A Covid-19 ward in Lok Nayak Hospital.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 968,876 on Thursday after 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced. The death toll stood at 24,915.
As many as 1,27,39,490 samples have tested for the virus till July 15, out of which 3,26,826 samples were tested on Wednesday, the Indian Council of Medical Research said.
Globally, at least 13,512,692 people have been infected while 583,359 have died so far, according to the latest tally by the John Hopkins University. The United States continued to remain the worst-affected nation followed by Bazil, India, Russia and Peru. The economy in China, where the pandemic first broke out, rebounded from a painful contraction to grow by 3.2 per cent over a year earlier in the latest quarter as anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened.
People are tested for Covid-19 at a NDMC Dispensary in Pilanji Village, New Delhi. (Express Photo: Abhinav Saha)
Five inmates lodged on the premises of a government hostel, designated a temporary prison due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at Yerawada in Pune escaped in the early hours of Thursday. This is the third such incident of inmates escaping over the last one month from the temporary prison. As per information given by local police and Prison Department officials, five inmates — four of them arrested by Pune Rural Police and one more arrested by Pimpri Chinchwad police — fled around 4 am. The details of the offences registered against them and the status of their cases were awaited.
Maharashtra's first woman chief election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan succumbed to Covid-19 in Seven Hills hospital on Thursday. She was 72. The author-cum-poet is the first IAS officer in the state to succumb to the virus. She had penned several books, was a 1972 batch IAS officer, and also composed music for a few films. After retirement, she was appointed as the state's Chief Election Commissioner.
Based on a suggestion by an expert committee, the Karnataka government Wednesday announced an incentive of Rs 5,000 to recovered Covid-19 patients who come forward and donate their plasma. An order issued by the government stated: “A one-time incentive will be given to plasma donors who have recovered within 14-28 days from Covid-19.” Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar Wednesday said, “We have decided to give an incentive of Rs 5,000 to the plasma donor. Please come forward voluntarily and help patients recover by donating plasma.”
Pune Police keep a check on vehicles and lockdown violators at Bajirao road on Wednesday. A special plastic shield and a sanitizer stand has been installed at the check point.
Amid the increasing number of covid-19 cases and with citizens failing to follow the norms, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Wednesday announced a junta night curfew in the state till August 10. He also declared imposition of a three-day lockdown, from Thursday night to 6 am, Monday, July 20. Those found violating the lockdown will be taken into custody, said Sawant at a press meet. With heavy monsoon having begun, the CM added that the government had an estimate of a “possible surge in the cases in the midst of monsoon”. “The night curfew which we will call junta curfew will be between 8 pm and 6 am. Only those working in industries in second and third shifts will be allowed to step out and those with any medical emergencies. We have issued orders that anyone other than these categories found roaming will be stopped at every check point,” Sawant said.
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 968,876 on Thursday after 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced.
In a late night development, the Telangana government Wednesday transferred A Shanti Kumari, special chief secretary in charge of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, and Dr Yogita Rana, the Commissioner for Public Health and Family Welfare. While Kumari will be replaced by 1999-batch IAS officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi, V Karuna was appointed as the new commissioner. The state government has been under severe criticism from various quarters, including the Telangana High Court, for its handling of the coronavirus situation in the state.
A man turning 100 on Wednesday has recovered from Covid-19 and was discharged from Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray hospital, where he was seeking treatment for the past fortnight.
Hours before being discharged, Arjun Govind Naringrekar received a surprise on Tuesday as doctors and staff from the hospital gathered to celebrate his birthday with a chocolate cake and pink candles at the hospital lobby.
Clad in white and blue protective gear, attendants, nurses, and doctors sang the birthday song. Relatives of other patients also joined in as the 100-year-old patient nibbled on cake. Naringrekar, a retired government school headmaster, was hospitalised on July 1 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. He remained admitted for a fortnight.
Punjab Wednesday reported eight more coronavirus fatalities as 288 fresh infections surfaced, pushing the numbers to 221 deaths and 8,799 cases.
