The civic body is planning to reintroduce a strategy to declare containment zones, with restrictions on public movement in specific areas with higher number of cases.
(Representational/Express photo by Ashish Kale)The Centre has formed expert committees for inspection of government and other Covid facilities following directions of the Supreme Court, which took cognizance of shortcomings in the care of coronavirus patients in different hospitals in the country.
The expert committees constituted by the Ministry of Health have been tasked to inspect, supervise and guide government and other hospitals dedicated to COVID-19, the MoS Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections in India crossed the 54-lakh mark after 92,605 new cases were added in the past 24 hours. The toll has risen to 86,752 after 1133 casualties were reported in the country. Of the 54,00,620 infections in the country, 10,10,824 are active cases, while 43,03,044 patients have already been cured. Globally, over 30.6 million have been infected, of which, nearly 21 million have recovered so far. At least 955,841 people have succumbed to the virus so far.
An inspection was held across shops in Pune on Friday.
As people seek out natural immunity boosters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in Tripura, a local preparation has seen its sales shoot up considerably – the shidol, or fermented dry fish.
Shidol or berma has been eaten in Tripura for over a thousand years. While dry fishes are extensively consumed in different parts of India and in countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, what makes shidol special is its immunity-boosting benefits. Read our dispatch from Agartala.
Kerala reports 4,696 positive cases Sunday from a total of 41,630 samples. Highest daily figure so far in the coastal state- 4,425 local transmission cases. Source of infection is not known in 459 cases. Yesterday, 4644 cases were discovered from a total of 47,452 samples.
Karnataka will set up a special committee for research into the long-term effects of the novel coronavirus, the government announced Sunday.
According to Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar, the panel will comprise medical experts who will look into the details of how the viral infection takes form in patients with both mild and severe symptoms.
“Karnataka will constitute a special technical committee of medical experts to study the long-term effects of Covid-19 in people who have recovered from the infection. We will evaluate those who had mild or severe symptoms, with a special focus on patients with comorbidity,” Sudhakar said.
Sudhakar said the research will help the medical community further improve Covid-19 treatment. Read full report here.
Fourteen more fatalities related to coronavirus infection in a day took the death toll in Jammu and Kashmir past the 1,000-mark, while 1,457 fresh cases pushed the COVID-19 tally to 63,990 on Sunday.
Of the fresh deaths, nine were reported from Jammu and five from the Valley. The total number of fatalities has increased to 1,001, they said, adding the Jammu region has recorded 817 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day and the Kashmir Valley 640.
The government on Sunday said a total of 32,238 paramilitary personnel were infected by the Coronavirus so far. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha that 9,158 personnel of the CRPF, 8,934 personnel of the BSF, 5,544 personnel of the CISF, 3,380 personnel of the ITBP, 3,251 personnel of the SSB, 1,746 personnel of the Assam Rifles, and 225 personnel of the NSG were infected by the virus. (PTI)
Kerala MP NK Premachandran has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He made the announcement through a social media post.
"All those who have come into close contact with in the past few days are requested to undergo necessary procedures as per COVID protocol," he wrote in a Facebook post.
An accurate and low-cost paper-based test strip to detect Covid-19 in less than 30 minutes has been approved for commercial launch by the Drugs Controller General of India. Developed by a research team led by Debojyoti Chakraborty and Souvik Maiti of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Tata Group, the test has been named ‘Feluda’ — a fictional private detective from West Bengal created by renowned writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The development comes at a time when India has been conducting an average of 10 lakh tests daily. Click here to read our Explainer.
The Centre has formed expert committees for inspection of government and other Covid facilities following directions of the Supreme Court, which took cognizance of shortcomings in the care of coronavirus patients in different hospitals in the country.
The expert committees constituted by the Ministry of Health have been tasked to inspect, supervise and guide government and other hospitals dedicated to COVID-19, the MoS Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
Gujarat BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav, who is known for his flamboyance as much as his controversial statements and actions, has embarrassed the ruling party once again.
Shrivastav, who recently recovered from the coronavirus, flouted safety protocols as he danced and sang bhajans along with his supporters inside a crowded temple in Gajrawdi area in Vadodara.
A video of Shrivastav is being widely shared on social media, where the MLA, who has acted in self-produced Gujarati films, is seen inside the temple dancing to the tune of the bhajans as his supporters cheer him. Except for two musicians, no one, including the temple priest, is seen wearing masks. Read the full report here.
