Corona screening in progress at a residential building in Mumbai on Monday, August 3, 2020.

Coronavirus India Updates: The number of cases of the novel coronavirus infection rose to 19,64,536 in India on Thursday, after the country reported over 56,000 fresh cases within a span of 24 hours. The death toll also increased from 39,795 to 40,699, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Health Affairs. For a week now, India has been reporting a daily increase of over 50,000 in fresh COVID cases, thus pushing the country’s tally to over 19 lakh cases. At 51,700, the number of recoveries was also the highest-ever for a single day on Wednesday.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 2,21,49,351 samples have been tested up to August 5 with 6,64,949 samples being tested on Wednesday.

People gyming with safety gears at a gym in Chandigarh’s Sector 34, on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.

Of the total 40,699 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 16,476 followed by 4,461 in Tamil Nadu, 4,044 in Delhi, 2,804 in Karnataka, 2,556 in Gujarat, 1,857 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,846 in West Bengal, 1,681 in Andhra Pradesh and 929 in Madhya Pradesh.

Here are the latest developments from around the country:

Kuwait approves repatriation flights to India amid travel ban

Kuwait has approved India’s request to run repatriation flights for citizens wishing to return home, even as the Gulf nation has imposed an indefinite travel ban on 31 “high-risk” coronavirus countries, including India, according to a media report on Thursday.

Kuwait’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will operate the repatriation flights from August 10 to October 24, the Gulf News reported, citing Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.

The burden of flights will be shared equally between Indian and Kuwaiti airlines and each day about 1,000 Indians will leave Kuwait City, the report said.

UP: 61 deaths, 4,586 fresh virus cases; total count 1,08,974

Uttar Pradesh Thursday recorded its highest daily increase in coronavirus numbers with 61 more deaths and 4,586 fresh infections. So far, 1,08,974 cases, including 1,918 fatalities, have been reported from the state.

The maximum 16 deaths were reported from Jaunpur; 10 from Kanpur Nagar; five from Varanasi; four from Gorakhpur; three each from Allahabad, Bareilly and Ayodhya among others, a government statement said.

The maximum 664 cases were reported from Lucknow, 447 from Kanpur Nagar and 281 from Varanasi, the statement said. It, however, kept the number of fresh cases at 4,658 fresh cases with 63 deaths in the past 24 hours.

According to Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, the number of active cases in the state is now 43,654. He said 63,402 people have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

Delhi: 1,299 fresh coronavirus cases take tally to 1,41,531

Delhi recorded 1,299 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking the infection tally in the city to over 1.41 lakh, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 4,059, authorities said. Fifteen fatalities due to COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the latest bulletin released by the health department on Thursday.

Delhi recorded 1,299 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday.

The city recorded 1,076 fresh COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths on Wednesday. The number of active cases rose to 10,348 on Thursday from 10,072 the previous day.

The death toll from the coronavirus infection has risen to 4,059 and the total number of cases has climbed to 1,41,531 in Delhi, the bulletin said.

The positive rate stood at 6.3 per cent on Thursday, while the recovery rate was over 89 per cent, it said.

Karnataka sees highest spike of 6,805 new COVID-19 cases

Karnataka on Thursday reported its biggest single-day spurt of 6,805 COVID-19 cases and 93 related fatalities, taking the infection count in the state to 1.58 lakh, the health department said.

The day also saw 5,602 patients getting discharged after recovery.

Out of the fresh cases reported on Thursday, 2,544 were from Bengaluru urban alone.

As of August 6 evening, cumulatively 1,58,254 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 2,897 deaths and 80,281 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

Graded multi-level institutional response kept COVID-19 cases in check: Health min

Despite India’s population and low fractional GDP, the proactive and graded multi-level institutional response to COVID-19 by government has made it possible for the country to maintain “very low cases and deaths per million” population, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Thursday.

“From one lab (for COVID-19 testing) in January, India has 1,370 laboratories at present. Indians anywhere can access a lab within three hours travel time and 33 of the 36 states and UTs exceed WHO’s recommendation of testing 140 people per million per day,” Vardhan was quoted as saying by PTI.

He also said containment strategy has been successful as is evident from the fact that 50 per cent of the cases are from three states and 32 per cent of the rest are from seven states. The spread of the virus thus has been contained, Vardhan said.

“India was preparing to fight the pandemic as soon as China informed WHO about it on January 7, the health minister said.

Veteran CPI(M) leader Shyamal Chakraborty dies of COVID-19

Senior CPI(M) leader Shyamal Chakraborty died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, party sources said. He was 76.

Shyamal Chakraborty

Chakraborty, the three-time transport minister of West Bengal from 1982 to 1996, was admitted to the hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 30. He was also a two-time Rajya Sabha member and a veteran trade unionist.

He is survived by daughter Ushasi Chakraborty, an actor.

Belthangady MLA tests positive for coronavirus

Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja has tested positive for COVID-19. In a Twitter message, the legislator said he got himself tested Wednesday as he was having a mild fever.

Poonja said he was not having any other symptoms and is taking treatment at home.

Poonja had recently met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in Bengaluru.

