A total of 3,00,41,400 samples have been tested until August 16, with 7,31,697 being examined on Sunday.Coronavirus Live updates: With India reporting 55,079 cases and 876 deaths in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus cases in India Tuesday rose to over 27 lakh (27,02,743) including 51,797 deaths, 6,73,166 active cases and nearly 20 lakh (19,77,780) recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The health ministry declared that a “new landmark” has been achieved as the country crossed the 3-crore mark of tests conducted. A total of 3,00,41,400 samples have been tested until August 16 with 7,31,697 being examined on Sunday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.
Parliament’s monsoon session may begin from the first week of September and is unlikely to see the two Houses assembling simultaneously, as one is expected to use both the chambers for its sitting in view of the coronavirus pandemic, news agency PTI reported. A new sitting plan is expected for both Houses based upon social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
On the vaccine front, the national expert group on Covid-19 vaccine administration Monday met representatives of Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila to take inputs about the present stage of various vaccine candidates, the Union Health Ministry said. The meeting chaired by Niti Aayog member V K Paul and co-chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan was the second meeting of the committee after August 12.
Meanwhile, the Bihar government Monday extended the lockdown in its state till September 6 in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
Globally, 21,826,342 people have been infected so far, 773,152 have died while 13,830,466 have recovered.
Coronavirus India LIVE news updates: The health ministry declared that a "new landmark" has been achieved as the country crossed the 3-crore mark of tests conducted.
Despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases, flight movements at the Goa airport increasedalmost 12 times last month as compared to April this year, according to the Airports Authority of India. It said this is a sign of normalcy returning at the Goa airport, located at the INS Hansa base in Vasco town.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday posted a chart on its Twitter handle, showing 27 flight movements at the Goa airport in April this year, followed by 59 in May, 265 in June and 318 in July. "AAI's Goa Airport @aaigoaairport saw steady rise in flight movement since Apr'20. From 27 flights in Apr to nearly 12 times that no. in Jul these are signs of normalcy returning. In the wake of #COVID19, we aim to bring Indian Civil Aviation back to normal, as soon as possible," AAI said in the tweet.
As the regulator and the banks now await for the KV Kamath-led panel to come out with the modalities of restructuring of loans for both corporates and individuals, sources in the government and industry say that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not extend the moratorium period for loans, that comes to an end on August 31.
Banks may put in place board-approved policies to deal with stressed loans to individuals. Besides, while there have been suggestions that the current proposal of allowing restructuring for loans that are overdue for up to 30 days should be extended for those that are overdue for at least 60 days, a senior government official said “RBI will be looking into this area”.
With India reporting 55,079 cases and 876 deaths in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus cases in India Tuesday rose to over 27 lakh (27,02,743)including 51,797 deaths, 6,73,166 active cases and nearly 20 lakh (19,77,780) recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, whose company made controversial drug Itolizumab, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday. 'I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms n I hope it stays that way,' she tweeted.
Earlier in July, Shaw had said, 'Itolizumab has been approved in India and since the country is in a medical emergency, it was decided to go ahead with a clinical trial involving a cohort of 30 patients.' She had said the regulatory process was extremely robust and the scientific discussions on the trial was of a very high order.
With various countries gradually lifting travel restrictions from India under air bubble arrangements, both Indian and foreign airlines are offering a number of flight options for those who want to travelto countries such as the US, Germany, France, Canada, the UK and the UAE. However, travel is subject to certain conditions imposed by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the governments of the destination countries.
What are air transport bubbles?
Transport bubbles are temporary arrangements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are reciprocal in nature, meaning airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits. India has created air travel arrangements with countries like the US, France, Germany, the UK, Canada, the UAE and Maldives.
The body of a 71-year old, who is suspected to have died due to Covid-19, had to be taken to the graveyard on a bicycle. The incident occurred in Karnataka’s Belagavi district on Sunday. The man’s son and nephew took the body from Gandhinagar area of Kittur to a graveyard near Mugut Khan Hubballi village, about two kilometres away.
The man’s son has alleged that local authorities did not respond to their requests for assistance. A video of him and the man’s nephew taking the body to the graveyard on a cycle has gone viral.
The Indian embassy in Moscow is in touch with the Russian medical research institute that has developed the world's first Covid-19 vaccine to be cleared for use by the public, top government sources told The Indian Express.
Russian regulators last week greenlighted the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, and President Vladimir Putin announced that one of his daughters had already been inoculated with it.
“The Indian Mission is engaging separately with the Russian side through our embassy in Moscow. We are now awaiting the safety and efficacy data of this vaccine for Covid-19,” a source said.
Uttar Pradesh on Monday recorded the highest single-day fatalities attributed to the Covid-19 with 69 deaths, taking the toll to 2,515. As many as 4,186 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours pushed the total to 1,58,216.
Lucknow and Kanpur once again reported state’s highest fresh cases and deaths. Of the fresh deaths, the highest (10) has been reported from Kanpur Nagar followed by eight deaths from Lucknow, six from Moradabad, four each from Prayagraj, Unnao among others.
Even as the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha is working out ways to keep the 403 MLAs and its employees of the State Assembly safe with a session scheduled to begin on August 20 for the first time amid the coronavirus pandemic, 20 staffers have tested positive and have been quarantined. All 600 employees of the Vidhan Sabha had been tested and the results came on Monday.
With two ministers in the state government having succumbed to Covid-19 and other ministers and MLAs testing positive, the Vidhan Sabha has decided to test each MLA before the Assembly session by organising camps at the Vidhayak Niwas campuses in Lucknow’.(Read Maulshree Seth's report here)
West Bengal on Monday reported a record 3,080 new cases in 24 hours — the fourth straight day of more than 3,000 infections — and 45 deaths, including three-time Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Samaresh Das. Read More
The Pune Municipal Corporation on Monday said that the reproductive number R, which is a measure of how quickly the disease was spreading, had fallen below 1 for the first time, and therefore there was hope that the epidemic could be brought under control soon. Read More
Rickshaw Panchayat, the largest union of autorickshaw drivers in Pune, launched a ‘Corona Free Rickshaw’ service in the city on Monday. In this service, at least 100 autorickshaws have been modified to allay commuters’ fears of spread of infection by minimising possibility of transmission of Covid-19. The service was green flagged by Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao. Read More
The number of Covid-19 cases among inmates from prisons across Maharashtra has crossed 1,000, and over 200 are active cases. Read More
A Mumbai-based doctor approached the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court against a private hospital in Aurangabad on Monday, alleging that her father was not tested or treated for Covid-19 despite showing symptoms leading to his death last month. Read More