“Our COVID-19 numbers are rising — we haven’t stabilised yet. The pandemic is still on and a large population is still vulnerable,” said NITI Aayog member (Health) V.K. Paul, at a press conference organised by the Health Ministry on Tuesday.
He said Oxford University’s vaccine candidate, called ‘Covishield’ in India, will soon go into Phase 3 trial in 17 sites across India, including Pune and Delhi.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Case filed in Assam against hospitals turning patients away
Assam’s leader of the Opposition and senior Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia has gone to court against hospitals refusing to treat patients if they do not produce COVID-19 negative report.
The Gauhati High Court has fixed October 19 as the date of hearing.
Mr. Saikia said in his petition that many hospitals in Assam had been turning critically ill patients away due to non-production of COVID-19 certificate.
“Such people also include accident-related critically injured cases, in which urgent medical care is vital and of paramount importance. Resultantly, many people succumbed to their injuries sustained during the accidents. Other vulnerable patients like pregnant women, cardiac patients, etc., are also not admitted in the hospital without the non-COVID medical certificate,” the petition said.
Plasma therapy not beneficial in reducing mortality, shows ICMR study
Use of convalescent plasma therapy in coronavirus-infected patients does not help in reducing mortality or progression to severe COVID-19, a multi-centric study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and has now appeared on medRxiv, a preprint server.
The ‘open-label parallel-arm phase II multicentre randomized controlled trial’ (PLACID Trial) was conducted across 39 public and private hospitals across India between April 22 and July 14 to find effectiveness of convalescent plasma (CP) for the treatment of COVID-19, it said.
The National Task Force for COVID-19, a committee formed by the ICMR to respond to the pandemic, has reviewed and approved this study, it said.
Namma Metro services resume on Green Line
Two days after resuming Namma Metro services on the Purple Line, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) started running trains on the Green Line (Yelechenahalli to Nagasandra) on Wednesday morning. As announced earlier, trains are operated in two shifts from 8 a.m. to 11a.m. and 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Resumption of services on the green line also received poor response in the morning hours.
Mr A S Shankar, Executive Director (operations) of BMRCL said, “Trains will be operated in two shifts for six hours. Total of 96 round trips will be operated during these hours. Response received is too low. We are hoping that in the coming days ridership will increase gradually.”
AstraZeneca Pharma shares tank over 13% on COVID-19 vaccine study roadblock
Shares of AstraZeneca Pharma on Wednesday plunged over 13% after its COVID-19 vaccine study was paused following a participant’s unexplained illness.
The stock tumbled 13.40% to Rs. 3,650 on the BSE. On the NSE, it tanked 12.31% to Rs 3,710.
As per reports, late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot.
- PTI
1,000s flee fire at migrant camp on virus lockdown in Greece
Thousands of migrants fled a camp under COVID-19 lockdown after multiple fires gutted much of the site on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said early Wednesday.
Some 12,500 people were living at the Moria camp and the surrounding area, where additional restrictions have been imposed over the past week after a Somali resident tested positive for the coronavirus.
"The fire spread inside and outside of the camp and has destroyed it ... There are more than 12,000 migrants being guarded by police on a highway," Stratos Kytelis, mayor of the island’s main town, Mylinene, told private Skai radio.
“It is a very difficult situation because some of those who are outside will include people who are positive (for the coronavirus).” There were no reports of injuries.
- AP
Dr. Reddy’s launches Remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment in India
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. on Wednesday announced the launch of Remdesivir, meant for treatment of COVID-19 patients, under a brand name ‘Redyx’ in India.
According to a press release from the drug maker, the launch is part of the licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) that grants Dr. Reddy's the right to register, manufacture and sell Remdesivir, a potential treatment for COVID-19, in 127 countries including India.
Remdesivir is approved by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted emergency use in India for the treatment of Covid-19 patients hospitalized with severe symptoms.
“Dr. Reddy’s Redyx is available in strength of 100 mg vial,” it said.
- PTI
City Police Commissioner creates awareness on wearing masks
City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal accompanied by senior police officials on Tuesday inspected Marina, Elliots Beach and other places to ensure public maintain COVID-19 norms.
