Two policemen deployed in the security of UP Minister Suresh Rana in Shamli district have tested positive for Covid-19, an official said Thursday. The constables, deployed in Thanabhawan town, were admitted to a Covid hospital Wednesday evening, said superintendent of the local government health centre Kanti Prasad. Meanwhile, the district court in Kairana remained closed after a staffer tested positive for the virus.

The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 4,465,863 after nearly 96,000 fresh cases were registered in a single day. 

The volunteer whose serious ailment halted clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is a woman who has shown symptoms of a neurological disorder that affects the spinal cord, according to a report in Stat News, the media organisation which first reported that the clinical trials had been paused. The report said information about the woman was released by AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot during a “private conference call” with company investors. It said the CEO had informed the investors that the woman had symptoms of a rare disease called transverse myelitis, but that her condition was improving and she was likely to be discharged from the hospital soon. Click here to read more. 

Amid the row over conducting the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for admission to premier engineering colleges in times of Covid, attendance for the exam held between September 1 and 6 fell by 20 percentage points over the first cycle held in January. While 94.32 per cent of registered students appeared for the exam held in January 2019, attendance fell to 74 per cent for the exam held earlier this month — the first national entrance test amidst the pandemic. According to data shared by the Education Ministry on Twitter Wednesday night, out of 8.58 lakh applicants, 6.35 lakh appeared for the engineering entrance test. This figure assumes significance given that attendance in pre-Covid days was much higher. According to data shared earlier by the National Testing Agency, attendance for JEE (Main) was 94.11% in January 2019, 94.15% in April 2019, and 94.31% in January this year.

While Gurgaon recorded around 2,800 Covid-19 cases in August, new cases have seen an uptick this month, with the district recording over 1,900 fresh cases in the first eight days of September. The total number of tests conducted so far in September is around one-third the total tests conducted in August. As per data from the daily health bulletins, Gurgaon saw 2,833 fresh cases in all of August, out of 61,132 people tested for the infection. From September 1-8, the district recorded 1,922 fresh cases from 21,886 tests. Gurgaon also witnessed seven deaths in September, against 10 fatalities in August.

Around 0.8% of over 7 lakh people in Delhi tested for Covid through the rapid antigen method have been retested through RT-PCR so far, of which 11% have come out as positive, according to data obtained through an RTI. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), which can produce results within 30 minutes, were introduced in Delhi on June 18 after a decision was taken by the Centre and Delhi government to scale up testing in the city, where the positivity rate had crossed 20%. Between June 18 and August 27, the city saw approximately 7,45,892 rapid antigen tests. According to guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a person testing negative through RAT method should “definitely” be retested through RT-PCR if he or she shows symptoms of Covid-19. 

Delhi recorded 4,039 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, marking the highest single-day tally so far. The total cases in the city also crossed 2 lakh, of which 86 per cent have recovered. The rise in cases, however, has been accompanied by aggressive testing, with over 54,000 people being tested in 24 hours. Of these, around 11,000 tests were conducted through RT-PCR and over 43,000 through Rapid Antigen Test kits. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile said that there was no reason to be scared. “Today, highest number of cases – 4039 – but also the highest number of tests – 54,517 – against 15,000-20,000 tests till last week. If we did same number of tests today cases would be less than 1,500. So, don’t be scared by number of cases. Delhi wages war against corona with aggressive testing… Number of deaths continues to be low. It is 20 today, against more than 100 per day in June. People are falling ill and recovering. Through aggressive testing, we are isolating them and preventing its spread,” he tweeted.

The central drug regulator has issued a show-cause notice to Serum Institute of India (SII) for not informing it about pharma giant AstraZeneca pausing the clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in other countries and also for not submitting casualty analysis of the "reported serious adverse events".

The show-cause notice was issued following reports that human trials of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate, being developed by the University of Oxford, have been put on hold after a UK participant had an adverse reaction to it. The Drugs Controller General of India, Dr V G Somani, in his show-cause notice has asked SII as to why the permission granted for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the vaccine candidate in the country be not suspended till patient safety is established. (PTI)

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.