Coronavirus roundup: Developments in India and rest of world

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Jul 14, 2020, 21:53 IST

NEW DELHI: With 28,498 fresh cases recorded in a day, India's COVID-19 tally sprinted past nine lakh on Tuesday, just three days after it crossed the eight-lakh mark, according to the Union health ministry data.
The total coronavirus caseload in the country surged to 9,06,752 and the death toll mounted to 23,727 with 553 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, the data showed.

Here are the top developments:

1

India

As the number of coronavirus cases crossed the 9-lakh mark on Tuesday, the health ministry said that 86 per cent of the total active cases were recorded in 10 states of the country.
Rajesh Bhushan, the officer on special duty in the health ministry, said two of the most affected states are Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which are contributing to 50 per cent of the total active cases (154,134 active cases).
Bhushan also said that the total recovered cases of COVID-19 are about 1.8 times the number of active cases. He said the national COVID-19 fatality rate is 2.6 per cent and it is coming down rapidly.
India is considered as the "pharmacy of the world". About 60 per cent of the drugs uitilised in the US are of Indian origin. So, these are generic drugs produced in India where the country has established itself over the years. This is possibly well known to many people in the world, said (Prof) Dr Balram Bhargava, ICMR Director General.
Biophore India Pharmaceuticals, a Hyderabad-based firm, has received license from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture Favipiravir, an active pharmaceutical ingredient, used in the finished formulation to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. Besides DCGI's nod to produce the drug in India, it has been cleared for exports as well.
Union minister Jitendra Singh and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav have gone into self-quarantine after party's Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina, who had accompanied them to the residence of a slain party leader in Bandipora, tested positive for coronavirus.
The HRD ministry announced guidelines for online classes by schools and recommended a cap on duration and the number of sessions in a day for students.
The guidelines have been framed by the ministry, following concerns raised by parents about schools conducting online classes like regular schools, which has increased children's screen time after the COVID-19 pandemic mandated a shift from classroom teaching to online learning.
A low-cost COVID-19 test kit developed by IIT Delhi that uses an alternative testing method will be launched on Wednesday, according to the IIT director. IIT Delhi, which became the first academic institute to develop a COVID-19 testing method, gave non-exclusive open licence to companies for commercialising the test.

2

States

Bihar: There will be a total lockdown in Bihar from July 16-31 to contain the spread of COVID-19, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi announced. Modi said the lockdown will remain in force at all municipal, district, sub divisional and block headquarters levels.
UP: Uttar Pradesh government announced that to contain the spread of COVID-19 there will be complete lockdown in the state every Friday from 10pm to 5am on Monday till further orders. UP reported 28 more deaths due to the coronavirus and a daily spike of 1,594 cases. With this, the death toll rose to 983 and the caseload increased to 39,724.
Odisha: The Odisha government decided to start plasma therapy to treat critically ill patients in three dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, officials said.
Nagaland: Nagaland reported 51 new COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 896. Of the 51 new cases, 24 were reported from Kohima, 20 from Peren, three in Dimapur, two in Longleng and one each in Mokokchung and Zunheboto districts.
Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu government, which has included Yoga and Naturopathy in addition to Siddha as add on for COVID-19 treatment has found this method improves the lung health and enhances immunity of the persons concerned. Over 61,000 people have already benefited through Yoga and Naturopathy treatment and if the need arises, this treatment facility would be widely expanded, health minister Dr C Vijaya Bhaskar said.
West Bengal: Some budget hotels in the metropolis have proposed to act as satellite centres for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to meet the demand for beds in overburdened hospitals and at the same time tide over dwindling footfalls in their properties due to the pandemic, an umbrella body for hotels said.
Andhra: Andhra Pradesh logged 43 fresh COVID-19 deaths, a new single day high, taking the overall toll past 400 mark. Another 1,916 fresh infections took the coronavirus aggregate tally to 33,019, of them 15,144 being active cases.
Arunachal: Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 caseload rose to 387 with 27 more people, including 10 ITBP personnel, testing positive for the infection, while one more coronavirus fatality pushed the death toll to three.
Haryana: With some Haryana districts falling in the National Capital Region seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, home minister Anil Vij indicated that stricter curbs may be imposed in the worst-affected areas to contain spread of the infection.
Maharashtra: The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra currently stands at 63.02 per cent, Maharashtra government said. The PIB Maharashtra said the recoveries/deaths ratio in the state was 96.01:3.99.
Punjab: Travellers coming to Punjab for less than 72 hours will be exempt from the mandatory 14-day home quarantine requirement, chief minister Amarinder Singh said.
J&K: A 47-year-old man died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Jammu, taking the death toll due to the disease in the Jammu region to 18.
Rajasthan: Rajasthan recorded three more deaths due to coronavirus, taking the total number of fatalities in the state to 521. With 98 new cases, the total number of people infected with the deadly virus in the state so far is 25,034, of which, 5,759 are under treatment.
Puducherry: Puducherry witnessed 63 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the tally in the Union territory to 1,531. Total fatalities remained at 18 as no death was reported for the last few days.
Tripura: Twenty-six more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 2,094. A total of 1,475 patients have recovered from the disease so far, reducing the number of active cases to 603.

3

World

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 573,091 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 13,124,130 cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories.
The US has the world's biggest COVID-19 testing programme which is better than countries like India, China and Brazil, President Donald Trump has said, asserting that America has one of the lowest mortality rates anywhere. The coronavirus has infected more than 33 lakh Americans and killed over 1,35,000, making the US the worst affected country in the world.
The UK government ended days of speculation and declared that wearing a face mask or face covering will become mandatory in shops across England from July 24, as part of efforts to control the spread of coronavirus as the country eases out of lockdown.
Nepal's coronavirus tally crossed the 17,000-mark with the detection of 116 new cases in the last 24 hours. The virus has so far claimed 38 lives in the country.
Pakistan reported 1,979 new coronavirus cases, the lowest number of infections in months, taking the total tally to 253,604 in the country.
Singapore reported 347 new coronavirus infections, including seven community and two imported cases, taking the total tally to 46,630. The virus has so far claimed 26 lives in the country.
Russia's capital Moscow has reported 37 new deaths linked to coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours. Sor far 4205 people have died in the capital due to coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil has reported new 20,286 coronavirus cases in last 24 hours taking the country's total to 1.8 million. The death toll from the infection has touched 72,833.