Doctors wearing PPE kit at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: With more than 40,000 fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours, India now has 1.11 million infections. As many as 681 casualties were reported in the country, taking the toll to 27,497. There are over 7 lakh recoveries, while nearly 4 lakh are still active cases. This is the first time that India has reported more than 40,000 infections. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases, followed by Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
The Health Ministry yesterday said that the case fatality rate (CFR) has for the first time dropped below 2.5 per cent. At 2.49 per cent, India’s CFR is 1.78 percentage points lower than the global average. According to data released by the Union Health Ministry on Sunday, 29 states and Union Territories have a CFR that is below the national average, with 14 states reporting a CFR of less than 1%.
While attributing this drop in CFR to “reporting of cases to the hospital within 24-72 hours” of the patient showing symptoms, sources in the government monitoring the pandemic in the country said the data raise a key red-flag: that some of the deaths in states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, which have a CFR higher than the national average, were possibly “avoidable”.
Globally, the pandemic has infected nearly 14.5 million people, with 6-lakh casualties. The United States continues to be the worst-affected followed by Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa.
Maharashtra's tally breached 3 lakh-mark and reached 3,00,937 as the state recorded 8,348 fresh cases
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Nitish Kumar government over the handling of pandemic in Bihar. "Bihar is gradually going to become a global hotspot of COVID19, as state govt is not worried about the rising number of cases. They are doing nothing to increase testing. The number of COVID deaths is also increasing in Bihar. Different COVID19 numbers are being given for Bihar by Centre&state. Ppl are receiving test report even when they have not given any sample for test. Medical staff at COVID centres do not have PPE kits. We demand that state govt must give a clear picture," news agency ANI reported.
He is one of India’s most promising middle-distance runners but he may now have to give up athletics to support his family of six. She is an Asian youth gold-winning long-jumper but wants to take a break to help her father, an autorickshaw driver. He is an Asian youth bronze medallist but fears that he will end up selling bananas on a cart in the market. The COVID shutdown in sports, with no training for months, is beginning to wear down the country’s young athletes, many of whom are from underprivileged families without organisational support.
Today, Bhagalpur is second in Bihar’s Covid tally with 1,601 cases, and 16 deaths, after Patna’s 3,696. The district has also been left rudderless, with several senior officials testing positive, including the District Magistrate and the officer appointed in his place. With Bhagalpur battling a case spike, lack of manpower and complaints of negligence, the 800-bed hospital in Mayaganj, one of Bihar’s four dedicated Covid facilities covering several eastern districts, is under severe strain. Read our special Bhagalpur Unlockdown series
The race for an indigenously manufactured COVID-19 vaccine may see another entrant by October, with Pune-based biotechnology firm Gennova Biopharmaceuticals aiming to complete pre-clinical testing and start human trials by October. If found effective by regulators, the firm could launch its vaccine as early as March 2021, according to its CEO Sanjay Singh.
Australia’s Victoria state reported another 275 cases of Covid-19 and warned that it’s too early to say whether a lockdown across the city of Melbourne is helping to slow the spread of the virus. State Premier Daniel Andrews said a woman in her eighties had died from the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 39. While the number of new infections is down from 363 cases reported on Sunday, Andrews said it was too soon to say whether the state had “turned a corner.”
A meeting led by Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Monday will discuss the possible extension of emergency rules beyond the end of the month, as well as the next stage of easing, said Somsak Rungsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council. If the state of emergency is extended, it would be the fourth time since rules were imposed in March.
Senior Congress leader and Mumbai’s guardian minister Aslam Shaikh has tested positive for the coronavirus. He is the fourth minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to catch the infection. Public Works department minister Ashok Chavan, Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad and Social Justice minister Dhananjay Munde were previously hospitalised with the infection. All of them have recovered.
On Monday morning, Shaikh, who is the guardian minister of the island city of Mumbai, tweeted, “This is to inform that I’ve tested positive for #COVID-19. I’m currently asymptomatic and isolating myself. I request all those who have come in close contact with me to get themselves tested.” Shaikh is also the Minister for Textiles, Ports and Fisheries in the government. With Mumbai still being in the grip of the pandemic, he has been active on ground.
With more than 40,000 fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours, India now has 1.11 million infections. As many as 681 casualties were reported in the country, taking the toll to 27,497. There are over 7 lakh recoveries, while nearly 4 lakh are still active cases. This is the first time that India has reported more than 40,000 infections.
A parents’ association from the capital wrote to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Sunday, stating that it does not want schools to re-open in the 2020-2021 academic year until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.
On July 17, education secretaries of all state governments and Union Territories received a letter from the HRD Ministry, seeking parents’ feedback on whether they would be comfortable with schools reopening in August, September or October. A senior Delhi government official said the state government has not yet responded to this yet. On Sunday, the Delhi Parents’ Association wrote to Pokhriyal, stating, “The order to shut all schools…had been made on March 16 when the number of infected cases were in the hundreds. Now, it has crossed 10 lakh cases… To deliberate upon reopening schools in this situation is in itself laughable.”
