The vaccine candidate under trial by University of Oxford scientists in collaboration with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is the furthest in the process of trials and, according to a report in "The Times'Serum Institute of India (SII), world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has decided to pause clinical trials of Oxford-AstraZeneca or Covishield vaccine in India. “We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till AstraZeneca restarts the trials,” SII has said in an official statement. “We are following DCGI’s instructions and will not be able to comment further on trials,” the statement added.
Global pharma major AstraZeneca had, late on Tuesday evening, announced that it was putting a halt on ongoing clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine it was developing in collaboration with Oxford University after a volunteer developed neurological symptoms.
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 4,465,863 after nearly 96,000 fresh cases were registered in a single day. The death toll also increased from 73,890 to 75,063, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The number of recoveries stood at 3,471,783.
Just a few days ago, India became the second country with the largest caseload, after the United States, which has over 6.3 million cases. India is followed by Brazil, Russia and Peru. However, in terms of deaths due to Covid-19, India ranks third after the US and Brazil. There are over 27.7 million cases of Covid-19 across the world, and 902,468 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
A healthcare worker collects swab samples for Covid-19 testing at a construction site in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo: Nirmal Harindran)
While an independent group of experts began investigating the severe illness in a participant that led to a halt on clinical trials of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, the World Health Organisation said there was nothing to be discouraged about, since these kinds of incidents routinely happen during trials. Meanwhile, the India trials of the vaccine, being carried out by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, have also been halted. Serum had, on Wednesday, claimed that the India trials would remain unaffected by AstraZeneca’s decision. However, it was issued a show-cause notice by the officer of the Drug Controller General of India, and on Thursday, Serum said it was putting a hold on India trials. Till now, 100 participants have been given the vaccine in India where combined phase-2 and phase-3 trials were approved last month. About 1,600 participants were planned to be enrolled for the complete trial. Click here to read more.
Once the bottom-ranked state in terms of testing, Jharkhand has significantly scaled up the rate of the procedure—from 8,837 tests per million in August 2 to 33,125 now. Now, the state is eighth from the bottom in tests per million—ahead of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. As on September 9, the number of samples tested for Covid-19 stood at 12.69 lakh compared to 4.48 lakh people who were tested as on August 15 for Covid-19. The state has 55,926 positive cases with 15,431 active ones. As many 39,362 people have recovered and discharged while 503 have died.
Reiterating that all symptomatic negative cases of rapid antigen tests (RAT) must mandatorily take an RT-PCR retest for Covid, the Centre on Thursday directed all states to set up two teams each, at the level of the district and the state, to monitor and ensure that no potentially positive case is missed out. Symptomatic negative cases are those where the patient has symptoms of Covid, but tests negative. Since rapid antigen tests are known to have high degre of false negatives, the ICMR had mandated that symptomatic negative cases must get a retest through RT-PCR. Government sources, part of the team monitoring the pandemic, said the decision came after they found that a “few big states” are now reporting a significantly high percentage of symptomatic negatives not being retested through RT-PCR, thereby spreading the infection among the general population.
The UP government on Thursday fixed the cost of treatment of Covid patients in private hospitals and also reduced the price of RT-PCR and TrueNat tests to Rs 1,600 from Rs 2,500 earlier. Additional Chief Secretary (Medical & Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said that charging more than the decided amount will be considered violation of Epidemic Disease Act.
The World Health Organization's chief scientist says the agency isn't overly worried about the pause in the clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan called the pause in Oxford's clinical trial "a wake-up call" to the global community to realize "there are ups and downs in research."
Swaminathan says early data in human vaccine candidates so far has been "quite promising," showing the shots trigger an immune response. But she says trials must be conducted in tens of thousands of people to determine whether a vaccine can safely protect people from infection. "It could be that we see some results end of the year, it could be next year," she said. "We have to be a little bit patient and wait for the results." (AP)
The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 3,771 on Thursday after 41 more patients succumbed to the disease, a bulletin released by the state health department said. The coronavirus tally also mounted to 1,93,175 after 3,112 people from various parts of the state tested positive for the contagion. Since Wednesday, 3,035 patients recovered from the infection taking the discharge rate to 85.95 per cent. The number of active cases stood at 23,377, the bulletin said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 3,771 on Thursday after 41 more patients succumbed to the disease, a bulletin released by the state health department said. The coronavirus tally also mounted to 1,93,175 after 3,112 people from various parts of the state tested positive for the contagion. Since Wednesday, 3,035 patients recovered from the infection taking the discharge rate to 85.95 per cent. The number of active cases stood at 23,377, the bulletin said. (PTI)
A total of 448 Covid-19 deaths, highest single-day count till now, were reported in Maharashtra on Thursday. Death toll in the state now stands at 28,282.
