Sixty per cent of the new cases have been reported from only five states.A total of 89,706 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in a span of 24 hours, of which Maharashtra has contributed more than 20,000 and Andhra Pradesh more than 10,000 cases, the government said on Wednesday. Sixty per cent of the new cases have been reported from only five states, it said.
Over 11.54 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in a span of 24 hours, taking India’s cumulative tests to over 5.18 crore so far, while during the same period, nearly 75,000 people recuperated from the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 33,98,844 in the country, the Centre said.
The number of people recovered from COVID-19 in India has surged to 33,98,844, further improving the recovery rate to 77.77 per cent, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.69 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said.
Here are some interesting stories from across the country during Unlock 4.0.
‘Body’ lying on roadside in Ghaziabad creates panic, turns out to be sleeping man
A man sleeping on the roadside inside a tarpaulin sheet was mistaken for a corpse in Ghaziabad. A video of the bizarre incident, which has now gone viral on several social media platforms, shows a crowd gathering near a body covered with a white sheet at a busy road in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
Assuming it to be a corpse, the local administration was called, only to find out that the person presumed dead was just taking a nap. The 29-second video concludes with the man waking up and walking away from the crowd.
Watch the video here:
A man sleeping on road side was mistaken as dead body caused panic in Ghaziabad…लोग चैन से सोने भी नहीं देते. 😀 pic.twitter.com/UPMbeK9Csr
— Saurabh Trivedi (@saurabh3vedi) September 8, 2020
Back on Track
While trains services are likely to resume operations from September 14, the state government and Kolkata Metro authorities said e-passes would be mandatory for entering stations. (Express photo: Partha Paul)
Facing acute distress due to pandemic, Jammu businesses offering wedding services ask for govt help
Roop Lal has for years made a living providing bands and horse-drawn carriages for wedding processions. With a severe downturn in the wedding market since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the 46-year-old says the past six months have been the worst phase of his life.
“Only I and my god know how I managed to feed my wife and three daughters besides half a dozen horses since March, despite being rendered jobless (by the pandemic),” Lal told PTI.
He said the nightmare of having no source of income was still not over as his business is unlikely to pick up with the government allowing only 50 people at a wedding ceremony, even as every other sector has started working partially or fully after the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Sitting in a government-owned field for wedding band businesses at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu along with his 75-year-old father Buwa Dutta and younger brother Sonu Kumar who have their own business in the same field, Lal said Rs 200 to Rs 250 is the daily maintenance cost of each horse to keep them in good health.
He said without government help, he and many others like him would find it very difficult to survive.
Karnataka to scale down Mysore Dasara celebrations
In wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Karnataka government Tuesday decided to make the famous Mysore Dasara celebrations a low-key event this year.
In a high-level meeting attended by all three Deputy CMs, other ministers, and top government officials, Chief Minister Yediyurappa said: “It has been unanimously decided to hold the Dasara celebrations in Mysuru in a simple manner. While the tradition will be upheld, the popular food mela, Yuva Dasara, sports meet, and other cultural events will not take place this time in view of Covid-19.”
A key attraction of the festival, the Jumbo Savari— a grand procession of elephants carrying idols of deities, including Sri Chamundeshwari, from Mysuru Palace to Bannimantap Grounds — will also be restricted this time, Tourism Minister C T Ravi said.
“The number of elephants will be restricted to five and the procession will take place within the palace premises and not through the main streets of the city. However, the important circles in the city will be illuminated using electric lights for the celebrations,” he said. The procession takes place on the day of Vijayadashami or Dussehra, when the 10-day festival culminates.
A peek into the future
Metro employees at work a day before the Blue Line of the Delhi metro resumes service, at Yamuna Bank Metro Station on Tuesday. The Delhi Metro was closed for over 170 days due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Cops assaulted during drive against people without masks
Two separate incidents of assaults on police were reported in Pune on Monday during the ongoing drive against those found without masks in public places in the city.
In the first incident that took place on Satara Road area at 11.30 am, two persons allegedly manhandled and verbally abused two on-duty constables who had stopped their bike because they were not wearing masks. The two men were arrested later.
In the second incident, two persons were arrested for assaulting a police constable in Koregaon Park area. The duo pushed the constable and even thrashed and kicked him, when they were stopped for not wearing masks. They were also arrested later.