Covid roundup: India’s record weekend tally, 4th reinfection case in Gujarat & more

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Sep 8, 2020, 20:31 IST

NEW DELHI: As Covid-19 infections surged to an unprecedented high in India over the weekend, the country moved to the centre stage of the global pandemic, accounting for over 40% of all cases recorded worldwide on Sunday.
Cases in India on both Saturday and Sunday were higher than those recorded in the US and Brazil, the other two worst-hit countries, put together.

Covid-19: India’s weekend tally higher than US and Brazil put together

Here are the top developments:
India

The number of Covid-19 cases per million population in the country stands at 3,102 and it is among the lowest in the world, said Union health ministry on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the number of Covid-19 cases per million population in Brazil and US is 6 times that of India.

India's Covid-19 cases per million population among lowest in world: Health ministry

Five states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu - account for nearly 70 per cent of deaths due to Covid-19 in the country, Union health ministry said on Tuesday. The government said 37.14 per cent deaths have been reported from Maharashtra, 10.89 per cent from Tamil Nadu, 8.98 per cent from Karnataka, 6.17 per cent from Andhra Pradesh and 5.46 per cent from Uttar Pradesh.

Five states account for 70% of Covid-19 deaths, 62% of active cases: Health Ministry

With a spike of 75,809 new cases in the last 24 hours, India's Covid-19 tally surged to 42,80,423, informed the Union ministry of health and family welfare. As many as 1,133 deaths were reported during the 24 hours. The total case tally stands at 42,80,423 including 8,83,697 active cases, 33,23,951 cured/discharged/migrated and 72,775 deaths.

With spike of 75,809 cases, India's Covid-19 tally reaches 42,80,423

India's cumulative tests for detection of Covid-19 have surpassed five crore, while tests per million have witnessed a rise from 6,396 on July 1 to 36,703 as of date, the Union health ministry said. Aggressive and widespread testing have essayed an important role in India's fight against the Covid pandemic, the ministry said.
In a first, a Covid patient on ventilator support in Kolkata was airlifted to a Chennai hospital on Sunday morning in a Covid-safe German isolation pod tucked inside an air ambulance.

First pod-equipped air ambulance takes Covid patient from Kolkata to Chennai

States

Gujarat: The Ahmedabad civic authorities announced fourth confirmed case of Covid-19 re-infection — this time a 33-year-old male resident doctor at the LG Hospital. TOI had earlier reported three confirmed cases of re-infection that included a 60-year-old homemaker from Behrampura and two doctors — one each from SVP Hospital and GCRI on Civil Hospital campus.

City records fourth case of Covid re-infection

Delhi: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said he has directed health minister Satyendar Jain that doctor's prescription should not be asked for Covid-19 testing in Delhi. Earlier, the Delhi HC ordered that doctor's prescription will not be mandatory from now for those going voluntarily for RT/PCR test to detect Covid-19 infection in the national capital.
UP: The Uttar Pradesh government revoked its order of mandatory closure of markets on Sunday, reverting to the pre-coronavirus lockdown arrangement. CM Yogi Adityanath in a review meeting said the markets will now close as per their earlier schedule instead of the weekly closure on Sunday.
Maharashtra: In a bid to boost the quality of care in its jumbo Covid-19 facilities, the BMC will tie up with nearby private hospitals and send superspecialists from its medical schools to help out. The new arrangement will be ready to be rolled out within a few days.

BMC to rope in private hospitals and its senior doctors to prop jumbo Covid-19 facilities

Meghalaya: Forty-two more persons tested positive for Covid-19 in Meghalaya, taking the state's tally to 3,076. There are now 1,343 active cases in the state.
J&K: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its biggest single-day spike of 1,355 Covid-19 cases, pushing the Union territory's infection tally to 45,925, while the death toll from the disease rose to 815 with 14 fatalities in the past 24 hours. Among the new cases, 785 were from the Jammu region, while 570 were from the Kashmir valley.
Karnataka: Government doctors in Karnataka have threatened to go on strike from September 15 if their demand for salaries on par with the Central government health scheme scale were not met.
Telangana: Days after the passing out parade of the 2018 batch probationary IPS officers, 80 staff members of the SVP National Police Academy tested positive for Covid-19. All these employees were placed under quarantine.

Eighty NPA staff test positive for Covid-19

Rajasthan: Rajasthan recorded seven more fatalities due to Covid-19, taking the death toll to 1,158, while 721 new cases pushed the state's tally to 93,257. Of the total cases, 15,632 people are under treatment and 75,223 people have been discharged.

HP: Three more people died of coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking the death toll to 58, while 43 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 7,704. The number of active cases in the state has also climbed to 2,267.
Andamans: Twenty-seven more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the coronavirus tally in the Union territory to 3,359. Of the 27 new cases, 20 were detected during local contact tracing and seven were airport arrivals.
Puducherry: Puducherry continued to see an upward trend in Covid-19 deaths as 12 more people died of the deadly virus, raising the toll in the Union territory to 337. 440 new cases of the viral infection were reported, pushing the overall tally to 17,749.
Odisha: Odisha's Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,31,382 with 3,490 people testing positive for the disease. Thirteen more fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 569.
Tripura: At least 628 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Tripura, raising the tally in the state to 16,157. The death toll rose to 152 after three more people succumbed to the infection.
Tamil Nadu: The Covid-19 death toll in Tamil Nadu crossed the 8,000 mark with 87 more fatalities reported, while 5,684 fresh cases took the tally to 4,74,940. The toll now stands at 8,012.
Bihar: As many as 1,667 new Covid-19 cases were reported from Bihar. The active cases in the State have risen to 17,787. As many as 1,133 deaths were reported during the 24 hours.

World

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 893,524 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 27,387,170 cases have been registered. Of these, at least 18,115,200 are now considered recovered.
President Donald Trump has hinted that the US could approve a coronavirus vaccine in October, ahead of the November election, as Joe Biden demanded transparency from the government as it studies the shots.

Trump hints at Covid vaccine ‘surprise’ as Biden demands transparency

Nepal's coronavirus caseload crossed the 48,000-mark with 902 new cases in the past 24 hours. Nepal's Covid-19 tally has soared to 48,138. The ministry has confirmed six more deaths, taking the country's coronavirus death toll to 306.

Siberia's Vector virology institute completed early-stage human trials, known as Phase II, of a second potential Russian vaccine against Covid-19, the state consumer safety watchdog was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Russia completes early trials of second potential Covid-19 vaccine: Report

Senior ministers in the UK have joined leading scientists to express concern as the number of coronavirus cases reflected a rise in the country over the past few days. UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said that the country was entering a “period of particular concern” after the government's senior scientific advisers gave stark warnings over the rise in cases. His remarks came after 2,948 new UK cases were recorded on Monday.
Pakistan reported 330 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 299,233, according to official data. Five more virus-related fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 6,350.
Egypt has detected more than 100,000 Covid-19 infections and reported 5,541 deaths from the virus disease, the health ministry said. The total number of reported cases reached 100,041, including 79,008 recoveries.