A 30-year-old male, on Friday, became the first person to be administered the first dose of India’s indigenous COVID vaccine, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, one of the 12 sites selected to test the vaccine. The subject, who was monitored for two hours at the hospital, has been discharged and will be under medical supervision for the next two weeks, said doctors at AIIMS.
With 48,962 COVID-19 positive cases and 757 deaths on Friday, for the third consecutive day cases and deaths in India crossed the 45,000 and 750 marks. Total cases stood at 13,36,874, with more that one lakh cases added in just the last two days.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.
Here are the latest updates:
1,142 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 1,29,531, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Saturday.
Also, 29 more deaths have been reported, taking the total number of deaths to 3,806.
Of the total cases, 1,13,068 people have recovered and there are 12,657 active cases.
- Nikhil M. Babu reports.
Ganguly tests negative for COVID-19
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has tested negative for COVID-19 after he gave his samples as a precautionary measure.
The former India captain has been in home quarantine for more than a week after his elder brother Snehasish Ganguly had tested positive for the contagious disease.
“He (Ganguly) is living with his ailing mother and family, so as a precautionary measure he took the test voluntarily and the report came negative on Friday evening,” a source close to the BCCI president told PTI.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) secretary Snehasish is recovering well and is expected to be discharged from the hospital in a couple of days.
“He is doing fine and also handling his office work from the hospital through virtual meetings. We expect him to be released in a couple of days,” the source added.
Snehasish’s family - wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law along with their domestic help - had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 20 at their Mominpur residence.
Since then, the elder Ganguly had shifted to their ancestral house in Behala where the BCCI President is based.
- PTI
Increase daily COVID-19 testing to 1 lakh: UP CM to officials
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday directed officials to enhance the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity to 1 lakh tests per day by Monday.
In a meeting with senior officials, the chief minister stressed on the need to increase the number of medical tests being done through RT-PCR and rapid antigen process in a phased manner for which 10 lakh testing kits should be acquired every 10 days, an official release issued here said.
Directing the chief secretary R.K. Tiwari and additional chief secretary (health) Amit Mohan Prasad to undertake spot review of medical services in Kanpur Nagar and Jhansi on Saturday and Prayagraj and Mirzapur on Sunday, the chief minister asked them to submit a report of the review meeting to him.
- PTI
2,803 more COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar take the total number to 36,314 in the state.
- Amarnath Tewary reports.
India’s COVID-19 tally soars to 13,36,861 with 48,916 fresh cases; death toll now 31,358
India’s COVID-19 tally zoomed past 13 lakh on Saturday, just two days after it crossed the 12 lakh mark, while the recoveries mounted to 8,49,431, according to the Union Health Ministry.
With 48,916 fresh cases, the country’s coronavirus infection tally surged to 13,36,861, while the death toll rose to 31,358 with 757 more people succumbing to the disease in the last 24 hours, data updated by the ministry at 8 am showed.
There are currently 4,56,071 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Thus, around 63.54 per cent people have recovered so far. The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further dropped to 2.35 per cent on Saturday, the ministry said.
The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.
This is the third consecutive day when COVID-19 cases increased by more than 45,000.
Of the 757 deaths reported, 278 were from Maharashtra, 108 from Karnataka, 88 from Tamil Nadu, 59 from Uttar Pradesh, 49 from Andhra Pradesh, 35 from West Bengal, 32 from Delhi, 26 from Gujarat, 14 from Jammu and Kashmir, 11 from Madhya Pradesh and eight each from Rajasthan and Telangana.
Assam, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have reported six fatalities each, followed by Punjab five deaths, Kerala and Haryana four each, Bihar and Jharkhand three each, and Puducherry, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland one fatality each.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,58,49,068 samples have been tested up to July 24 with 4,20,898 samples being tested on Friday, the highest conducted in a day so far.
The Tests Per Million (TPM) has further increased to 11,485 and continue to maintain an upward trend, it underlined.
Of the total 31,358 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra tops the tally with 13,132 fatalities, followed by Delhi 3,777, Tamil Nadu 3,320, Gujarat 2,278, Karnataka 1,724, Uttar Pradesh 1,348, West Bengal 1,290, Andhra Pradesh 933 and Madhya Pradesh 791.
