A medic waits to collect samples for COVID-19 testing near Red Fort in New Delhi.
India’s COVID-19 tally crossed the 17-lakh mark on Sunday, just two days after it went past 16 lakh, with 54,735 cases being reported in a day, while the recoveries crossed the 11-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The total coronavirus cases surged to 17,50,723, while the death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 37,364 with 853 people succumbing to the disease in a day, the data showed.
The recoveries number 11,45,629, while there are 5,67,730 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country at present. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has risen to 65.44 per cent, while the fatality rate has further dropped to 2.13 per cent.
Earlier today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tested positive for Covid-19.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit Sunday also tested positive for COVID-19 and was advised home isolation since his infection was mild. The 80-year old Purohit was on self-isolation since July 29 after three people in the Raj Bhavan tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the chief of Uttar Pradesh’s BJP unit, Swatantra Dev Singh, has also tested positive for Covid-19 and has quarantined himself at his home.
Here are some interesting stories on second day of Unlock 3.0:
For Manisha, who wanted to become a medical professional but could not continue her studies owing to financial problems at home, a skill training programme launched by Delhi police has come as a timely opportunity to fulfil not only her passion but also support her family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The e-Yuva Skill Training Programme, which was launched on July 24 as an online course, has seen maximum enrolment from girls. Of the 60 people enrolled, nearly 40 are girls, who are either pursuing their studies or are school dropouts. About 10 first-time offenders have also enrolled for the programme, Delhi police officials said.
“Though I’m an arts student, I was always interested in pursuing my career in the medical field. Due to financial problems, I could not continue my studies. When I got to know about the training course, it gave me a ray of hope,” said Manisha, 17. She said the training will help her find employment and fund her studies. After the three-month course, she hopes to work as a general duty assistant to nursing staff.
Manisha lives with her five-member family in Punjabi Basti in Central Delhi. Her father worked in a factory but lost his job during lockdown.
The use of Railways’ e-office has grown manifold since the pandemic hit the country — the number of e-receipts increased from 4.5 lakhs during March 2019 to March this year, to 16.5 lakhs in April-July this year; the number of e-files increased from 1.3 lakhs to 5.4 lakh during the same periods respectively. The e-office platform provided by RailTel is a cloud enabled software developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and aims to provide reliable, efficient, and effective ways of handling office files and documents.
People buy rakhis in Chandigarh, a day before the festival. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its spread across the country, this is one Rakhi, a festival that celebrates sibling bonds, where many brothers and sisters won’t be meeting in large family parties or even small lunches and dinners. There might be some virtual celebrations but the zing is missing, leading to a joyless season for vendors across the country. With the coronavirus spread continuing unabated, several states and many cities have either extended the lockdown or implemented intermittent periods of strict lockdown.
As part of the drive, titled Ek Rakshasutra Mask ka (one safety string of mask), the police with the support of volunteers will offer masks to people in every police station area of Raigarh, a senior official said on Sunday.
“Right from when the coronavirus outbreak began in March, the Raigarh police have been running several awareness campaigns to sensitise people about the viral infection. The district witnessed a spurt in cases in the last one month,” Raigarh Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.