Passengers travel in the metro rail in Kolkata on September 14, 2020. Regular services resumed for the first time since March 23, 2020. (Express Photo: Partha Paul)

Coronavirus India Updates: The health ministry in its latest briefing on Tuesday said that there are 14 states & UTs in India where the total number of active cases are less than 5000, taking the country’s average positivity rate to 8.4 per cent.

The ICMR chief also said that India hasn’t witnessed a huge peak at all compared to other countries. ‘US and countries of Europe had a peak, then they came down&there is a 2nd wave occurring there. We took learning from that. We distributed the curve in a way that we didn’t have many deaths. It was because we had an effective lockdown. We didn’t have a huge peak at all,’ he said.

The number of Covid-19 cases in India rose by 83,809 on Tuesday to cross 49 lakh. The 49,30,236 cases includes 9,90,061 patients who are under treatment, 38,59,399 who have been discharged and 80,776 deaths. The recovery rate is 78.28 per cent, and the fatality rate is 1.64 per cent. India crossed the 40 lakh mark on September 5, just 10 days ago. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Follow Coronavirus India Live Updates

The top 10 states with maximum caseload.

There are 11 districts which account for 42 per cent of India’s deaths. Apart from the metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune, smaller districts like Nagpur, Nashik and Jalgaon in Maharashtra are also reporting many deaths.

Here is the top Covid-19 news on September 15:

Absolutely ‘no shortage’ of medical oxygen at national level: Health secretary

There is absolutely “no shortage” of medical oxygen, vital in the treatment of coronavirus, at the national level, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday, while urging states to ensure a proper inventory management at hospital-level and advance planning for timely replenishment so that there is no stockout.

Asked if there was an acute shortage of oxygen in different states and there had been deaths due to it, Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the country’s current daily capacity of oxygen production as on date is slightly more than 6,900 metric tonne.

Referring to morning figures, Bhushan at a press briefing said that 3.69 per cent of the COVID-19 patients were on oxygen support, 2.17 per cent were in ICU beds which are with oxygen and 0.36 per cent of the patients were on ventilator support which is again with oxygen. This, he said, amounts roughly to around 6 per cent people in total.

Sero-survey conducted in August finds no antibodies in 30 pc of recovered COVID-19 patients

Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu tests positive

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday tested positive for Covid. He is asymptomatic. “I had undergone Covid test RT-PCR and have tested positive for Covid19,” Khandu tweeted Tuesday evening.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday tested positive for Covid. He is asymptomatic. “I had undergone Covid test RT-PCR and have tested positive for Covid19,” Khandu tweeted Tuesday evening.

14-29 lakh COVID-19 cases, 37-78k deaths prevented by lockdown: govt

Rai said by imposing the countrywide lockdown, India successfully blunted the aggressive spread of COVID-19. (Express Photo: Arul Horizon)

The government prevented 14-29 lakh coronavirus cases and 37,000-78,000 deaths due to the disease by imposing the nationwide lockdown that was announced on March 24, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has observed, with regard to the lockdown measures taken by the government, that India’s response to COVID-19 has been pre-emptive, pro-active and graded with high level political commitment and a “whole government” approach to respond to the pandemic.

Rai said by imposing the countrywide lockdown, India successfully blunted the aggressive spread of COVID-19. “It has been estimated that the decision of lockdown, by slowing down the progress of pandemic in India, has prevented 14-29 lakh cases and 37,000-78,000 deaths,” he said in reply to a written question.

Multiplex association appeals to govt to reopen cinemas, says jobs are at stake

Appealing to the government to allow theatres to reopen on an urgent basis, the Multiplex Association of India on Tuesday said the movie exhibition sector that provides employment to lakhs of people had lost an estimated Rs 9,000 crore in the last six months.

The cinema body, which represents all the multiplex chains, including, PVR, INOX and Cinepolis, said the sector directly employs more than two lakh people and provides employment to lakhs indirectly.

Describing movies as the soft power of India and cinemas the main form of entertainment for millions of Indians, the association said close to 10,000 cinema screens across the country had been shut for close to six months. The movie exhibition sector has suffered financially and is now staring at job losses unless the government allows theatres to reopen, it said.

Explained: How far can singing/talking spread Covid-19?

Health Minister makes statement on Covid-19 in Parliament

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan addressed the Rajya Sabha this morning on the Covid-19 situation in India. He said the government prevented between 14-29 lakh Covid-19 cases and 37,000-78,000 deaths by imposing the nationwide lockdown. The four months of restrictions, he said, were utilised to create additional health infrastructure, enhance human response and manufacture products like PPE kits, N95 masks, ventilators etc.

“I want to remind members that the battle against Covid-19 is far from over. I wish to inform the House that the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the disease in India,” he said. Follow Parliament Live Updates

In another statement issued in Rajya Saha, Union Minister Ashwini Choubey said around 40 lakh people have been kept under surveillance so far for contact-tracing efforts. “As on September 10, a total of about 40 lakh persons have been kept under surveillance,” he said in the House, reported news agency PTI.

A man removes his personnel protective equipment after performing rituals in a cremation ceremony in Guwahati. (AP Photo)

Rahul Gandhi to Centre: You did not count means no migrant deaths?

A day after the government told Parliament it did not have data on migrant deaths during the lockdown, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday targeted the government for being “unaware”. Taking to Twitter, Gandhi wrote: “Did the death not take place if you did not count? It is sad the government was unaffected by it. The world saw their deaths, only the Modi government was not aware of it.”

When questioned on the thousands of migrant labourers who had lost their lives during the lockdown, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Monday, in a written reply, said, “No such data is available”.

Maharashtra govt launches ‘My Family, My Responsibility’ campaign

The Maharashtra government has launched the Majhe Kutumb, Majhi Jababdari (My Family, My Responsibility) campaign to help reach out to people in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. As part of the drive, officials will contact residents in door-to-door surveys, assess their health and provide medical help and guidance if needed.

“This campaign will prove to be a key weapon in making people understand the importance of self-protection,” Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said Tuesday. “While normalcy is being restored in the state, it is important to break the chain of transmission. For that, we need to learn to live with the disease and need to change our lifestyle.”

“The initiative, therefore, is important and public representatives and administration should not remain off-guard and reach out to the last man,” he added, reported PTI.

ABD forecast: India economy to shrink 9% next fiscal

Amid the pandemic, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has predicted India’s economy will shrink 9 per cent in the fiscal April 2020 to March 2021 fiscal. It said the growth outlook “remains highly vulnerable to either a prolonged outbreak or a resurgence of cases, with the country now having one of the highest number of Covid-19 cases globally.”

“India imposed strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the pandemic and this has had a severe impact on economic activity,” ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada was quoted as saying by PTI.

Sawada also noted “it is crucial that containment measures, such as robust testing, tracking, and ensuring treatment capacities, are implemented consistently and effectively to stop the spread of COVID-19 and provide a sustainable platform for the economy’s recovery for the next fiscal year and beyond.”

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