Three deaths each were reported from Amritsar (men aged 47, 65 and 70) and Jalandhar (two men aged 61 and 63 and a woman aged 65) and one each from Pathankot (63-year-old man) and Ludhiana (68-year-old man).
Jalandhar reported maximum new positive cases (92), including DSP Phillaur, eight employees of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) office and five Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel. Jalandhar RTA had tested positive Saturday. Of the fresh cases in Jalandhar, 49 were contacts of positive cases and 43 new cases for which source of infection was not immediately known.
Ludhiana reported 61 new cases. Five personnel from Ludhiana Rural police, one from Ludhiana city police and one from Moga police tested positive, Wednesday. Three Assistant sub-inspectors, one Punjab Home Guard (PHG) and one woman constable, from Mullanpur Dakha police station of Ludhiana rural, tested positive, taking total number of cases from this police station to nineteen. A 30-year old head constable from division number 2 police station, tested positive in Ludhiana city. A 50-year old assistant sub-inspector from Nihal Singh Wala police station tested positive in Moga.
The other districts which reported new cases were Patiala (26), Amritsar (22), Ferozepur (21) Mohali (13), Nawanshahr (9), Pathankot (7), Faridkot and Muktsar (6 each), Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib (5 each), Bathinda and Hoshiarpur (3 each), Tarn Taran, Ropar and Barnala (2 each) and Fazilka, Moga and Gurdaspur (1 each).
Punjab Wednesday reported eight more coronavirus fatalities as 288 fresh infections surfaced, pushing the numbers to 221 deaths and 8,799 cases.
Three deaths each were reported from Amritsar (men aged 47, 65 and 70) and Jalandhar (two men aged 61 and 63 and a woman aged 65) and one each from Pathankot (63-year-old man) and Ludhiana (68-year-old man).
Jalandhar reported maximum new positive cases (92), including DSP Phillaur, eight employees of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) office and five Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel. Jalandhar RTA had tested positive Saturday. Of the fresh cases in Jalandhar, 49 were contacts of positive cases and 43 new cases for which source of infection was not immediately known.
Ludhiana reported 61 new cases. Five personnel from Ludhiana Rural police, one from Ludhiana city police and one from Moga police tested positive, Wednesday. Three Assistant sub-inspectors, one Punjab Home Guard (PHG) and one woman constable, from Mullanpur Dakha police station of Ludhiana rural, tested positive, taking total number of cases from this police station to nineteen. A 30-year old head constable from division number 2 police station, tested positive in Ludhiana city. A 50-year old assistant sub-inspector from Nihal Singh Wala police station tested positive in Moga.
The other districts which reported new cases were Patiala (26), Amritsar (22), Ferozepur (21) Mohali (13), Nawanshahr (9), Pathankot (7), Faridkot and Muktsar (6 each), Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib (5 each), Bathinda and Hoshiarpur (3 each), Tarn Taran, Ropar and Barnala (2 each) and Fazilka, Moga and Gurdaspur (1 each).
After an employee was tested positive, West Bengal speaker Biman Banerjee announced that the state Assembly premises shall remain closed for 10 days.
*Bengal death toll reaches 1,000 with 20 more fatalities; state records highest single-day rise of 1,589 cases
*Maharashtra's tally rises to 2,75,640 with 7,975 new cases; 233 deaths take toll to 10,928
*TN reports 4,496 new cases and 68 fatalities; 5000 patients discharged in a single day, taking total recoveries to 1.02 lakh
*Tripura registers 90 fresh cases, count rises to 2,184
*Nagaland reports 6 cases, tally at 902
*29 more deaths take toll to 1,012 in UP, 1,659 fresh cases raise infection tally to 41,383
* Delhi records 1,647 fresh coronavirus cases, taking tally to 1,16,993; death toll climbs to 3,487
The West Bengal government has announced that a comprehensive town-wide lockdown will imposed in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area (Darjeeling district) for a period of seven days w.e.f July 16, at 9 am to contain the spread of COVID-19. Only essential services will be available. The following will be closed till further notice:
1) All government and private offices except those providing essential services like law and order, Covid-19 management, treasury, banking, disaster management.
2) All religious and social events except marriages and last rites with allowed number of people.
3) All markets and shops selling non-essential items.
