The government on Wednesday said sanitisers are disinfectants like soaps and anti-bacterial liquids among others, which attract 18% duty under the GST regime. Reducing the GST rate on sanitisers and other similar items would lead to an inverted duty structure and put domestic manufacturers at a disadvantage vis-a-vis importers of hand sanitisers, the ministry said.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.
Here are the latest updates:
With steady decline, active COVID-19 cases now constitute a third of total tally: Health Ministry
India has 3,31,146 active COVID-19 cases, which is around a third of the country’s total tally that rose to 9.68 lakh on Thursday, the Union Health ministry said and credited targeted measures for the steady decline in active caseload.
As the country witnessed a record single-day increase of 32,695 cases on Thursday, the ministry said the recovery rate rose to 50 per cent mid-June and thereafter there has been a steady rise in recoveries and a decline in the number of active cases.
- PTI
15-year-old girl allegedly raped by guard at PMCH COVID-19 ward
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a security guard at the COVID-19 quarantine center of the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) where she was admitted after being rescued from a railway station, police said on Thursday.
The accused, Mahesh (40), was arrested on Wednesday night after being booked under the POCSO Act and other relevant IPC sections by the Pir Bahore police station, according to Arti Jaiswal, the in-charge of the women’s police station here.
- PTI
14 Tirumala Archakas test positive for COVID-19
TTD Chairman Y. V. Subba Reddy on Thursday confirmed that 14 Tirumala archakas tested positive for COVID-19. Mr. Reddy said that a total of 140 TTD personnel have been affected so far. - G.P. Shukla
Over 650 Kolkata Police personnel diagnosed with COVID-19 so far: Senior cop
More than 650 Kolkata Police personnel have been diagnosed with COVID-19 over the past four months, of which around 512 have recovered and several others are undergoing treatment at hospitals, a senior officer said.
A few of them have been advised home isolation, the officer said on Thursday.
At least two have succumbed to the disease so far.
Sixteen personnel of the Kolkata Police traffic department had on Wednesday tested positive for the disease - some of them posted at its headquarters in Lalbazar, and others at Charu Market and Entally police stations, the officer said.
The offices of the traffic department have been shut down for sanitisation, he said.
All 16 have been hospitalised, the officer said. - PTI
Meghalaya to close all entry points to state from July 24-31
The Meghalaya government has decided to close all entry points to the state from July 24 to 31 to intensify COVID-19 surveillance, as its caseload rose to 354 on Thursday with 16 more security personnel testing positive for the infection, officials said.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said only people engaged in essential services will be permitted to enter the state during the period.
“To reduce the burden on our health workers and administration engaged in intensive surveillance for the past four months, the state government has decided to close all the entry points to the state from July 24 to 31,” he said.
The entry points of Byrnihat, Ratacherra, Bajengdoba, Tikrikilla, Mirjumla and Hallidayganj will be shut during the period. They will be reopened on August 1, Sangma said, adding that the one at Byrnihat will be shifted to a new location to ensure smooth movement of traffic.
The state government has also decided not to allow wedding receptions in the districts of East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi for the time being, he said.
“Only solemnisation of marriages in places of worship will be permitted, with strict adherence to social distancing norms,” the Chief Minister said.
The decision in this regard comes after 10 of the 41 people who had attended a wedding reception tested positive for COVID-19. As many as 200 primary contacts of the patients were identified and isolated during a two-day lockdown imposed in Shillong. - PTI
Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine hopes rise with strong trial results
Researchers at the University of Oxford believe they may have a breakthrough in their search for a COVID-19 vaccine after the team discovered that the jab could provide “double protection” against the deadly coronavirus following early stage human trials, according to media reports in the U.K.
Blood samples taken from a group of U.K. volunteers given a dose of the vaccine showed that it stimulated the body to produce both antibodies and killer T-cells , a senior source from the trial was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as saying.
The discovery is promising because separate studies have suggested that antibodies may fade away within months while T-cells can stay in circulation for years.
However, the source cautioned that the results, while extremely promising , did not yet prove that the Oxford vaccine provides long-lasting immunity against the deadly virus.
I can tell you that we now know the Oxford vaccine covers both bases — it produces both a T cell and an antibody response. It’s the combination of these two that will hopefully keep people safe. So far, so good. It’s an important moment. But we still have a long way to go, the source said.
Another source close to the team described the presence of both antibodies and T-cells as a double defence against COVID-19.
‘The Lancet’ medical journal has confirmed that it would be publishing early-stage human trial data from the Oxford team on Monday.
David Carpenter, chairman of the Berkshire Research Ethics Committee, which approved the Oxford trial, said the vaccine team was “absolutely on track“. - PTI
Sikkim CM, family and staff members undergo COVID-19 test
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, his family and staff members gave their samples for COVID-19 test on Thursday, the CMO said in a statement.
Tamang and his family members underwent the COVID-19 test after a few of his ministers interacted with people from Rongli and Rhenock sub-divisions which have been declared as containment zones following a recent spurt in positive cases at the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) camp in Rongli town.
