Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Health workers prepare before entering an isolation centre for Covid-19 at CWG in New Delhi on Friday.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal has written to West Bengal Health Secretary N S Nigam expressing concerns over the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in state. Pointing out that the overall testing in Bengal is considerably low when compared to the national average, Agarwal suggested that the state should achieve at least a minimum of 14 tests per 1 lakh people and ensure less than 10% positivity.
Assam government on Saturday announced its decision to partially unlock Guwahati from Monday for next two weeks. During this, offices will be allowed to function with 30% employees, private vehicles will remain suspended but auto and cabs will be allowed. Shops will open — on one side of road one day, other side next. The city will observe curfew from 6 pm to 6 am and total lockdown on weekends.
The Health Ministry on Saturday said the total number of recoveries of India’s coronavirus patients has exceeded the active cases by 2.95 lakh. The country’s actual COVID-19 caseload is 3,58,692, while close to 18,000 people have recuperated from the disease in 24 hours taking the the number of recoveries to 6,53,750.
Globally, over 14 million people (14,106,753) have been infected with the virus and 602,656 have died. It has taken just four days to climb to 14 million cases from 13 million recorded on July 13. The United States, with more than 3.6 million confirmed cases, is still seeing huge daily jumps in its first wave of COVID-19 infections.
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: States including West Bengal, Assam and Bihar have announced full or partial lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.
Two days after Varavara Rao tested positive for Covid-19, 20 inmates of Taloja central jail, where he was lodged, tested. All have tested negative, including co-inmate Vernon Gonsalves who was in close proximity of Rao, attending to him during his ill health.
The number of cases in Mumbai, the capital state of Maharashtra, crossed 1 lakh on Saturday. Maharashtra's tally breached 3 lakh-mark and reached 3,00,937 as the state recorded 8,348 fresh cases, the health department said.
Ahead of Bakri Eid and Ganesh festivals, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reiterated that religious, social and political gatherings will remain prohibited in the state in view of the rising infections. Addressing collectors and municipal commissioners via a virtual meeting, Thackeray called for replication of the Dharavi model at other places in the state to control the coronavirus outbreak.
With two more COVID-19 deaths confirmed on Saturday, Tripura’s total corona casualty tally has now risen to five. The two new casualties were confirmed by Law minister Ratan Lal Nath, who said they include a 72-year old woman - the first female to have been claimed by the pandemic in the state so far. “The deaths include a 72 year old woman from Birchandra Manu in south district where she was admitted in a primary health centre (PHC). She had diabetes and hypertension and other symptoms, was transferred to Santirbazaar district hospital on July 13, wherefrom she was further referred to Udaipur district hospital in Gomati district. The patient was referred to Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) on Friday and she passed away at 1.05 PM today,” the minister said.
The second death reported today is of a 62 year old man from Salema in Dhalai district, where he tested positive with coronavirus. He passed away at 3:40 PM this afternoon. With thes new cases, the state’s corona death tally no stands at five. While the first one was reported on June 09, the second one came on July 11, third case on July 15 while last two deaths were registered today, all at AGMC here, The minister has, however, claimed that all the COVID casualties had co-morbidities which had aggravated their cases. According to latest reports, Tripura has 2498 total COVID-19 cases, out of which 1,735 have recovered and were discharged from hospitals, leaving 743 active patients.
In West Bengal's districts, North 24 Parganas has been hit with 443 new infections and 7 new deaths. Howrah is next with 182 new cases and three deaths. South 24 Parganas has seen 160 new COVID-19 cases as of July 18.
Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Hingoli are four districts in Maharashtra that have a case fatality rate (CFR) of less than 1 per cent. An analysis by the state Health department shows that 12 out 35 districts in Maharashtra have achieved less than 10 per cent positivity of Covid-19 cases while 17 districts have met the government target of conducting daily 140 tests per million population.
Maharashtra has a total of 2.84 lakh cases and 11,193 deaths. The CFR in the state is 3.9 per cent and a total of 1.58 lakh persons have recovered from Covid-19. Daily testing has improved, but needs to be ramped up to detect the disease before it spreads, finds the analysis. Low positivity, not doubling rate, is the hallmark of containment, said state officials.
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala are on the rise, the state government has decided to implementa 'cluster care' method to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, state health minister K K Shailaja said on Saturday. The minister said testing, treatment and quarantining will be strengthened inside the 'clusters' in order to stop the spread of the virus beyond a particular area. 'Thosein the clusters must strictly follow the health protocol including wearing of masks, social distancing, handwash, use of sanitisers etc. (PTI)
West Bengal has seen its highest ever single-day spike in COVID-19 infections as numbers crossed the 2,000 mark with 2198 new cases registered on July 18. The day also saw its highest COVID-19 deaths reported in 24 hours with 27 registered deaths. Total deaths in the state according to the West Bengal government as of July 18 are 1076. There are presently 15,594 active cases in the state and 40,209 registered COVID-19 cases in Bengal. 1286 patients have been discharged in the last 24 hours and the present discharge rate is 58.54%.
