A man drives past a wall painting spreading the message of not spitting in public places. As part of efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, Maharashtra government has decided to enforce action against all those found spitting in public. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)Coronavirus India News Live Updates: With 74,442 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India on Monday crossed the 66 lakh-mark. As many as 903 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the toll to 1,02,685. Of the 66,23,816 cases, 9,34,427 are active, while 55,86,704 patients have been discharged. Only the United States, where over 2.12 lakh people have died and Brazil, where about 1.45 lakh have succumbed, are ahead of India. Globally, over 35 million people have been infected while more than one million have succumbed to the virus.
The Centre estimates to receive and utilise 40-50 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine covering 20-25 crore of the country’s population by July next year, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. He added that the government is preparing a format for the states to submit by October-end their list of priority population group to receive the vaccine. He said that priority would be given to health workers engaged in COVID-19 management in getting the vaccine.
In other news, covid infected US President Donald Trump briefly left the hospital Sunday in his car to wave to supporters gathered outside. The president’s visit came shortly after he promised his supporters “a surprise” in a video posted a video on social media.
Prabhu Shisharnappa Banshette, 37, offers rides to citizens, including Covid-19 patients, wearing a PPE kit in Pune. (Express Photo: Pavan Khengre)
The COVID-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh reached 6,092 on Monday with 63 fatalities, while 3,064 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 4,17,437, an official said. A total of 3,66,321 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said. The recovery rate in the state stands at 87.75 per cent, he said.
At present, there are 45,024 active cases in the state, of which 21,361 are in home isolation and 3,525 others in private hospitals, Prasad said. The official claimed that there has been a 34 per cent decline in the number of active cases in the past 18 days.
Singapore is in a stable position in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but the city-state must remain vigilant amid profound uncertainties, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told Parliament on Monday. Heng, also the Finance Minister, said these uncertainties include how effective other countries will be in containing the pandemic and reopening their economies, as well as when an effective and safe vaccine can be developed. "But Singapore will adapt to living with the coronavirus even with these unknowns," said Heng in a ministerial statement as an update on Singapore's response against the pandemic and its strategies to emerge stronger from the crisis. The government has worked out the steps on how to further reopen the economy safely, with details of a Phase 3 roadmap to be released by the multi-ministry task force in the coming weeks, said Heng.
Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has decided to keep himself in home quarantine for three days as an precautionary measure against COVID, an official spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the Chief Minister had on October 3 met some persons in Manali, who tested positive for coronavirus infection on Sunday. The CM will work from home during his quarantine period, he added.
The Delhi High Court has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to consider the representation of a parents body seeking directions to allow final year students of various universities to stay in hostels or paying guest accommodations, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the exams. Justice Jayant Nath said let the authorities treat the writ petition as a representation and deal with the same as per law. Appropriate orders may be passed and communicated to the petitioner (parents body), the high court said. The court passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by Juvvadi Sagar Rao, founder of Telangana Parents Foundation, seeking direction to the authorities to decide his representation.
Forty-four new cases of coronavirus were detected in Ladakh, taking the infection tally in the Union Territory to 4,521, officials said on Monday. With 39 more patients cured of the contagion, the number of active cases in the region stands at 1,106, 773 in Leh district and 333 in Kargil district, the officials said. They said 37 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Leh district and another seven in Kargil district during the past 24 hours. Ladakh had reported 61 COVID-related deaths, while 3,354 patients had recovered from the infection till Sunday evening. The officials said 33 COVID patients were discharged in Leh and six others in Kargil on Sunday after their treatment. (PTI)
Less than half the U.K.’s population can expect to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the Financial Times reported, citing the head of the government’s vaccine task force. People deemed at risk, such as those over 50 and health workers, will be the focus of the government’s vaccination efforts, Kate Bingham told the newspaper. She said the government was aiming to vaccinate about 30 million people, out of the country’s population of about 67 million.
Japan has decided to make at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine free for all its citizens, the Kyodo news agency reported. The Japanese government approved a policy in this regard on Friday. Japan has entered into agreements with AstraZeneca and Pfizer to secure 120 million vaccine doses each, whenever they are ready. It is also negotiating with Moderna for 40 million doses, the news report said. All the three vaccine candidates are in phase-3 clinical trials in the United States and are expected to become available by early next year. Japan is hoping to enough doses to vaccinate its entire population by the first half of next year. The policy approved on Friday also makes it incumbent on the government, and not on the vaccine companies, to pay damages to Japanese people if the vaccine induces any serious harmful side-effects.
Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Monday announced its novel coronavirus vaccine (under development) Covaxin, which was approved for human trials, will use adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II to boost immune response and longer lasting immunity. According to a press release issued by the city-based vaccine innovator, the technology is being used under a licensing agreement with Kansas-based ViroVax LLC. Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, an Indian virology research institute. The inactivated virus is formulated with ViroVax's adjuvant to produce the vaccine candidate, it said.
Sri Lankan authorities closed schools and asked people to avoid non-essential travel over the next 72 hours to contain the spread of the coronavirus following the detection of the first case of community infection in several months. The South Asian island nation, which has so far recorded some 3,400 cases and 13 deaths, imposed an indefinite curfew Sunday on two northwestern provincial towns in the suburbs of Colombo. Sri Lanka had lifted its nationwide lockdown on June 28.
