Coronavirus LIVE Updates: AAP’s Atishi and Akshay Marathe Test Positive for Covid-19

Dexamethasone Approved as Covid-19 Treatment in UK | The UK government authorised the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) to use steroid dexamethasone, the "world's first" coronavirus treatment proven to reduce the risk of death among severely ill patients.

Maharashtra has declared 862 additional Covid-19 deaths in Mumbai and 466 more in the rest of the state after a massive data reconciliation exercise the outcome of which was declared on Tuesday evening. The total number of deaths in the state now stands at 5,537.​

Odisha to Ramp Up Setting Up of Covid Care Homes | The Odisha government announced that Covid Care Homes (CCHs) and Ward Level Committees will be set up across the state to monitor the coronavirus situation. "We have decided to set up COVID Care Home facilities in all the 6,798 gram panchayats across the state. About 10 to 20 people can stay in each home," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Safety Measures Flouted During Protest in Kerala | 

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Students Union (KSU) holds a protest march to the State Secretariat against state government policies; social distancing norms flouted. pic.twitter.com/JyzDtyYmic

— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2020

Chandigarh's Covid-19 Tally Update | Total of coronavirus cases reached 368 in Chandigarh today. Death toll stands at 6.

Puducherry Confirms 30 New Virus Cases | Thirty fresh cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Puducherry during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 246. 

56% of Coronavirus Patients in Bengal are Migrant Workers | At least 56 per cent of the people who have tested positive for coronavirus in West Bengal are migrant workers who returned from other states, a senior official of the state health department said. 

Covid-19 Update | Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia said the 50 coronavirus care isolation coaches installed by Centre in Shakur Bast is a "good initiative" but flagged unresolved issues like coaches being "very warm." He added, "We will figure out how that can be controlled. If AC coaches can be made available that would facilitate more."

Nepal's Covid-19 Tally Cross 7k-Mark | Nepal reported 586 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections in the Himalayan country to 7,177. 

Maha Demands Covid-19 Drugs, Ventilators from Centre | The Maharashtra government demanded from the Centre Covid-19 treatment drugs remdesivir and tocilizumab "in large quantity and at reasonable rate". State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the state also wants the Centre to provide additional 500 ventilators for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

Official in Tamil Nadu CMO Dies of Covid-19 | A senior official BJ Damodharan working in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami's office died due to Covid-19 today. 

Indore Records 44 New Covid-19 Cases | A total of 44 fresh cases of coronavirus were detected in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the last 24 hours, taking the region's tally to 4,134. 

PM Modi Stress Expansion of Health Infra | With an increase in the number of coronavirus patients, expansion of health infrastructure should be our utmost priority. This will happen when each infected patient will get proper treatment. For this, we will have to emphasise on testing so that we can test, trace and isolate infected person: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi Addresses Shortage of PPE | Just 3 months back, there was a shortage of PPE kits and diagnostic kits across the world. In India too, we had a very limited stock because we were completely dependent on imports. But today, more than 1 crore PPE kits and equal number of N95 masks have reached the states: PM Modi

Uttar Pradesh Records 583 New Cases | Latest health bulletin shows Uttar Pradesh recorded 583 new coronavirus cases today, taking the total number of cases in the state to 15,181.

PM Modi on Covid-19 Situation | At present, ventilator and ICU care are needed for very few patients across the country. We have been able to fight coronavirus and control its spread because of the timely measures taken by us: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

West Bengal Govt Urges Pvt Hospitals to Increase Beds | The West Bengal government has urged authorities of private hospitals treating coronavirus patients in the state to increase the number of beds in order to tackle the recent spurt in infections. 

Update | The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus till now is more than the number of active cases in the country, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi while interacting with chief ministers and representatives of 14 states and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Germany Notes Strong Start for its Virus App | The German government is celebrating a successful start for its coronavirus tracing app, which is says has been downloaded 6.5 million times in just over a day. Health Minister Jens Spahn wrote on Twitter Wednesday that it was a "strong start" and "should motivate even more citizens to join in." He added that "containing corona is a team game" and everyone who uses the app makes a difference.

Maha CM Inaugurates 1,000-bed Covid-19 Hospital in Thane | Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery inaugurates a 1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital in Thane via video-conferencing and hands over the facility to the civic body. The chief minister says, tracking and Covid-19 contact tracing needs to be ramped up and it was the responsibility of the civic chiefs of Thane and Mumbai. As many as 100 testing facilities were set up and lakhs of beds had been readied in the last two months.

ITI Berhampur Develops UV Shoe Sole Sanitiser | Odisha's ITI Berhampur develops India's first ultraviolet-C (UV) sole sanitiser machine for the disinfection of shoes. The person will have to stand on the machine, placing shoe soles on the surface. Within just nine seconds, the sanitisation process will get completed. The machine produces adequate energy to damage and alter DNA of all kinds of potentially harmful microorganisms at the bottom of shoes.

Uttarakhand Update | Uttarakhand records 43 fresh cases of COVID19, taking the total number of cases to 1,985 including 1,230 recoveries and 25 death, announced Health Department. 

The 55-year-old minister was brought to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) past midnight and was administered a test for novel coronavirus on Tuesday morning.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi and Akshay Marathe test positive for Covid 19. Both are in home isolation now.

Delhi High Court dismisses a PIL seeking an order prohibiting the eviction of tenants on grounds of non-payment of rent till Covid-19 crisis subsides.

AIIMS Conducts Pilot Study to Assess Effect of Radiation Therapy | The AIIMS is conducting a pilot study to assess the effect of low dose radiation therapy in alleviating symptoms of pneumonia in coronavirus-infected patients. Dr D N Sharma, head of the Radiation Oncology department at AIIMS and the principal investigator of the research project, said two COVID-19 patients who were on oxygen support were given the therapy last Saturday and their condition has improved since then. The entire treatment takes around 15 to 20 minutes and has no side-effects.

Union Health Ministry on Remdesivir | Remdesivir has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation by USFDA on May 1 and by Indian Drug Regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on June 1. After the grant of Emergency Use Authorisation to Remdesivir by CDSCO, it can be imported into India on the basis of a personal import license granted online by CDSCO. Once marketing authorisation is granted, this drug would become available for sale in India. The Union Health Ministry, in its revised Clinical Management Protocol of June 13, has classified Remdesivir along with another drug and one therapy, as part of ‘investigational therapies’ based on limited available evidence.

No shortage of medical staffers in Mumbai's fight against Covid-19. Many doctors, nurses from other States have started working here, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta tells CNN News18. In an exclusive interview, he said that many states had offered help in this fight against coronavirus. He denied shortage of critical medication for Covid-19 and said that all the medicines which are required as per the guidelines of ICMR, are in adequate supply. 

Singapore Scientists Discover 5 Antibodies | A team of Singapore scientists has discovered five antibodies that can block Covid-19 infection and protect against the key mutations that have emerged in the virus during the pandemic, says the country's defence research and development organisation. Human trials for the lead antibody, AOD01, will commence in the coming months, pending approval from the Health Sciences Authority, says the Defense Science Organisation (DSO) National Laboratories.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has a meeting of Expert Panel with CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Principal Secretary (Health) and members of the Advisory Committee on Covid-19 management in Delhi.