Due to the increasing rates of infection in West Bengal, the Registrar General of the Calcutta High Court, Rai Chattopadhyay has issued a notice that the court will remain closed from July 20 till July 22 and on July 24 (Friday). Both judicial and administrative functioning of the Calcutta High Court shall remain suspended during this period. In the case of any extremely urgent matter that needs to be taken up, the lawyer concerned will have to bring it to the notice of the Registrar General of the High Court. The court will be sitting on July 23, however. The judicial and administrative functioning of the Calcutta High Court had been suspended from July 10 to July 13 and the suspension had been extended till July 19, due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Indian Health Ministry's Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal has written to West Bengal Health Secretary N S Nigam expressing concerns over the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in state. Pointing out that the overall testing in Bengal is considerably low when compared to the national average, Agarwal suggested that the state should achieve at least a minimum of 14 tests per 1 lakh people and ensure less than 10% positivity.
Indian Health Ministry's Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal has written to West Bengal's health secretary, N.S. Nigam regarding the state increasing COVID-19 infection numbers. Agarwal said that Bengal has been reporting 1,600 cases daily & 93% of total active cases in the state were reported in the last four days. Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas have been specifically marked and Jhargram, Purulia, Nadia, Mednipur East and Hooghly have been identified as emerging hotspots that need immediate attention. Kolkata has also been highlighted for its increasing infection rates. Agarwal has said that overall testing in the state is considerably low in comparison with the national average. An increasing trend in case positivity rate in the last three weeks has also been marked as a cause of concern. Agarwal has suggested action points to be implemented at the state level.
The West Bengal government announced that the number of containment zones in Kolkata have risen from 24 to 32 on July 18. COVID-19 infection numbers in the state have increased over the past few weeks.
A complete weekend lockdown began on Saturday in four districts of Uttarakhand.
Which are the districts?
According to an order issued late on Friday night, the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar that reported the highest number of Covid cases over the past few days will observe the lockdown till Sunday in an attempt to break the cycle and contain the spread of the infection. The four districts of Uttarakhand have seen an abrupt rise in COVID cases over the past few days, reporting 655 cases since July 11.
What all are exampted?
However, essential services including operations of industrial units in multiple shifts, liquor shops, agricultural and construction activities, hotels, movement of persons and vehicles associated with these activities, movement of goods on national and state highways, loading and unloading of cargo and people travelling to their destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and airplanes have been exempted from the ambit of the weekend lockdown.
Assam govt announces partial Guwahati unlock from Monday for next 2 weeks. Offices to function with 30%; private vehicles suspended but auto, cabs allowed; shops will open (on one side of road one day, other side next); 6pm-6am curfew & Sat-Sun total lockdown.
Bengal COVID-19 update: Triveni Hospital in Kalimpong will be upgraded from its present status as a SARI hospital to a Level 4 hospital for COVID-19 with 125 beds, the West Bengal government announced today.
News of the Bachchans testing positive for COVID-19 has lengthened the shadows of anxiety for the entertainment industry that is just beginning to tiptoe its way out of lockdown and gets back on set ever so cautiously.
And the fear factor went up several notches. There have also been several cases of COVID-19 among cast and crew members of TV shows despite strict safety measures. The ripple effect was felt immediately as the industry, at a standstill since March when the nation went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, resumed work in fits and starts. The last four-five days of shooting left for Abhishek Bachchan's 'The Big Bull' will be pushed again, said co-producer Anand Pandit. (PTI)
After clocking 37 per cent COVID-19 positivity ratio a month ago, the city has now brought it down to around 12 per cent following measures such as ramped up testing and increased surveillance, a top official of the Greater Chennai Corporation said here on Saturday. The government announcing a 12-day lockdown last month had also been largely beneficial as it reduced people's mobility, GCC Commissioner G Prakash said. Ramped up testing for coronavirus, fever camps and door surveillance have brought down the positivity ratio to 10 -12 per cent from about 35-37 per cent just a month ago, he told reporters here. Since March, the civic body has conducted over five lakh RT-PCR tests. (PTI)
India's actual COVID-19 caseload is 3,58,692, while close to 18,000 people have recuperated from the disease in 24 hours taking the the number of recoveries to 6,53,750 which exceed active cases by 2,95,058, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. Medical attention is being provided to all active cases, either in home isolation or in hospitals for severe cases, it said. In a statement, the ministry said, "The last 24 hours saw 17,994 COVID-19 patients recovering. The recovery rate is now 63 per cent." Timely, proactive, and graded strategy initiatives for effective coronavirus infection management in the country, led by the Centre and implemented by the states and Union Territories, have ensured that the actual COVID-19 caseload remains manageable, it said, adding that expansion of hospital infrastructure continuously has aided in increased recoveries. (PTI)
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 16,701 with 591 fresh cases, while the death toll reached 86 with three more patients succumbing to the disease, a Health Department official said on Saturday. Two men from Ganjam, aged 63 and 60, and a 48-year-old woman from Gajapati died of coronavirus infection. 'Regret to inform the demise of three COVID positive patients while under treatment in hospitals,' the official said. The woman was also suffering from obesity and sleep apnea, he said. (PTI)
AAP spokesperson Akshay Marathe, who had also contracted the virus, also donated plasma at Delhi govt's plasma bank at the ILBS Hospital.