Samples of a total 95 people, including Tamang, his wife Sarda and son Aditya Tamang, who is an MLA, were collected at the chief minister’s residence at Lumsey, it said.
Samples of the chief minister’s security and residential staff members were also collected for testing, according to the chief minister’s office (CMO) statement.
The reports will be available after 48 hours. - PTI
Former Maharashtra CM tests positive for coronavirus
Former Maharashtra chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar tested positive for coronavirus in the state’s Latur district on Thursday, a senior official said.
The 88-year-old leader has been shifted to a hospital in Pune, located around 320 km from Latur, the official said.
Human trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidate important milestone for Atmanirbhar Bharat: DBT
Zydus Cadila’s move to begin human trials of its indigenously developed vaccine candidate for COVID-19 is an important milestone for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup said on Thursday.
Zydus Cadila on Wednesday said it has initiated Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. ZyCoV-D, the plasmid DNA vaccine designed and developed by Zydus, has been partially funded by the Department of Biotechnology under the National Biopharma Mission.
This makes it the first indigenously developed vaccine for coronavirus to be administered in humans in the country, the DBT secretary said in a statement.
Ms. Swarup said the development is also a big leap forward for the scientific community.
This is an important milestone for Atmanirbhar Bharat as Zydus begins human clinical trials for the indigenously developed vaccine. We hope that the vaccine continues to show positive outcomes as it has done so far in the pre-clinical phase where it was found to be safe, immunogenic and well tolerated, she said.
The adaptive phase 1 and 2 dose escalation, multi-centric study will assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the vaccine, the statement said. - PTI
Expedite approval process for rapid antigen, RTPCR testing: Delhi HC to ICMR, NABL
The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the ICMR and healthcare accreditation body NABL to expedite the process of granting approvals to private labs and hospitals for conducting Rapid Antigen and RTPCR tests in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the city which have gone past 1.16 lakh.
A direction was also issued by the high court to the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) to place before it by July 27 the preliminary report of the “sero surveillance” carried out in the city from June 27 to July 5, during which 21,387 blood samples were collected from the 11 districts in Delhi and tested for presence of antibodies to assess prevalence of COVID-19 infection at community level.
The directions were issued by a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad after perusing the affidavits filed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and NCDC in response to its queries on the last date regarding how many labs and private hospitals in Delhi have been allowed to conduct the Rapid Antigen and RTPCR tests as well as the status of the sero survey carried out in the national capital.
ICMR said it has been granting approvals to the private hospitals and labs, to conduct the Rapid Antigen and RTPCR tests, was an ongoing process and it has given one month“s time to them apply for the same after getting accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). - PTI
First woman chief of Maharashtra poll panel dies of COVID-19
Former Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Neela Satyanarayan died of COVID-19 at a hospital here on Thursday morning, hospital authorities said. She was 72.
The 1972-batch IAS officer was the state’s first woman election commissioner.
She died at Seven Hills Hospital in suburban Andheri around 4 am, the medical facility’s dean Dr Balkrishna Adsul said.
Her husband and son are also undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the hospital, he said.
The Seven Hills Hospital is a dedicated facility for coronavirus treatment.
Satyanarayan retired as additional chief secretary of the state’s revenue department in 2009.
After retirement, she served as the State Election Commissionerbetween 2009 and 2014.
She authored several books and was also a singer.
While serving as a bureaucrat, she had raised her voice against women IAS officers not being given important postings in the state secretariat.
Later, she was posted in the state revenue and Home departments. - PTI
Only God can save us, says Karnataka Health Minister
With Karnataka witnessing a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, its Health Minister B Sriramulu has said only God can save the state, insisting that public cooperation was key to controlling the spread of the pandemic.
“Tell me whose hand it is (to control the disease). Only God has to save us all. Awareness among people is the only way. In such a situation, the Congress leaders have stooped to the lowest level of politics. It doesn’t suit anybody,” Mr. Sriramulu told reporters on Wednesday.
Today, he issued a clarification. “I had said that besides people’s cooperation, God should also protect us but some media interpreted that Sriramulu has become helpless with respect to coronavirus spread.”
Record single-day jump of 32,695 COVID-19 cases in India
COVID-19 cases in India crossed the 30,000 mark in a single day for the first time pushing its tally to 9,68,876 on Thursday, while the death toll climbed to 24,915 with 606 people succumbing to the disease, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The number of recoveries stands at 6,12,814, while there are 3,31,146 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country.
“Thus, around 63.25 per cent of patients have recovered so far,” an official said. - PTI
Sourav Ganguly goes into self quarantine after brother tests positive
Sourav Ganguly
BCCI president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has gone into home quarantine after his elder brother Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for COVID-19.
