People provide samples for Covid testing at SPPC Yoga Anusandhan Kendra in Delhi on Wednesday.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 12,87,945 on Friday after 49,311 fresh cases were reported within a span of 24 hours.
The Centre is today scheduled to hold a video conference with eight states, which it views as a “cause of concern”, to check the spread of the virus. The meeting, scheduled for Friday, will feature a detailed discussion between a team of experts from the Centre as well as senior Health Ministry officials and officers from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh, The Indian Express has learnt.
Meanwhile, no school children will participate in the Independence Day celebrations this year. “At the Red Fort, instead of the 900-1,000 invitees every year, around 250 people will be present as the Prime Minister addresses the nation,” an official with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told The Indian Express. The final list will be prepared by the Defence Ministry.
Globally, 15,445,043 people have been infected with the virus so far. While 8,763,516 people have recovered, as many as 632,173 fatalities have been registered till now. The United States continued to remain the worst-affected followed by Brazil and India.
With over 11 lakh cases, India, third only to the United States and Brazil, concerns are raised about its readiness to confront a surge in the cases (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A day after the country reported a record 46,000 coronavirus cases in a single day, it was learnt on Thursday that the Centre will hold a video conference with eight states, which it views as a “cause of concern”, to check the spread of the virus. The meeting, scheduled for Friday, will feature a detailed discussion between a team of experts from the Centre as well as senior Health Ministry officials and officers from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh, The Indian Express has learnt. “These states are a cause of concern for different reasons,” a top government functionary, who is part of the team monitoring the pandemic, said. These eight states are reporting 60-plus deaths on a daily basis, the source said.
No school children, a pared-down list of dignitaries, chairs instead of rugs for seating in several areas, and police in PPE — Independence Day morning at Red Fort this year will reflect the mood of a nation in the middle of a global pandemic. In the afternoon, during the At Home function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, the focus will be on India’s “Corona Warriors”, with invitations likely to be extended to medical professionals and key figures in the health sector. “At the Red Fort, instead of the 900-1,000 invitees every year, around 250 people will be present as the Prime Minister addresses the nation,” an official with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told The Indian Express. The final list will be prepared by the Defence Ministry. Apart from ministers, diplomats and other dignitaries, the attendees until last year included thousands of schoolchildren wearing dresses that reflect the Tricolour. “This year, children will not take part due to the pandemic, except for NCC cadets. Social distancing will be maintained, staff will be in PPE kits, and there will be a number of sanitisation points,” said Monika Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 12,87,945 on Friday after 49,311 fresh cases were reported within a span of 24 hours.
A minor girl, who tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to a Covid care centre in Delhi, was sexually assaulted allegedly by another patient inside the facility on July 15. Police have arrested the accused and a second person who allegedly filmed the assault. Police said they received a complaint from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), who are managing the centre. In her complaint, the minor alleged that on the night of July 15, she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old inside a bathroom at the centre. She accused another 19-year-old patient at the centre of recording the incident on his phone. Parvinder Singh, Additional DCP (South district), said, “We have registered a case against the two men under the POCSO Act and IPC 376 (sexual assault). The accused have been arrested and sent to judicial custody but will remain in institutional care till they recover from the infection. We are investigating the matter further.”
The state has called upon the district administration to ramp up infrastructure and augment hospital bed strength, in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases.
State Medical Education Secretary Dr Sanjay Mukherjee told The Indian Express that they had urged the Divisional Commissioner’s office to make at least 1,000 beds operational for coronavirus patients at Sassoon General Hospital. Read more here
Haryana Thursday reported six more deaths due to Covid-19 as the infection tally rose to 28,975 with another single-day big spike of 789 fresh cases. Now, six districts in state have more than 1000 cases each. These include Gurgaon (8266 cases, 119 deaths), Faridabad (7073 cases, 117 deaths), Sonipat (2603 cases, 29 deaths), Rohtak (1224 cases, 20 deaths), Rewari (1156 cases, 8 deaths), and Ambala (1140 cases, 10 deaths).
According to Covid bulletin, Faridabad reported maximum 220 fresh infections followed by Gurgaon (139), Ambala (88), Sonipat (78), and Rohtak (33).
The worst-hit districts in the National Capital Region — Faridabad and Gurgaon — reported three and one fatality, respectively, while one death each was reported from Sonipat and Jhajjar districts. The Covid fatality toll in state has now risen to 378.
India has a fantastic 'vaccine capability' and it would play a crucial role in the partnerships the UK is building on COVID-19 vaccine development and manufacturing, the new British High Commissioner said on Thursday. British High Commissioner Philip Barton also said India is 'really important' to the UK in meeting the COVID-19 challenges and getting through the pandemic. 'Clearly India has a fantastic vaccine capability, in particular the Serum Institute. We have entered into a number of agreements and most notable one is with AstraZeneca,' he said during a virtual media briefing.
Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has partnered with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to manufacture the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. (PTI)
West Bengal's COVID-19 infection tally has crossed the 50,000-mark on July 23 with a record number of 2,436 new cases. In Kolkata alone, 795 new infections have been recorded. The state has seen 34 new deaths in 24 hours, with 19 occurring in Kolkata. North 24 Parganas has high infection rates with 545 new cases, while Howrah has 303 new COVID-19 cases. The government says that these figures had been recorded till 9 am today before the state went into lockdown.
Amid a fresh spurt in Covid-19 cases, the Shimla administration Thursday said that not wearing a mask or wearing one improperly in public places in the district will now attract a fine of Rs 1,000.
