The Punjab government on Wednesday said those flying in from abroad with up to 96-hour-old COVID negative certificates for themselves can now go for home quarantine in the state. International travellers, who get themselves tested on arrival at the airport, can also go home for quarantine if found negative, as part of the Union government's new directives, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said. He said Punjab is currently at the 17th position in the country in terms of COVID cases. The CM said after the decline in testing due to rumour-mongering and fake propaganda, the number of COVID tests has risen to around 28,000 per day again amid the police crackdown on miscreants spreading misinformation in the state.

Surat reported 266 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest in the state, which raised the case tally in the district to 23,424, the Gujarat health department said. The COVID-19 death toll in the district rose to 910 with four more patients dying, it said.

At the same time, 276 patients were discharged from hospitals in the district during the day, the department said in a release. While Surat city reported 176 recoveries against 174 new cases on Wednesday, the rural parts reported 100 recoveries compared to 92 new cases.

Himachal Pradesh continues to implement its institutional quarantine mechanism and the government continues to ensure the treatment of each Covid patient even though these practices have eroded in other states, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told the state Legislative Assembly on the third day of the monsoon session here Wednesday.

“Those returning home are still being quarantined at home or at a centre to control the spread of infection. Himachal has reported fewer cases and deaths than many smaller states such as Tripura and Puducherry,” he said while giving his reply to a Covid-related discussion which began on Monday following an adjournment motion by the Congress. The state has reported 60 deaths and nearly 8,000 cases so far.

The state's own revenue during the first five months of this fiscal has dropped by Rs 1,312 crore or 30 per cent as compared to last year, and the state took a loan of Rs 500 crore during this period while paying off previous debts worth Rs 2,285 crore, Thakur said.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest single-day spike of 1,617 new COVID-19 cases, taking the union territory's infection tally to 47,542, officials said on Wednesday. "The UT recorded 1,617 fresh cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. This is the biggest single-day spike in new infections in Jammu and Kashmir," the officials said. It was for the seventh time in as many days that the number of new COVID-19 infections have crossed 1,000 mark in a 24-hour period, they said. Among the new cases, 894 were reported from the Jammu region and 723 from the Kashmir valley, the officials said.

The national capital recorded 4,039 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike so far, as the tally breached the two lakh-mark, while the death toll mounted to 4,638, authorities said. This is the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic that over 4,000 cases have been recorded in Delhi in a day.

The previous highest single-day spike of 3,947 cases was recorded on June 23. Twenty fatalities have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department. The tally of active cases rose to 23,733 from 22,377 the previous day, it said. The death toll from COVID-19 in Delhi stood at 4,618 on Tuesday.

Amidst grave allegations of mismanagement at the state-run apex COVID Hospital - Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital here, the Tripura Human Rights Organization ( THRO) on Wednesday staged a silent protest, claimed the government has failed to manage the pandemic crisis and demanded the government to put the house back in order.

According to the latest report, 160 people have succumbed to the coronavirus pandemic out of 16,157 people tested positive with the virus till date.

Among these, relatives of many deceased persons have raised allegations of mismanagement, lack of oxygen support in hospitals, negligence of duties of medical officials and personnel, purportedly leading to the deaths. On the issue, THRO chief and human rights activist, lawyer Purushottam Roy Barman organized a silent protest and alleged that the state government has failed to improve healthcare infrastructures for COVID-19 treatment in the past six months.

"There is no proper treatment for Covid-19 patients at GBP hospital. We don't want any citizen should put their lives at risk due to mismanagement of the health administration. We demand the government to upgrade infrastructures of the COVID care centres, provide cash for Covid-19 patients who are in home isolation and appoint more health staff and workers," Roy Barman said. (With inputs from Debraj Deb)

Rapper Raftaar on Wednesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently home quarantined. The 31-year-old rapper said he was supposed to start shooting for the latest season of MTV's reality show "Roadies" and therefore got himself tested for coronavirus.