South Korea’s coronavirus tally has fallen to below 100 for the first time in a more than a month, the Associated Press reported. The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Sunday said that the 82 new cases took the country’s total to 22,975 with 383 deaths.
South Korea’s tally has held in the 100’s for over two weeks, down from 400 in late August. Health officials say the downward trend is a result of social distancing rules imposed on the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The government is urging the public not to lower their guard as small-scale clusters are still being reported.
Covid-19 continues to kill close to 1,000 Americans a day. But for those who develop dangerous cases of the infection, advances in medical care and the growing experience of doctors are improving the chances of survival. Since the first case arrived in the U.S. at the start of the year, medical professionals have gone from fumbling in the dark to better understanding which drugs work — such as steroids and blood thinners, and the antiviral medicine remdesivir. Allocation of intensive medical resources have improved. And doctors have learned to hold off on the use of ventilators for some patients, unlike with many other severe respiratory illnesses. Doctors and experts say that improved medical tactics and earlier treatment are helping improve the outcomes for very sick patients, said Andrew Badley, head of Mayo Clinic’s Covid Research Task Force.
After making a full recovery from Covid-19, actor Dwayne Johnson is back to business. He recently shared a photo from the set of Red Notice, Netflix’s action comedy thriller, which is being directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Johnson and Thurber can be seen all masked-up in the picture.
Several schools across the country, from Himachal Pradesh to Chandigarh, are to gradually reopen, now that the Health Ministry has permitted it. But before children start going to school, it is important to ensure their safety by taking some precautionary measures. United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has come up with some suggestions for the school administration and also teachers who would play a crucial role in making students abide by the precautionary rules.
Unicef recommended “daily cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and objects that are touched often, such as desks, countertops, doorknobs, computer keyboards, hands-on learning items, taps, phones and toys.”
It was befitting that the first IPL game in the pandemic age was kickstarted by a cricketer who has just recovered from Covid-19. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Deepak Chahar, who bowled the first ball this season, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus within days of landing in the UAE earlier this month. Near the end of the Mumbai Indians innings, Chahar was seen cramping. Australian commentator Dean Jones said the physios will have to monitor the player. The heat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was taking a toll on the players, playing the IPL in front of empty stands. At the end of the match, which it lost to CSK by five wickets, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said, “We are used to people cheering for us but we knew that this was on the cards. Anyway, this is the new normal and I hope things get better soon.”
As many as 10,185 people have been challaned for not wearing face masks in Chandigarh in the last six months. Fine worth Rs 52.02 lakh has been collected from violators until now. Face masks were made compulsory for everyone in Chandigarh on April 10 and not wearing it was made a punishable offence.
The Telegraph reported that fines for those who refuse to self-isolate after being asked to do so start at 1,000 pounds and can go up to 10,000 pounds for repeat offenders. Police will be ordered to patrol areas with the highest infection to make sure people are complying with the new laws, the paper reported.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also considering several proposals to ease the latest surge. Under consideration is a three-week national shutdown of pubs, bars and restaurants, The Telegraph said. Johnson is also considering raising the 100 pound fine for breaking the rule of six to as much as 1,000 pounds for first-time offenders. Announcement of new curbs could come as early as Tuesday.
The infections in India crossed the 54-lakh mark after 92,605 new cases were added in the past 24 hours. The toll has risen to 86,752 after 1133 casualties were reported in the country. Of the 54,00,620 infections in the country, 10,10,824 are active cases, while 43,03,044 patients have already been cured.
Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, the local administration on Saturday announced lockdown in the district between September 21-28. Raipur Collector S Bharathi Dasan issued an order declaring Raipur district as a containment zone and restricted several activities from 9 pm on September 21 till midnight of September 28, a state public relations department official said.
Australia looked set to record its lowest daily increase in new coronavirus cases in three months on Sunday as a hard lockdown in the city of Melbourne brought the country's virus epicentre down sharply. The second-most populous state Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reported 14 new infections in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, down from 21 new cases the day prior and its lowest since June 19. That put Victoria, which has spent months under lockdown to slow a second wave of infections, on track to meet a target of keeping average daily increases below 50 by Sept. 28 when the authorities have said they may lift restrictions.
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior BJP leader Raman Singh on Saturday tweeted that he contracted COVID-19. He said he got himself tested after exhibiting symptoms. He also appealed to those who came in contact with him in the past few days to check if they too were infected.
