Coronavirus LIVE Updates: New Academic Session in Goa Likely from September; Cases Rise in Arunachal, Pondicherry

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: The Goa education department is planning to start the new academic session from September this year, state education director Santosh Amonkar has said. The annual academic session in Goa begins in the first week of June, but it has been stalled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. India, meanwhile, recorded a spike of 37,724 Covid-19 cases and 648 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total Covid-19 cases have risen to 11,92,915 and there are 4,11,133 active cases in the country. The number of cured/discharged/migrated stands at 7,53,050 while the death toll has climbed to 28,732, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

HERE ARE LIVE UPDATES ON CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

◕ New Academic Session in Goa Likely from September | The Goa education department is planning to start the new academic session from September this year, state education director Santosh Amonkar has said. The annual academic session in Goa begins in the first week of June, but it has been delayed this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19, PTI reported. The state education department was earlier hoping to start the 2020-21 academic year by August 15.

◕ Arunachal Pradesh Reports 68 New Covid-19 Cases| Arunachal Pradesh reported 68 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the virus count in the northeastern state to 858, a senior Health department official said here on Wednesday. Of the 68 new infections, 57 were reported from the Capital complex, while six were from Lower Subansiri, three from Namsai and one each from Papum Pare and Lower Dibang Valley districts, he told PTI.

◕ India reported a spike of 37,724 Covid-19 cases and 648 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total Covid-19 cases have risen to 11,92,915 and there are 4,11,133 active cases in the country. The number of cured/discharged/migrated stands at 7,53,050 while the death toll has climbed to 28,732, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

◕ Bengaluru residents were seen heading out as lockdown has been lifted in Karnataka from today by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. However, the night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am and Sunday curfew will remain.

◕ The coronavirus situation "is in control" in Mumbai with the number of cases being reported daily being less than 1,500, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said. Every day, 6,000 to 7,000 tests are being done and most of the citizens are following the safety protocols, additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI.

◕ Today's Covid-19 Highlights

- World total cases is now over 15 million, 9.1 million have recovered

-India's mortality rate improves from 2.43% to 2.41%

-India's recoveries now more than 7.5 lakh. Recovery rate 63.1%

-Total cases: 11.93 lakh; Active cases: 4.11 lakh; Recovered: 7.53 lakh; Deaths: 28.7k

- Delhi's new cases more than new recoveries for the first time in two weeks (1349 vs 1200)

- Gujarat crosses 50 total cases; Karnataka now over 70k

◕ US Leading World in COVID-19 Testing, India Second: Trump | US President Donald Trump said that the United States is leading the world in terms of COVID-19 testing and India is at the second position. Trump made these remarks while giving an update on his administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis. Replying to a question, Trump said the US is “leading the world" in terms of COVID-19 testing. "We're going to be over 50 million tests," he said, adding that "second country is India with 12 million (tests)...," Trump said.

◕ Scientists have known for many months that the novel coronavirus can become suspended in microdroplets expelled by patients when they talk and breathe, but so far there was no proof that these tiny particles are infectious. However, a new study by scientists at the University of Nebraska that was uploaded to a medical preprint site this week has revealed for the first time that SARS-CoV-2 taken from microdroplets, defined as under five microns, can duplicate in lab conditions, news agency AFP reported.

◕ Seen here, a healthcare worker conducting a Covid-19 test on a patient while going house to house in the municipality of Tlahuac, one of the highly contagious zones of Mexico City.

◕ US Reports More Than 68,000 New Virus Cases in 24 Hours | The United States on Tuesday reported 68,524 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University said in its real-time tally. The country, which is reeling hard under the onslaught of the pandemic, has now registered a total of 3,891,893 infections, the Baltimore-based university said on Wednesday.

◕ Residents of Australia's second-most populous city Melbourne have been directed to wear masks when leaving home from Wednesday. This development comes even as tighter border restrictions were imposed with neighbouring New South Wales state to check the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, cross-border travel between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) will now only be allowed for work, education or medical care, after the border was closed earlier in July for the first time in 100 years, Reuters reported.

◕Japan Approves Dexamethasone as Covid-19 Treatment| Japan has given a nod to dexamethasone, a cheap and extensively used steroid, as a second treatment of COVID-19 after a trial in Britain revealed that the drug reduced death rates in hospitalised patients.

Japan's health ministry included dexamethasone as an option for treatment along with Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir.