Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Punjab Resorts to Strict Measures as it Imposes Night Curfew, Extends Weekend Lockdown Till Aug 31

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered a series of emergency measures, including the extension of weekend lockdown and imposition of daily night curfew from 7 pm to 5 am, starting Friday, in all the 167 cities and towns of the state.

The state government has also ordered a total ban on all gatherings except weddings and funerals till August 31. All government and private offices will work at 50 per cent capacity till the end of this month, the chief minister announced.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tested negative for the novel coronavirus infection on Thursday. He, however, will be in quarantine for three days as a precautionary measure.

"I have come in contact with many people in the past who have been found to have symptoms of corona. However, I have got my coronavirus test done, which has come negative but as a precaution I am quarantining myself for 3 days. Stay alert, stay safe," he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease. He will be admitted to a hospital in Gurugram. Shekhawat said he underwent tests after feeling unwell and exhibiting certain symptoms, after which he returned a positive result.

HERE ARE THE LIVE UPDATES:

• France opens its doors to Indian students and academics amid the coronavirus pandemic. Seven Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) centres --Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi -- have become operational from August 17 to receive select visa applications.

• Brinton Pharmaceuticals on Thursday said it has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India to launch Favipiravir 400 mg tablets under the brand name Faviton for Rs 79 per tablet. The tablets are indicated for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, Brinton Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.

• Delhi government, on Thursday, said that doubling rate of Covid-19 cases in the national capital has gone up to 101.5 days, as compared to 28.8 days for rest of India. The case fatality rate for the month of August has improved to 1.4 per cent and the recovery rate is now at 90.2 per cent.

• The district magistrate of Agra on Thursday ordered the reopening of all monuments in the city, except the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, from September 1. The two iconic monuments will be allowed to have visitors in the second phase of reopening.

• The second serological survey which was conducted between August 1 to August 7 shows that 29.1% of people have developed antibodies against Covid-19, Delhi's Health Minister Satyendra Jain said today. A total 15,000 samples were collected during the survey, he said. Meanwhile, India on Thursday saw a record spike of 69,652 cases and 977 deaths in the last 24 hours. The Covid-19 tally in the country has now climbed to 28,36,926 including 6,86,395 active cases. The number of discharged patients stands at 20,96,665 while the deaths have risen to 53,866, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

• With a record 9,18,470 tests been being done in a day, the cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in India have reached 3.26 crore even as the national positivity rate has fallen below 8 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said. With constantly increasing testing numbers, there has been a commensurate fall in the positivity rate, the ministry said.

• Recoveries among COVID-19 patients in the country surged to 20,96,664 on Thursday, pushing India's recovery rate to 73.91 per cent, while only 0.28 per cent people of 6,86,395 active cases are on ventilator support, the Union health ministry said. Of the active cases of coronavirus infection, 1.92 per cent are in ICU and 2.62 per cent on oxygen support. The country's case fatality rate has further declined to 1.90 per cent, it said.

• Kozhikode Volunteers Test Positive | At least 26 people, who helped rescue passengers injured in the Air-India Express plane crash in Kozhikode on August 7, have tested positive for COVID-19. District Collector K Gopalakrishnan, Superintendent of Police U Abdul Kareem and 21 officials, including police and fire force personnel, also involved in the rescue operations, had also tested positive.

• 'World Will Never be Same Again': Jaishankar | External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during the 6th Roundtable of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks, said that after the pandemic, the world would never be the same again. "This means new thinking, fresh ideas, more imagination and greater openness, we need to go beyond orthodox approaches," he said.

He said the impact of coronavirus had been beyond collective imagination. "Current estimates put cumulative loss in the range of $5.8 to $8.8 trillion or approximately 6.5 or 9.7% of the global GDP. The contraction of world economy being predicted will surely be largest since great depression," he added.

• The second serological survey which was conducted between 1-7 August revealed that 29.1% of people have developed antibodies against the novel coronavirus. A total of 15,000 samples were collected during the survey, Delhi's Health Minister Satyendra Jain said. He added that there is a possibility that when migrants return, there may be an increase in the number of infections.

• 977 People Died in 24 Hours | India on Thursday saw a spike of 69,652 cases and 977 deaths in the last 24 hours. The Covid-19 tally in the country has now climbed to 28,36,926 including 6,86,395 active cases. The number of cured, discharged or migrated stands at 20,96,665 while the deaths have risen to 53,866, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

• Today's Data Highlights

- India records 69.65k new cases (Total cases rise to 28.37 lakh).

- 9.18 lakh tests were conducted yesterday, which is the highest yet. Total tests stand at 3.27 crore.

- India's recovery rate which was 64.5% at the start of the month, rises to 73.9%. The mortality rate has come down from 2.2% to 1.9% in the same period

- Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh report fall in active cases.

• Spread of Covid-19 in Brazil Could Slow | The spread of Covid-19 in Brazil could be about to slow, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, amid reports the transmission rate has fallen below the crucial level and early signs of a gradual decline in the weekly totals of cases and fatalities. The careful optimism comes despite figures again showing a steady rise in the number of confirmed infections and the death toll in the last 24 hours, cementing Brazil's status as the world's second-biggest COVID-19 hot spot after the United States, Reuters reported.

• South Korea Battles Coronavirus Outbreak in Capital City | South Korean health officials are struggling to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus centered in the capital Seoul, as new cases levelled off but remained in triple digits on Thursday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 288 new cases as of midnight Wednesday, marking at least a week of triple-digit daily increases, Reuters reported. Overall, South Korea has reported 16,346 cases with 307 deaths.