Expressing concern over coronavirus fatality rates in some states being higher than the national average, the Cabinet secretary Saturday urged that 12 states and UTs to analyse district and hospital-wise mortalities to identify critical areas of intervention, news agency PTI reported. At a high-level review meet, he also urged them to ensure full utilisation of RT-PCR testing capacity, adding that no symptomatic negative case tested in rapid antigen examination should be missed and go for mandatory RT-PCR test, the Union Health Ministry said.
The Punjab government Saturday allowed the opening of higher education centres from September 21 for PhD scholars and postgraduate students pursuing technical and professional courses requiring experimental work. The schools, colleges and coaching centres will remain closed in the state. The guidelines were issued in compliance with the directives of the current unlocking phase issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The ongoing monsoon session of Parliament is likely to be curtailed and may end by the middle of next week in view of the threat of the COVID-19 spread among parliamentarians, official sources said on Saturday. At a meeting of the business advisory committee of Lok Sabha, which has floor leaders of all parties besides the government representatives and is chaired by the Speaker, most political parties favoured curtailment of the session, which started on September 14 and was scheduled to conclude on October 1. (PTI)
Kerala made a new record with 4,644 new positive cases out of 47,452 samples. The earlier daily record was on Sept 17 when 4,351 cases were reported out of 45,730 samples.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed 41 and infected 22,353 armed forces personnel, according to details provided by the government in Rajya Sabha on Saturday. Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said a series of measures have been put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus infection in the armed forces which included a campaign on preventive measures. "The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst serving armed forces personnel is 22,353," he said, adding 41 personnel died of the infection till date. (PTI)
The phase-III human clinical trial of the Oxford vaccine, being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), will begin at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune next week. Dean of the state-run hospital Dr Muralidhar Tambe told this to PTI on Saturday. "The phase-III trial of 'Covishield' vaccine will begin at Sassoon hospital from next week. It is likely to start on Monday. Some volunteers have already come forward for the trial. Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose," PTI quoted him as saying.
With more than two dozen MPs testing positive for coronavirus, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu Saturday urged members to wear masks, maintain a safe distance and follow the good hygiene of washing hands frequently. When the House met for the day, Naidu said the COVID-19 testing facility, both rapid antigen test and RT-PCR, will be available in Parliament House everyday throughout the current session. "Members are advised to avail this facility and get their test done," he said. He also added that a good number of oximeters used to check the oxygen saturation level are also available in Parliament House, reported PTI.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Ashwathnarayan CN tested positive for coronavirus Saturday in Bengaluru. The BJP leader had taken the test which was mandatory for all legislators and attendees of the upcoming State Assembly sessions. “I am asymptomatic and will be under home isolation,” he confirmed. Further, the minister, who is also in charge of Higher Education, IT & BT, Science & Technology, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood portfolios, requested all those who came in contact with him to take necessary precautions.
Due to increased testing, there has been a downward trend in the positivity rate in the national capital and it will lead to good results by next week, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday. “The positivity rate was 6.76 per cent on Friday. It has remained below 7 percent in the last two-three days. Last week, it was around 8 per cent,” he said. The cumulative positivity rate has also dropped below 10 per cent for the first time, he added. “It should lead to good results by next week,” he said.
A member of the Delhi Minorities Commission succumed to Covid, chairman of the panel Zakir Khan said on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Aam Aadmi Party leader Dilip Pandey condoled the death of Kawaljeet Singh and called him as an old friend. "Singh, around 60 years old, was admitted to Balak Ram hospital over ten days ago after (getting) infected with coronavirus. He died there on Friday," Khan told news agency PTI. Singh became a member of the Delhi Minorities Commission last month.
Three ministers and two BJP MLAs in Sikkim have tested positive for Covid-19, an official said on Saturday. This came after all the legislators and staff of the state legislative assembly were tested, as a precautionary measure, ahead of the proposed one-day assembly session on Monday. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has tested negative for the virus, the official said. Those who got infected were Information and Public Relations minister Lok Nath Sharma, Forest and Environment minister Karma Loday Bhutia and Power minister Mingma Norbu Sherpa. Two BJP MLAs Farwanti Tamang and T T Bhutia also tested positive.