On May 29, Delhi Police constable Om Prakash (31) came across a social media post regarding a diabetic patient’s “urgent plasma need” in Kapashera. The post mentioned a phone number and name of the hospital. “I had recovered from Covid-19 in May and realised I was eligible, so I called up the number, and on June 2, I donated plasma for the first time. Thankfully, the patient recovered… We are friends now. He says he will meet me after Covid-19 is over,” said Om Prakash. Read More
Active Covid cases in the city dipped to 16,031 — 13% of the 1,22,793 cases reported so far — on Sunday, while hospital bed occupancy stood at 3,500 of the 15,456 beds available.
The new cases reported Sunday also fell to 1,211 — the first time in several weeks that fewer than 1,300 cases were recorded in Delhi in a day. Read More
After riots broke out in Northeast Delhi in February, 58-year-old Riazuddin had started a food distribution service from his home in North Ghonda. Riot-affected families could simply knock on his door for essential food items. The school principal of an MCD School in Brijpuri, Riazuddin was known for his social work, but his efforts would amplify in the time of a crisis. Covid-19 claimed Riazuddin’s life last month. On Saturday, his son Baqar Riyaz (19) donated plasma with the same thought for “humanity”. Read More
After no fresh strategies for almost a month, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has launched another surveillance campaign apart from aggressively conducting rapid antigen tests.The campaign that began last week to check super-spreaders has widened its reach to hair-cutting salons, which opened as part of the Unlock-1, banks and staff of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). Fine for not wearing mask in public places was raised from Rs 200 to 500, while a penalty of Rs 10,000 was imposed on paan shops if customers were found spitting in public. Read more here
In just over a month, the number of new Covid-19 cases being reported from residential buildings and high-rises has seen 108 per cent increase, while slums and other congested areas have reported 60 per cent increase in cases, data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) state.
With the lockdown relaxed and non-essential movement allowed, the rise in cases have gone back to the buildings like in the initial phase of the pandemic, BMC officials say. Housing societies that were initially keeping their premises locked up, have now let their guard down, with many allowing visitors and house help, they added. Read more here
Former MLA from Karjan Assembly Constituency in Vadodara district, Akshay Patel, who recently joined BJP after resigning from Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in June, has tested positive for Covid-19. Patel, in a post on Facebook, has said he is asymptomatic and in home isolation.
Patel said his oxygen level is stable, and urged his friends to follow precautions. Last week, former BJP MLA from Karjan, Satish Patel (Nishaliya), had also tested positive and was hospitalised.
The Assembly constituency is due for bypolls in mid-September following Akshay Patel's resignation. Akshay Patel had won the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2017 Assembly polls, defeating Satish Patel. Both leaders are vying for the bypolls ticket. BJP leaders, Cabinet Minister Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and party state general secretary Shabdasharan Brahmabhatt had held a meeting in Karjan on July 9 to discuss the strategy for the upcoming polls, where they had interacted with party leaders, including both the former MLAs.
The COVID-19 death toll in Jharkhand increased to 49 with one more person succumbing to the disease on Sunday, while 153 fresh cases pushed the tally to 5,552, a government bulletin said. The deceased was from Hazaribag district, it said. Of the total 5,552 COVID-19 cases, 2,785 are active and 2,718 people have recovered from the disease, as per the bulletin. On Sunday, 62 more people recovered from coronavirus, taking the total number of recovered persons to 2,718. The mortality rate is 0.88 per cent while the recovery rate in the state is 48.95 per cent, according to the bulletin. PTI
Tripura Sunday reported 223 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 2,892. Among these, 1,786 people have been discharged from hospital, leaving 1,106 persons under treatment.
In a late evening Tweet, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb wrote, "Alert! 223 People found COVID-19 POSITIVE out of 4175 samples tested today. 6 flight passengers. 30 were in contact of COVID-19 POSITIVE. 8 were symptomatic. 179 detected POSITIVE in Antigen Test. Among the total 223 COVID-19 POSITIVE, 101 are BSF personnel".
This is the third round of major spread of coronavirus among the ranks of Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura, with several cases detected among the border guards yesterday.
Assam BJP MLA Nabanita Handique has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an official said on Sunday. Handique, who represents Sonari in the Assam legislative assembly, is the fourth legislator in the state to test positive for COVID-19, the official said. The legislator's son, driver and a personal assistant had earlier tested positive while her test results came positive on Sunday, an official of the Charaideo district administration said. The MLA is currently in her constituency in the district. The first legislator to test positive was BJP's Patharkandi MLA Krishnendu Paul followed by Naryan Deka of Borkhetry. Both have recovered from COVID-19 and have been released from hospital. BJP's Sadiya MLA Bolin Chetia was the third legislator to test COVID-19 positive. Chetia was admitted to the Tinsukia Civil Hospital. Another prominent politician of the state to test positive was All India Mahila Congress president and former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev. She was admitted to the Silchar Medical College Hospital on July 8. Dev was released from the hospital on Sunday after she tested negative for COVID-19. (PTI)
The strict lockdown in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram has been extended till July 28 after the city reported 222 cases of novel coronavirus infection on Sunday.