People drive past a mural honouring frontline workers fighting COVID-19
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: Guidelines for the third phase of unlocking lockdown restrictions were released Wednesday. Night curfew in public movement has been removed and yoga institutes and gymnasiums allowed to function from August 5, provided Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) are followed.
After extensive consultation with States and Union Territories, it has been decided that schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31, 2020. Metro services, cinema halls, swimming pools,and bars will continue to remain closed in the third phase of unlock.
India’s coronavirus cases crossed the 15 lakh-mark to reach 1,531,669 on Wednesday. The total number of death toll in the country reached 34,193. As many as 48,512 cases and 768 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Of the total, 5,09,447 are active cases while 9,88,029 people have been treated and discharged so far.
Globally, over 16 million people have been infected with the virus and 6,55,300 have died, with the most number of cases and fatalities being reported from the United States.
Health workers at a health camp in Mumbai
The District Magistrate of Kathua, O P Bhagat, Wednesday ordered weekend lockdown in the district beginning July 31. The lockdown will be observed from 5 pm on all Fridays to 6 am Mondays as part of Covid-19 control measures.
The DM issued an order under Section 144 of CrPC read with section 34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, read: "There shall be a complete restriction on movement of individuals, vehicles and all activities within the jurisdiction of district Kathua, except the movement for emergency medical requirements, from 5 pm on all Fridays till 6 am on all Mondays."
This follows extensive consultation with Chief Medical Officer, Kathua, epidemiologist and other health professionals which emphasize on following strict social distancing norms and lockdown during the weekdays to prevent any further spike in the COVID-19 cases, it added.
However, local chemists, milk, curd and cheese sale counters, vegetables/fruits sale points shall remain open during the lockdown, the order said, adding that there shall be no restriction on movement of goods carriers, oil and LPG tankers as well. While there will be no curfew passes issued, the government employees of the essential services department or such other departments as required by the government will be permitted to move on the production of ID proof.
Following an increase in COVID cases, Jammu district has already been observing lockdown on Weekends beginning July 24.
--reported by Arun Sharma from Jammu
With no let-up in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Tripura, the state government Wednesday extended the “complete lockdown” by another five days. The lockdown has been in place in the state since Monday.
In a televised appeal, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said a continuous lockdown for at least eight more days was required to break the chain of transmission.
“We are going through a phase when social distancing and masks can protect us alone. Twenty-one people have regrettably died till now, most of them veterans. The ongoing lockdown that was supposed to continue till Thursday morning would now continue till 5 am on August 4. All guidelines from the ongoing lockdown would be in force,” Deb said.
Till date, 4,287 people have tested COVID-19 positive in the state, of which 2621 have recovered and discharged from hospital. Nearly 4,100 are currently under surveillance, including 218 in different quarantine centres and 3,882 under home quarantine.
The CM urged veterans, children and pregnant women to take additional care and said a door-to-door survey is being conducted to understand the actual spread of the virus. “When we will touch 9 lakh families, we will have an idea of the situation. We are only having an idea of percentage of spread now,” he said.
--reported by Debraj Deb
Haryana reported seven more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 413 as 755 new cases of the infection pushed the state's tally to 33,631.
Two fatalities each were registered in Faridabad and Panipat districts and one death each was reported in Gurgaon, Sonipat and Rohtak, the Health department's daily bulletin said.
Faridabad and Gurgaon districts have so far reported 129 and 122 deaths respectively. The two districts together account for 17,207 cases, which is more than half of the caseload in the state. (PTI)
Punjab on Wednesday reported a record 25 COVID-19 deaths on a single day and 568 coronavirus positive cases, taking the infection tally in the state to 14,946.
Ten deaths were reported from Jalandhar, nine from Ludhiana, three from Amritsar, two from Gurdaspur and one from Patiala, the state's daily medical bulletin said on Wednesday. With this, the death toll jumped to 361 in the state, as per the bulletin.
Ninety-five cases were found in Ludhiana, followed by 86 in Patiala, 77 in Amritsar, 45 in Jalandhar, 35 each in Gurdaspur and Barnala, 31 each in Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali, 30 in Sangrur, 21 in Tarn Taran, 15 in Pathankot, 13 in Moga, 11 in Rupnagar, nine each in Faridkot and Fazilka, seven each in Kapurthala and Muktsar, five in SBS Nagar, four in Ferozepur, and one each in Hoshiarpur and Bathinda, the bulletin said. (PTI)
With 9,211 new patients being detected, the number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra on Wednesday crossed the four lakh-mark.