An assistant sub-inspector of Kolkata Police succumbed to COVID-19 Thursday after a week-long battle with the disease, reported PTI. ASI Goutam Mahato, who was in his late 40s, died at a city hospital on Thursday morning, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. "He had been on the frontline, fighting the pandemic from the very beginning. Mahato complained of uneasiness a week ago and was taken to the hospital, where he tested positive for the infection," the officer added.
Close to 20 per cent of the 5.34 crore population in Andhra Pradesh has acquired immunity to COVID-19, a Sero prevalence study has revealed. The Sero survey was conducted in two phases last month with a sample size of 5,000 in each of the 13 districts, establishing that 19.7 per cent of people developed antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the infection-causing virus. Disclosing the survey findings, AP Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Katamaneni Bhaskar said 22.5 per cent population in urban areas and 18.2 per cent in rural acquired immunity for Covid-19. (PTI)
Kerala reported 3,349 new cases on Thursday out of the 40,014 samples tested. Of the total positive cases recorded today, 3,058 cases were due to local infection. On September 9, state had reported 3,402 cases from 45,949 samples.
Warning about high number of coronavirus cases being recorded in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Thursday asked the district administrations to work towards bringing down the fatality rate, reported PTI. He said providing immediate treatment to those with symptoms and saving the lives of those infected is his government's priority.
Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, the number of containment zones in the national capital has gone up to over 1,200, with the maximum 234 in southwest Delhi and the lowest 29 in northeast Delhi, according to government data. There are 1,272 containment zones in Delhi as on Thursday, according to information available on the revenue department's website. Of the 11 districts in the city, six have more than 100 containment zones southwest Delhi (234), west Delhi (169), north Delhi (148), south Delhi (145), central Delhi (120), and east Delhi (104). (PTI)
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed authorities to increase the number of ICU beds in hospitals and take steps to contain the spread of the infection, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday. Interacting with reporters, he also said plasma therapy will continue to be used in Delhi as it is proving to be effective in people who are in stage one or two of COVID-19 treatment, but not in stage three or those on ventilators. (PTI)
Serum Institute of India (SII), world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has decided to pause clinical trials of Oxford-AstraZeneca or Covishield vaccine in India. "We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till AstraZeneca restarts the trials," an official statement issued by SII has said. "We are following DCGI's instructions and will not be able to comment further on trials," the statement added.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended its interim order that no account will be declared NPA till further orders after the Centre said an expert panel has been formed to look into the issue of interest being charged by the banks on instalments deferred during the moratorium period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported PTI.
The top court granted two weeks to the Centre and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file the affidavit and place before it the decisions taken in this regard. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah posted the matter for further hearing on September 28 and said that the court expects that the government and RBI actively consider all the issues.
The bench clarified that it was giving a last opportunity and thereafter the matter will not be adjourned. The top court was hearing a batch of pleas which have raised the issue of interest being charged on instalments which were deferred during the moratorium period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is busy shooting for the upcoming season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The actor shared clicks from the sets of KBC 12, giving a glimpse into his work life amid the pandemic. He posted the pictures on his blog. Click to see more
"More than 74 per cent" of the total active cases of COVID-19 are in nine most affected states, while 69 per cent of the total deaths reported so far are concentrated in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, the Centre said on Thursday. The ministry said that 60 per cent of the cumulative cases of COVID-19 "have been reported from only five states -- Maharashtra (9,67,349),"Andhra Pradesh (5,27,512), Tamil Nadu (4,80,524), Karnataka (4,21,730), and Uttar Pradesh (2,85,041)". (PTI)
As many as 535 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Tripura on Thursday, pushing the state's tally to 17,274, a health official said. Tripura's coronavirus death toll rose to 167 as six more patients succumbed to the infection, he said. West Tripura district, under which Agartala falls, accounted for 88 of the 167 Covid-19 deaths reported in the state so far. The state now has 7,092 active coronavirus cases, while 9,993 people have recovered from the disease so far, and 22 patients have migrated to other states, the official said.