Even smaller states have significantly large spread

With novel coronavirus cases rising rapidly all over the country, only three states—Meghalaya, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands—have less than 1,000 people infected with the disease. Lakshadweep, of course, still hasn’t reported even a single case till date, making it the only region in India entirely free of the epidemic.

Otherwise, even the relatively smaller states now have significantly large spread of the disease. Goa, for example, has seen more than 7,000 of its people infected by the virus till now. Tripura has over 5,500 cases, while Manipur has more than 3,000, and Nagaland a little less than 2,500. Puducherry has more than 4,000 cases, while even Daman and Diu has over 1,300 people infected.

Medical interns, along with civic workers, team up for a door to door screening in parts of Greater Mumbai on Tuesday, August 4, 2020.

Assam surpasses 50,000 cases

The number of people infected by the coronavirus in Assam crossed the 50,000-mark on Wednesday with 2,284 new infections, while the death toll reached 121 with six more fatalities, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Among the latest deceased include an 81-year old man from Kamrup Metropolitan district, two persons from Dibrugarh and one each from Tinsukia, Cachar and Darrang, the Minister said in a tweet. The new 2,284 COVID-19 cases were detected from 59,162 tests conducted during the last 24 hours. Among the new cases, 362 were reported from Kamrup Metropolitan, 177 from Dibrugarh, 157 from Nagaon and 123 from Kamrup Rural. (PTI)

Odisha’s caseload crosses 39,000-mark

Odisha’s COVID-19 caseload reached 39,018 on Wednesday, with the detection of 1,337 fresh infections, while nine more fatalities pushed its coronavirus death toll to 225, a health official said. The state’s recovery figure also breached the 25,000- mark after 1,255 patients were cured of the disease during the last 24 hours. The total number of recovered people has gone up to 25,738, he said. (PTI)

A gym worker sanitizes the gym equipments wearing a PPE suit, in Sahibabad, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020.

Jharkhand’s COVID death toll mounts to 136 with seven more fatalities

Seven more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Jharkhand on Wednesday, raising the death toll to 136, a state government bulletin said. Three deaths were reported from Ranchi district, and one each from East Singhbhum, Giridih, Khunti, and West Singhbhum districts, it said. A total of 978 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, taking the state’s coronavirus tally to 14,919, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Another day of 2,500+ cases in Bengal

Corona screening in progress at a residential building in Mumbai on Monday, August 3, 2020.

Continuing its worrying trend, West Bengal logged another highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases and deaths at 2,816 and 61 on Wednesday. This took the total count of cases to 83,800 and toll to 1,846. Wednesday was the fourth consecutive day of recording over 2,500 cases. As many as 204 people died of the disease in the same period. As many as 2,078 COVID patients were discharged, taking the cumulative figure to 58,962. The discharge rate stood at 70.36 per cent. There were 22,992 active cases as of Wednesday. With 24,047 new samples tests in the last 24 hours, the total count crossed the one-million mark, translating into 11,145 tests per million population.

Ahmedabad hospital fire: Brave attendant saves three elderly patients

A 25-year-old attendant showed presence of mind and unflinching courage as he saved the lives of three elderly patients from a raging fire that broke out early on Thursday at an Ahmedabad-based hospital, where he works.

Eight other patients- five men and three women- who were being treated at the ICU ward of the COVID-19 designated Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura area of the city, died in the blaze, fire brigade officials said.

Outside Shrey hospital in Navrangpura. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

“When I went to the fourth floor after that, I saw flames coming out from a monitor of some medical equipment near a patient’s bed. Soon, that patient’s hair caught fire. I doused it immediately,” Chirag Patel, 25, told reporters after giving his statement to the police.

“Just as I pulled the bed away from the monitor, another attendant’s PPE suit caught fire. Luckily, a doctor came upstairs with a bucket of water and poured it on the attendant and saved him.

“Suddenly, there was a blast inside the ICU ward. Though we went up again to rescue patients, it was not possible to go inside due to thick smoke and extremely low visibility,” he added.

Telangana to conduct 40,000 tests daily

Pune’s Phoenix Marketcity mall reopens after four-and-a-half months on Wednesday, August 6, 2020.

The Telangana government has decided to conduct 40,000 COVID-19 tests daily and also keep 10,000 oxygen beds ready all over the State, an official release has said. The Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao-led cabinet which met here on Wednesday discussed threadbare the coronavirus spread, treatment being given to those affected and further strengthening of the public health system, an official release issued Wednesday night said. “For those offering free medical services in the private medical colleges, the government will bear the expenses for medicines, injections, and food…The officials concerned are instructed to conduct 40,000 tests per day,” it said. (PTI)

65 fresh cases take Arunachal’s tally to 1,855

Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday reported 65 new COVID-19 patients, including 22 security personnel, taking the state’s total count to 1,855, an official said. Of the fresh cases, 10 were reported from Capital Complex region, 19 from Changlang district, 12 from East Siang, eight from Lohit, four each from East Kameng and West Siang, three from Namsai, two from Tirap and one each from Lower Dibang Valley, Papumpare and Tawang, state Surveillance Officer Dr L Jampa said. All, barring six, are asymptomatic and have been shifted to COVID Care Centres, he said. (PTI)