Health workers decontaminate their PPE kits after checking houses in a containment zone in Navi Mumbai on June 8, 2020. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
Coronavirus (Covid-19) India Updates: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday said that the number of Covid deaths per million population in India stands at 15 now while the global average is more than its four times at 69.3. The number of cases per million population is 538 in India. The same in some countries are at least 16-17 times this number, the ministry said.
“We are the second-most populous country of the world. Despite a population of 1.3 billion people, India has been able to manage Covid-19 relatively well. If you look at cases per million population it still remains amongst lowest in the world,” Rajesh Bhushan, Officer on Special Duty, Ministry of Health said.
The Health Ministry also said that the country’s Covid-19 caseload is 2,69,000 at present which proves that the country’s health infrastructure has managed to stand firm against the coronavirus. “This tells us that at the end of the day we’ve managed a situation where our health care infrastructure is not unduly burdened&is not creaking due to the pressure,” said Bhushan.
KMC workers spray disinfectant at a contentment zone in Telengabagan , North Kolkata on Thursday. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
India has reported nearly 25,000 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total tally to over 7.6 lakh (7,67,296), according to data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. While the total number of active cases is over 2.69 lakh (2,69,789), as many as 19,547 recoveries were recorded since yesterday — bringing the total number of people who have been cured, discharged or migrated to 4,76,378. Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to 21,129.
As per data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), over 2.6 lakh (2,67,061) samples were tested on Wednesday. This brings the total number of tests conducted to over 1.07 crore (1,07,40,832).
The government Thursday reiterated there was no community transmission of the disease. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said there were pockets with high transmission, but the country was not facing community transmission.
Here are the top COVID-19 developments from across the country:
Recovery rate in Delhi over 72%
Home Ministry on Thursday said Covid-19 situation in Delhi showed remarkable improvement in past days. The recovery rate in the national capital had now risen to over 72 per cent while the doubling rate was nearly 30 days. The ministry also added that over 20,000 COVID-19 tests were done per day in Delhi now, where the active cases were under control despite increase in the testing capabilities.
Panic buying ensues in Bengal markets ahead of lockdown in containment zones
People resorted to panic buying in a number of markets in West Bengal on Thursday flouting social distancing norms, ahead of the imposition of a total lockdown in the containment zones in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Wednesday announced that a lockdown will be imposed in the containment zones for the next seven days which has started from 5 pm today to check the spurt in COVID-19 cases.
She has directed the police to firmly deal with those violating the norms. Banerjee has approved a list of 25 containment zones in Kolkata, 93 in North 24 Parganas and 56 in Howrah district.
However, despite a complete ban on mass gatherings, people were seen crowding in markets to buy essential commodities before the commencement of the lockdown. Long queues were also seen at the gates of the department stores as people bought commodities for storage during the lockdown period.
Despite a complete ban on mass gatherings, people were seen crowding in markets to buy essential commodities before the commencement of the lockdown. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)
8 states account for 90% active coronavirus cases in India
Eight states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana, account for around 90 per cent of the active coromavirus cases in the country and 80 per cent of them have been reported from 49 districts, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was informed on Thursday.
Besides, the GoM was told that six states — Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — account for 86 per cent of the Covid deaths and 32 districts account for 80 per cent of such fatalities, the Union health ministry said.
The 18th GoM meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday was informed that there was a special focus on the regions showing a higher Covid-19 fatality rate, the ministry said.
SC pulls up Maharashtra govt for claiming everything fine on migrant workers’ issue
The Supreme Court Thursday pulled up the Maharashtra government on the issue and of migrant workers and refused to accept that there was no problem in the state in the matter, saying it is its duty to find out the lapses and make an effort to mend them, news agency PTI reported
The apex court bench asked the state to file a fresh affidavit listing the steps taken to mitigate the problems faced by the migrant workers wanting to return to their home states amid the COVID-19 crisis. It is not an adversarial litigation, the bench said, posting the matter for hearing again on July 17.
During the hearing of the case taken up suo motu by the top court on the miseries of migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown, the bench said: “What is happening in Maharashtra? Large number of migrant workers are still in the state.”
In Delhi, more patients are recovering than being infected
In Delhi, the number of people who have recovered from Covid has exceeded the number of fresh infections for the last seven out of eight days. On Wednesday, 3,928 patients had recovered while 2,033 people were found infected — a difference of nearly 2,000.
This trend is important as if it holds for more than two weeks at a stretch, it could be an indication of the disease having peaked.
Delhi has been witnessing a decline in new cases since June 23, which it hit a peak of 3,947 infections.
Families come to a school in Khajoori, New Delhi, which has become a Covid-19 testing centre. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
Uttar Pradesh now has over 30,000 Covid cases
After recording 1,196 fresh cases, Uttar Pradesh Wednesday crossed a grim milestone of 30,000 cases. The state now has 31,156 cases, of which 9,980 are being treated.
The state has witnessed a significant surge over the last few weeks — with the latest 10,000 cases being added to its caseload in just 13 days.
The highest number of fresh cases came from Ghaziabad which reported 65 new infections on Wednesday, followed by Lucknow with 97 cases and Gautam Buddh Nagar with 81 cases. Meerut reported another high with 76 new cases, while Barabanki recorded 66 new cases, taking the active case count in the district to 184.
Patna, Bhagalpur to lockdown, other Bihar districts may follow
Following a spike in Covid cases, the district administrations of Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar have announced lockdowns.
Patna, where Covid cases climbed from 747 on July 1 to 1,351 on July 8, will be under lockdown for six days, from July 10 to July 16. Meanwhile, in Bhagalpur, the lockdown has been announced from July 9 to July 16. The district, also known as the silk city of Bihar, saw Covid-19 cases go up from 500 on July 1 to 693 on July 8. Sources told The Indian Express other districts, such as Gopalganj, Begusarai, Munger and Khagaria, may also enforce restrictions soon.
Bihar’s case count has gone up from 10,205 to 13,525 in a week and 100 people have succumbed to the disease in the state.
A health worker cools off outside a Covid-19 centre in New Delhi on June 8, 2020. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Seven-day lockdown in Bengal containment zones begins today
Amid a growing number of cases, the West Bengal government has imposed a seven-day lockdown in containment zones across the state, which is set to begin at 5 pm.
“This lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal will continue for seven days from 5 pm on Thursday. Will review the situation after seven days and then decide the next course of action on lockdown,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at the state secretariat.
The list of containment zones in North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Kolkata has been finalised and posted on the government’s website. The proposed lists of 20 other districts were sent by the respective District Magistrates to Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Wednesday. The final list is expected to be announced by 5 pm Thursday, after a review by Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha.
A patient is wheeled into a medical facility. (Express Photo: Amit Mehra)
Andhra will ensure no patient is turned away from hospitals
In a bid to ensure no person requiring medical attention is turned away, the Andhra Pradesh government has announced that the allocation of hospital beds in both government and private hospitals would be monitored by the district administrations.
The government has decided to classify all hospitals into three categories — a) exclusive Covid-19 hospitals which are dedicated to the treatment of the pandemic; b) Covid and non-Covid hospitals which will cater to both Covid patients as well as patients requiring treatments for other medical issues; and, c) non-Covid hospitals which will only be allowed to treat other patients.
The Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare has also established a web portal that would allow district collectors to monitor the number of beds available in all government and private hospitals of A and B category, allocation of beds, their utilisation, as well as the deployment of human resources.