So far, 602 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 455 in Telangana, 382 in Haryana, 296 in Jammu and Kashmir, 282 in Punjab, 220 in Bihar, 120 in Odisha, 76 in Assam, 70 in Jharkhand, 60 in Uttarakhand and 54 in Kerala.
Chhattisgarh has registered 36 deaths, Puducherry 35, Goa 29, Chandigarh 13, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura 11 each, Meghalaya five, Arunachal Pradesh three, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Ladakh two each. Nagaland has reported one fatality.
The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 3,57,117, followed by Tamil Nadu 1,99,749, Delhi 1,28,389, Karnataka 85,870, Andhra Pradesh 80,858, Uttar Pradesh 60,771, West Bengal 53,973, and Gujarat 53,545 cases.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 52,466 in Telangana, 34,178 in Rajasthan, 33,926 in Bihar, 29,755 in Haryana, 29,921 in Assam and 26,210 in Madhya Pradesh.
Odisha has reported 22,693 infections, Jammu and Kashmir 16,782, Kerala 16,995, and Punjab 12,216.
A total of 7,493 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand, 6,731 in Chhattisgarh, 5,445 in Uttarakhand, 4,540 in Goa, 3,759 in Tripura, 2,515 in Puducherry, 2,146 in Manipur, 1,954 in Himachal Pradesh, and 1,246 in Ladakh.
Nagaland has recorded 1,239 COVID-19 cases, Arunachal Pradesh 1,056, and Chandigarh 823. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 815 cases.
Meghalaya has reported 588 cases, Sikkim 477, Mizoram 361, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands 259 cases.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
- PTI
Import licenses for rapid diagnostic kits of 3 firms cancelled, 16 suspended by DCGI
India’s drug regulator has cancelled the rapid diagnostic kit import licenses of three firms and suspended that of 16 others saying the USFDA has removed the manufacturers from their list of coronavirus serology test kits with directions that they should not be distributed.
The three firms are Cadila Healthcare, MDAAC International and N W Overseas while the 16 companies include Transasia Bio-Medicals, Cosmic Scientific, Inbios India, S D Biosensor, Accurex Biomedicals, Biohouse Solutions and Trivitron Healthcare among others.
The companies were issued a show cause notices on July 17 asking why their import licenses shall not be cancelled since the diagnostic kits of the manufacturers have been removed by USFDA with direction that it should not be distributed from the list of product of serology test kits for COVID-19 disease, according to an official order by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
They were directed to submit their reply by July 20, failing which it would be presumed they have nothing to say in the matter and action deemed fit will be initiated under provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
“Your response to the show cause notice has not been found satisfactory with respect to removal of said kit, by USFDA from their list mentioning not to distribute,” the DCGI order issued to the 16 companies on July 21 stated.
“However, it has been mentioned by you to not to cancel your said import license for the above product. Therefore, in public interest, your import license for above product becomes inoperative and stands suspended, till further orders,” it said.
As for the three companies whose licenses were cancelled, the orders said, “Your response to the show cause notice has not been found satisfactory with respect to the removal of said kit, by USFDA from their list mentioning not to distribute.”
“Further, it has been mentioned by you that you intend to surrender your license for the above product. Therefore, in public interest, your import license for above product becomes inoperative and stands cancelled with immediate effect,” the order issued on July 21 read.
- PTI
Serum Institute of India seeks DCGI permission for phase 2/3 clinical trials of Oxford’s COVID ‘vaccine’
Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19, has sought permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting phase 2/3 human clinical trials of the potential vaccine, highly-placed sources said on Saturday.
The sources told PTI that the Pune-based drug firm submitted its application to the DCGI on Friday seeking permission for conducting the trials of ‘Covidshield’.
“According to the application, it would conduct an observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of ‘Covishield’ (COVID-19) in healthy Indian adults. The firm said that an around 1,600 participants of more than 18 years would be enrolled in the study,” a source said.
Initial results of the first two-phase trials of the vaccine conducted in five trial sites in the UK showed it has an acceptable safety profile and homologous boosting increased antibody responses, the source said.
To introduce the vaccine, SII, the world’s largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced and sold, has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca.
