People wearing protective face masks stand in a queue to get tested for COVID-19 at the Nizamuddin Railway Station, in New Delhi, October 08, 2020. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)Coronavirus India News Live Updates: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the government has not yet taken a view on granting emergency authorisation to COVID-19 vaccines in India, as and when they become available. The minister was quoted as saying by PTI that the Feluda paper strip test for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis could be rolled out in the next few weeks. Presently COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of phases 1, 2 and 3, the results of which are awaited, Vardhan said during an interaction with his social media followers on ‘Sunday Samvad’ platform. “Adequate safety and efficacy data is required for emergency use authorisation, vaccine approval for ensuring patient safety. Further course of action will depend on the data generated,” he underlined.
The Union Health Ministry Sunday said that the number of recoveries in India have crossed the 60-lakh mark. The top five states with maximum caseload (61 per cent active cases) are contributing more than half (54.3 per cent) of the total recoveries, it further said. India’s coronavirus caseload crossed the 70-lakh mark on Sunday, while the total number of recoveries reached 60,77,977, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
A total of 74,383 infections were reported on Sunday, taking the country’s caseload to 70,53,807, while the death toll touched 1,08,334, with 918 deaths in a day. There are 8,67,496 active cases of coronavirus in the country, comprising 12.29 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
India is the second worst-hit country in terms of total coronavirus cases, after the United States, while it is third in spot in terms of fatalities globally after the US and Brazil, according to John Hopkins University data.
Doctors and nurses on COVID-19 duty protest against North MCD administration over alleged non-payment of pending salaries, at Hindu Rao Hospital in New Delhi, Friday , Oct. 09, 2020. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)
Iran announced on Sunday its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 251 confirmed dead, the same day local media reported two senior officials had been infected and the nation's currency plunged to its lowest level ever. Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said the total confirmed death toll now stands at 28,544, making Iran the hardest-hit country in the region. Iran had just recently recorded its highest daily death toll four days earlier with 239 new fatalities.
A further 3,822 new cases were confirmed over the past 24 hour-period, raising recorded nationwide cases to 500,075. Nearly 4,500 patients are in critical condition. Among those recently infected is the head of the country's atomic energy organisation, the latest senior official to test positive for the virus.
Nepal's coronavirus tally reached 107,755 with the detection of 2,071 new cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday. Twenty-two more people succumbed to the viral infection overnight, pushing the death toll to 636, health ministry spokesperson Dr Jageshwor Gautam said. As many as 75,804 patients have recovered so far from the disease, he said, adding that there are currently 31,315 active coronavirus cases in the country. As many as 2,071 new cases were detected in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 107,755, he said. The Kathmandu Valley alone reported 1,416 new cases, pushing the total caseload to 41,586 in the Valley.
Despite the Union Ministry of Education allowing gradual reopening of educational institutions across the country, state-run schools in West Bengal are unsure about the resumption of physical classes and are waiting for the state government's decision. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said her administration will think about reopening educational institutions after Kali Puja on November 15 'depending on the COVID-19 situation at that time'. Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had said schools cannot be reopened till the pandemic situation improves and the safety of children is the priority of the state government. West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education president Mahua Das said any decision on the reopening of the schools will be taken by the administration and instructions communicated to the institutions by the School Education Department.
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa has announced three-week holidays for schools from October 12 to 30 due to surge of Covid-19 cases.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said the war against COVID-19 will be won by the "whole-hearted participation" of people, who have to decide whether to follow protocols to contain the spread of the disease or remain in lockdown. In a webcast, Thackeray said COVID-19 is a "foreign guest not leaving us despite our best efforts", and added that it is spreading from cities to rural areas. He said 70 to 80 per cent COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic, and termed face mask as the self-defence or the "black belt" in the fight against the viral infection till a vaccine comes up.
"I don't want to impose strict laws or penalty against violators of the COVID-19 protocols. The war against the pandemic will be won by people's whole-hearted participation," he said.
