, in the second week of July, this candidate vaccine had only completed phase-I human trials. Its phase-II trials began on July 13, according to a report in TASS news agency at that time.

The District Magistrate of Kathua, O P Bhagat, Wednesday ordered weekend lockdown in the district beginning July 31. The lockdown will be observed from 5 pm on all Fridays to 6 am Mondays as part of Covid-19 control measures.

The DM issued an order under Section 144 of CrPC read with section 34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, read: "There shall be a complete restriction on movement of individuals, vehicles and all activities within the jurisdiction of district Kathua, except the movement for emergency medical requirements, from 5 pm on all Fridays till 6 am on all Mondays."

This follows extensive consultation with Chief Medical Officer, Kathua, epidemiologist and other health professionals which emphasize on following strict social distancing norms and lockdown during the weekdays to prevent any further spike in the COVID-19 cases, it added.

However, local chemists, milk, curd and cheese sale counters, vegetables/fruits sale points shall remain open during the lockdown, the order said, adding that there shall be no restriction on movement of goods carriers, oil and LPG tankers as well. While there will be no curfew passes issued, the government employees of the essential services department or such other departments as required by the government will be permitted to move on the production of ID proof.

Following an increase in COVID cases, Jammu district has already been observing lockdown on Weekends beginning July 24.

--reported by Arun Sharma from Jammu

With no let-up in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Tripura, the state government Wednesday extended the “complete lockdown” by another five days. The lockdown has been in place in the state since Monday.

In a televised appeal, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said a continuous lockdown for at least eight more days was required to break the chain of transmission.

“We are going through a phase when social distancing and masks can protect us alone. Twenty-one people have regrettably died till now, most of them veterans. The ongoing lockdown that was supposed to continue till Thursday morning would now continue till 5 am on August 4. All guidelines from the ongoing lockdown would be in force,” Deb said.

Till date, 4,287 people have tested COVID-19 positive in the state, of which 2621 have recovered and discharged from hospital. Nearly 4,100 are currently under surveillance, including 218 in different quarantine centres and 3,882 under home quarantine.

The CM urged veterans, children and pregnant women to take additional care and said a door-to-door survey is being conducted to understand the actual spread of the virus. “When we will touch 9 lakh families, we will have an idea of the situation. We are only having an idea of percentage of spread now,” he said.

--reported by Debraj Deb

Haryana reported seven more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 413 as 755 new cases of the infection pushed the state's tally to 33,631.

Two fatalities each were registered in Faridabad and Panipat districts and one death each was reported in Gurgaon, Sonipat and Rohtak, the Health department's daily bulletin said.

Faridabad and Gurgaon districts have so far reported 129 and 122 deaths respectively. The two districts together account for 17,207 cases, which is more than half of the caseload in the state. (PTI)

Punjab on Wednesday reported a record 25 COVID-19 deaths on a single day and 568 coronavirus positive cases, taking the infection tally in the state to 14,946.

Ten deaths were reported from Jalandhar, nine from Ludhiana, three from Amritsar, two from Gurdaspur and one from Patiala, the state's daily medical bulletin said on Wednesday. With this, the death toll jumped to 361 in the state, as per the bulletin.

Ninety-five cases were found in Ludhiana, followed by 86 in Patiala, 77 in Amritsar, 45 in Jalandhar, 35 each in Gurdaspur and Barnala, 31 each in Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali, 30 in Sangrur, 21 in Tarn Taran, 15 in Pathankot, 13 in Moga, 11 in Rupnagar, nine each in Faridkot and Fazilka, seven each in Kapurthala and Muktsar, five in SBS Nagar, four in Ferozepur, and one each in Hoshiarpur and Bathinda, the bulletin said. (PTI)

With 9,211 new patients being detected, the number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra on Wednesday crossed the four lakh-mark.

While the case count in the state reached 4,00,651, death toll due to the pandemic went up to 14,463 with 298 patients dying, 60 of them in Mumbai, during the day, said health minister Rajesh Tope.

7,478 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered cases in the state to 2,39,755.

Maharashtra has now 1,46,129 active cases. A total of 20,16,234 people have been tested so far in the state, the health department said in a statement.

The Mumbai city and suburban areas reported 1,109 and 3,324 fresh cases of COVID-19, respectively. The case count in the state's capital, thus, is 1,11,991 and death toll 6,247. The larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has reported 2,32,923 COVID-19 cases and 9,414 deaths. (PTI)

According to the guidelines, international air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening up will take place in a calibrated manner.

International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening up will take place in a calibrated manner.@IndianExpress

— Deeptiman Tiwary (@DeeptimanTY) July 29, 2020

After extensive consultation with States and UTs, it has been decided that schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31, 2020, the centre has said.

According to the guidelines for unlock 3, Metro Rail, Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls, Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations will continue to remain closed. 

Following shall remain banned:
Metro Rail, Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls, Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations. @IndianExpress

— Deeptiman Tiwary (@DeeptimanTY) July 29, 2020

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued Unlock 3 guidelines. According to the fresh guidelines, restrictions on the movement of individuals during night has been removed. Also, yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from August 5, 2020. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) for ensuring social distancing.

Unlock 3 guidelines out.

Restrictions on movement of individuals during night (Night curfew) have been removed.@IndianExpress

— Deeptiman Tiwary (@DeeptimanTY) July 29, 2020

For the first time, the number of positive Covid-19 cases crossed the 10,000-mark in Andhra Pradesh in a single day with the state recording 10,093 cases Wednesday.. The state also conducted a record 70,584 tests in the last 24 hours. Sixty-five people succumbed to Covid-19 taking the total toll to 1213 in the state.

Out of the 10,093 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, East Godavari recorded the highest -- 1,676 cases -- followed by Anantapur with 1,371 cases and Guntur with 1,124 cases and Kurnool reported 1,091 cases. Visakhapatnam recorded 841 cases and Chitoor 819 cases.

The state has so far conducted 18,200,09 tests and the total positive cases are 1,20,390 with a 6.61 positivity rate. Officials said the state is using a combination of Rapid Antigen tests, Viral Diseases Diagnostic Labs tests, Trunat, and Naco tests. While 63,771 are active cases, 55,406 have taken treatment and have been discharged.

As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise rapidly, the state government has warned hospitals that any person with symptoms has to be admitted within 30 minutes to the Covid-designated government or private hospitals, failing which action would be initiated against them.

The Union health ministry has asked the Drugs Controller General of India to ensure equitable distribution of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab drugs, which have been included as "investigational therapies" in the national treatment protocols for COVID-19, across the country. The aim is to ensure that their availability is not skewed and does not remain confined to metropolitan areas, an official said.

The ministry has shot off a letter to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), asking it to ascertain how many states and Union territories (UTs) have been covered and which of them are left, as far as the availability and distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned.

"I am directed to say that apart from availability, the geographical distribution/reach of the drugs included as part of investigational therapies in Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19, namely Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, may also be monitored.

"This ministry may kindly be apprised as to how many states and UTs have been covered and which of the states and UTs, if any, are left as far as the availability and distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned," the letter dated July 27 said. (PTI)