India reported over 1 lakh coronavirus recoveries in a single-day for the first time, improving the recovery rate to 80.86 per cent, while fresh cases also dropped below 76,000 after two weeks, according to the Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
India has reported more than 90,000 COVID-19 recoveries for the third day in succession on Monday, with 93,356 patients having been discharged in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said, adding that 79% of the new recoveries are from 10 States/Union Territories.
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:
Member-Health NITI Aayog V.K. Paul speaks:
"Pandemic has to be controlled and deaths have to be kept at minimum. But people have to help in stopping transmission specially during their coming festival season.
"We have to have COVID-appropriate behaviour
"We have to take it up as a social movement.
Mask wearing is essential — it’s a service to self/others and the nation."
As on Sept 17, India has conducted six crore tests. Deaths per million population is still low in India, Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan says.
After May this is the first time India is registering more recoveries than new cases, he informs.
Less than 1/5 th of total cases are active, he says.
19.5 per cent of the world recoveries are in India: Health Ministry
Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan is addressing the media on COVID-19.
India has recorded the highest number of single day recoveries. More than 1 lakh (1,01,468) new recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. The trend of very high number of single day recoveries has sustained for the past four consecutive days, Mr. Bhushan says.
19.5 per cent of the world recoveries are in India, he adds.
He credits the high recovery rate to early detection, early isolation and increased health infrastructure in the country.
Delhi govt to challenge HC order
The Delhi government said it will challenge the high court’s order staying reservation of 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients in 33 private hospitals.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court stayed the AAP government’s decision to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for coronavirus patients in 33 private hospitals.
The bench of Justice Navin Chawla said prima facie the Delhi government’s September 13 order is “arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of fundamental rights of citizens” guaranteed under the Constitution.
The court issued notices and sought responses of the Delhi government and the Centre on a plea by ‘Association of Healthcare Providers’ to quash the order to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients.
Academics session for freshers to start from November 1 with curtailed holidays
The delayed academic session for freshers in universities and colleges will begin from November 1, and the winter break this year, the summer vacation in 2021 and other holidays would be curtailed to compensate for the time lost, according to the University Grants Commission.
The guidelines by an expert committee, set up for revising the academic calendar in view of COVID-19 pandemic, have been accepted by the UGC and accordingly universities have been recommended a six-day teaching learning schedule every week.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has accepted the Report of the Committee and approved the UGC Guidelines on Academic Calendar for the First Year of Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Students of the Universities for the Session 2020-21, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ tweeted. - PTI
UGC, CBSE can time compartment exam results’ declaration: SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) could coordinate and time the declaration of compartment exam results before the admission process begins in varsities.
The court said the academic future of nearly two lakh students taking the CBSE compartment exams should not be blighted by the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, meanwhile, asked the UGC to not declare its academic calendar till September 24, the next day of hearing.
Tamil Nadu schools yet to receive directions on reduced syllabus
Days after School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said that the syllabus for State board students would be reduced by 40% based on the recommendations of an 18-member committee, schools are yet to receive directions on it for the current academic year.
All schools in Tamil Nadu are currently on a five-day break from online classes. A majority of private schools in the State across boards began online classes from June. In July, the Central Board of Secondary Education notified its affiliated schools of a 30% syllabus reduction for Standards 9 to 12 in view of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Record 1.01 lakh single-day recoveries take tally of patients cured to nearly 45 lakh
A record 1,01,468 patients recovered from COVID-19 in a single day in India, pushing the cumulative recoveries to nearly 45 lakh and the recovery rate to 80.86 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
India’s total COVID-19 recoveries have surged to 44,97,867, with 79 per cent of these being reported from nine states and a UT -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala, West Bengal and Punjab.
Maharashtra continues to lead with over 32,000 (31.5 pc) more recoveries reported. Andhra Pradesh reported more than 10,000 recoveries in a single day
Zarina Wahab discharged from hospital after testing positive for COVID-19
Veteran actor Zarina Wahab was discharged from a city hospital on Sunday, five days after she tested positive for coronavirus, according to Dr Jalil Parkar. The 61-year-old actor, best known for films Chitchor, Gharonda, My Name is Khan and Dil Dhadakne Do, was admitted to Lilavati Hospital last week after complaints of fever and breathlessness.
“She was admitted last week, around September 14-15. She was COVID-19 positive. She had fever, breathlessness. I gave her all the treatment and after five days she became well and went home. She was discharged on Sunday,” Dr Jalil Parkar, who treated Wahab, said.
When asked if the actor had tested negative for the virus, Mr. Parkar said doctors can discharge patients if they’re recovering from COVID-19. - PTI
PM Modi to review COVID-19 status in 7 high-burden States/UTs on Sept. 24
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers and Health Ministers of seven States/UTs with high COVID-19 burden, to review the status and preparedness of COVID-19 response and management, on Thursday, said a release issued by the Central Government.
These States/UTs are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab.