Mr. Aggarwal, Additional Commissioners R. Dhinakaran and M. Kannan stopped the motorists who were on the roads without wearing masks and people standing in bus stops. They advised them on the necessity of wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and personal hygiene and distributed awareness pamphlets to the public.
Lockdown was ‘third attack on unorganised sector’, says Rahul Gandhi
In the fourth and final part of the video series on Indian economy, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “misled the country” by saying that the fight against COVID-19 pandemic would be won in 21 days, instead in those 21 days the “backbone of the unorganised sector was broken”.
The unplanned lockdown which was imposed without prior notice was the “third attack” on the unorganised sector, he said. In the earlier parts of this series, he listed out “demonetisation” and “faulty implementation of the GST” as the other reasons that led to a collapse of the unorganised sector.
South Goa district hospital to treat COVID-19 patients
The Goa health department has decided to convert the South Goa District Hospital into a facility for COVID-19 patients, state Health Minister Vishwanjit Rane said.
The hospital located in Margao town will start operating as a COVID-19 treatment facility with 250 beds from Friday, Rane said on Tuesday.
The decision has been taken in the wake of rise in number of COVID-19 cases in the coastal State.
- PTI
India reports 89,706 fresh cases
With 89,706 infections being reported in a day, India’s COVID-19 tally went past 43 lakh, while 33,98,844 people have recuperated from the disease so far pushing the national recovery rate to 77.77% on Wednesday, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 43,70,128, while the death toll rose to 73,890 with 1,115 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.69%.
There are 8,97,394 active cases of COVID-19, which is 20.53% of the total caseload in the country, the data stated.
- PTI
ASEAN talks tackle pandemic, sea feud amid US-China rivalry
Southeast Asia’s top diplomats are holding 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 have been delayed by a month and were being held online due to continuing health risks posed by COVID-19.
- AP
UN agencies supporting Indian govt-led efforts to deal with coronavirus pandemic: UN spokesperson
As the number of COVID-19 cases in India soars to over 4.2 million, several UN agencies are supporting the government-led health and socioeconomic efforts to help deal with the outbreak, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing on Tuesday.
It is supporting the government-led health and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic , with over 4.2 million confirmed cases to date.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has assisted with contact tracing of 8 million cases, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has trained 2.2 million health workers in Infection Prevention and Control, reaching 650 million children and families with life-saving information. The UN team has also supplied personal protective equipment.
With a view to reach the most vulnerable, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) helped 100,000 migrant workers access social protection and reached 100,000 sanitation workers with safety kits and 4,000 metric tonnes of dry rations, Mr. Dujarric said.
The UN in India is also supporting the Government’s anti-stigma campaign, with over 170 million social media impressions in August alone, he added.
- PTI
U.S. revises travel advisory for Pakistan, places it at Level 3
The United States has revised its travel advisory for Pakistan, bringing it down to Level 3 category of ‘reconsider travel’ from the previous Level 4 of ‘do not travel’ category.
India, which was placed in the Level 4 category on August 6 due to the increased cases of the novel coronavirus, continues to be in the “do not travel” advisory of the State Department.
“Reconsider travel to Pakistan due to COVID-19 and terrorism,” the State Department said in its latest travel advisory on Tuesday, replacing the August 10 travel advisory that had placed Pakistan in the highest Level 4 category.
- PTI
More Indians in Singapore returning home due to job losses: Envoy
More and more Indian workers are returning home as Singapore businesses cut down on workforce following the severe impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, an official said.
“On an average, about 100 Indian nationals in Singapore continue to register daily with the High Commission here for flights back home, with over 11,000 having registered so far,” Indian High Commissioner P. Kumaran said on Wednesday.
Special flights have been arranged as part of the ongoing Vande Bharat Mission and, wherever necessary, more flights are added to help meet the high demand for some destinations to help Indian nationals return home as they have lost their jobs, or going back for medical treatment or family-distress situation, he said.
