Corona screening in progress at a residential building in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
With 64,399 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the total Covid caseload in India has risen to 21,53,011. Of these, 6,28,747 are active cases, while 14,80,885 patients have already been discharged, data from the Union Health Ministry showed. As many as 861 deaths were reported, taking the casualties to 43,379. For eleven straight days now, Covid-19 cases have in India have risen by over 50,000. Globally, over 19.5 million cases of coronavirus and 7.25 lakh deaths have been reported.
Scaling up testing capacity, over seven lakh samples have been examined for COVID-19 in a day, taking the cumulative tests conducted so far to 2,41,06,535, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. The number of recoveries too has surged to 14,80,884 with 53,879 coronavirus patients having recuperated and discharged in 24-hours, the highest in a day so far, pushing the recovery rate to 68.78 per cent. The fatality rate has further dropped to 2.01 per cent.
The ministry said the number of single-day tests has been growing exponentially and India has been testing over six lakh samples daily for several days.
4 held for selling ‘fake’ N95 masks, product worth Rs 8.9 lakh seized
Police on Sunday arrested four persons in Odhav, Ahmedabad, for allegedly selling duplicate N95 masks as product of a reputed company and recovered 1,780 such masks worth Rs 8.9 lakh from them. According to police, a raid was conducted at a shop named “Ma Creation” in Sumel 7 Business Park area of Odhav on Saturday evening after the authorised officer of 3M 8210 company that produces N95 masks lodged a complaint regarding sale of duplicate masks.
The arrested accused have been identified as Kiran Jethva, a resident of Vastral in Ahmedabad, Kamlesh Kumar Mehta, a resident of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, Niraj Bhatia, a resident of Sabarmati and Ghanshyam Nagrani, a resident of Nana Chiloda in Ahmedabad.
According to police, the four accused were involved in the sale of duplicate masks of 3M 8210 company for the past three months. “The accused were selling duplicate masks made of only plastic and a rubber string attached with no sponge inside. We have recovered 1,780 duplicate masks and the accused have been arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 406 for criminal breach of trust and 420 for fraud along with sections of the Copyright Act. We are further interrogating as to how they procure fake masks in wholesale,” said an officer at Bapunagar police station.
Return journey
Migrant labourers start coming back to Delhi from various parts of Uttar Pradesh. The labourers had left Delhi in large numbers due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Fireman overcome with emotion after rescuing COVID-19 patient
As he lowered a COVID-19 patient from the third floor of the converted coronavirus care centre on his shoulders and down a steel ladder in the rescue effort, the fireman’s eyes watered, overcome with emotion. It was not a usual rescue operation that the fireman was engaged in, in Vijayawada, along with 39 of his colleagues, as they were handling persons inflicted with a deadly virus, but the mission had to be accomplished.
“On the one hand, it gave me immense satisfaction that I was doing my duty by rescuing people caught in a fire accident. On the other, there was a lurking fear of contracting the deadly disease as I too have a family back home,” the fireman told PTI in an emotion-choked voice.
The firemen were at the scene of the mishap in just four minutes after they received the distress call at 5:09 am. As many as 40 firemen descended on the star hotel and began the rescue operation.
Indian Army gifts 10 ventilators to Nepali Army
The Indian Army on Sunday gifted 10 ventilators to the Nepali Army to support its efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, that has claimed 75 lives in the Himalayan nation.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over the ventilators to Nepal Army chief Purna Chandra Thapa during a ceremony at Nepali Army Headquarters on Sunday, the Indian mission said in a statement.
The ventilators are designed for a broad range of applications to include advanced invasive or non-invasive respiratory support. Further, due to their compact nature, they are portable and handy in transportation of patients requiring intensive care, the statement said.