Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India Sees Record Spike of Nearly 67,000 Cases, 942 Deaths in 24 Hrs; Vaishno Devi Yatra May Not Resume After Aug 16

Woman Arrested for Impersonating as Police Personnel | A woman has been arrested for allegedly impersonating an Assistant sub-inspector and issuing challans for violating COVID-19 norms. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway: Delhi Police.

608 New Cases in Rajasthan | 608 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the state today till 10:30 am. The total number of positive cases in the state is now 56,708 including 14,056 active cases, 41,819 recovered cases and 833 deaths: Rajasthan Health Department.

Huge Surge In COVID-19 Cases In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka

The uptick in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi in the last week has resulted in a heightened demand for hospital beds. The occupancy of Covid-19 beds in hospitals in the national capital, which was below 3,000 on July 30 and remained the same till August 5, breached the 3,000-mark. Read more here.

381 Maharashtra Police Personnel Test Positive | 381 more Maharashtra Police personnel test positive for coronavirus and 3 died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 124. Total cases in the police force stand at 11,773, out of which 9,416 have recovered and 2,233 are active cases: Maharashtra Police.

Zydus Cadila Launches Cheapest Version of Covid-19 Drug Remdesivir in India at Rs 2,800 per Vial | Zydus Cadila on Thursday launched the cheapest generic version of Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir in India to treat COVID-19 following reports of shortages at hospitals in the world's third-worst hit nation. Zydus has priced it at 2,800 rupees ($37.44) per 100mg vial. It will be sold under the brand name Remdac to government and private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, the company said in a regulatory filing. Read full story here. 

The matter came to light after Additional CMO Dr Jung Bahadur's relatives reached Harish Chandra Ghat, and began to cremate the body which was handed to them. However, at the time, another family…

Global Covid-19 Cases | Here is News18's global list of coronavirus cases.

Rise of Almost 67,000 Covid-19 Cases in 24 Hours | A spike of 66,999 coronavirus cases and 942 deaths reported in India, in the last 24 hours. The COVID-19 tally rises to 23,96,638 including 6,53,622  active cases, 16,95,982 discharged and 47,033 deaths: Ministry of Health.

Pune Coronavirus Cases | Pune district reported 2,997 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its case count to 1,15,128, a health official said on Wednesday. The death toll in the district reached 2,619 with 67 patients succumbing to the infection.

Jharkhand Coronavirus Cases | Jharkhand on Wednesday reported 679 new cases of COVID-19, following which the state's tally crossed the 20,000-mark, as per an official bulletin. Eight persons also died during the day, taking the state's toll to 202, it said.

State capital Mumbai reported 1,132 new cases and 50 deaths during the day. The number of cases in the city rose to 1,26,356 and death toll to 6,943. The number of active cases in Mumbai is 19,047.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Wednesday put a complete ban with immediate effect on leaves and transfers of Health Department employees in the state till September 30. The decision was taken in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. Read more here.

The US Department of State advisory said dependents (spouses and children) will also be allowed to travel along with primary visa holders.

Vaishno Devi Pilgrimage May Not Resume Post Aug 16 | The much-awaited pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi Cave Shrine may not resume even after August 16 as around 11 people have tested Covid-19 positive at Bhawan in Trikuta Hills of Reasi district.

Frozen Chicken Wings Test 'Coronavirus Positive' | A sample of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from Brazil has tested positive for coronavirus, the city government said on Thursday. A surface sample was taken from a batch of chicken wings and tested by local disease control centres on Wednesday, the government said in a notice. Read more here.

Till date, 388 units of convalescent plasma have been issued to patients below 60 years of age, and 322 units to patients above 60 years of age.

Contact Tracing Through CDRs in Kerala | COVID-19 patients' phone call detail records (CDRs) were being used by the police in Kerala as part of adopting innovative and scientific methods for effective contact tracing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday. He assured the details would not be used for any other purpose and there would be no intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

Odisha Coronavirus Tally | Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Wednesday crossed the 50,000-mark with the highest single-day spike of 1,876 fresh cases, while the death toll rose to 305 as nine more patients succumbed to the disease, a health department official said.

Experts say Russia is taking a dangerous step by jumping ahead of so-called Phase 3 trials, which can determine that the vaccine works better than a placebo and doesn’t cause harm to some people who…

New Jersey Casinos Back Up in Business |  New Jersey's casinos and horse tracks won USD 264.5 million in July after reopening amid the coronavirus outbreak, a figure that was down nearly 21 per cent from a year ago, but one the gambling houses will gladly take after months of inactivity. Figures released Wednesday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement reflect the first month of resumed operations albeit at 25 per cent of normal capacity that the casinos and tracks were permitted to undertake.

Covid-19 Has Adverse Impact on Peacebuilding: India at UN | The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the initiatives that contribute to peacebuilding and exacerbated conflict situations, India said in a statement at a high-level open debate of the UN Security Council on 'Pandemics and the Challenges of Sustaining Peace'.

As President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared that his nation had approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine without extensive clinical trials, public health experts worried that President Trump…

UN Says Covid-19 Increases Conflict Risk | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones.

◐ The UN chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic that his March 23 call for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting.

UK Changes Covid-19 Death Compilation Way | The British government on Wednesday changed the way it compiles coronavirus deaths, a move that reduced the country's official death toll by more than 5,000. The Department of Health said the new total is 41,329, down from 46,706. That is still Europe's highest death toll.

Walt Disney, Workers Reach Agreement | Walt Disney World and the union for its actors and singers reached an agreement on Wednesday that will allow them to return to work, more than a month after they said they were locked out of the reopening of the theme park resort for publicly demanding coronavirus tests.

Assam Govt Announces Scheme for Support | The Assam government has announced a scheme under which a family will get approximately Rs 1,000 per month for daily needs, ANI reports. But the family has to nominate a woman, male members are not entitled to the benefit. "We're going to cover 17 lakhs families under this scheme," said State Minister HB Sarma.

Coronavirus Cases in Mizoram | The number of Covid-19 cases has reached 649 in Mizoram, with one more case being reported in Champhai district; active cases stand at 319.