Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Dr Reddy’s Approaches DCGI to Begin Clinical Trials of Sputnik V

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has approached the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to begin the clinical trials of Russian vaccine Sputnik V.

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Punjab Health Minister Balbir Sidhu also tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

Meanwhile, India reported a spike of 61,267 new Covid-19 cases and 884 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the total case tally stands at 66,85,083 including 9,19,023 active cases. The number of those who have been cured, discharged or migrated stands at 56,62,491 while the death toll has risen to 1,03,569 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said. Meanwhile, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday said COVID-19 can spread through virus lingering in the air, sometimes for hours, acknowledging concerns widely voiced by public health experts about airborne transmission of the virus.

HERE ARE THE LIVE UPDATES ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

◕ India Sees Dip in Positivity Raate | At 5.6 percent, India sees huge dip in positivity rate while testing is a little over 10 lakh. The death rate has also slipped and the total number of deaths in the last 24 hours is less than 1,000.

◕ Today's Data Highlights

- India total tests cross the 8 crore mark. 58.6k tests per million population

- 61.27k new cases, lowest in the last 42 days (total cases: 66.85 lakh)

- 15.4k dip in active cases (total active cases: 9.19 lakh, down from 10.18 lakh on September 18)

- 25 states report fall in active cases

- New deaths: 884. Below 1k for the third consecutive day

- Maharashtra's recovery rate touches 80%. 2.5 lakh active cases out of a total of 14.5 lakh total cases

- Maharashtra reports 10.2k new cases, lowest in the last 49 days

- Delhi's recovery rate crosses 90% again after 42 days. Recovery rate in Haryana also crosses 90%.

- Seven Indian states and UTs have a recovery rate of more than 90%

- Mortality rate in Punjab continues to rise. From 2.4% on August 1, it has increased to 3.1% (highest in India). India's average mortality rate during the same period fell from 2.2% to 1.5%.

◕ US CDC Confirms Covid-19 Could Spread Through Air | An expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has asked Dr Reddy's Laboratories to submit a revised protocol for conducting both phase 2 and phase 3 human clinical trials for the Russian vaccine against COVID-19, Sputnik V, in India, sources said Monday. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company had applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) late last week, seeking permission to conduct phase-3 human clinical trials of the Russian vaccine.

◕ Pune district in Maharashtra reported 1,240 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its total count to 2,95,251, a health official said on Monday. With 51 people succumbing to the infection, the toll mounted to 6,867, he said. A total of 917 patients were discharged after treatment in the last 24 hours. "Of the 1,240 cases, 391 cases were reported from the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation, which now has 1,49,790 patients. 443 new cases were reported from Pimpri-Chinchwad, taking the tally to 80,923," the official said.

◕ Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan presided over World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board special session on Covid-19 response, via virtual conference on Monday. He said, "Whole world continues to look upon us at WHO to pave the way for a brighter and disease-free world."

◕ Ireland must act now to prevent a damaging return to lockdown, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday after rejecting a surprise recommendation by his health chiefs to shut down the economy immediately and opting instead to tighten COVID-19 restrictions.