Television actor Sara Khan on Thursday shared that she has tested positive for coronavirus. The Santoshi Maa – Sunayein Vrat Kathayein actor said she is feeling fine and is under home quarantine. In a statement, Sara further shared that she had taken a break from shoot since she was feeling under the weather. The actor added that while she is asymptomatic, she is taking utmost care. She also requested everyone who came in contact with her to get themselves tested. “I am following home remedies because they work the best, and steam of course. COVID can happen to anyone, so it’s really important to maintain overall good health so that when it hits you, you have an immune system strong enough to fight back the virus,” Sara said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today cancelled the lockdown scheduled for Saturday. She tweeted: GoWB had initially announced a statewide lockdown on Sep 11th & 12th. Considering the NEET 2020 examination scheduled on 13th, we have received numerous requests from the student community on lifting lockdown norms on 12th, helping ease their travel to examination centres. Keeping their interest in mind, while keeping the statewide lockdown as it is on Sep 11th, it has been decided to cancel the lockdown on 12th, so that the students can attend the examination on 13th without any apprehensions or concerns. I wish them all the very best."
The Gujarat government on Wednesday declared a five-day monsoon session of the state Assembly from September 21, said an official release. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took the decision, the release added. Being held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the session, without a Question Hour, will be held with a number of precautionary measures. Quoting Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Pradeepsinh Jadeja, the release said, “The Chief Minister had requested the Assembly Speaker to exclude Question Hour from the session since a number of senior officers have been deployed for coordination in various districts during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and many other officers were also involved in corona related activities. It (the request) has been accepted by the Speaker and it has been decided to cancel the Question Hour.”
Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday and is undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospitals in Ahmedabad. Paatil got himself admitted to the hospital Tuesday after feeling tiredness. The BJP chief’s Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) was negative, following which he underwent RTPCR test that returned positive on Wednesday. On the result of his RTPCR test, Paatil said, “It has come positive… The (CT – cycle threshold – value) has come 28.9 and it can be recovered with three days’ treatment. I got admitted yesterday and three days will be over tomorrow (Thursday). So, my report will be done (again) day after tomorrow.”
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar today tested positive for coronavirus.
With Metro services likely to resume from September 14, special protocols were issued for commuters and staff by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday. However, the authorities will provide special services for NEET examinees on September 13. The Centre had suspended the services in the last week of March to contain the spread of Covid-19 infection. The Metro authorities have decided to run special Metro services on September 13, which is a Sunday, for the benefit of NEET candidates. A total of 66 services (33 UP and 33 DN) will be available on that day from 11 am to 7 pm from both ends – Noapara and Kavi Subhash stations. The services will be available in every 15 minutes. No token will be issued to commuters. Only Printed Card Tickets will be issued to bona fide candidates and their guardians. Examinees will have to present their bona fide admit cards at the Metro station gates.
Terming the pandemic as an unprecedented challenge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said India is putting up a well-planned fight against the pandemic under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. The BJP leader asked people to take necessary precautions until a vaccine is found. "Coronavirus is an unprecedented challenge for us. But we are fighting against it in a well-planned manner under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has recognised our efforts," he said while inaugurating projects worth Rs 134 crore in Gujarat.
Ahead of the festive season, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said: "Many festivals are approaching in the coming months. While the Covid-19 pandemic is under control in Delhi, it is important to have preventive measures in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 at religious places of worship." He added: "I would like to appeal to the general public as well as the organisations managing religious places to adhere to all the preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the religious places during the upcoming festival season."
Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan tested positive for Covid 19, official sources told PTI on Thursday. The Minister underwent a test on Wednesday after his car driver, his gunman and personal assistant had contracted the infection and the result came out positive. Officials said Chavan had been under home quarantine in Bidar after his staff tested positive on Tuesday. The Minister's office has requested all those who had come into contact with him recently to undergo tests and take precautions.
As many as 147 more people, including 17 security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the northeastern state's tally to 5,545 on Thursday, a senior health official told PTI. The Capital Complex region reported the highest number of new cases at 51, followed by 15 in Lower Dibang Valley and 11 each in East Siang, West Kameng and Changlang districts, he said. "Seven ITBP personnel, six Assam Rifles jawans and four Army men are among the new patients," State Surveillance Officer, Dr L Jampa, said. Barring five, all the new patients are asymptomatic and they have been shifted to Covid-19 care centres, he said.
