Coronavirus live updates: India sees highest single-day spike of nearly 70k cases; tally crosses 28-L mark

Total number of samples tested up to 19th August is 3,26,61,252, including 9,18,470 samples tested yesterday: ICMR

Read: Covid-19 vaccine won't be mandatory in US, says Anthony Fauci

"You don't want to mandate and try and force anyone to take a vaccine. We've never done that," said Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, during a video talk organized by George Washington University. "You can mandate for certain groups of people like health workers, but for the general population you can't" he added, citing the example of the National Institutes of Health, where health workers can't treat patients without a flu shot.

Spike of 69,652 cases and 977 deaths reported in India, in the last 24 hours: Health ministry

Read: At least 8 states using CDRs to track Covid patients

Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are not the only states tracing contacts of Covid positive patients with the help of their call detail records (CDRs). At least six other states are using or have taken this route earlier to contain the spread, while some are mulling using this method. Other states are using it for various reasons — from tracing contacts of patients not willing to reveal contact history to those who went missing after testing positive.

Read: Less than 5% of Covid+ve kids need ICU care in Delhi

Covid-19 in children is mostly asymptomatic or mild. Less than five per cent of the children who test positive for the novel coronavirus require ICU care. Paediatricians from AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh and other top medical institutions in the country confirmed this on Wednesday while sharing their experiences on treating children suffering from Covid-19 over the past few months.

Read: India faces protracted slowdown as virus clouds rural revival

India is staring at a protracted slowdown as coronavirus cases reach its countryside, with signs of recovery in the rural economy hailed by PM Modi "at best a mitigating factor", government officials and analysts said. The world's No.5 economy reports first-quarter GDP data on August 31 and, according to a Reuters poll, it is likely to have contracted 20% over April-June. It is forecast to shrink 5.1% in the year to March 2021, the weakest since 1979.

Read - Covid booster: Health cover now top segment in general insurance

“The insurance industry has come up with 500 health insurance products in the last 20 years. Since March 2020, we have approved 130 new products. Health is already bigger than motor insurance and at the current rate will increase the gap by leaps and bounds by the end of the year,” said T L Alamelu, member, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) at a FICCI health online insurance conference on Wednesday.

China to allow first football fans in stadiums since coronavirus, reports AFP.

The Chinese Super League is planning to allow a very limited number of spectators into a high-profile match on Saturday, the first time fans can attend a game since the coronavirus pandemic. It is a major step towards normalising football in China, where the virus was first detected last year, and could pave the way for some fans to attend future fixtures. The CSL kicked off on July 25 behind closed doors, at neutral venues in Suzhou and Dalian, and five months late because of the health crisis.

Read: Record 70k+ new cases in a day, 13k just in Maharashtra

India registered a record number of fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, crossing the 70,000-mark for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. With 70,101 new cases, the country’s tally crossed the 28-lakh mark at 28,33,015. With 978 fresh deaths, the country’s cumulative toll reached 53,929.

Read: No proof of relapse, reinfection among recovered, says ICMR

Trump touts convalescent plasma as a coronavirus treatment (Reuters)

More than 20 lakh patients have recovered from the virus, recovery rate now at 73.8%

At least eight states using call data records to track Covid patients

New York teachers threaten strike if schools reopen without more Covid-19 testing

Mexico registers 5,792 new coronavirus cases, 707 more deaths

India crosses 70k mark for first time with record surge in Covid cases.

China reported seven new coronavirus cases in the mainland on Wednesday