The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India crossed two million on Thursday, show data collated from various State health departments. Worldwide, the number stands at over 19 million, with the United States, Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa contributing to the bulk of the recorded cases.
On the vaccine front, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the country is likely to have a coronavirus vaccine before the November 3 election, a more optimistic forecast on timing than anything suggested by his own White House health experts.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Venkaiah Naidu heaps praise on farmers
Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday lauded Indian farmers for producing foodgrains in higher quantity this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown restrictions.
Speaking at a function organised by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to mark its foundation day along with a virtual consultation on ‘Science for resilient food, nutrition and livelihoods: contemporary challenges,’ Mr. Naidu said he saluted the farmers for the record production compared to previous year.
When the livelihood and economy were severely affected due to the pandemic, the farming community stood firm against all these challenges.
Highlighting the commitment of the Union government to double farmers’ income by 2022, the Vice- President said that a number of initiatives, including promotion of contract farming and National Agriculture Market (eNAM), were already being implemented.
RBI sets up panel to suggest steps to deal with coronavirus-related stressed assets
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday set up an expert committee under veteran banker K V Kamath to suggest financial parameters for resolution of coronavirus-related stressed assets.
The committee will submit its recommendations to the RBI, which will notify them along with modifications, if any, in 30 days. It will make recommendations on the required financial parameters to be factored in into the resolution plans, with sector-specific benchmark ranges for such parameters.
The expert committee will also undertake the process validation for the resolution plans to be implemented under this framework, without going into the commercial aspects, in respect of all accounts with an aggregate exposure of Rs 1,500 crore and above at the time of invocation. - PTI
Serum Institute to produce up to 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for India, other countries
Serum Institute of India (SII) on Friday said it has entered into a new partnership with international vaccine alliance Gavi and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India as well as other low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
“The collaboration will provide upfront capital to SII to help them increase manufacturing capacity now so that, once a vaccine, or vaccines, gains regulatory approval and WHO prequalification, doses can be produced at scale for distribution to India and LMICs as part of the Gavi COVAX AMC mechanism as early as the first half of 2021,” SII said in a statement.
The company has set an affordable ceiling price of $3 (around Rs. 225) per dose, it added. - PTI
Eleven Assam Assembly employees test positive ahead of session
Eleven employees of the Assam Legislative Assembly have tested positive for COVID-19 on a single day, ahead of the scheduled commencement of a session from August 31, a senior official said on Friday.
The Assembly administration is testing all its employees with the help of the Health Department.
“We are conducting rapid antigen tests on all our employees. In three days till Thursday, 270 of our staff were tested, of which 11 tested positive for the infection on the previous day,” Assembly Principal Secretary Mrigendra Kumar Deka said. - PTI
India’s COVID-19 management marked by rising recovery rate, falling fatality rate, says Centre
India’s COVID-19 management is marked by “two significant achievements” of continuously rising recovery rate among COVID-19 patients and a case fatality rate that has remained much below the global average, according to the Health Ministry.
While the recovery rate among coronavirus patients has risen to a record high of 67.98%, the fatality rate has gone down to 2.05%, it said on Friday.
“These two in tandem have enabled a higher and rising difference of more than 7.7 lakh between the number of recovered patients and active cases in India,” the Ministry said. - PTI
247 inmates infected in Rajamahendravaram Central Prison
As many as 247 inmates and 32 staff of Rajamahendravaram Central Prison (RCP) in East Godavari district tested positive for COVID-19 by Thursday during a special drive.
The first phase of medical tests was conducted for 900 inmates among a total of 1,600 through iMASQ, a mobile COVID test laboratory on August 3.
The prison authorities have stopped admission of new remand prisoners as a part of the containment strategy. The spread of the COVID is suspected to be due to admission of remand prisoners in recent weeks.
Delhi airport develops online portal for international passengers
The Delhi international airport has developed an online portal that will allow international arriving passengers to fill a mandatory self-declaration form and eligible passengers to apply for exemption from compulsory institutional quarantine for coronavirus, its operator DIAL said.
The portal will make passengers’ journey contactless as they won’t have to fill physical copies of a self declaration form and a quarantine exemption form at the time of arrival in India.
From Saturday, a total of five categories of passengers can get exemption from the mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine -- pregnant women; those who have suffered death in the family; those suffering from a serious illness; parents accompanying children below 10 years of age; those who have COVID-negative certificate from a test done 96 hours prior to the journey.
Passengers who are allowed the exemption would have to undergo 14-day home quarantine. All other international passengers arriving in India have to follow the usual process of undergoing mandatory seven-days institutional quarantine, at their own cost, followed by seven days of home quarantine. - PTI
BCCI claims “in principle” govt. approval for IPL in UAE; teams begin quarantining players
An “in principle” government approval has come for the BCCI to take the IPL to the UAE this year and the eight franchises have started their preparations by initiating quarantine and COVID-19 testing protocols for their players and support staff. A BCCI source said that the permission in writing is due to come any time in the next few days.
Some franchises are arranging COVID-19 tests for their players in their respective cities before heading for departure bases (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru) for UAE.
“It’s always good if they have a PCR-Test done and land with a negative report. Then they can have two tests done 24 hours apart as the BCCI SOP mentions before we fly to the UAE,” a senior franchise official said on conditions of anonymity.