Delhi Metro's Red Line, Violet Line and Green Line resumed services on Thursday after being closed for 172 days due to the pandemic, officials said. Yellow Line and Rapid Metro were the first to reopen on Monday, followed by Blue Line and Pink Line on Wednesday. "Seven lines of the Delhi Metro network are now open! Thank you dear commuters for following the safety guidelines and helping us maintain good service. #MetroBackOnTrack," the DMRC tweeted after the three new lines resumed services. Services on Red Line, Violet Line and Green Line resumed at 7 am, officials said.
Two undertrial prisoners, who had tested positive for coronavirus and were lodged in a government hostel in Pune designated as a temporary prison, escaped in the early hours of Thursday. This is the fourth such incident in which inmates have fled from the temporary prison. Prison department and local police officials said that the two inmates, who were kept in an isolation section, managed to flee at around 1 am on Thursday. Officials said one of the two had tried to escape on an earlier occasion but was caught later. The two are said to have bent the window grills and scale the compound wall. A police search is underway.
After several complaints about the long wait for cremation of bodies of Covid-19 patients at electric or gas furnace crematoriums in the city, which has among the highest caseloads in the country right now, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to allow the bodies to be cremated on a pyre. As per the norms, the body of a Covid-19 patient has to be cremated in designated civic crematoriums. “This has increased the load on the designated crematoriums…,” said a civic officer. “Cremation in an electric or gas-run furnace takes one hour and preparing the body for cremation takes more time. Families of the deceased have to wait for a long time at the crematoriums, due to the increasing number of deaths… so the PMC has provided an option to them to cremate the body on a pyre. Till now, it was done in an electric or gas-operated furnace,” said Srinivas Kandul, chief engineer of PMC, who is coordinating the cremation process during the pandemic.
Two policemen deployed in the security of UP Minister Suresh Rana in Shamli district have tested positive for Covid-19, an official said Thursday. The constables, deployed in Thanabhawan town, were admitted to a Covid hospital Wednesday evening, said superintendent of the local government health centre Kanti Prasad. Meanwhile, the district court in Kairana remained closed after a staffer tested positive for the virus.
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 4,465,863 after nearly 96,000 fresh cases were registered in a single day.
The volunteer whose serious ailment halted clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is a woman who has shown symptoms of a neurological disorder that affects the spinal cord, according to a report in Stat News, the media organisation which first reported that the clinical trials had been paused. The report said information about the woman was released by AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot during a “private conference call” with company investors. It said the CEO had informed the investors that the woman had symptoms of a rare disease called transverse myelitis, but that her condition was improving and she was likely to be discharged from the hospital soon. Click here to read more.
Amid the row over conducting the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for admission to premier engineering colleges in times of Covid, attendance for the exam held between September 1 and 6 fell by 20 percentage points over the first cycle held in January. While 94.32 per cent of registered students appeared for the exam held in January 2019, attendance fell to 74 per cent for the exam held earlier this month — the first national entrance test amidst the pandemic. According to data shared by the Education Ministry on Twitter Wednesday night, out of 8.58 lakh applicants, 6.35 lakh appeared for the engineering entrance test. This figure assumes significance given that attendance in pre-Covid days was much higher. According to data shared earlier by the National Testing Agency, attendance for JEE (Main) was 94.11% in January 2019, 94.15% in April 2019, and 94.31% in January this year.
While Gurgaon recorded around 2,800 Covid-19 cases in August, new cases have seen an uptick this month, with the district recording over 1,900 fresh cases in the first eight days of September. The total number of tests conducted so far in September is around one-third the total tests conducted in August. As per data from the daily health bulletins, Gurgaon saw 2,833 fresh cases in all of August, out of 61,132 people tested for the infection. From September 1-8, the district recorded 1,922 fresh cases from 21,886 tests. Gurgaon also witnessed seven deaths in September, against 10 fatalities in August.
Around 0.8% of over 7 lakh people in Delhi tested for Covid through the rapid antigen method have been retested through RT-PCR so far, of which 11% have come out as positive, according to data obtained through an RTI. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), which can produce results within 30 minutes, were introduced in Delhi on June 18 after a decision was taken by the Centre and Delhi government to scale up testing in the city, where the positivity rate had crossed 20%. Between June 18 and August 27, the city saw approximately 7,45,892 rapid antigen tests. According to guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a person testing negative through RAT method should “definitely” be retested through RT-PCR if he or she shows symptoms of Covid-19.