The daily limit imposed on the number of people visiting Chardham in Uttarakhand due to the coronavirus pandemic has been eased to allow more pilgrims to visit the Himalayan shrines. The decision to ease the limit was taken on Sunday by the Uttarakhand Chardham Devasthanam Board which manages the affairs of the temples. It was prompted by a steep rise in the number of people applying for e-passes to visit the shrines ever since the mandatory requirement of bringing a negative RT-PCR test report was done away with, the board's CEO Ravinath Raman said.
Now 3,000 devotees each can visit Kedarnath and Badrinath temples daily while 900 can offer prayers at Gangotri and 700 at Yamunotri, he said. This does not include the number of pilgrims visiting the temples by heli services daily, Raman said. Earlier, the daily limit for the number of pilgrims visiting chardham was 800 for Kedarnath, 1,200 for Badrinath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for Yamunotri, he said.
Congress MP Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury has tested positive for COVID-19 and is undergoing treatment at a city-based hospital, Health department sources said on Monday. The condition of the septuagenarian MP, who was brought to a city-based hospital on September 28 after he tested positive for the disease, is "critical", they said. "He is currently admitted at the ITU and is undergoing treatment. Since his blood oxygen level has dropped, the MP is being given oxygen supply. We are keeping a close watch on his health condition," a senior doctor at the hospital said. Khan Choudhury is the Congress MP from Maldaha Dakshin seat
Cineworld said on Monday it would temporarily shut its movie theatres in the United States and the UK, a move that would impact 45,000 jobs, as it deals with a significant downturn in the industry brought on by the coronavirus crisis. The world's second-biggest cinema chain, which has already said it was looking at different ways of raising additional funds, confirmed it will suspend operations at all of its 536 Regal theatres in the U.S. and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK from Oct. 8. "Cineworld will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations in these markets at the appropriate time, when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status," the UK-listed company said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday condoled the demise of an ex-Uttar Pradesh legislative council member of the party due to COVID-19, and shared a recent video of that leader from hospital in which he had slammed the BJP over the Hathras incident and the passage of farm bills. "Congress' former legislative council member and CLP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Naseeb Pathan Sahab, has passed away due to coronavirus. My condolences to his family," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. "Before passing away, Naseeb Sahab has given a very important message. Sharing it with you. A heartfelt tribute to him," the former Congress chief said. He tagged a video of Pathan in which he gives a message from the hospital bed, hitting out at the BJP over the farm bills and the Hathras gangrape-murder case. Pathan passed away on Sunday
Kenzo Takada, the iconic Franco-Japanese fashion designer famed for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channelled global travel, has died. He was 81.
The family said in a statement to French media Sunday that Takada died from complications from COVID-19 in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. A public relations officer for Kenzo’s brand confirmed that Takada died, but didn’t give a cause of death. The fashion house issued a statement on Instagram: “It is with immense sadness that KENZO has learned of the passing of our founder… for half a century, Mr. Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry – always infusing creativity and colour into the world.”
A batch of ink, used to stamp arms or hands of international passengers arriving at IGI Airport, was set aside by airport authorities after a complaint of adverse reaction was made by Congress spokesperson and national secretary Madhu Goud Yaskhi on social media.
Yaskhi, who travelled to Delhi Saturday, had his hand stamped on arrival. A day later, he said, the skin started to swell. He uploaded a photo on Twitter asking Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri to look into it. Calling it a “serious issue”, Delhi International Airport Limited officials said the batch of ink has been set aside. However, they said stamping is done by Delhi health department. Delhi government did not respond to queries.
With 74,442 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India on Monday crossed the 66 lakh-mark. As many as 903 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the toll to 1,02,685. Of the 66,23,816 cases, 9,34,427 are active, while 55,86,704 patients have been discharged. Only the United States, where over 2.12 lakh people have died and Brazil, where about 1.45 lakh have succumbed, are ahead of India. Globally, over 35 million people have been infected while more than one million have succumbed to the virus.
THE ALLAHABAD High Court has ordered that criminal cases against members of the Tablighi Jamaat registered in different districts of Uttar Pradesh be heard by three Chief Judicial Magistrates (CJM) of Lucknow, Bareilly and Meerut. In an order passed by a division bench comprising Justices Shashi Kant Gupta and Shamim Ahmed, the court observed that all the cases against the Jamaat members be heard and decided by the three CJM courts within eight weeks.
The court directed that cases pending in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Lucknow Zones be transferred to the Lucknow CJM. Cases pending in Agra and Meerut zones should be transferred to CJM, Meerut. Cases pending in Bareilly Zone be transferred to CJM, Bareilly, it said.
President Donald Trump’s doctors offered rosy assessments of his condition Sunday, but the few medical details they disclosed — including his fluctuating oxygen levels and a decision to begin treatment with a steroid drug — suggested to many infectious disease experts that he is suffering a more severe case of COVID-19 than the physicians acknowledged.
In photos and videos released by the White House, there is hardly any sign that Trump is sick. But at a news conference at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Trump’s doctors said his oxygen levels had dropped to a level that can indicate that a patient’s lungs are compromised. The symptom is seen in many patients with severe COVID-19.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tested negative again for COVID-19 on Sunday in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, his campaign said, according to a press pool report.
Biden, who shared a debate stage with President Donald Trump last Tuesday in Cleveland, also had tested negative in two tests on Friday, the day Trump disclosed his coronavirus infection. The campaign gave no other details when asked about the frequency of Biden’s recent testing, according to the pool report.