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:
Containment zones go up in Chennai
As COVID-19 positive cases are increasing in the city, the Chennai Corporation is simultaneously increasing the number of containment zones. The number now stands at 70.
The civic body, which had discontinued barricading of streets last month, resumed the containment zone strategy in places where the number of positive cases is higher than three on a particular street.
Containment zones, which stood at only 10 in the first week of October, increased to 42 and have now touched 70. Ambattur zone that has 50% of the containment zones still tops with 29 streets. Tondiarpet in north Chennai which had no containment zones when the practice was resumed, at present has 11 streets barricaded as part of COVID-19 prevention measures. The number of positive cases in Tondiarpet zone has been increasing over the past week with more than 500 cases. All other zones have less than five containment zones.
Post-COVID disorder likely in kids
The surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks in the State has left open the possibility of multisystem inflammatory syndrome among children, a rare disorder that involves constant fever and extreme inflammation resulting from exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
Public health experts point out that the disease has been found in children in countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. and States such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra around four weeks after the caseload peaked there.
Golden Chariot to be back on track from January
Karnataka’s luxury train Golden Chariot is set to chug from January 2021 to cater to travellers in anticipation of a revival of tourism by then.
The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) is also toying with the idea of introducing a Christmas package provided the COVID-19 situation eases to a significant extent by December.
The circuitous journey of the luxury train came to a grinding halt due to the pandemic in March 2020 and the rakes were grounded following suspension of all travel and tourism activities since then.
GDP likely to contract 9.5% in current fiscal: RBI
Shaktikanta Das
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the economy is likely to contract by 9.5% in the current fiscal.
GDP contracted 23.9% in the first quarter of the fiscal, as per the estimates of the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In a statement after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said Indian economy is entering into a decisive phase in the fight against coronavirus.
Nagaland govt. issues guidelines for Durga Puja celebrations
The Nagaland government has issued guidelines for the celebration of the forthcoming Durga puja, allowing pandals to be set up only at temples in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said.
The guidelines issued by the Principal Secretary, Home Department, on Thursday said as Durga Puja pandals usually see a congregation of a large number of people, it is imperative that suitable regulations are put in place and appropriate measures are taken during the celebration to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Durga Puja pandals will be allowed to be set up only in temples and no pandal shall be allowed to be erected on and by the side of any road, it said, adding that no stalls shall be set up near pandals. - PTI
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.
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.