Covid 19 isolation centre at CWG village in New Delhi (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: The total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the grim milestone of 10-lakh, according to news agency PTI and private aggregator Covid19india.org, taking less than three weeks for the cases to go from half a million cases to one million. In contrast, it had taken nearly four months for India to reach the first half a million cases.
With the increase in cases, the Centre has told the three eastern states–Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam– that have imposed part or full lockdowns that while it is “not questioning” their decision, this period “must be utilised gainfully” by implementing a three-pronged strategy to contain the spread of the infection, The Indian Express has learnt.
While Karnataka has been the focus of attention for its rapid rise in number of Covid-19 cases, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have all seen a sharp increase in their numbers this month. The total number of infections in each of these states has nearly doubled since the start of July. Maharashtra, however, continues to remain the worst affected state with 2,75,640 cases and 10,928 deaths.
Globally, over 13 million people have been infected with the virus and 5,86,174 have died, with the most number of cases (3,536,658) and deaths (137,897) reported from the United States. Britain, the United States and Canada have accused Russia of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine.
States including West Bengal, Assam and Bihar have announced full or partial lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 8,641 Covid-19 cases – the highest ever in a single day since the state recorded its first case on March 9. With this, the total count of those infected in the state has reached 2,84,281.
The state recorded 266 new deaths – the highest so far in a single day this month – taking the overall toll to 11,194.
Mumbai, meanwhile, recorded 1,476 cases, taking its total count to 97,950. With 56 new deaths, 5,523 people in the city have died due to the virus till now. Read more here
Former IAS officer Neela Satyanarayan, who had served as Maharashtra’s first woman Election Commissioner, succumbed to Covid-19 at a suburban hospital on Thursday. She was 72. Read more here
For early detection of Covid-19 cases, the BMC has started using “smart helmets” to screen residents living in densely populated areas. Officials said two smart helmets have so far been used in slums of R North (Dahisar) and P North (Malad) wards.
The helmets can help in screening temperatures of around 200 people in a minute. On Thursday, BMC officials used it to screen 1,300 people at Ganpat Patil Nagar in Dahisar, one of the most congested slums in Mumbai. Shiv Sena corporator from Dahisar, Abhishek Ghoslakar, said the helmet is effective since it can cover a large number of people in less time. "It is always challenging to screen people in slums. With the help of the helmet, officials can cover more people," he added. Read more here