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: With 66,732 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India has now risen to over 71 lakh. As many as 816 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the casualties to 1,09,150. Of the 71,20,539 infections, the recoveries stand at 61,49,536, while 8,61,853 cases are still active. With increasing recoveries, India has sustained its leading global position with the maximum recovered cases.
Laying out the sequence of distribution of Covid vaccines that are expected to be available in India, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said Sunday that the first priority will be for those facing occupational hazards from the virus and exposure risk, indicating that healthcare professionals at the frontline would be among the early recipients.
Globally, the infections topped 37.3 million. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to step up efforts to contain Covid-19 on Monday. South Korea eased social distancing requirements, and the governor of Jakarta relaxed restrictions in Indonesia’s capital.
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)
With 66,732 new cases, the coronavirus tally in India has now risen to over 71 lakh. As many as 816 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the casualties to 1,09,150. Of the 71,20,539 infections, the recoveries stand at 61,49,536, while 8,61,853 cases are still active. With increasing recoveries, India has sustained its leading global position with the maximum recovered cases.
The New Zealand government signed a deal on Monday to buy 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech, with delivery potentially as early as the first quarter of 2021. The government did not disclose financial terms of the deal, its first vaccine purchase, which will provide enough doses to vaccinate 750,000 people. Officials said talks were continuing with other drug companies to secure more vaccine supplies for the country of 5 million people and further announcements were expected next month. "The additional agreements will ensure that once the portfolio is completed, we will have sufficient COVID-19 vaccines for the whole population," Research Minister Megan Woods said in a statement.
Singapore and Indonesia will establish a reciprocal green lane for travel, according to a joint statement from the countries’ ministries for foreign affairs. The green lane will enable cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes. Applications for the green lane will open on Oct. 26 and travel will commence soon after.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to step up efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus on Monday, announcing a new tiered system of alert levels that would see millions of Britons subject to more stringent curbs on their everyday lives. The premier will unveil plans to divide England into areas of “medium,” “high” and “very high” alert, with the levels determining the extent of restrictions imposed. The government said it’s working with local leaders to decide which places need to be in the top category, and what curbs are required in those areas.
Karnataka posted 9,523 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 75 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 7.10 lakh and the toll to 9,966, the health department said on Sunday. The day also saw 10,107 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 9,523 new cases reported on Sunday, 4,623 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of October 11 evening, cumulatively 7,10,309 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 9,966 deaths and 5.80 lakh discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. (PTI)
The national capital's COVID-19 tally rose to 3.09 lakh on Sunday with 2,780 fresh cases, while the death toll climbed to 5,769 as 29 more people succumbed to the disease, authorities said. The total number of cases in the national capital stands at 3,09,339, they said. This is the 10th day on the trot that the city has reported less than 3,000 new cases. A total of 2,866 cases were recorded on Saturday, 2,860 on Friday, 2,726 on Thursday and 2,871 on Wednesday. The city reported 29 deaths on Sunday -- the lowest since September 25 when 24 fatalities were recorded. The fatality count was 48 on Saturday, 39 on Friday, 37 on Thursday and 35 on Wednesday. (PTI)
Pakistan has imposed mini smart lockdowns in several cities after a surge in the COVID-19 positivity rate, a senior minister said on Sunday, amid fears of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. On Sunday, Pakistan reported 666 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 318,932, according to the Ministry of National Health Services. Minister for Planning Asad Umar in a post on Twitter said that mini lockdowns have been imposed in some cities after positivity rate crossed 2 per cent after remaining below 2 per cent for six weeks. Positivity rate is the percentage of positive results out of the total number of tests sampled. Mini smart lockdowns have been imposed in Karachi, Islamabad and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Instructions have been issued to administrations across the country to ensure that precautionary measures are followed. But like in the past, success is impossible without the cooperation of the people," he said in the tweet.
Maharashtra recorded 10,792 new coronavirus positive cases on Sunday, which pushed the state's overall tally to 15,28,226, the health department said. The death toll due to the virus reached 40,349 as 309 patients succumbed to the infection, it said. A total of 10,461 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery during the day, it said in a statement. So far, 12,66,240 patients have recovered across the state. There are 2,21,174 active cases in Maharashtra at present, while the number of people tested so far is 76,43,584.
Turkey will start to report its total number of coronavirus cases later this week, the country's health minister said in an interview published on Sunday, after Ankara was criticised for only releasing figures for patients showing symptoms of infection. Fahrettin Koca told the newspaper Hurriyet that asymptomatic cases would be included in Turkey's published data from October 15, which would be shared with the World Health Organisation. Last month, the minister revealed Turkey had been publishing only the daily number of patients displaying symptoms of COVID-19. This led to criticism from medical groups and opposition parties that had long questioned the accuracy of the statistics. (PTI)
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Sunday hinted that India may see an increase in the Covid-19 transmission rate during winter. The Minister’s comments came in the backdrop of several reports which indicated that coronavirus cases will surge in the colder weather since respiratory illnesses tend to thrive during cooler weather conditions.
Addressing his weekly social media interaction programme Sunday Samvaad, Vardhan stated that SARS-CoV-2—which causes Covid-19 infection— is a respiratory virus and the transmission of respiratory viruses is known to increase in the colder weather.
“Respiratory viruses are known to thrive better in cold weather and low humidity conditions. There is another fact which needs to be kept in mind. There is overcrowding in residential dwellings of many people in the winter season. This also increases the transmission of respiratory viruses”, he added.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday urged people to stay away from large congregations and diligently follow COVID-19 guidelines during the upcoming festive season, saying no religion or God asks people to celebrate ostentatiously. Requesting people to celebrate the approaching festivals at home with their loved ones instead of going out to fairs and pandals, he said fighting against COVID-19 is everyone's foremost "dharma" and as the country's health minister it is his "dharma" to mitigate the virus and prevent deaths at any cost. "The Bhagwad Gita condones war for the warrior class. So, there is no need to congregate in large numbers to prove your faith or your religion," he said.
"Extraordinary circumstances must draw extraordinary responses. No religion or God says that you have to celebrate in an ostentatious way, that you have to visit pandals and temples and mosques to pray," Vardhan underlined.
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)