"I wanted to give you an update. I had to go for 'Roadies' and before that I had to test for COVID-19. Two of my tests were negative, but the result which came today was positive.

"BMC has asked me to self-isolate. So I am home quarantining," Raftaar shared in a video posted on his Instagram Story. The rapper said he is awaiting the next test as he believe that his COVID-19 diagnosis could have been an "error".

Despite a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital over the last fortnight, the Delhi government has ruled out the possibility of another lockdown. Health Minister Satyendar Jain was quoted as saying by PTI that the economy “cannot be kept shut for eternity” as the livelihoods of millions depend on it. The minister also said that “extreme caution and not panic” should be the response of the city, and people should exhibit greater alertness and responsibility in public places to deal with this health crisis.

In the first eight days of the month, Delhi registered 22,378 fresh coronavirus cases, including 3,609 fresh coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day spike in 76 days, as the city moved towards two lakh-mark with over 4,618 deaths due to COVID-19 so far. Amidst an atmosphere of anxiety due to the massive surge in Delhi, especially after the coronavirus cases were steadily declining in August, Jain said, "this is once in a century pandemic after the Spanish Flu of 1918. And, people will have to learn to live with COVID-19 as it is not going away so soon". (PTI)

Southeast Asia’s top diplomats held their annual talks by video Wednesday to discuss the immense crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and rising tensions in the South China Sea amid the escalating rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meetings, delayed by a month, were held online due to continuing health risks posed by COVID-19. The 10-nation bloc’s foreign ministers were to meet Asian and Western counterparts, including those from the U.S. and China, later in the week, capped by an annual security forum.

Vietnam is hosting the talks as this year’s chairman of the diverse group. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for regional solidarity amid the headwinds in an austere opening ceremony attended by a few dozen diplomats in the capital, Hanoi.

“The valuable fruits of our cooperation are being tested in an environment full of volatility and unprecedented challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic,” Phuc said.

While AstraZeneca announced a temporary halt late on Tuesday to the global trials of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford due to a serious adverse event in the United Kingdom, recruitment of participants in India had already been put on hold last week after the first 100 participants were administered the shot.

The adverse event seen in the UK case has not been noted in any of the Indian participants so far. However, it is likely to be taken up by a safety expert group which will review information collected from the first set of participants in the human clinical trials in India. Read more here

The Rajiv Chowk metro station, one of the biggest interchange facilities in Delhi-NCR, witnessed a slight increase in the number of commuters as the Blue Line resumed Wednesday, but food outlets struggled to find customers amid the COVID-19 scare. The Delhi Metro began operations with the Yellow Line after remaining shut since March 22. However, fewer people travelled on the Metro on the first day. The trains are now operating for four hours each during morning and evening. On Wednesday, the interchange facilities began on Blue and Yellow Lines at nine stations. An employee of a food outlet at Rajiv Chowk metro station said it opened on Monday.

Union minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world the importance of protecting precious health gains, and stressed on investing in health and building a robust healthcare delivery system with a special focus on rural areas.

Representing India at the 73rd session of WHO southeast Asia Region, he highlighted the giant strides the country made under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protect the lives and livelihood of its citizens from the pandemic. "So far the public health achievements made in the region have been laying the foundation of a bright future for our people. However, COVID-19 has turned the clock back years if not decades in the fight against infectious diseases.

"Data suggests that COVID-19 has already derailed a lot of our efforts and is taking us back to where we were 20 years ago. This is a stark reality and we need to take cognizance. On our part, we left no stones unturned to contain and mitigate the virus. I would say India has responded well to the challenges posed by the pandemic," he said at the virtual session.

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday expressed happiness after six members of the dwindling Great Andamanese tribe, who tested positive for coronavirus, recovered and returned to their island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. 'It is indeed my pleasure to inform you that six members of a vulnerable tribal group from Andaman and Nicobar Islands who tested positive and were undergoing treatment, have recovered and returned to their Island. God bless them with many more years of healthy life,' he posted on Twitter.