Delhi recorded 4,039 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, marking the highest single-day tally so far. The total cases in the city also crossed 2 lakh, of which 86 per cent have recovered. The rise in cases, however, has been accompanied by aggressive testing, with over 54,000 people being tested in 24 hours. Of these, around 11,000 tests were conducted through RT-PCR and over 43,000 through Rapid Antigen Test kits. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile said that there was no reason to be scared. “Today, highest number of cases – 4039 – but also the highest number of tests – 54,517 – against 15,000-20,000 tests till last week. If we did same number of tests today cases would be less than 1,500. So, don’t be scared by number of cases. Delhi wages war against corona with aggressive testing… Number of deaths continues to be low. It is 20 today, against more than 100 per day in June. People are falling ill and recovering. Through aggressive testing, we are isolating them and preventing its spread,” he tweeted.
The central drug regulator has issued a show-cause notice to Serum Institute of India (SII) for not informing it about pharma giant AstraZeneca pausing the clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in other countries and also for not submitting casualty analysis of the "reported serious adverse events".
The show-cause notice was issued following reports that human trials of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate, being developed by the University of Oxford, have been put on hold after a UK participant had an adverse reaction to it. The Drugs Controller General of India, Dr V G Somani, in his show-cause notice has asked SII as to why the permission granted for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the vaccine candidate in the country be not suspended till patient safety is established. (PTI)
The Punjab government on Wednesday said those flying in from abroad with up to 96-hour-old COVID negative certificates for themselves can now go for home quarantine in the state. International travellers, who get themselves tested on arrival at the airport, can also go home for quarantine if found negative, as part of the Union government's new directives, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said. He said Punjab is currently at the 17th position in the country in terms of COVID cases. The CM said after the decline in testing due to rumour-mongering and fake propaganda, the number of COVID tests has risen to around 28,000 per day again amid the police crackdown on miscreants spreading misinformation in the state.
Surat reported 266 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest in the state, which raised the case tally in the district to 23,424, the Gujarat health department said. The COVID-19 death toll in the district rose to 910 with four more patients dying, it said.
At the same time, 276 patients were discharged from hospitals in the district during the day, the department said in a release. While Surat city reported 176 recoveries against 174 new cases on Wednesday, the rural parts reported 100 recoveries compared to 92 new cases.
Himachal Pradesh continues to implement its institutional quarantine mechanism and the government continues to ensure the treatment of each Covid patient even though these practices have eroded in other states, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told the state Legislative Assembly on the third day of the monsoon session here Wednesday.
“Those returning home are still being quarantined at home or at a centre to control the spread of infection. Himachal has reported fewer cases and deaths than many smaller states such as Tripura and Puducherry,” he said while giving his reply to a Covid-related discussion which began on Monday following an adjournment motion by the Congress. The state has reported 60 deaths and nearly 8,000 cases so far.
The state's own revenue during the first five months of this fiscal has dropped by Rs 1,312 crore or 30 per cent as compared to last year, and the state took a loan of Rs 500 crore during this period while paying off previous debts worth Rs 2,285 crore, Thakur said.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest single-day spike of 1,617 new COVID-19 cases, taking the union territory's infection tally to 47,542, officials said on Wednesday. "The UT recorded 1,617 fresh cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. This is the biggest single-day spike in new infections in Jammu and Kashmir," the officials said. It was for the seventh time in as many days that the number of new COVID-19 infections have crossed 1,000 mark in a 24-hour period, they said. Among the new cases, 894 were reported from the Jammu region and 723 from the Kashmir valley, the officials said.
The national capital recorded 4,039 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike so far, as the tally breached the two lakh-mark, while the death toll mounted to 4,638, authorities said. This is the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic that over 4,000 cases have been recorded in Delhi in a day.
The previous highest single-day spike of 3,947 cases was recorded on June 23. Twenty fatalities have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department. The tally of active cases rose to 23,733 from 22,377 the previous day, it said. The death toll from COVID-19 in Delhi stood at 4,618 on Tuesday.
Amidst grave allegations of mismanagement at the state-run apex COVID Hospital - Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital here, the Tripura Human Rights Organization ( THRO) on Wednesday staged a silent protest, claimed the government has failed to manage the pandemic crisis and demanded the government to put the house back in order.