On the partnership with AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla had said, “Serum Institute of India has entered a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca to produce and supply 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University.”
These vaccines will be for India and middle and low income countries across the world (GAVI countries), he had said.
The firm plans to start the phase 2 and 3 human trials in India in August.
Oxford University on Monday announced satisfactory progress with the vaccine, making it one of the leading ones among the dozens of vaccine candidates being developed around the world.
According to a report in the Lancet, the initial trial results showed that the vaccine is safe and prompts protective immune response.
- PTI
Three booked for poor upkeep of hostel-turned COVID facility
A case has been registered against three persons under the Disaster Management Act for poor upkeep of a hostel-turned-COVID facility in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, an official said on Saturday.
Osmanabad tehsildar had lodged a complaint against a manager of Panjabrao Deshmukh hostel and two others for failing to comply with the orders regarding maintenance of the facility.
In one instance, an ambulance was turned away as the facility maintenance was not up to the mark.
The trio has been booked under section 51 (a) (b) of the Disaster Management Act,2005, the official added.
- PTI
India’s COVID-19 testing hits record high of 4.20 lakh samples a day
India has gradually ramped-up its testing capacity for COVID-19 and conducted over 4.20 lakh tests in a day, the highest ever, the Union Health Ministry said Saturday, crediting the increase in number of labs for the achievement.
India had only one lab for testing samples for the disease in January but it has now increased the number to 1,301, including private labs. The Health Ministry said revised guidelines by ICMR and all-round efforts by states also aided in widespread testing.
Till Friday, a total of 1,58,49,068 tests for COVID-19 had been done in the country.
India did 3.50 lakh tests every day over the last one week, the ministry said.
With 4,20,898 samples tested in the past 24 hours, it added, the Tests Per Million (TPM) has increased to 11,485 and continue to maintain an upward trend.
“The Union government has advised all state and UT governments to keep up the strategy of ‘Test, Track and Treat’ with aggressive testing which may lead to higher number of daily positive cases initially but would eventually achieve a decline as has been demonstrated after the central government’s targeted efforts in the NCT of Delhi,” the ministry said in a statement.
- PTI
Maharashtra: COVID-19 hospital overcharges patients; loses licence
The civic body in Maharashtra’s Thane city on Saturday suspended the licence of a private hospital and cancelled its classification as a COVID-19 facility after it allegedly overcharged patients.
The Thane Municipal Corporation set up an audit team to examine bills and detected excess billing to the tune of ₹27 lakh by 15 hospitals.
Based on the findings, the civic body cancelled the classification of a private hospital on Ghodbunder Road for COVID-19 treatment and suspended its licence for a month, an official said.
The TMC’s audit team had detected excess billing to the tune of ₹6,08,900 in 56 bills of 797 patients treated by the hospital till July 12, he said.
- PTI
Woman dies of COVID-19 in Wayanad
A 62-year-old woman died of COVID-19 at the Taluk hospital at Sulthan Bathery in Kalpetta district on Saturday.
Laila, a native of Thalassery in Kannur district, died of the pandemic on Saturday morning.
The woman was undergoing treatment for pneumonia and was enroute to Thalassery from Bangalore in an ICU ambulance for specialist treatment, Health department sources said. She was accompanied by two of her relatives.
When they reached Muthanga on the Kerala-Karnataka border, the woman felt uneasy and was taken to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
The True Nat examination conducted on her samples, collected posthumously, at the Virology Lab of the hospital showed her positive for the disease, the sources said.
- reports E.M. Manoj
Priyanka slams UP govt over COVID-19 handling
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis, saying that at a time when there is an “explosive” rise in cases, its “no test is equal to no corona” policy can lead to a “frightening situation".
In a letter to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the Congress general secretary said that the battle against the pandemic cannot be fought by just “managing publicity and news".
Noting that 2,500 cases of coronavirus were reported in UP on Friday, she said almost all the metros were flooded with COVID-19 cases, but now even the villages were not far behind in the spread.
“Quarantine centres in UP are in a pathetic state. In some places, the situation is so bad, that people are fearing mismanagement more than the coronavirus. Because of such a scenario, they are not stepping out of their homes for getting tested,” Ms. Priyanka Gandhi said.