Health activists seek hike in salary
Accredited Social Health Activists under the banner of All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) staged a protest in Kalaburagi on Monday demanding a minimum monthly wage of ₹ 12,000 and other benefits.
The activists said that amid the pandemic, they were risking their lives to combat COVID-19 as they are regularly conducting survey to identify high-risk individuals and those with co-morbidities. They demanded protective gears, including face shields, N95 masks, hand sanitisers and gloves, for all workers as they were visiting containment areas without the optimum protection needed.
2 nonagenarian men defeat COVID-19
A woman wears protective mask and doing morning walk as she walks past near to COVID-19 coronavirus awareness campaign wall paintings in Bhubaneswar. | Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout
Two nonagenarian COVID-19 patients have been cured of the highly infectious disease in Odisha, bringing cheers to the medical fraternity in the eastern state.
The two patients — Satchidananda Mohanty and Dhirendranath Das — both aged 91, were admitted to dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar respectively.
Both the men were admitted to the hospitals on September 5 after being diagnosed with the disease. They were discharged on Sunday night.
Mohanty, an eminent advocate in Kendrapara town, was also suffering from hypothyroid and neurological ailments. He was immediately shifted to the ICU after his admission to the hospital.
“We were worried about his condition as his oxygen level had dropped a day after his admission. However, his condition improved gradually after we put him under oxygen support,” a doctor who treated Mohanty said.
“Doctors and other health personnel at the hospital were like my family members,” Mohanty said.
His 60-year-old son Debdas, a type-II diabetes patient, also recovered from COVID-19 after being treated at the same hospital.
The other nonagenarian patient, Dhirendranath Das, a former senior official with the Press Information Bureau and the All India Radio, was also shifted to the ICU. Das had developed a breathing problem after contracting the disease.
PPE-clade nurses had fed the patient as he was unable to eat by himself. “While my father was being taken to the hospital, he had told us he would defeat coronavirus. It became a reality because of the relentless efforts of the doctors and the nurses,” Das’s daughter Debadatta said.
- PTI
Puducherry Government whip tests positive for COVID-19
The Puducherry Government whip R.K.R Anantharaman has tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a Health Department official, the Congress legislator developed symptoms of the virus two days ago. His test results came on Monday night and he has been admitted to a private hospital in Chennai, the official said.
‘T.N. economy may return to pre-COVID level soon’
There are indications that Tamil Nadu’s economy may return to the pre-COVID-19 level in a couple of months but the State may have to increase its spending to create more jobs at this time, former Reserve Bank of India Governor C. Rangarajan said on Monday.
Mr. Rangarajan submitted a 250-page report of a high-level committee that he headed to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami at the Secretariat on Monday.
Task force told to trace contacts in 24 hours
The officials of the COVID-19 task force have intensified the process of detecting primary and secondary contacts in Tirupati and Chittoor municipal corporations and Srikalahasti municipality, which account for close to fifty percent of the total cases, as the tally crossed the 55,000-mark by Monday. With 590 casualties, the district tops the State’s toll and comes third in the tally.
Fire breaks out in COVID hospital near Cuttack
Over 100 patients were safely evacuated after a fire broke out at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital at Jagatpur on the outskirts of Cuttack on Monday.
The incident took place just after noon at Sadguru Hospital, which has been declared a special COVID-19 hospital by the Cuttack administration. While the hospital has a total of 152 beds, 127 beds, including 20 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, were occupied.
Maharashtra records highest single-day recoveries yet with more than 30,000 discharges
A health worker screens people for coronavirus symptoms in Dharavi. File | Photo Credit: AP
In a heartening trend, Maharashtra’s recoveries exceeded its case surge for the fourth consecutive day as 32,007 patients were discharged on Monday in what is the State’s the highest single-day recovery figure till date.
One more COVID-19 testing facility likely at airport soon
The Airports Authority of India may soon set up one more COVID-19 testing facility at Chennai airport for arriving passengers.
A leading private hospital’s facility may be installed on the airport premises later this week or early next week with staff for collecting samples of passengers who may want to get tested.
Virus cases fall below 3K as tests drop by 42%
Rapid antigen test in progress at a dispensary in Seemapuri on Monday. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
As many as 2,548 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 2,49,259, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Monday.
The total number of daily tests done as per Monday’s bulletin was less than the average of the last three days by 42%. This trend is seen on most Mondays as data represents the tests done on Sunday.
Telangana testing level drops by almost half
Telangana’s testing level dropped by nearly half, and only 55% of the usual number of tests were conducted on Sunday. From September 14, around 55,000 samples were tested per day. On Sunday, only 31,095 samples were tested, of which 1,302 were positive.
Existing dominant COVID strain is infectious, not severe: study
It is important to note that no strain of coronavirus or clade at present has been conclusively shown to be associated with a more severe form of COVID-19 or an increased risk of death, affirmed scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) on Sunday.