According to the latest report, 160 people have succumbed to the coronavirus pandemic out of 16,157 people tested positive with the virus till date.
Among these, relatives of many deceased persons have raised allegations of mismanagement, lack of oxygen support in hospitals, negligence of duties of medical officials and personnel, purportedly leading to the deaths. On the issue, THRO chief and human rights activist, lawyer Purushottam Roy Barman organized a silent protest and alleged that the state government has failed to improve healthcare infrastructures for COVID-19 treatment in the past six months.
"There is no proper treatment for Covid-19 patients at GBP hospital. We don't want any citizen should put their lives at risk due to mismanagement of the health administration. We demand the government to upgrade infrastructures of the COVID care centres, provide cash for Covid-19 patients who are in home isolation and appoint more health staff and workers," Roy Barman said. (With inputs from Debraj Deb)
Rapper Raftaar on Wednesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently home quarantined. The 31-year-old rapper said he was supposed to start shooting for the latest season of MTV's reality show "Roadies" and therefore got himself tested for coronavirus.
"I wanted to give you an update. I had to go for 'Roadies' and before that I had to test for COVID-19. Two of my tests were negative, but the result which came today was positive.
"BMC has asked me to self-isolate. So I am home quarantining," Raftaar shared in a video posted on his Instagram Story. The rapper said he is awaiting the next test as he believe that his COVID-19 diagnosis could have been an "error".
Despite a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital over the last fortnight, the Delhi government has ruled out the possibility of another lockdown. Health Minister Satyendar Jain was quoted as saying by PTI that the economy “cannot be kept shut for eternity” as the livelihoods of millions depend on it. The minister also said that “extreme caution and not panic” should be the response of the city, and people should exhibit greater alertness and responsibility in public places to deal with this health crisis.
In the first eight days of the month, Delhi registered 22,378 fresh coronavirus cases, including 3,609 fresh coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day spike in 76 days, as the city moved towards two lakh-mark with over 4,618 deaths due to COVID-19 so far. Amidst an atmosphere of anxiety due to the massive surge in Delhi, especially after the coronavirus cases were steadily declining in August, Jain said, "this is once in a century pandemic after the Spanish Flu of 1918. And, people will have to learn to live with COVID-19 as it is not going away so soon". (PTI)
Southeast Asia’s top diplomats held their annual talks by video Wednesday to discuss the immense crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and rising tensions in the South China Sea amid the escalating rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meetings, delayed by a month, were held online due to continuing health risks posed by COVID-19. The 10-nation bloc’s foreign ministers were to meet Asian and Western counterparts, including those from the U.S. and China, later in the week, capped by an annual security forum.
Vietnam is hosting the talks as this year’s chairman of the diverse group. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for regional solidarity amid the headwinds in an austere opening ceremony attended by a few dozen diplomats in the capital, Hanoi.
“The valuable fruits of our cooperation are being tested in an environment full of volatility and unprecedented challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic,” Phuc said.
While AstraZeneca announced a temporary halt late on Tuesday to the global trials of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford due to a serious adverse event in the United Kingdom, recruitment of participants in India had already been put on hold last week after the first 100 participants were administered the shot.
The adverse event seen in the UK case has not been noted in any of the Indian participants so far. However, it is likely to be taken up by a safety expert group which will review information collected from the first set of participants in the human clinical trials in India. Read more here
The Rajiv Chowk metro station, one of the biggest interchange facilities in Delhi-NCR, witnessed a slight increase in the number of commuters as the Blue Line resumed Wednesday, but food outlets struggled to find customers amid the COVID-19 scare. The Delhi Metro began operations with the Yellow Line after remaining shut since March 22. However, fewer people travelled on the Metro on the first day. The trains are now operating for four hours each during morning and evening. On Wednesday, the interchange facilities began on Blue and Yellow Lines at nine stations. An employee of a food outlet at Rajiv Chowk metro station said it opened on Monday.
Union minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world the importance of protecting precious health gains, and stressed on investing in health and building a robust healthcare delivery system with a special focus on rural areas.
Representing India at the 73rd session of WHO southeast Asia Region, he highlighted the giant strides the country made under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protect the lives and livelihood of its citizens from the pandemic. "So far the public health achievements made in the region have been laying the foundation of a bright future for our people. However, COVID-19 has turned the clock back years if not decades in the fight against infectious diseases.
