Workers sanitize an area after health workers take swab samples for Covid-19 testing in New Delhi on September 8, 2020. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)Coronavirus India News Live Updates: 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.
The number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 43,70,129, after the country detected 89,706 additional cases in the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday. With 1,115 deaths, the toll now stands at 73,890. The states with the highest number of Covid-19 cases are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
Except in containment zones, the Union Health Ministry has allowed schools to reopen across the country from September 21. The gradual resumption will begin with students of Classes 9 to 12, in a staggered manner. The advisory states that attendance will be voluntary and “only to seek guidance from teachers”. Online classes will continue.
Just a few days ago, India became the second country with the largest caseload, after the United States, which has 6,326,510 cases. India is followed by Brazil (4,162,073), Russia (1,032,354) and Peru (691,575). However, in terms of deaths due to Covid-19, India ranks third after the US (189,637) and Brazil (127,464). There are over 27.47 million cases of Covid-19 across the world, and 893,290 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
A healthcare worker collects swab samples for Covid-19 testing at a construction site in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo: Nirmal Harindran)
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.
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.
Covid-19 safety protocols like maintaining adequate social distancing and wearing masks were flouted in Indore Tuesday when a huge procession (Kalash Yatra) was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to honour Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Tulsi Silawat, who is contesting from the Sanwer constituency in the upcoming State Assembly bypoll. Watch video:
Arrangements are made ahead of the monsoon session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The one-day session Wednesday will be adjourned after obituary references and placing of a few reports. The decision to reduce the session to one day from two days was taken at an all-party meeting Tuesday. It was initially to be held on September 9 and 10, but will now only be held on September 9. (Express Photos: Partha Paul)
Amidst concerns that normal regulatory processes were being by-passed to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine, nine major pharmaceutical companies promised to “adhere to high scientific and ethical standards” in development and manufacture of a coronavirus vaccine. The nine companies are AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, BioNTech, and Merck.
The companies said they were pledging to “always make the safety and well-being of vaccinated individuals” their top priority, and that they will seek an approval for their vaccines only “after demonstrating safety and efficacy through a phase-3 clinical study”. Read more here
The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Tuesday said that among the labourers who have returned to Surat from other states, only those who were infected with Covid-19 and have developed antibodies can work at the textile and diamond factories. Labourers who are physically fit will have to stay at home under quarantine for seven days. So far, over 100 labourers, who have returned from their home states, had tested positive at the Surat Railway station and bus depots.
Talking to the Indian Express, SMC Commissioner B N Pani said, "We have deployed our staff at the railway stations and entry and exit points of the city. These staffers had been told to screen the labourers. Those labourers who are infected at their home state and had undergone treatment can only work in the factories. Such labourers have to show their treatment papers or Covid-19 test reports. They also have to undergo antibody tests. For those who are not infected and are found physically fit, have to remain at home under quarantine for seven days. Later they have to undergo rapid antigen test and if they turned up positive, they have to get hospitalised." Read Kamal Saiyed's report
The Taj Mahal will open for the public again on September 21, Vasant Swarnkar, Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India’s Agra Circle, has confirmed to The Indian Express. The Taj Mahal was closed six months ago due to the pandemic. As a precautionary measure, only 5,000 people will be allowed to visit the monument a day. “Masks are mandatory to enter the monuments and all tickets must be purchased online. Ticket counters won’t open,” Swarnkar said. Read Divya A's report
The coronavirus crisis will not end any time soon, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. 'We were able to contain the number of cases between March and May, but it does not seem like the pandemic will be conquered in the near future. Even the World Health Organization has indicated that it won's end soon,' he said. Thackeray was speaking in the Legislative Assembly before the conclusion of the curtailed monsoon session. Maharashtra has 9.23 lakh Covid-19 cases. Read more here
There has been a spike in the number of distress emails received by Connecting Trust, a volunteer- based listening service in Pune, which aims to prevent suicides through its distress helpline programme. While the programme received, on an average, 15 new distress mails per month prior to the pandemic, it has been getting as many as 30 such emails in the last few months.
September 10 is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day and this year’s theme is ‘Working Together To Prevent Suicide’. According to the World Health Organisation, 800,000 people die by suicide every year. Every 40 seconds, a person dies by suicide. Read more here
Two days after the Yellow Line and Gurgaon's Rapid Metro reopened, the Blue and Pink lines resumed operations Wednesday. Trains will operate in two batches, from 7-11 am and 4-8 pm. Nearly 15,500 passengers rode the metro on Monday, and nearly 17,600 on Tuesday, according to PTI. Services have been closed since March 22 due to the pandemic.
A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that convalescent plasma therapy is not beneficial in reducing mortality or progression to severe Covid-19. "The PLACID trial results indicate that there was no difference in 28-day mortality or progression to severe disease among moderately ill COVID-19 patients treated with CP along with BSC compared to BSC alone," the study said.
United Nations Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric Tuesday said the agency was supporting the "(Indian) government-led health and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic". The statement came as India's Covid-19 cases crossed 43 lakh. Dujarric elaborated on how several agencies had come forward to assist the government, including the World Health Organization, which is helping in contact tracing of 8 million cases, the UN Children's Fund, which was trained 2.2 million health workers, the UN Development Programme which has helped 100,000 migrants and UN Population Fund which has trained 5,300 sanitation workers on safe waste disposal.
"The UN in India is also supporting the Government's anti-stigma campaign, with over 170 million social media impressions in August alone," Dujarric added.
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday released guidelines for schools to reopen from September 21. Some of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) will include:
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