DC Amit Kashyap said the decision has been taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It’s compulsory to wear a mask while stepping out of one’s home and to cover the mouth and the nose while wearing a mask, the DC said. The decision comes on a day, 44 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the state, with 42 in Solan alone.
The West Bengal government has ordered a lockdown in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik lockdown from 26th June (Sunday) for 7 days due to increasing COVID-19 infections in the state. All private and government offices will remain closed with the exception of law and order, fire services, health services, treasury, banking, courts and correctional services etc. All religious and social ceremonies are prohibited with the exception of last rites and marriage ceremonies with allowed number of people. All markets and shops selling non-essential items are to remain closed.
The railways will move towards contactless ticketing like at airports with QR code-enabled tickets, which will be scanned on handheld devices and mobile phones at the stations and on the trains, a senior official of the national transporter said on Thursday. Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said while 85 per cent train tickets are currently being booked online, a QR code will also be available for those buying tickets from counters. "We have introduced a QR code system, which will be given on tickets. If one buys online, the code will be provided on the ticket. Even on window tickets, where one gets a physical ticket, a text message will be sent to the passenger's mobile phone, which will have a link, and the QR code will be displayed when the link is touched. (PTI)
Two officers of a CBI team probing alleged extrajudicial killing of a man and his son by Tamil Nadu police personnel in Tuticorin have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Thursday. Affected officers, a sub inspector and a head constable, have been admitted to a local hospital and the remaining team will be tested for coronavirus immediately to rule out any asymptomatic case, they said.
Seeing the public outcry on alleged police excesses resulting in the death of RP Jeyaraj and his son J Benniks, the agency had swung into action as soon as it received a reference from the Centre to proceed with its investigation and had dispatched a team from its special crime unit, they said.
Karnataka reports 5,030 new COVID-19 positive cases of which 2207 cases are from Bengaluru Urban. Total number of cases now at 80863 and death toll rises to 1616 after 97 deaths were reported today: State Health Department
In an effort to jointly combat the novel coronavirus, Israel Thursday said it will send to India on board a special flight a research team which has been working with the Indian side to develop a rapid testing kit for COVID-19 which can give a result within 30 seconds. In the coming weeks, Israel's ministries of foreign affairs, defence and health will lead an unprecedented anti-COVID-19 cooperation operation between India and Israel, an Israel Embassy statement said. A special planned flight from Tel Aviv to New Delhi is set to carry a high ranking Israeli defence ministry research and development team which has been working with India's chief scientist K VijayRaghavan and Defence Research and Development Organisation to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds, it said. (PTI)
The residents of an apartment complex in Bengaluru were left in shock after the local civic body's staff allegedly sealed their doors with a long metal sheet on Thursday, marking a local 'containment zone' within the building. The incident which took place in Ranka Heights, an apartment complex in Domlur, came to light when another resident shared the pictures of the same on Twitter, drawing flak to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) from many alike. (PTI)
The Railways Thursday said it has met all the existing demand of states for Shramik Special trains to ferry stranded migrant workers home, with the last service being operated on July 9. Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said a total of 4,615 Shramik Special trains have been run since May 1, taking over 63 lakh people home during the coronavirus lockdown. The Railways started Shramik Specials on May 1 to transport stranded migrant workers to their native states after thousands tried to reach home on foot due to the lockdown. (PTI)
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Jharkhand Cabinet Wednesday approved the Jharkhand Contagious Disease Ordinance under which penalty up to Rs 1 lakh and a jail term up to two years can be imposed against violators of preventive measures of COVID-19 like not wearing masks in public places and spitting in public.
Jharkhand on Wednesday reported 439 new cases of COVID-19, while three more people died due to the disease, as per the bulletin issued by the state government. The state’s death toll stands at 64. There are 3,570 active cases in the state, with the infection tally rising to 6,682. While the overall tally in India rose to 1,238,635 after over 45,000 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours. The death toll also increased from 28,732 to 29,861.
Jharkhand is not the first state to have imposed a fine. Many other states and cities across the country have made wearing face masks compulsory. Click here to know the list.
In its latest guidelines on disposal of COVID-19 waste, pollution watchdog CPCB has directed that masks and gloves used by everyone, whether infected or not, should be cut and kept in paper bags for minimum 72 hours before disposing of them. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also directed commercial establishments like malls and offices to follow the same procedure with discarded protective personal equipment (PPE) from general public. 'Discarded PPEs from general public at commercial establishments, shopping malls, institutions, offices, etc. should be stored in separate bin for 3 days, thereafter, disposed of as dry general solid waste after cutting/shredding. Read full story here. (PTI)
The re-imposition of lockdown in different parts of West Bengal has prompted artisans of Kumartuli, the hub of clay modellers in Kolkata, toask for 50 per cent advance payment during booking of idols. The government has clamped lockdown in the city's containment zones since July 9. It has announced total lockdown in the entire state twice a week till August end to check the spread of the disease.Durga Puja this year is likely to be a much toned down one with the COVID-19 measures in place and the organisers unwilling to spend as much as the earlier years. "We have unanimously decided to ask for a 50 per cent advance during booking so that we don't incur heavy losses as we have suffered after Cyclone Amphan and the lockdown since March end," PTI quoted a spokesman of 'Kumartuli Mritshilpi Samity' as saying.
Life came to a near standstill across West Bengal on Thursday as the state was put under a complete lockdown to break the chain of rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. All shops were shut and transport went off the road as part of the state government's plan to clamp restrictions two days a week. A similar lockdown will be in place on July 25 and 29.