The Odisha government has constituted district-level committees to audit the quality of healthcare in COVID-19 hospitals and review the deaths caused by the disease, a health official said on Sunday. The committees were formed on the direction of Assembly Speaker S N Patro after members cutting across party lines expressed concern during the recently-concluded monsoon session over poor treatment facilities at both state-run and private COVID-19 hospitals.
The committees will be headed by an officer authorised by the collector or the municipal commissioner and he/she should not be below the rank of the additional district magistrate, a health department order issued on Saturday said. The chief district medical and public health officer, a doctor trained in handling ICU and a medical officer of the treating facility will be among the members of the committee, it said. (PTI)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday burnished her leadership credentials on the back of her successful response to the coronavirus pandemic at a campaign rally six days ahead of the country’s election on Oct. 17.
Polls show Ardern’s Labour Party is expected to win the election with a wide lead over the conservative National Party, and could form government in a coalition with the Greens and New Zealand First.
“While there was no playbook for COVID-19, we went hard and early and committed to a strategy of elimination which has meant that when we’ve had new cases, we’ve circled and stamped them out and opened up our economy faster than others,” Ardern told a campaign rally in the capital Wellington.
While the Central government has given a go-ahead for graded reopening of schools from October 15, many states including Delhi, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh have decided against it while others such as Haryana and Meghalaya are still unsure and are assessing the situation in view of the increasing number of coronavirus cases, PTI reported.
Schools and Universities were closed on March 16 to contain the spread of coronavirus. While several restrictions have been eased gradually in different phases of the 'unlock' since June 8, educational institutions continue to remain closed. According to the latest unlock guidelines, schools, colleges and other educational institutions outside Covid-19 containment zones can reopen after October 15. The final decision has however, been left with the states and Union territories.
Delhi government has decided to maintain the status quo on schools' closure till October 31, following which a review of the situation will be done.
The Uttar Pradesh government announced that schools outside containment zones will reopen from October 19 for students of classes 9 to 12. Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma said classes will be held in shifts and all necessary protocols including social distancing and proper sanitisation of premises will have to be followed by schools.
The Karnataka government said it is in no hurry to reopen schools and will take a call on the issue after evaluating all aspects.
Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad has said schools will not reopen in the state before Diwali, reported PTI.
Maharashtra has reported 15,17,434 Covid-19 cases and 40,040 deaths due to the disease so far.
The Centre has now allowed graded reopening of schools from October 15.
Gaikwad, who recently recovered from Covid-19, said schools have been conducting virtual classes and teachers have been taking special classes fo students in some areas.
"While we are exploring various options, it is clear that schools will not open before Diwali," Gaikwad said.
Senior officials in the state education department said reopening schools under the current circumstances is out of question, as there is no sign of the pandemic abating.
State Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant also said his department does not intend to reopen colleges until the COVID-19 situation is under control. "The situation is grim for students who wish to pursue higher studies abroad, as their future depends on our decision," he added.
For over six months, Aarif Khan slept in an ambulance parking lot 28 km from his home in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, staying in touch with his wife and four children on the phone. Khan was on call 24X7, ferrying patients of Covid-19 as well as carrying its victims to their last rites. On Saturday morning, the 48-year-old ambulance driver succumbed to the disease at Hindu Rao Hospital.
Employed with the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal, that provides free emergency services in NCR, Khan would often pitch in with money for the last rites if a family was in need, or help with the rituals if a deceased’s near ones were not around, his colleagues say.
“He ensured everyone got a farewell but his own family couldn’t give him that. They saw his body from afar for a few minutes,” said Jitender Kumar, adding that Khan would have ferried close to 200 bodies since March.
The Gujarat government is likely to consider reopening schools only after Diwali, PTI quoted a senior official as saying.
State education department secretary Vinod Rao said there was no immediate plan to reopen schools. "We are not doing this immediately. We will consider reopening schools only after Diwali (vacation) after assessing the coronavirus situation," Rao said on Saturday.
He said the education department has been in touch with representatives of parents and school associations over the issue.
The state government had earlier decided against reopening schools from September 21 as per the Centre's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that allowed students to visit schools to take guidance from teachers with parents' permission.