It is indeed my proud pleasure to inform that six members of a vulnerable Tribal group from Andaman and Nicobar Islands who tested positive and were undergoing treatment, have recovered and returned back to their Island. God Bless them with many more years of healthy life.

— Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) September 8, 2020

There are only 59 surviving members of the Great Andamanese tribe, all of them on Strait Island in the archipelago. After six members of the tribe, who had travelled to Port Blair, the regions' capital, for work, tested positive for the virus, a health team travelled to Strait Island last month to carry out tests of the remaining members. Out of 37 samples tested, four more from the tribe were found to be positive, Health Department Deputy Director and Nodal Officer Avijit Roy had told PTI.

A doctor's prescription for COVID-19 testing would not be required in the national capital from now with the Delhi government issuing an order on Wednesday in this regard.  "In continuation of various measures undertaken by the Delhi government to augment COVID-19 testing and to ensure that it is more accessible than ever, it has been decided that henceforth there will be no requirement of a prescription from a qualified medical practitioner for COVID-19 testing in Delhi," the order read.

However, testing will be conducted in accordance with the strategy/advisory issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and as per the orders issued by the Delhi government from time to time, it said.

One more person died of coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 60, while 49 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 7,881. According to health department data, the fatality was reported from Sirmaur.

Solan accounts for 15 of the total COVID-19 deaths in the state, followed by 11 in Kangra, eight in Mandi, seven in Shimla, five each in Hamirpur, Chamba and Una, and four in Sirmaur.  The number of active cases in the state stood at 2,300, Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said.  Of the 49 fresh cases, 36 were reported from Chamba, six from Kullu, five from Shimla and one each from Bilaspur and Mandi, he said. Meanwhile, 64 patients -- 45 in Solan, 18 in Hamirpur and one in Bilaspur -- recovered from the virus.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday called for increasing contact tracing of coronavirus patients in Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad. According to the health department, the state reported 6,743 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, out of which, 887 cases were found in Lucknow, 431 in Kanpur Nagar, 306 cases in Allahabad, among other places.'Contact tracing has an important role in controlling the spread of COVID-19 infection. This work should be conducted in a systematic and effective manner. In Lucknow, Prayagraj and Kanpur, contact tracing should be increased,' a statement quoted the chief minister as saying.He was speaking at a COVID-19 review meeting. He said the state government was committed to protect the people from the infection and provide better treatment to all.

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 have recuperated from the disease taking the total number of recoveries to 33,98,844 in the country, the Centre said on Wednesday. 

Timely diagnosis through higher levels of countrywide testing has furnished valuable opportunities to isolate or hospitalize the positive cases adequately in advance for appropriate treatment. This in turn has facilitated lower mortality rates (1.69 per cent as on date) and speedy recovery, the Union Health Ministry underlined. "India is one of the few countries that have reported very high numbers of daily testing. The daily testing capacity has already crossed 11 lakh," it highlighted.

With 11,54,549 tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours on Tuesday, India's cumulative tests have reached 5,18,04,677. (PTI)

With more than 3,600 new cases on Tuesday, Delhi is now nearing its all-time high of novel coronavirus cases detected in a single day. That was achieved way back on June 23, when 3,947 cases were discovered. Considering the recent upward trend, the national capital looks poised to touch a new high in the next couple of days.

The city also looks set to cross the 2-lakh figure on Wednesday, close on the heels of Pune which had reached there last weekend. Pune is still reporting more number of new cases every day than Delhi, but the gap is closing, and current trends show that Delhi might go ahead within two to three days. Read more here

Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus crisis in India and other parts of the world on Wednesday.

• Blue Line, Pink Line of Delhi Metro resume services after 171-day COVID hiatus.
• Single-day spike of 89,706 infections pushes India's COVID-19 tally to 43,70,128.
• Odisha's COVID-19 tally jumps to 1,35,130 with 3,748 new cases.
• Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine trial paused after participant illness.
• UK PM plans law banning large gatherings as COVID-19 cases rise.
• Pakistan reports 426 new COVID-19 infections; national tally reaches 299,659.