The Centre on Saturday informed the Rajya Sabha that 97 people died on board the Shramik Specials, admitting for the first time that migrant labourers lost their lives in the trains which were run to ferry them during the nationwide lockdown. In a written answer to a question posed by TMC MP Derek O'Brien on Friday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal provided the statistics in the Rajya Sabha. "Based on the data provided by State Police, 97 persons have been reported dead till 09.09.2020 while travelling on board Shramik Special Trains during current Covid-19 situation/crisis," the minister said. "The state police registers case under Section 174 of Cr.PC in cases of unnatural deaths and follows further legal process," the minister added. Out of the 97 cases of death, the state police sent dead bodies for post mortem in 87 cases, the minister said.
The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), which has, so far, managed to keep its official figures of Covid-19 cases just above 10,000 since the outbreak of the pandemic with 171 deaths recorded officially until Friday, is facing data manipulation allegations. Elected representatives of both the Congress and BJP cited the increasing number of cremations and burials across the city as an indicator of the “concealed” data. Congress corporator Chirag Zaveri and BJP MLA Jitendra Sukhadia on Friday aired their concern, seeking immediate correction in the figures related to the pandemic, even as Mayor Dr Jigeesha Seth said that the numbers of reported cases could be “restricted” to avoid “spread of panic” among people.
Number of new patients decreased but the count of deaths due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) increased by 28 per cent in the week even as the overall fatality rate continued to be 2.34 per cent in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) jurisdiction. As per the PMC data, as on September 17 the total number of Covid-19 deaths was reported at 2,963 while it was 2,668 on September 10 and 2,401 on September 3. There has been an addition of 295 deaths in the last week while the jump was 267 between September 3 and 10. There has been increase of 11 per cent per week in Covid-19 deaths in the last two weeks. Of the total deaths, 2,015 were patients with comorbid conditions till September 17, with an increase of 164 in a week. Click here to read more.
"In a landmark global achievement", India has overtaken the US to top Covid global recoveries, the health ministry said on Saturday. The country has reported the highest number of recoveries with 42,08,431 patients having recovered from the disease so far, pushing the national recovery rate to nearly 80 per cent, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.61 per cent, the ministry said. "India now accounts for close to 19 per cent of the total global recoveries. This has strongly pushed the national recovery rate to 79.28 per cent," it underlined.
As cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) keep increasing across the district, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday instructed the administration to issue prohibitory orders only after consulting elected representatives of respective areas to check the spread of infection. “There is increase in the spread of Covid-19 as more patients are getting infected. The decision to contain the spread by the way of issuing prohibitory orders to check crowding in the city as well as rural parts of the district should be taken after consulting the elected representatives in the district and mayors in the area of municipal corporation,” said Pawar during the weekly review meeting of Covid-19 situation in the district.
The Patna High Court has asked the Bihar government to look for ways beyond online teaching for the nearly 1.19 crore children who are unable to attend classes in the current Covid crisis that has forced closure of schools. The court order on Friday was in response to a suo motu cognisance it took of a June 7 story by The Indian Express, highlighting how children in Bhagalpur district had taken to selling scrap due to discontinuation of mid-day meal scheme after schools closed because of the pandemic. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar asked the state government to “continue schemes like the Mid-Day Meal and the Sarwa Shiksha Scheme to provide meals or ration as feasible along with textbooks and notebooks to government school students".
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Friday launched the ‘My family, my responsibility’ campaign to conduct health examination of residents at their doorsteps, in order to check the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The civic body has formed 1,500 teams for the mission. “Each team has three members, including volunteers. They have been asked to go to the doorsteps of residents, check their temperature, oxygen level and find out about any comorbid conditions. They will also advise residents to get treated at nearby hospitals or help them get treated. If anyone is found with Covid-19 symptoms, we will conduct their rapid antigen tests at our nearest centre,” Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said, adding that the campaign will continue till October 15.
Telangana added 2,123 new virus cases, pushing the total infection count to 1,69,169, while death toll rose to 1,025 with nine more fatalities, a bulletin by the state government said on Friday. The cumulative recovered cases stood at 1,37,508, while 30,636 were under treatment. The bulletin said 54,459 samples were tested on September 18. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested stood at 24,34,409.
Schools in Delhi will continue to remain closed for students of all classes till October 5, as per the latest directions issued by Delhi government’s Directorate of Education. The Union Ministry for Health and Welfare had allowed for schools outside containment zones to reopen from September 21 for students of classes IX to XII, stating that they may attend voluntarily if they want guidance from their teachers. Choosing not to take up this option for schools in the state, the education department on Friday released a circular, stating, “…it is informed that all schools will remain closed for all the students till 5.10.2020. However, online classes and teaching learning activities will continue as usual and HOSs are authorised to call teachers/staff (as per requirement) for smooth conduct of online classes, teaching learning activities and any other work.”