“This is a great failure of the government,” she asserted.
The state government by believing in the “no test = no coronavirus” mantra has adopted a low testing policy, she alleged in the letter written in Hindi.
“There is an explosive rise in COVID-19 cases. Till testing will not be increased in a transparent manner, the fight against the pandemic will be incomplete and the situation can become more frightening,” she said.
“The prime minister is a Member of Parliament from Varanasi, the defence minister from Lucknow, many other Union ministers are from UP. Why can’t temporary hospitals be opened in Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra etc.” Ms. Priyanka Gandhi asked.
- PTI
181 cops infected in Andhra
As many as 181 cops, including one Additional SP rank officer, one DSP and four Circle Inspectors, have been found infected with the COVID-19 in North Andhra region. Almost all of them recovered from coronavirus pandemic and a majority of them returned duties in the last few days. Direct interaction with people, forcible movement in public places like markets, taking food and water at hazardous places and other reasons made many cops to be affected by the dreaded disease, DIG LKV Ranga Rao said. It was observed the police personnel who were posted at check posts are the immediate victims as they are forced to interact with returnees from different parts of the country.
People, govts together attained victory over COVID-19, fight not yet over: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said people of the city, his government and the Centre together have attained victory over COVID-19 but the fight is not yet over.
Speaking at the inauguration of a 450-bed Delhi government hospital in Burari via video-conferencing, he said in the last one month, coronavirus-related parameters have improved in the national capital.
“Two crore people of Delhi, Delhi government and the Centre together have attained victory over coronavirus but it would not be correct to say that the fight is over,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He said in the past one month, the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi has gone down, deaths have reduced, recovery rate has improved and positivity ratio has lowered.
With the inauguration of this hospital, the number of beds for coronavirus patients in the city will further increase, he added.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who recently recovered from COVID-19, inaugurated the hospital in Burari.
As of Friday, Delhi had 1,28,389 COVID-19 cases, while the toll due to the disease stood at 3,777. There were 13,681 active cases in the city.
- PTI
Arunachal’s tally crosses 1,000-mark
Arunachal Pradesh’s coronavirus tally crossed the 1,000-mark on Saturday as 65 more people, including 33 security personnel, tested positive for the disease, a Health Department official said.
With the fresh infections, the total number of cases rose to 1,056, State Surveillance Officer Dr. L. Jampa said.
Of the new cases, 30 were reported from Papum Pare district, five from Tirap, three from Lohit, two from Lower Dibang Valley and one each from Namsai and West Kameng and 23 from the Capital Complex region, he said.
“All the 30 infected people in Papum Pare are Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel and they have been in a quarantine centre, while the 23 cases in the Capital Complex have been detected from various areas of the region,” he said.
Of the five fresh patients in Tirap, two are state police personnel, he said, adding that a healthcare worker, an employee of the Water Resources Department and a returnee from Assam also tested positive for the disease in the district.
The three infected people in Lohit district are staffers of the Border Road Task Force, (BRTF). They had recently come from Uttar Pradesh and were in a quarantine centre, Dr. Jampa said.
The state surveillance officer said the two patients from Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district are returnees from Assam, while the person from West Kameng is a staffer of the Army, who recently came from Andhra Pradesh.
The Namsai patient had also returned from Assam, he said.
“All, barring six, are asymptomatic and have been shifted to COVID Care Centres,” Dr. Jampa said.
Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases after residents of the state started returning from other parts of the country.
- PTI
Family receive COVID-19 test result after man’s funeral in Odisha
In a shocking incident, the result of a COVID-19 test on a man was intimated to his family members after his death in Ganjam district, the epicentre of the pandemic in Odisha.
Family members alleged the district administration took 11 days to disclose the test results, as a result of which the deceased could not be provided the treatment required for a COVID-19 patient.
MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan tests positive
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tested positive for the COVID-19, it was confirmed on Saturday afternoon.
In a tweet the Chief Minister wrote, "My dear countrymen, I started showing COVID-19 symptoms, and after the test my report came back positive. I appeal whoever has come in contact with me to get tested for the virus. Those who were in close contact with me have been moved to quarantine."