While the case count in the state reached 4,00,651, death toll due to the pandemic went up to 14,463 with 298 patients dying, 60 of them in Mumbai, during the day, said health minister Rajesh Tope.
7,478 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered cases in the state to 2,39,755.
Maharashtra has now 1,46,129 active cases. A total of 20,16,234 people have been tested so far in the state, the health department said in a statement.
The Mumbai city and suburban areas reported 1,109 and 3,324 fresh cases of COVID-19, respectively. The case count in the state's capital, thus, is 1,11,991 and death toll 6,247. The larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has reported 2,32,923 COVID-19 cases and 9,414 deaths. (PTI)
According to the guidelines, international air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening up will take place in a calibrated manner.
After extensive consultation with States and UTs, it has been decided that schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31, 2020, the centre has said.
According to the guidelines for unlock 3, Metro Rail, Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls, Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations will continue to remain closed.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued Unlock 3 guidelines. According to the fresh guidelines, restrictions on the movement of individuals during night has been removed. Also, yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from August 5, 2020. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) for ensuring social distancing.
For the first time, the number of positive Covid-19 cases crossed the 10,000-mark in Andhra Pradesh in a single day with the state recording 10,093 cases Wednesday.. The state also conducted a record 70,584 tests in the last 24 hours. Sixty-five people succumbed to Covid-19 taking the total toll to 1213 in the state.
Out of the 10,093 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, East Godavari recorded the highest -- 1,676 cases -- followed by Anantapur with 1,371 cases and Guntur with 1,124 cases and Kurnool reported 1,091 cases. Visakhapatnam recorded 841 cases and Chitoor 819 cases.
The state has so far conducted 18,200,09 tests and the total positive cases are 1,20,390 with a 6.61 positivity rate. Officials said the state is using a combination of Rapid Antigen tests, Viral Diseases Diagnostic Labs tests, Trunat, and Naco tests. While 63,771 are active cases, 55,406 have taken treatment and have been discharged.
As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise rapidly, the state government has warned hospitals that any person with symptoms has to be admitted within 30 minutes to the Covid-designated government or private hospitals, failing which action would be initiated against them.
The Union health ministry has asked the Drugs Controller General of India to ensure equitable distribution of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab drugs, which have been included as "investigational therapies" in the national treatment protocols for COVID-19, across the country. The aim is to ensure that their availability is not skewed and does not remain confined to metropolitan areas, an official said.
The ministry has shot off a letter to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), asking it to ascertain how many states and Union territories (UTs) have been covered and which of them are left, as far as the availability and distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned.
"I am directed to say that apart from availability, the geographical distribution/reach of the drugs included as part of investigational therapies in Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19, namely Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, may also be monitored.
"This ministry may kindly be apprised as to how many states and UTs have been covered and which of the states and UTs, if any, are left as far as the availability and distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned," the letter dated July 27 said. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials on Wednesday to set up district-level panels comprising district magistrates, chief medical officers and chief development officers to prepare a work plan to fight COVID-19 more effectively.
In a meeting, he directed senior officials to visit Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahar, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Saharanpur on Friday for an on-the-spot review of health services.
The infrastructure and industrial development commissioner and the additional chief secretary health who recently visited Moradabad and Bareilly divisions, and ASP medical education and ASP rural development and panchayati raj who visited Aligarh and Agra divisions apprised the chief minister about the visit.
Directing officials to further strengthen telemedicine facility, Adityanath directed them to ensure its proper publicity so that more people can avail medical consultation from their homes.
The chief minister said an integrated command and control centre should be set up in every district for properly carrying out different activities related to COVID-19 and its monitoring. (PTI)
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted tourism in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, with local businessmen claiming losses running into crores and no normal resumption of tourist activities till late next year.
Home to Ajanta and Ellora Caves, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among other monuments, Aurangabad sees heavy footfall of tourists throughout the year and many locals depend on the industry for their livelihood.
"There are at least 15,000 people in the entire district who are connected to the tourism industry and the closure of monuments during the coronavirus-induced lockdown has resulted in losses of over Rs 450 crore," said Jaswant Singh, president of Aurangabad Tourism Development Foundation.
Even if the pandemic gradually abates, the fear in minds of travellers will remain for some time, he said.
With no tour bookings coming in for winter holidays this year, the situation is likely to normalise only by September 2021, Singh said. (PTI)
With a healthy 74 per cent recovery rate and just 4 per cent mortality rate, the current coronavirus situation in Gujarat is better than several other states, said Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday.