Jharkhand's coronavirus tally rose to 68,578 on Saturday as 1,478 more people tested positive for the infection, while 12 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 602, a health official told PTI. The fresh infections have taken the number of active cases in the state to 13,924, while 54,052 people have been cured of the disease so far, he said. The state has tested 25,962 samples for Covid in the last 24 hours, the official added.
Since the pandemic hit the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has collected over Rs 1 crore in fine from people not wearing mask in public places. Nearly 30 per cent of the fine — Rs 30 lakh — was collected in the last three days. The violation attracts Rs 200 in fine. BMC has offered its staff incentive of 10 per cent of the total fine they collect each day. Ajitkumar Ambi, assistant commissioner of N Ward that covers Ghatkopar, said, “Earlier 10-20 people would be fined in a day or two, which has now risen to 60-70. Our officials visit common areas where people are found violating norms — outside hotels, grocery stores, delivery joints and industrial areas.”
The India trials of a vaccine candidate being developed by American company Novavax is likely to begin in late October, the government said in Lok Sabha on Friday. The Novavax vaccine candidate is currently undergoing phase-2 clinical trials in South Africa. Global phase-3 trials are expected to begin next month. In India, Novavax has entered into an agreement with Pune-based Serum Institute of India for production of 100 million doses of the vaccine. It is expected that at least 50 per cent of this would be meant for supplies within India. “ICMR and SII (Serum Institute of India) have partnered for clinical development of a glycol-protein sub-unit nanoparticle adjuvanted vaccine developed by Novavax from USA. The trial will be initiated in the second half of October after the vaccine is manufactured by Serum Institute. The trial is led by ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament. Click here to read more.
While the Covid-19 pandemic epicentre in South Bengal comprising the five districts of Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly have continued to contribute to a bulk of the cases and deaths in September, authorities are as concerned about the situation in districts such as Bankura, Purulia, Paschim Bardhaman, and Alipurduar. “We have some assumptions about the increase in cases this month. One is obviously the total samples tested have increased and random antigen tests were introduced across the state, which lead to an increase in the tally. On the other hand, after Unlock 4.0 more and more people have taken to the streets in search of income, which also caused the infection to spread,” said a government official.
With strict Covid-19 protocols, all parks, garden and botanical gardens in West Bengal will reopen from September 23, and zoos, national parks and sanctuaries from October 2 after a gap of more than six months. The Forest Department, in a notification on Friday, issued guidelines for visitors on precautions required to be taken against the coronanvirus. The notification said, “While the effect of the pandemic is still being felt, in view of the graded unlocking and requirement to restart economic and related activities thereby mitigating avoidable hardships to various stakeholders, it has been decided to allow public to access various establishments of the Forest Department with appropriate restrictions in view of the pandemic.”
New research has found that Covid-19 may be diagnosed on the same emergency scans intended to diagnose stroke. Published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology, the research showed that the emergency scans captured images of the top of the lungs where a fluffiness known as “ground glass opacification” allowed Covid-19 to be diagnosed. Researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, examined 225 patients from three London Hyper-Acute Stroke Units. The emergency stroke scan consisted of a CT of the head and neck blood vessels. When the researchers saw these changes in the top of the lungs during the emergency emergency scan, they were able to reliably and accurately diagnose Covid-19 and the changes also predicted increased mortality.
With more than 30 MPs, including Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel, testing positive over the last week, there is a palpable sense of concern and apprehension in Parliament over the spread of Covid. The situation has prompted stricter protocol and raised the possibility of the ongoing Monsoon Session being wound up next week. The case of BJP’s Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who had tested negative last Friday, has further rattled parliamentarians. A day after he was the party’s lead speaker for the Covid debate in the Upper House, Sahasrabuddhe said Thursday that he has tested positive after developing a headache and mild fever the previous night.
After the issue of poor availability and black marketing of oxygen in some states was raised in Parliament, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to states not to block movement or supply of oxygen as it is essential to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. In a letter to chief secretaries of all states, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has said that some states are curbing the supply of oxygen by issuing orders under Essential Commodities Act or Epidemic Diseases Act. Click here to read more.
The Covid-19 tally in India raced past 5.3 million on Saturday after over 93,000 cases were registered in a single day. The death toll also increased to 85,619 after 1,247 fatalities were registered during the same period.