Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India Reports Highest Single-Day Spike of 69,878 Cases, Total Covid-19 Tally Nears 30 Lakh

288 more police personnel found Covid-19 positive and two died in the last 24 hours in Maharashtra. Total number of Corona positive police personnel in Maharashtra reaches 13,468 including 2,478 active cases, 10,852 recoveries and 138 deaths till date: Maharashtra Police.

It is usually a big cultural display on Atham that is being marked on Saturday. The grand opening to the festivities takes place at the Thrikkakara Temple near Tripunithura every year.

Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati Mandal conductes a blood and plasma donation camp in Mumbai while celebrating its Arogya Utsav on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Maharashtra: Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati Mandal is conducting a blood & plasma donation camp in Mumbai while celebrating its Arogya Utsav on the occasion of #GaneshChaturthi.

President of Mandal says, "Due to #COVID19, we are conducting this camp instead of a Ganesh pandal." pic.twitter.com/OVuqA4IIck

— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2020

Rajasthan Reports Over 600 New Cases | Rajasthan reports 612 new Covid-19 positive cases and five deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total cases to 68,566 including 938 deaths, 52,721 recoveries and 14,907 active cases: State Health Department.

Steps to be followed to ensure safety from Covid-19 while handling food delivery packages

Odisha Tally Tops 75,000 | 2,819 new positive cases in Odisha. Total climbs to 75,537 in state. Nine more Covid-19 fatalities in the state take death toll to 399.

Increasing number of Covid-19 testing labs in India

CDC Forecasts up to 2,05,000 Covid-19 Deaths in US by September 12 | The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has forecast up to 2,05,000 coronavirus deaths in the country by September 12. The new national ensemble forecast issued on Friday predicted that 3,700 to 9,600 new Covid-19 deaths will be reported during the week ending September 12, and that 1,87,000 to 2,05,000 overall fatalities will be reported by that date. The states with the highest likelihood of a decrease over the next four weeks include Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina, according to the CDC.

In the last 24 hours, Mathura reported 46 fresh cases of Covid-19 while Agra reported 24, Mainpuri 32, Etah 23, Firozabad 33 and Kasganj 13.

Increasing gap between Covid-19 Recovered and Active cases of India

Recovery Rate Rises to 74.69% | India's Covid-19 recovery rate improves to 74.69% as on August 22.

Pandemic Could be Over in 2 Yrs: WHO | Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic could be over within two years. Addressing a virtual press briefing from Geneva on Friday, the WHO chief said that the Spanish flu of 1918 had also taken two years to overcome, but current advances in technology could enable the world to halt the Covid-19 pandemic 'in a shorter time'. Tedros also responded to a question about corruption linked to personal protective equipment (PPE), which he described as 'criminal'.

Total Covid-19 Cases in India

- 74.69% Cured/Discharged/Migrated (2,222,577)

- 23.43% Active cases (697,330)

- 1.87% Deaths (55,794)

Nepal to Resume Int'l Flights from Sept 1 | The Nepal government has decided to resume international flights from September 1 after nearly six months, says a Cabinet Minister. Nepal had suspended international flights on March 22 in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The country had earlier planned to resume the services from August 17, but it was extended till August 31 amid the resurgence of coronavirus cases.

Weekly Markets to Re-Open in Delhi | Hotels in Delhi will open as per SOPs issued by the central government and weekly markets will begin functioning while maintaining social distancing: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. (Image: ANI)

Over 1,200 New Cases in Delhi | 1,250 new Covid-19 positive cases, 1,082 recoveries and 13 deaths have been recorded in Delhi in the last 24 hours. There are 11,426 active cases. We are trying to minimise the death rate, says Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

Scientists say that while D614G gene mutation is not a major concern, it is essential for the scientific community and governments to continuously track and sequence genomes to monitor the evolution…

Today's Data Highlights

- India conducts a million tests in a day for the first time. 10.23 lakh tests conducted on August 21. Total tests: 3.45 crore

- India moves ahead of Russia in total number of tests. Now No. 3 in the world behind China and USA

- Tests per million population is almost 25k (24.95k tests/million)

- India reports high of 69.88k new cases; also new high in daily recoveries: 63.6k

- West Bengal recoveries cross 1 lakh. Recovery rate 77%.

- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam report dip in active cases

Covid-19 World Update

Tally Nears 30L With Spike of About 70K Cases | Spike of 69,878 cases and 945 deaths reported in India, in the last 24 hours. The Covid-19 tally in the country rises to 29,75,702 including 6,97,330 active cases, 22,22,578 cured/discharged/migrated & 55,794 deaths: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Covid-19 India Update

Corona Facts | What is the age group in which Covid-19 spreads?

The chief minister also requested all religious and community leaders to ask their followers to take all restrictions/precautions as imposed and not to violate the prohibitory orders.

Testing Update | Total number of samples tested up to August 21 is 3,44,91,073 including 10,23,836 samples tested yesterday:  Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Global Cases Near 23 Million | The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 22.8 million, while the deaths have increased to over 7,97,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University. As of today morning, the total number of cases stood at 2,28,64,873 and the fatalities rose to 7,97,787, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update. The US accounted for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 56,21,035 and 1,75,350, followed by Brazil with 35,32,330 infections and India with 29,05,825 cases.

While the US continues to collect information about the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, the intelligence contains indisputable evidence of the local cover-up attempt.

In an another development, a government doctor tested positive for coronavirus at the SMCH after recovering from the disease two-weeks ago.

USFDA-approved Ointment Found to Treat Covid-19 | A US pharma company has successfully tested a Food and Drug Administration-approved over the counter ointment as the first line of defence against the deadly coronavirus that has so far killed over eight lakh people globally. Scientists associated with the project said the FDA-registered non-prescription over the counter (OTC) ointment has been proven to prevent, treat and kill viral infections including coronavirus. As per the lab report states, no infectious virus was detected after 30 seconds of T3X treatment, the pharma company said in a statement.

Do's and Don'ts for sanitation workers during Covid-19 

How to shop groceries safely during Covid-19?

- Keep distance from others

- Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose

- Sanitize the handles of shopping trolleys or baskets