4) All industrial activities involving non-essential activities.
*Amid the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday told youth it was important to "stay relevant" as businesses and markets were changing, along with work culture and the nature of jobs.
*The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 9.3 lakh Wednesday, after 29,429 new infections were reported from across the country a day before. Over 24,300 people have succumbed to the disease, while nearly 60,000 have recovered.
*Karnataka has overtaken Gujarat to become the third worst-hit state in the country after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
*Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation in the national capital was "under control", but warned against complacency.
*Goa announced a lockdown from July 16 to July 20. The state has 1,128 active cases of the coronavirus.
Worldwide
*More than 13 million infections have been recorded and 577,000 deaths. The rise in cases is being fuelled by the Americas, which account for over half the world’s infections and half the deaths.
*China is further easing restrictions on domestic tourism after reporting no new local cases of COVID-19 in nine days.
*South Africa surpassed the United Kingdom in terms of total coronavirus cases. The country now has the world’s eight highest number of cases, with 2,98,292.
*Thailand revised rules for foreign visitors. The government said diplomats will be asked to stay in state-supervised quarantine for 14 days, instead of self-isolating, adding that it is postponing the recently allowed entry of some foreign visitors.
*Hong Kong Disneyland Park is closing Wednesday until further notice following the city’s decision to ban gatherings of more than four people to combat newly spreading infections.
On Tuesday,Delhi recorded 1,606 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the city to over 1.15 lakh, while the death toll from the disease mounted to 3,446.
Several senior bureaucrats, including the Commissioner and Secretary to Assam Governor, have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Wednesday. At least five senior officials have tested positive for novel coronavirus in the last 2-3 days, an official told PTI. Commissioner and Secretary to the Governor of Assam, S S Meenakshi Sundaram, his wife and mother have tested positive for COVID-19 and they are being treated at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here. Senior IAS officer Oinam Sarankumar Singh, the Commissioner of Industries Department and also the MD of Assam Industrial Development Corporation, has also tested positive for COVID-19, he said.
While most of the 160 Covid-19 vaccine candidates under various stages of development are conventional intramuscular injection, several research groups and firms, including in the United States, Canada and India, are working on nasal coronavirus vaccines. Instead of a jab into the upper arm, these types of vaccines will be delivered to the respiratory tract, either via a nasal spray or aerosol delivery. Since coronavirus is a respiratory infection and invades the airway, scientists from the UK’s Oxford University and Imperial College and US’ Yale University have said administering a vaccine at the entry points would train the mucosa to identify Covid-19 and block it from getting through. Scientists have identified two specific types of cells in the nose as the likely initial infection points for SARS-CoV2.
With the Delhi government backing plasma therapy to reduce the COVID-19 death rate, the state-run Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital is soon going to launch a plasma bank which will be the third such facility in the national capital. Binay Bhushan, the nodal officer of GTB Hospital, said the the largest medical facility in East Delhi has got the equipment, know-how and staff to start a plasma bank. 'The hospital has already got a blood bank which caters to the demand in the East Delhi region. This facility can be used to collect and store plasma,' Bhushan said. Last week, the hospital said it has made all arrangements, including procuring an apheresis machine, to provide plasma therapy to COVID-19 patients who need it. Bhushan said the competent authority has allowed the hospital to start collecting plasma from recovered patients. 'We have prepared a list of COVID-19 patients who were treated at the hospital and have fully recovered. They have expressed willingness to donate plasma,' he said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the ground reality is completely different from the "propaganda" of the Yogi Adityanath dispensation. "Looking at the condition of the coronavirus ward of the medical college in UP CM's home district (Gorakhpur), you will know how much the ground reality is different from the false propaganda of the UP government," Priyanka Gandhi said on Twitter. The COVID-19 ward of the medical college is full of drainage water. The patients are worried and there is no system of draining out the water, the Congress general secretary in-charge of UP East tweeted in Hindi along with a video of the ward with drainage water.
Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced government job for kin of frontliners who lost their lives fighting against Covid-19. So far, 268 police personnel, 30 doctors, 43 nurses and 62 government officials in the state have been infected with COVID19.