Woman held for selling tocilizumab injection at inflated price
A 56-year-old retired teacher has been arrested for allegedly selling at inflated prices an injection used for treating COVID-19 patients, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials said on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Kalyan Crime Branch and FDA officers raided the house of the accused, Neeta Panjawani, at Manish Nagar on Thursday evening. The police said a decoy approached the accused and she demanded ₹60,000 for one vial of Actemra 400mg (tocilizumab injection) by Cipla, though its MRP is ₹40,545.
Puducherry MLA tests positive
All India N.R. Congress legislator N. S. J Jayabal tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, prompting the Assembly Secretariat to shift the ongoing budget session to an open place inside the Assembly premises.
Triple lockdown in parts of Thrissur
Out of action: Division 36 of the Thrissur Corporation, Thekkinkad Maidan, is deserted after it was declared a containment zone for the second time.
Triple lockdown will be imposed in Irinjalakuda Municipality and Muriyad panchayat from 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Addressing the media here on Friday, Minister for Local Self Governments A.C. Moideen said the decision was taken against the backdrop of the spurt in COVID-19 cases due to local transmission from Kerala Solvent Extraction (KSE) cattle feed company at Irinjalakuda.
IIT begins research to develop home-based testing kit
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi said on Friday that it was starting research to develop a home-based COVID-19 testing kit that will identify if there are antibodies in the blood sample. The institute said that it has signed an MoU with Wells Fargo, which would financially support its initiative to develop a home-based COVID-19 testing kit.
Sportspersons in the 15-50 age group can resume training: says govt.
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday issued standard operating procedure (SOP) for the resumption of training activities of sportspersons preparing for national and international events.
The guidelines clarified: “Gym/fitness centres and swimming pools will not be opened until further government orders.” Reusable face masks must be worn by staff members and athletes, at all times, and adequate stock should be maintained by the organisations at all times, it said.
A 40-year-old woman died of COVID-19 at Kollangode in Palakkad district on Friday night. She had come back from Tiruppur three weeks away and was in quarantine. Health officials said she had a chronic diabetes history.
- Abdul Latheef Naha
Cabinet Secretary reviews COVID-19 management in 9 States
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Friday reviewed the management of COVID-19 in nine States with high active caseload and advised Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam to urgently ramp up testing, strictly implement containment plan, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management.
Complete lockdown in West Bengal
A commuter rides a bicycle on a deserted city road, during weekly two-day complete lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus disease, in Kolkata, on July 23, 2020. | Photo Credit: PTI
The State will go for another complete lockdown on Saturday. No flights will operate from Kolkata airport and fair price ration shops will remain closed on Saturday.
The State government has announced two days of lockdown in a week and had observed a near total lockdown on Thursday (July 23).
Govt. spending ₹6.5 crore a day on patient care, says Chief Minister
People stand in long queue outside a liquor shop in Visakhapatnam on Friday, July 24, 2020. | Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the government has been spending ₹6.5 crore per day towards COVID pandemic response and treatment in the State, and it would be spending ₹1,000 crore in the next six months for development of infrastructure, medication and high-end facilities in COVID hospitals.
One-tenth of added deaths were home/transit fatalities
Chennai Corporation health worker takes a swab sample of a person for COVID-19 test in Kodambakkam in Chennai on July 24, 2020 | Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
About one-tenth of the 444 deaths added to Chennai’s COVID-19 toll based on recommendations of a Death Reconciliation Committee on Wednesday were home and transit deaths, according to the Health Department. The remaining were hospital deaths.
In all, 402 patients died in hospitals due to COVID-19 and co-morbidities, and 42 deaths occurred at home or during transit.
Active COVID-19 cases fall by 49% this month
Kanwaria carrying Ganges water around his neck in small cans walks on a street after taking holy dips in the River in Prayagraj on Friday, July 24, 2020. | Photo Credit: AP
As many as 1,025 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 1,28,389, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Friday.
On June 23, the new cases had almost touched 4,000 – highest so far – and since then the number of new cases has been dropping and it has been less than 1,500 for the last eight days. The active cases have been decreasing since July 1 and it has slumped from 27,007 on July 1 by 49.34% to reach 13,681 on Friday. Moreover, the number of people admitted to COVID-19 hospitals has been decreasing.