Coronavirus roundup: Developments in India and rest of world

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Aug 16, 2020, 20:25 IST

NEW DELHI: Continuing the downward trend, India's Covid-19 case fatality rate on Sunday dropped to 1.93 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally, the Union health ministry said. This is a result of coordinated efforts of the Centre and state and UT governments, it said.
"The USA crossed 50,000 deaths in 23 days, Brazil in 95 days and Mexico in 141 days. India took 156 days to reach this national figure," the ministry underscored as the number of fatalities due to coronavirus infection in the country reached 49,980.

Here are the top developments:

1

India

One of Indian cricket's most well-known batsmen without an international hundred, former opener Chetan Chauhan died on Sunday due to Covid-19 related complications after being put on life support for nearly 36 hours. Chauhan, who was 73, was serving as the minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, and Civil Security in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. He is survived by his wife and son Vinayak.
Hectic preparations are underway for the Monsoon Session of Parliament with several first-time measures in view of the Covid-19 pandemic such as staggered sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and use of both chambers and galleries to accommodate members while following physical distancing norms, officials said. The Monsoon Session is likely to begin in the last week of August or early September.
Implementation of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently through a plethora of measures have contributed to the existing high level of recoveries as well, it said. The total number of recoveries in the country rose to 18,62,258 on Sunday, according to the health ministry.
Improved and effective clinical treatment in hospitals, supervised home isolation, use of non-invasive oxygen support, and improved services of the ambulances for ferrying patients for prompt and timely treatment have been the focus of the Centre and state and UT governments, the ministry said.
The steady rise in recoveries has ensured that the percentage caseload of the country is reducing," the ministry said highlighting there are 6,77,444 active cases of coronavirus infection which compose the actual caseload of the country and comprise 26.16 pc of the total cases as on date.
Private carrier Vistara is likely to start flight operations between India and the UK, Germany and France under the bilateral air bubble arrangements that have been signed with these countries, sources in the aviation industry said on Sunday.

2

States

Delhi: The coronavirus recovery rate in Delhi has improved to more than 90 per cent, with 652 new cases and 1,310 recoveries being reported in the last 24 hours. Eight more deaths due to the disease took the toll to 4,196.
Haryana: Ten more deaths due to Covid-19 were reported in Haryana while 743 fresh cases took the tally of total infections in the state to 47,153. The total fatalities in the state mounted to 538.
J&K: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 449 new instances of the coronavirus infection, taking the total number cases reported in the Union territory to 28,470, while 15 Covid-19 patients died in the last 24 hours. According to them all the 15 deaths were from the Kashmir Valley.
Tripura: Tripura reported 127 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 7,079, while the death toll increased to 55 as five more people succumbed to the virus. The state now has 1,855 active cases while 5,151 people have recovered from the disease.
HP: The Covid-19 tally in Himachal Pradesh reached 4,058 with 64 more people testing positive for the virus. There are 1,358 active cases in the state, while a total of 2,640 coronavirus patients have recovered from the infection so far.
Manipur: A Border Security Force personnel succumbed to Covid-19 in Manipur, taking the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 14. Manipur has registered 4,390 Covid-19 cases so far.
UP: The number of Covid-19 patients who have recovered from the disease crossed the one lakh-mark in Uttar Pradesh even as the state reported 56 more fatalities due to the coronavirus, pushing the death toll to 2,449. The number of patients who have recovered from the disease now stands at 1,00,432.
Maharashtra: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has said the process of lifting the lockdown in the state would be done in a stepwise manner. The threat of Covid-19 still persists, Thackeray said, and added that he does not want a second wave of the deadly viral infection in the state.
Mizoram: Mizoram reported its highest single-day spike of 64 Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally to 777, an official said. Of the new cases, 50 were reported from Aizawl district and 14 from Kolasib bordering Assam, he said. The figure also includes 40 security personnel.
Meghalaya: At least 63 more people, including 39 BSF personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Meghalaya, taking the northeastern state's virus count to 1,354. Meghalaya currently has 693 active cases, while the number of recoveries stands at 655.
Goa: BJP leader Utpal Parrikar, who is the son of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, said he has tested positive for coronavirus and got admitted to a hospital on the advice of doctors. After his test results came out, Uptal Parrikar told reporters on Saturday evening that he tested positive for Covid-19.
Rajasthan: Work at the Rajasthan high court here will remain suspended for the next three days, after its chief justice Indrajit Mahanty reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. The registrar general of the high court, in a notice, said all the persons concerned are requested to get themselves tested for Covid-19.
Arunachal Pradesh: At least 51 more people, including 28 security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, raising the state's tally to 2,658. Twenty-three people were discharged from various hospitals in the state, pushing the number of recoveries to 1,771.
Gujarat: As many as 23 prisoners of the Rajkot Central Jail in Gujarat have tested positive for coronavirus, a senior official said. Rapid antigen tests were conducted on 94 inmates and results of 23 of them, including undertrials and convicts, came out positive on Saturday night.
Odisha: Odisha's Covid-19 tally jumped to 60,050 with a record 2,924 new cases, while 10 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 343. Odisha now has 18,929 active cases, while 40,727 patients have so far recovered from the disease.
Assam: Assam's Covid-19 tally surpassed the 75,000-mark with 1,057 fresh cases, while the death toll mounted to 182 as eight more people succumbed to the virus. The state's coronavirus caseload stood at 75,558.
Punjab: Revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar has tested positive for coronavirus. He is now under home isolation and samples of his family members have also been taken for testing.
Tamil Nadu: A total of 5,950 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Tamil Nadu, taking the state's coronavirus tally to 3,38,055.

3

World

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 766,228 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 21,500,350 cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories.
The United States' Food and Drug Administration has approved a new Covid-19 testing method based on analysing saliva samples. According to the Johns Hopkins University database, the US has a total of 5,354,664 cases, with a death toll of 169,405.
Nepal's coronavirus tally reached 26,660 with the detection of 641 new cases in the last 24 hours. Two more fatalities due to the disease were reported overnight, pushing the death toll to 104.
South Korea has reported 279 new coronavirus cases in the highest daily jump since early March, as fears grow about a massive outbreak in the greater capital region. The figures released by the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention brought the national caseload to 15,318, including 305 deaths.
The UK government is planning to replace Public Health England with a new specialist pandemic response insititute based on a German model in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to announce a merger of the pandemic response work of PHE, an executive agency.
Singapore reported 86 new coronavirus infections, including two community and six imported cases, taking the nationwide tally to 55,747, the health ministry said on Sunday. Most of the new cases are work permit holders currently under quarantine.