After peaking with over 98,000 new COVID-19 cases on September 16, infections in India have gradually declined. Initially, this was attributed to a drastic drop in testing; however, cases have lately continued to decline despite increased testing.
Daily deaths are on a downward trend too, and new recoveries have surpassed new cases, thereby arresting the steady rise in active cases. However, the further opening up of the economy, especially closed spaces such as cinema halls, could have an impact on the numbers.
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:
Active cases in India fall below 9 lakh after one month
India’s COVID-19 tally went past 69 lakh with 70,496 infections being reported in a day, while active cases fell below 9 lakh after a month comprising 12.94% of the total caseload, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated today.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 69,06,151. The death toll climbed to 1,06,490 with 964 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
The total recoveries have surged to 59,06,069 pushing the recovery rate to 85.52%, while there are 8,93,592 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country. - PTI
Infection spreading from offices to families, notes NCDC report
Contact tracing of COVID-19 positive cases in Delhi has been “very limited since the beginning” and it needs to be “more rationalised”, said a report prepared by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and submitted to the Delhi government.
The report titled Revised Strategy for control of COVID-19 version 3.0, which is yet to be made public, also noted that with the resumption of economic activities, workplaces are becoming “hotspots” and infection is spreading from workplaces to families. “Identification of workplace clusters for saturation testing after risk assessment should be undertaken on priority by all districts,” the report said.
With a helping hand, rural scholars move closer to realising their dreams
Their spirits undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars of Dakshana Foundation, which helps bright but economically disadvantaged students from India’s rural hinterland clear some of the country’s toughest entrance exams, have posted their best result yet in this year’s Joint Entrance Exam to engineering colleges.
As many as 374 of the 486 Dakshana scholars who sat for them, cleared the tough test and four have secured category (SC/ST) ranks among top 50 students from the backward communities, according to the Foundation authorities.