"Data suggests that COVID-19 has already derailed a lot of our efforts and is taking us back to where we were 20 years ago. This is a stark reality and we need to take cognizance. On our part, we left no stones unturned to contain and mitigate the virus. I would say India has responded well to the challenges posed by the pandemic," he said at the virtual session.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday expressed happiness after six members of the dwindling Great Andamanese tribe, who tested positive for coronavirus, recovered and returned to their island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. 'It is indeed my pleasure to inform you that six members of a vulnerable tribal group from Andaman and Nicobar Islands who tested positive and were undergoing treatment, have recovered and returned to their Island. God bless them with many more years of healthy life,' he posted on Twitter.
There are only 59 surviving members of the Great Andamanese tribe, all of them on Strait Island in the archipelago. After six members of the tribe, who had travelled to Port Blair, the regions' capital, for work, tested positive for the virus, a health team travelled to Strait Island last month to carry out tests of the remaining members. Out of 37 samples tested, four more from the tribe were found to be positive, Health Department Deputy Director and Nodal Officer Avijit Roy had told PTI.
A doctor's prescription for COVID-19 testing would not be required in the national capital from now with the Delhi government issuing an order on Wednesday in this regard. "In continuation of various measures undertaken by the Delhi government to augment COVID-19 testing and to ensure that it is more accessible than ever, it has been decided that henceforth there will be no requirement of a prescription from a qualified medical practitioner for COVID-19 testing in Delhi," the order read.
However, testing will be conducted in accordance with the strategy/advisory issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and as per the orders issued by the Delhi government from time to time, it said.
One more person died of coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 60, while 49 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 7,881. According to health department data, the fatality was reported from Sirmaur.
Solan accounts for 15 of the total COVID-19 deaths in the state, followed by 11 in Kangra, eight in Mandi, seven in Shimla, five each in Hamirpur, Chamba and Una, and four in Sirmaur. The number of active cases in the state stood at 2,300, Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said. Of the 49 fresh cases, 36 were reported from Chamba, six from Kullu, five from Shimla and one each from Bilaspur and Mandi, he said. Meanwhile, 64 patients -- 45 in Solan, 18 in Hamirpur and one in Bilaspur -- recovered from the virus.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday called for increasing contact tracing of coronavirus patients in Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad. According to the health department, the state reported 6,743 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, out of which, 887 cases were found in Lucknow, 431 in Kanpur Nagar, 306 cases in Allahabad, among other places.'Contact tracing has an important role in controlling the spread of COVID-19 infection. This work should be conducted in a systematic and effective manner. In Lucknow, Prayagraj and Kanpur, contact tracing should be increased,' a statement quoted the chief minister as saying.He was speaking at a COVID-19 review meeting. He said the state government was committed to protect the people from the infection and provide better treatment to all.
Over 11.54 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in a span of 24 hours taking India's cumulative tests to over 5.18 crore so far, while during the same period nearly 75,000 people have recuperated from the disease taking the total number of recoveries to 33,98,844 in the country, the Centre said on Wednesday.
Timely diagnosis through higher levels of countrywide testing has furnished valuable opportunities to isolate or hospitalize the positive cases adequately in advance for appropriate treatment. This in turn has facilitated lower mortality rates (1.69 per cent as on date) and speedy recovery, the Union Health Ministry underlined. "India is one of the few countries that have reported very high numbers of daily testing. The daily testing capacity has already crossed 11 lakh," it highlighted.
With 11,54,549 tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours on Tuesday, India's cumulative tests have reached 5,18,04,677. (PTI)
With more than 3,600 new cases on Tuesday, Delhi is now nearing its all-time high of novel coronavirus cases detected in a single day. That was achieved way back on June 23, when 3,947 cases were discovered. Considering the recent upward trend, the national capital looks poised to touch a new high in the next couple of days.
The city also looks set to cross the 2-lakh figure on Wednesday, close on the heels of Pune which had reached there last weekend. Pune is still reporting more number of new cases every day than Delhi, but the gap is closing, and current trends show that Delhi might go ahead within two to three days. Read more here
Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus crisis in India and other parts of the world on Wednesday.
Covid-19 safety protocols like maintaining adequate social distancing and wearing masks were flouted in Indore Tuesday when a huge procession (Kalash Yatra) was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to honour Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Tulsi Silawat, who is contesting from the Sanwer constituency in the upcoming State Assembly bypoll. Watch video: