Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state at over 4 lakh cases.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: India on Friday crossed the 16 lakh-mark after over 55,000 fresh Covid-19 cases were recorded within a span of 24 hours, taking the tally to 1,668,870. The death toll also rose to 35,747, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state at over 4 lakh cases. The state reported its highest one-day spike of 11,147 new cases on Thursday. Also contributing to daily increase in cases is Andhra Pradesh which reported over 10,000 fresh cases for the first time on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu and Bihar extended the statewide lockdown till August 31 and August 16 respectively to arrest the increase in fresh cases. On Wednesday, the centre had announced guidelines for the third phase of unlocking restrictions, removing night curfew and allowing yoga institutes and gyms to reopen from August 5.
Over 17.2 million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, with 671,983 deaths so far. The United States with over 4 million cases and 1.5 lakh deaths is the worst-affected nation, followed by Brazil and India.
Delhi has conducted over 10 lakh coronavirus tests so far, nearly half of which were done in the last 30 days, data shows.
The Kerala government has decided to implement home care isolation for Covid-19 patients. In the first phase of the plan, health workers who have tested positive but are asymptomatic would be allowed to opt for home care isolation on an experimental basis. After a review meeting, CM Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that an expert committee has recommended that home care isolation could be implemented as per ICMR guidelines. “Most patients are asymptomatic and do not require intensive care. Such patients have been moved to Covid first line treatment centres. They have been put up at such centres to prevent transmission of the disease. Such asymptomatic would be allowed for home care isolation,” he said. Vijayan said home isolation would be allowed for health workers who tested positive on an experimental basis. “Nobody would be forced. Government is not abandoning patients as alleged by the Opposition,” he said.
Ford Motor Co. posted results on Thursday that were not as grim as expected for its second quarter that saw its US factories shuttered for half the period to combat the spread of the coronavirus and car buyers sheltering in place, PTI reported. Ford reported a $1.12 billion second-quarter net profit, pushed into the black by a $3.5 billion gain on the value of its stake in the Argo AI autonomous vehicle operation. Without the one-time gain, the company lost $1.9 billion, or a 35 cents per share. But that was far better than the $1.17 a share loss Wall Street had expected, according to FactSet. A year ago, Ford posted a $148 million net profit.
Odisha registered 1,499 fresh coronavirus cases and eight new deaths today, increasing its caseload to 31,877 and fatality count to 177.
On the non-payment of salaries, Justice M R Shah said: “You are not helpless. You have to see to it that your order is implemented. You got power under DM Act. You can take steps also”: The apex court also asked the Centre to look into the petitoner’s complaint that the period of quarantine for health workers is being treated as leave. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it cannot be treated as leave and agreed to look into the case.
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to ensure that the salaries of doctors and health workers involved in the Covid fight are disbursed on time. In its response, the Centre said despite directions, four states have not yet implemented the same.
With multiple Covid-19 vaccine candidates across the globe entering phase 3 of human trials, the government on Thursday said it has actively begun engaging with multiple stakeholders on the two crucial aspects related to distribution and administration of a potential vaccine for Covid-19. The Centre said it is currently deliberating on two key issues —logistics and to which section of the population the vaccine needs to be administered on priority. At a press briefing, Rajesh Bhushan, Officer on Special Duty, Ministry of Health, on Thursday said, “…Has there been a discussion on prioritising how a vaccine would be distributed and administer, if and when it is available —the answer is, yes; there are multiple stakeholders within government and Ministry of Health has started actively engaging with such stakeholders.”
Just six days before bhoomi pujan is expected for the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya, an assistant priest and four policemen posted at the site tested positive on Thursday in a rapid antigen test for the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The CM had come in contact with the assistant priest, Pradeep Das, 30, during his visit to Ayodhya last week to check arrangements for the bhoomi pujan. Ten other constables in Ayodhya district have tested positive. The authorities said the developments would have no effect on the programme, scheduled for August 5, and expected to be attended by around 250 people. The priest as well as the policemen who are positive will now be put through the more reliable RT-PCR test for Covid-19.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has quarantined himself at his home after a few staffers of his residential complex have tested positive for coronavirus. "Few persons in the Chief Minister's Residential Complex have tested positive for Covid-19. All SOPs are being implemented. The complex is being sanitised and the residential office closed for 48 hours. The normal functioning of the CMO is continuing following all guidelines. As a safety precaution, the Honourable Chief Minister is in home quarantine while strict adherence to SOPs has been put in place for primary and secondary contacts," the CMO said in a tweet.
As the “world’s leading manufacturer of vaccines”, India’s private sector has a “very important role” in the global battle against Covid-19, Dr Anthony S Fauci, one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases, said on Thursday evening. Dr Fauci was speaking at an online symposium organised by the Indian Council of Medical Research, which was also attended by several other internationally acclaimed epidemiologists and vaccinologists. “India’s private sector also has a very important role to play as the world’s leading manufacturer of vaccines and, as effective Covid-19 vaccines emerge from our research efforts, this manufacturing capability is going to be very, very important,” Dr Fauci said. “Moving forward, we and other (US National Institutes of Health) institutes will continue to work with Indian counterparts and colleagues to assure Indian scientists and Indian impressive research and development capacity are integrated in the global efforts to address the Covid-19 vaccine.”
Amitabh Bachchan, who is presently getting treatment for coronavirus at Nanavati Hospital, took to his blog late Thursday to update his followers about his health. The actor wrote about the “isolation,” “quarantine,” and “solitude” that has come into his life because of Covid-19. Big B shared that “the most awaited” part of his day is when the doctors and nurses come to visit. He wrote, “The medication and the treatment hours, they are looked forward to.” The actor revealed that he has made up little games with the treatment equipment like holding his breath in for a few seconds, and he looks forward to breaking yesterday’s record. He mentioned that even though he doesn’t understand much of what the medical staff says, he still looks forward to those visits. Amitabh Bachchan also wrote about the uncertain world that we are all living in. He noted, “The world has become peculiar, and there is wonder on what the next day will hold.”
Tamil Nadu Minister Sellur Raju, who had recovered from coronavirus, received a welcome from AIADMK workers after he returned to Madurai.
The total number of samples tested for Covid-19 rose to 1,88,32,970, of which 6,42,588 were tested yesterday.
India on Friday crossed the 16 lakh-mark after over 55,000 fresh Covid-19 cases were recorded within a span of 24 hours, taking the tally to 1,668,870.
The new High Commissioner of UK in India, Sir Philip Barton, served as the Director General in the Cabinet Office working on the UK’s longer-term response to the Covid-19 crisis before his arrival in India six weeks ago. On his first virtual visit of Mumbai on Wednesday, he discussed a range of issues from the response to the Covid-19 crisis, UK’s new immigration policy and laying the building blocks for a Free Trade Agreement with India. He told The Indian Express: "It is really exciting that something that is being investigated and worked in the UK, will be manufactured in India and, crucially, will be made available on a global, equitable basis. We are very clear, as is the Indian government, that this vaccine is for everybody. This is a global pandemic and vaccines must be for everybody.
A day after the Centre issued guidelines for phase 3 of its Covid unlockdown, the Delhi government Thursday allowed hotels to reopen in a move that was welcomed by the hospitality industry although concerns remain on the challenges involved, ranging from a severe staff crunch to the renewal of licences that have lapsed.
The state government said that a decision has been taken to allow the normal functioning of hotels, along with hospitality services — these were already permitted under the Union Home Ministry’s guidelines issued on June 4.
However, official sources said that a decision on reopening gyms, which has been allowed under the Centre’s latest guidelines, has been deferred in the capital till next week amid concerns over the potential spread of Covid in closed spaces. “Officials will discuss the apprehensions and revisit the decision next week,” sources said.
Even as the state government has allowed malls in the state to re-open amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the experience of going to the mall is about to change dramatically, perhaps ushering in the post-Covid-19 world that many had imagined through the lockdown.
Starting August 5, a visit to the mall could entail downloading the Aarogya Setu App, pre-booking for mall entry, restricted use of elevators and sanitisation of fitting rooms and washrooms after each use. Read more here
Senior citizens in slums were most exposed to SARS-CoV-2 among all age groups, while senior citizens in non-slums were least exposed to the virus, according to Mumbai’s sero survey findings.
In slums, 62.6 per cent senior citizens had been exposed and developed antibodies against Covid-19, as opposed to 12.6 per cent in residential buildings.
Of the 4,234 slum-dwellers who were surveyed, 56.1 per cent between 12-24 years, 52.9 per cent between 25-40 years, 59.6 per cent between 41-60 years, and 62.6 per cent aged above 60 had developed antibodies. Read more here