Mr. Snehasish Ganguly is joint secretary Cricket Association of Bengal. “These are tough times. He has admitted himself yesterday at a city hospital. Other than having mild temperature, he is alright at the moment. Wish him a speedy recovery,” a statement from CAB read. CAB chief Avishek Dalmiya has also gone into home quarantine.
It is learnt that Mr. Snehasish Ganguly and Mr. Dalmiya met some senior police officials at the Eden Gardens last week to discuss the possibility of converting it into a COVID centre.
Mr. Snehasish Ganguly has been living with Mr. Sourav Ganguly since June 20 after the former's family, barring him, was diagnosed with COVID-19. - PTI
9-month baby is the latest COVID victim
A nine-month-old baby who died at the Rajiv Gandhi Women and Children's hospital tested positive for COVID-19, taking the mortality count in Puducherry to 22 on Thursday.
The UT also saw the highest number of cases in a single day with 147 admissions.
The tally is 22 deaths, 774 active cases, cumulative total of 1743 cases and 947 patients discharged. - Dinesh Verma
Bridge closed
As part of the COVID-19 containment efforts, the West Godavari district authorities on Wednesday closed the road-cum-rail bridge across the Godavari, to restrict movement of people between Kovvur and Rajamahendravaram. This is a vital link between the Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh. Traffic is allowed through two other bridges.
Outpatient services resume at Chennai's Vijaya Hospital
Vijaya Hospital has resumed outpatient services (only by appointment) since July 14. The private hospital group was the first major healthcare facility in Chennai to suspend services due to the spread of COVID-19 among staff.
“The management had voluntarily decided to shut down one of our units (Vijaya Hospital) in the last week of June as soon as we identified a potential risk of infection spread. Following this, we have taken stringent measures to disinfect the facility completely as per disinfection protocols...,” a media release said. “Most of our staff have been tested, and the ones who required institutional quarantine have been taken care of at our other unit (Vijaya Health Centre),” the release said.
Amid rising cases lockdown begins in Karnataka's Dharwad district
The lockdown announced by the Dharwad district administration to check the surge in the number of COVID-19 positive cases came into force on Wednesday with the authorities taking steps to ensure strict implementation of the Deputy Commissioner’s order.
Due to lockdown, T.N. suffers 50% fall in its tax revenue
The lockdown, imposed throughout the country to contain the spread of COVID-19, has caused about a 50% fall in the State’s Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) of Tamil Nadu during the first quarter (April-June) of this financial year, compared with the figure for the corresponding period last year.
This year’s SOTR collections during April-June amounted to ₹12,318.18 crore against the previous year’s figure of ₹25,082.52 crore.
46% of cases in Ernakulam through local transmission
The Aluva market area and Chellanam remain areas of concern for the district, as 39 persons from Chellanam and 12 from the Aluva market area tested positive on Wednesday. Those who tested positive in Chellanam are all contacts of people who had been infected earlier. A total of 109 persons from Chellanam have tested positive so far.
Around 46% of the 659 cases recorded in the district so far are through local transmission. The percentage of cases through local transmission has steadily increased from a little over 20% in the middle of last week, going by data available on the Directorate of Health Services COVID dashboard.
Situation much better in Delhi, says CM
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said Delhi was in a “much better position” than had been estimated amid rising cases of COVID-19 in June, but this should not be a reason for complacency.
He said both active cases and deaths had reduced in the city because of the “Delhi Model”, which had also been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tamil Nadu’s case count likely to decline in 10 days, says CM
Health officials checking temperature and conducting swab test in Sowcarpet during the complete lockdown in Chennai on Sunday. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu
Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 case count is likely to decline in the next 10 days and the spread of the virus is reducing noticeably in Chennai, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Wednesday.
Addressing the media, Mr. Palaniswami said the daily case tally was expected to come down. However, the containment of the virus was “in each person’s hands”, and what was needed was “self-regulation and people’s support”, he added.
Highest single-day spike in West Bengal
West Bengal recorded 1,589 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, its highest single-day spike yet, taking its tally to 34,427. The State also recorded 20 more deaths, pushing its toll to 1,000.
Of the latest victims, nine were from Kolkata, six from North 24 Parganas, three from Howrah, and one each from Hooghly and Paschim Bardhaman districts. There are 12,747 active cases in the State and its recovery rate stands at 60.06%. As many as 11,388 samples were tested on Wednesday.
Maharashtra to form panel to fix rates of masks, sanitisers
Health workers screen people for COVID-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai, on July 14, 2020. | Photo Credit: AP
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday said it will be forming a committee to fix the rates of masks and sanitisers, which are in high demand owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government will be appealing to the Centre to include these two items in the list of essential commodities, State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said after a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration Department.
High Court asks political parties to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocol
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed all the political parties and other organisations in the state to strictly abide by the Central government's COVID-19 guidelines issued for the Unlock-2 period, which prohibits social, political, religious and other large congregations.
The Bench led Chief Justice S. Manikumar also directed the State government to ensure that the Centre government guidelines issued on June 29 are implemented strictly in the state.