“While two tests are mandatory, most franchises will have at least four tests done before leaving India,” he added. - PTI
Delhi Cong. leaders march to CM’s residence, demand payment of pending salaries to govt. staff
Delhi Congress leaders and workers took out a ‘Nyay March’ to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines on Friday, demanding payment of salaries to sanitation workers, doctors, nurses, teachers of municipal corporations and employees of other government departments.
The protesters, including Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar and AICC incharge Shaktisinh Gohil, were stopped by the police at a barricade near the Chief Minister’s residence on Flagstaff Road.
Later, a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister was handed over to officials at his residence, Delhi Congress leader Parvez Alam said. - PTI
Congress workers conducting Nyay March against non payment of salary to sanitation workers, nurses and other workers near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in New Delhi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
WHO says 'vaccine nationalism' cannot beat virus
The World Health Organization has warned against “vaccine nationalism,” saying vaccine-hogging richer countries would not be safe coronavirus havens if poor nations remained exposed.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it would be in wealthier nations' interests to ensure that any vaccines eventually produced to protect against the new coronavirus were shared globally.
“Vaccine nationalism is not good, it will not help us,” Tedros told the Aspen Security Forum in the United States, via video-link from the WHO's headquarters in Geneva. -AFP
Bombay HC quashes orders putting curbs on elderly film, TV artistes
The Bombay High Court quashed two government resolutions issued by the Maharashtra government that barred film and TV artistes and crew members above 65 years of age, from going to work to studios or outdoor sets during the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The Bench, however, said that “all other advisories applicable for all persons above 65 years of age, will be applicable for those above 65 years of age working in the film and TV industry.” - PTI
As COVID-19 cases mount, Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi govt. in rhyme
As novel coronavirus cases crossed the 20-lakh mark, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took to Twitter to once again target the Narendra Modi government over its COVID-19 handling.
He retweeted his July 17 tweet, in which he had predicted 2 million cases by August 10, with a fresh comment that rhymed in Hindi.
“20 lakh ka aankra paar, Gayaab hain Modi Sarkar [20-lakh figure has been crossed and the Modi government has disappeared],” tweeted Mr. Gandhi that tweaks BJP’s 2014 election campaign slogan of Abi ki baar, Modi Sarkar [This time, Modi government].
Former HP CM Dhumal in home quarantine
Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal along with his staff members has quarantined himself at his house here as a precaution after the state power minister tested positive for coronavirus.
Prem Kumar Dhumal | Photo Credit: AKHILESH KUMAR
In a Facebook post, Mr. Dhumal stated that he has quarantined himself at his house.
He quarantined himself as a precautionary measure as he had recently attended a meeting with the State BJP chief Suresh Kashyap, who was in close contact with Power Minister Sukh Ram Chaudhry. Mr. Chaudhry tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. - PTI
U.S. lifts global health travel advisory, urges citizens not to visit India
The U.S. has lifted the highest level of its global health travel advisory for Americans due to the coronavirus pandemic and restored the previous country-specific system without changing the status of over 50 countries, including that of India and China.
The U.S. state department issued the Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory — the highest level of travel advisory — on March 19, urging American citizens not to travel overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India remains on the Level 4 of the travel advisory along with more than 50 countries, including China. The state department, in its latest travel advisory on India issued on Thursday, said: Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism.
An update on India's COVID-19 numbers:
India sees record 62,538 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, pushing India’s total case tally to 20,27,074, according to the daily bulletin by Union health ministry.
The death toll has climbed to 41,585 with 886 new fatalities, added the Centre.
The active COVID-19 case count is 6,07,384 while 13,78,105 people have recovered so far, said the bulletin. - PTI
Karaikal Collector tests positive for COVID-19
Karaikal District Collector Arjun Sharma has tested positive for COVID-19 and is under home isolation.
Soon after the results of swab samples received on Thursday night from the Tiruvarur Government Medical College Hospital indicated the viral infection, Mr. Sharma went into home isolation.
Telangana sees record-high COVID-19 cases
Telangana recorded the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases on Thursday with 2,207 positive cases. This spikes the total number of cases to 75,257.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits continued to record the highest number of cases in the State with as many as 532 cases being reported in the past 24 hours. This was followed by the Rangareddy district with 192 cases and Warangal Urban districts with 142 cases.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths stood at 12, and breached the 600 mark in the State on Thursday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 601. - Syed Mohammed
Glenmark to launch higher strength of FabiFlu
Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said it will launch a 400 mg version of oral antiviral drug FabiFlu for the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 in India.
Currently, the drug is available in 200 mg dosage. The company, however, did not disclose the price at which it will be selling the drug.
The higher strength will improve compliance for patients by effectively reducing the number of tablets required per day, Glenmark said in a statement. - PTI
Maharashtra hits new high of 11,514 COVID-19 cases
Maharashtra reported its highest single-day case jump on Thursday, with 11,514 new COVID-19 cases taking its total cases to 4,79,779. As many as 316 more deaths saw the State’s death toll rise to 16,792.
This is the second time that the State has recorded more than 11,000 cases in a single day, with the previous jump of 11,147 cases being reported on July 30.