Referring to the new COVID-19 cases registered on Tuesday in the state, which saw more than 1,100 cases, Rupani said Gujarat was on the 12th spot in terms of fresh infections.
"Around 50,000 fresh cases of coronavirus cases are emerging every day in India. As against 1,108 new cases in Gujarat on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh's tally was 7,948, followed by 7,717 cases in Maharashtra, 6,972 in Tamil Nadu and 5,536 in Karnataka," Rupani told reporters in Rajkot.
"Gujarat was on the 12th spot in terms of fresh cases. At one point, our mortality rate was 7 per cent, the highest in the country. Now its 4 per cent.
"Our recovery rate is 74 per cent. Gujarat's situation is better in comparison to other states," he added. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday reported 3,383 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to more than 77,000, while 33 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,530.
"There are 29,997 active COVID-19 cases in the state and 45,807 patients have been discharged after treatment," Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters.
"The death toll due to the disease has reached 1,530," he said.
The total number of coronavirus cases reported in the state is 77,334. The figure was 73,951 on Monday. Prasad said 87,754 samples were tested on Tuesday, and with this, the state has conducted more than 21 lakh tests. (PTI)
The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 is fast approaching the 10-lakh mark, while the case fatality rate has been falling progressively due to coordinated implementation of the 'test track treat' strategy by the Centre, states and Union Territories, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
India's COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) is lower than what it is globally. On Wednesday, the CFR stood at 2.23 per cent, the lowest since April 1, the health ministry said in a statement.
"Not only has the CFR been kept low, but successful implementation of effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardised clinical management protocols based on a holistic standard of care approach have in tandem resulted in a consistent trend of more than 30,000 recoveries per day for the sixth consecutive day," it said.
With 35,286 patients discharged in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, the total number of recoveries has jumped to 9,88,029. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients too has increased to 64.51 per cent.
The ministry said, "With such consistent increase in recoveries, the gap between the number of recovered patients and active COVID-19 cases currently stands at 4,78,582." (PTI)
Around 71 per cent of the migrants who have returned to Odisha from across the country due to the global virus pandemic are not interested to migrate elsewhere if they find stable employment opportunities in the state, a study has said.
The study found that the people from the four districts of western Odisha migrate primarily for employment as they are unable to get stable jobs within the state, said Prof Arun Kumar Acharya.
During the study it was found that the workers would not migrate if constant employment opportunities are created in the region, he said.
"There is an adequate scope for the government to create employment opportunities for the unemployed in the state," he said.
Mentioning that many people proceed to Tamil Nadu from Bolangir district to work in textile units in the southern state, Acharya said, there is no textile factory in Bolangir though cotton is cultivated in the region.
"People in the state have the expertise and if they are provided with the opportunity to work in textile factories here, there will be no need for them to migrate in search of jobs," he said. (PTI)
Bihar government calls a letter stating extension of lockdown in the state which circulating on social media as 'fake'. The letter stated the extension of lockdown in Bihar till August 16 amid rising COVID-19 cases.
The district administration in Thiruvananthapuram has decided to continue with the lockdown but decided to ease certain curbs implemented in the city corporation to ensure livelihood and revive normal day-to-day activities.
As per the order, all shops can remain open from7 AM to 7 PM adhering to COVID-19 protocol and the restaurants can function for providing takeaway packets. "No in-house dining is permitted. Home delivery is permitted in non-containment zones.
Public transport, including taxis and autorickshaws, is allowed with 50 per cent carriage capacity in non-containment zones," the order said.
Government offices and private enterprises are permitted to function with 1/3rd and 25 per cent of staff respectively.
"All shops shall keep a time slot from 4 PM to 6 PM dedicated only to senior citizens. Hyper markets, Malls, salons, Spa and beauty parlours shall not be opened until further orders," the order said.
The district administration also said all congested market places shall be allowed to function with strict entry-exit protocols. Cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theaters, auditoriums, bars, assembly halls, and similar places shall remain closed. (PTI)
Puducherry registered 166 fresh cases of coronavirus, highest single day spurt on Wednesday, taking the tally of infections in the union territory to 3,171.
Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release that 166 fresh cases were identified at the end of testing of 837 samples.
While there were 1,112 active cases total cases treated and discharged were 1,869 and fatalities remained 47 as no death was reported during the last 24 hours. Total patients in home quarantine were 143, the release said. (PTI)