A Covid-19 ward in Lok Nayak Hospital.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: India recorded 29,429 new infections pushing the tally to 9.3 lakh Wednesday. 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. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation in the national capital was “under control”, but warned against complacency. Addressing the media, Kejriwal said 20,000-23,000 tests were being conducted everyday, and there was no shortage of beds to treat patients.
In other news, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced government job for kin of frontline workers 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 Covid-19. Goa will impose a lockdown from 8 pm Thursday (July 16) to 6 am Monday (July 20). Besides, there will also be a “Janata Curfew” in the state from 8 pm to 6 am every day with effect from Wednesday till August 10. The state has 1,128 active cases of the coronavirus.
Addressing a conclave on World Youth Skills Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told youth it was important to “stay relevant” as businesses and markets were changing, along with work culture and the nature of jobs amid pandemic.
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.
People are tested for Covid-19 at a NDMC Dispensary in Pilanji Village, New Delhi. (Express Photo: Abhinav Saha)
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.
Amid complaints of difficulty in getting beds for COVID-19 patients, the Karnataka government on Wednesday issued a notification making it mandatory for private hospitals to display a bed allocation display board. "It is made mandatory that all hospitals registered under KPME (Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act) in Karnataka State should display at the reception counter, a bed allocation display board," the notification signed by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar said.
It said the board should display details like- name of the hospital, total number of beds (as per KPME registration), total number of beds allocated for COVID-19 patients referred by BBMP (Bengaluru civic body- Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), among others.
The ICMR on Wednesday confirmed that more than 3.2 lakh samples were tested for COVID-19, the highest so far on a day, taking the cumulative number of tests conducted in the country till July 14 to 1,24,12,664.
Bihar recorded 1320 fresh cases, pushing the total to 20173. So far, 13019 persons have recovered, the State health department said. Bhagalpur today recorded 125 new case. The curve is steeply rising. On June 8, 245 cases. July 8, 693.July 15, 1259. Deaths from 1 on June 8 to 12 till yesterday. Active cases constantly rising now with 481 yesterday.Second highest cases in Bihar after Patna.
A complete lockdown will be imposed in Goa from 8 pm Thursday (July 16) till 6 am Monday (July 20), Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. Goa has 1,128 active Covid-19 cases.
The Karnataka government has issues a clarification about the operations of e-commerce companies and food delivery services during the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru. Now, e-Commerce companies are allowed to operate from 5 am to 8 pm and food delivery services can function 5 am to 10 pm. The lockdown in Bengaluru extends till July 22.
Mumbai recorded 954 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday — a dip from the 1,158 cases it registered a day ago – taking it total virus count to 95,100. Across Maharashtra, 6,741 fresh cases were recorded on the day. The state now has a total of 2.67 lakh virus cases. According to civic officials, a weekly trend of fewer tests on weekends leads to the dip in cases in Mumbai every Tuesday. Tests conducted on Sundays are reported by Tuesdays. On June 30 and July 7, both Tuesdays, 893 and 785 cases were reported, respectively, in the city. Over 1,000 cases are recorded in Mumbai on all other days. Read more Mumbai news here
Coimbatore District Collector K Rajamani has tested positive for Covid-19. Tamil Nadu 1,47,324 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 47,915 active cases, 97,310 recoveries and 2,099 deaths.
A day after Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa tested positive for Covid-19, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh advised his Cabinet to get tested for the disease. Bajwa had met Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Monday but the meeting ensured social distancing.
The CM is also likely to get tested, despite only having held virtual meetings in the recent past. Punjab has 18 minister including the CM.
Punjab recorded 340 new cases on Tuesday, taking the tally to 8,511. At least nine people have succumbed.
Input from Kanchan Vasdev
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the situation in the national capital is "under control", but has warned against complacency. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said 20,000-23,000 tests were being conducted everyday, and there was no shortage of beds to treat patients.
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. Addressing a conclave on World Youth Skills Day, he said the mantra to stay relevant was to "skill, re-skill and upskill".
The conclave was organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday, which also marked five years of the Skill India Mission.