Cinema halls, entertainment parks, swimming pools for sportspersons — these are some of the establishments that would be allowed to reopen under 'Unlock 5'.
Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs has given States the flexibility to decide if they wanted to open schools from October 15. The guidelines that will come into effect on October 1 have removed restrictions from all activities except “international air travel”.
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:
Volunteers for vaccine trial
The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has called for volunteers for the trial of Covishield, the vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford.
Any individual above 18 years of age who is interested in taking part in the trial can contact the project coordinator at 78068 45198 or send a mail to covidvaccinetrialdph@gmail.com
The trial will be titled ‘A phase 2/3, observer-blind, randomised, controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of Covishield (COVID-19 vaccine) in healthy Indian adults’.
It is sponsored by the Serum Institute of India Private Limited and co-sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research, it said.
Researchers study T.N. and A.P. data
A paper published in the journal Science on Wednesday uses data from two Indian States, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, to provide key insights into the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in resource-limited populations.
Not wearing mask right can also attract fine of ₹1,000 in Karnataka
The State government has decided to slap hefty penalties on those flouting mask wearing and social distancing norms in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Fine will be applicable even for those who do not cover their mouth and nose properly.
While a fine of ₹1,000 will be slapped against those who do not wear masks in urban areas, violators in rural areas will have to pay ₹500. Currently, the penalty for not wearing mask is ₹200. The jurisdictional police and revenue officials will be authorised to collect the fine.
An official order in this regard will be issued on Thursday after discussing with the Chief Minister, said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar.
With no COVID cases in the islands, Lakshadweep may reopen schools
The Lakshadweep administration is expected to take a decision soon on a recommendation by a committee of stakeholders on reopening schools for students from classes one to five in the light of the fact that the group of islands is free of COVID-19 cases.
The decision to recommend reopening of schools was taken after a meeting of people’s representatives, principals from all islands, and health and education authorities on September 29. The meeting analysed various aspects of reopening classes one to five and resolved to submit the recommendations to Administrator Deneshwar Sharma, said a communication.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had permitted the Education Department of the Union Territory to open conventional physical classes for classes six to 12 on September 21.
Kerala’s COVID caseload doubled in September 2020
September has indeed been the cruellest month as far as Kerala and its COVID-19 case burden is concerned.
In September alone, Kerala recorded almost double the number of cases it had cumulatively registered till August 31.
And the scariest part seems to be that since the disease spread is not uniform across districts, in many districts, the case graphs could be peaking only in the next few weeks, extending the State’s collective agony over the month or more.
However, public health experts point out that Kerala has held out till now and with a remarkably low case fatality rate only because the epidemic has been spread out over the months.
COVID-19 tally in India crosses 63-lakh mark
India’s COVID-19 caseload breached the 63-lakh mark with 86,821 infections being reported in a day, while 52,73,201 people have recuperated so far from the disease, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The recovery rate stands at 83.53%.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 63,12,584, while the death toll climbed to 98,678 with the virus claiming 1,181 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.