Blue, Pink lines of Delhi Metro resume services after 171-day hiatus
Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Pink Line resumed services with curtailed operation timings on Wednesday after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
Trains are to operate in batches of four-hour each from 7 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. in the first stage.
On Monday, the Delhi Metro had resumed services with curtailed operation of the Yellow Line, since the closure of the urban transporter on March 22.
As testing crosses 40,000, Delhi records 3,609 cases
With the Capital reporting a record number of COVID-19 tests, 3,609 new cases were added to its tally in the past 24 hours — taking the total number of cases to 1,97,135 on Tuesday.
This is the highest number of cases reported in the city in 77 days; but 45,797 tests were done in the past 24 hours, which is the highest since the virus outbreak.
This is the first time the number of tests has crossed the 40,000 mark in the city.
Social gatherings above six people to be banned in England
Tough new lockdown restrictions on social gatherings across the whole of England are to be announced on Wednesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to control a spike in COVID-19 infections.
From September 14, groups of more than six people will be banned from meeting and fined if they fail to comply.
The number of cases in Britain has begun to rise sharply again in recent days. Although testing is more widespread and the number of people in hospital is well below the peak of the outbreak, ministers fear it is beginning to slip out of control.
Opening places of worship with guidelines not practical: Maharashtra
The Maharashtra government has told the Bombay High Court that opening of religious places, even with guidelines, is not a “practical” solution and it has decided against it till the COVID-19 situation improves.
The State government on Tuesday was responding to a public interest litigation filed by a local NGO seeking direction that temples in the State be opened for worshippers.
Document verification posing hurdles for CET candidates
The document verification process is turning out to be a difficult task for students though the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has stated that all documents of the candidates can be uploaded online for their Common Entrance Test (CET) counselling. Students point out they still have to travel and make visits to multiple offices to obtain these documents.
Out of several documents that students have to upload online, they are required to get a counter signature by the Block Education Officer/ Deputy Director of Public Instructions for their study certificate which states that they have studied in Karnataka for a minimum of seven years. Candidates have also been asked to keep two copies of all documents attested by a gazetted officer.
One of the candidates who uploaded their documents online on Tuesday said, “We have to run from pillar to post to get the counter signature for the study certificate. Apart from going to our school or college, we also need to go to the BEO and DDPI office for the same. At these offices, we have to wait for a long time to get a signature. We do not mind doing this during other times, but during the pandemic, we are worried about our health and want to ensure that we do not venture out of home as we still have to write competitive examinations like NEET.”
About 5,000 passengers use Chennai Metro Rail services on Day 1
On the first day of reopening, Chennai Metro Rail had 5,033 passengers travelling on the stretch between Washermenpet and Chennai airport.
Services between the Chennai Central and St. Thomas Mount stations will resume on Wednesday. However, passengers cannot take a direct train from the airport and will have to switch at the Alandur Metro. With opening of the second stretch, the entire 45-km network is now functional after the lockdown.
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) expects patronage to pick up significantly after the Chennai Central-St. Thomas Mount stretch reopens. “This is the stretch which most passengers usually take, with Thirumangalam getting the highest number of passengers. We are hopeful that footfalls will improve in a few days. Early this year, about 60,000-70,000 passengers used this route,” an official said.
Yadadri temple closed for devotees
Executive officer of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam N Geeta on Tuesday informed that the temple will remain closed for all devotee darshans Wednesday onwards.
The decision was taken in the wake of the increasing COVID-19 cases in the temple town, she said.
However, the deity’s daily service and other rituals by priests would be conducted as usually. Tentatively, temple darshan for devotees would resume Saturday onwards, she said.
Oxford vaccine trial put on hold over safety concern
AstraZeneca Plc has put a hold on the late-stage trial of its highly-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a suspected serious adverse reaction in a study participant, health news website Stat News reported on Tuesday.
It quoted an AstraZeneca spokesperson as saying in a statement that the “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”
The study is testing a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford researchers at sites including India, the United States and the United Kingdom, where the adverse event was reported.
The nature of the safety issue and when it happened were not immediately known, although the participant is expected to recover, according to Stat News.