A balloon vendor boy wearing a face mask in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. (AP Photo: Mahesh Kumar A.)Coronavirus India Updates: The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose by 78,357 on Tuesday, taking the country’s Covid-19 count to over 37.6 lakh (37,69,524). The overall tally includes 8,01,282 patients who are undergoing treatment for the disease and 29,019,09 who have recovered. On Tuesday, India reported 1,045 deaths due to the virus, taking the toll to 66,333.
India is reporting the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases in the world. For many days till Monday, the country reported over 75,000 cases. On Monday, however, the figure came down to less than 70,000 cases. This dip is not new. In fact, cases seem to drop every Monday due to lower testing over the weekends, which results in the discovery of fewer infections.
However, India remains behind the United States and Brazil in terms of total number of cases and deaths. The US has over 60 lakh cases and 180,000 deaths, while Brazil has nearly 40 lakh cases and more than 122,000 deaths.
Maharashtra, which has over one-fourth of India’s cases, crossed the 8 lakh mark on Tuesday. The state detected 15,765 new infections, taking its tally to 8,08,306. With 320 deaths, the toll in Maharashtra rose to 24,903. Pune is now ground zero, reporting the highest number of active cases in India. On Tuesday, the city reported 1,738 new cases, taking its tally to 1,73,747.
The top 10 states in India with maximum caseload.
Top India Coronavirus news on September 2:
Goa CM Pramod Sawant tests positive for Covid-19
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced Wednesday he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was in isolation at his residence. Taking to Twitter, Sawant informed: “I wish to inform all that I have been detected Covid-19 positive. I am asymptomatic and hence have opted for home isolation. I shall continue to discharge my duties working from home. Those who have come in my close contract are advised to take the necessary precautions.”
Sawant joins a number of leaders in the state who have contracted the disease. Union Minister Shripad Naik is being treated at a local hospital for Covid-19. Goa’s Chief of Directorate of Health Services Dr Jose D’Sa is also fighting the disease.
A fifth of Chennai was exposed to Covid-19 by July
One-fifth of Chennai has been exposed to the novel coronavirus, according to a sero survey conducted by the National Institute of Epidemiology. The study said “around 80 per cent of the population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection in Chennai”, and there is a “need to understand the reasons for varying seroprevalence across zones to improve our control measures”.
“The reading (inference) is (that) 21.5 per cent of Chennai’s population reached the immunity levels by July-end,” GCC commissioner G Prakash said. “Now, the (immunity) levels will be more and it would also mean (comparatively) lower transmission rate.”
At 23.7 per cent, the female group thus had higher seroprevalence than the male group’s 19.3 per cent, the survey reported.
A health worker takes samples for Covid-19 testing in New Delhi. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
Only 33% of foodgrains allocated for migrants distributed
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced on May 14 that migrants would receive free foodgrain for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ration would be distributed to those who were neither beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) nor had ration cards in the state they were stationed in.
However, data analysed by The Indian Express showed that only 33 per cent of free foodgrains and 56 per cent of free gram (whole) have reached the intended beneficiaries.
Further, till August 31, all the states and Union Territories have been able to distribute only 41 per cent of 6.38 lakh tonnes of foodgrains they had lifted under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package.
India considers extending MGNREGA to cities
The Centre is mulling extending the MGNREGA, the world’s biggest jobs programme, to urban areas due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has rendered millions unemployed.
“The government has been considering this idea since last year… the pandemic gave a push to this discussion,” Sanjay Kumar, a joint secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. He added that it is likely to be rolled out in smaller cities with an initial cost of around Rs 350 billion ($4.8 billion).
Migrant labourers return to their home states, in Lucknow. (Express Photo: Vishal Srivastava)
Kerala FM on GST compensation: ‘Centre should borrow and provide’
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has said states would not give up on the issue of GST compensation as it was their constitutional right. Speaking to The Indian Express, Isaac said the Centre must borrow to make good the shortfall.
“This is all meaningless. Whether the state borrows or the Centre borrows, the macroeconomic impact will be the same. Nobody looks at the fiscal deficit of the Centre and states, they see the combined fiscal deficit. And therefore, impact on the economy will be the same. We have had a 24 per cent decline in GDP and how can anybody think of cutting expenditure. All our budgets have been premised upon 14 per cent increase in the GST and therefore, the moment they say they won’t provide compensation for Covid loss, saying there is no expenditure against Covid, that you are giving a peer stimulus, you are not following a contra-cyclical policy but a pro-cyclical policy. The revenues have come down, therefore, cut your expenditures. This is pro-cyclical. Which government in the world is following that?” he said.