Covid-19 testing at a center in New Delhi on Friday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)Coronavirus India News Live Updates: India on Saturday reported 48,268 Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 81,37,119, while 551 deaths pushed the toll to 1,21,641, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. There are 5,82,649 active cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, while as many as 74,32,829 people have recovered from the disease. This is the first time that the fatality rate has dropped to 1.5 per cent, the health ministry said.
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced more relaxations, allowing schools, colleges, cinemas, zoos and amusement parks to reopen from next month. According to the latest government release, classes for standards 9-12, colleges, research institutions and other educational institutions may resume from November 16. Suburban train services, as per the Central government’s decision, have also been allowed to resume.
The Manipur government also extended the unlock guidelines issued on October 1 till November 30. Although the government had allowed opening of schools, colleges, education institutions and coaching institutions, separate guidelines and SOP would be issued soon.
Shopkeepers selling green crackers at a market in Old Delhi on Friday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
After witnessing a drop in the number of active Covid-19 patients for over a month, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Saturday registered a slight increase as the number of new patients was higher than those who recovered, for the first time since September 25. Read More
Manipur government on Saturday extended the unlock guidelines issued on October 1 till November 30. An order to this effect was issued by Manipur chief secretary Rajesh Kumar. The development comes a day after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that a new SOP would be issued for the state.
N Biren Singh said the government was taking up several developmental works despite hindrances due to the pandemic. The government had been coordinating with various civil society organisations to raise awareness among the citizens on Covid-19.
Although the government had allowed opening of schools, colleges, education institutions and coaching institutions, separate guidelines and SOP would be issued soon. All hotels and restaurants have been allowed to open. Cinemas/ theatres/ multiplexes will be allowed to open with upto 50 per cent of their seating capacity. Opening of all financial institutes, private banks, insurance companies among others have also been permitted.
The government further said the number of persons allowed to gather in open spaces will depend on the size of the ground and wearing of face masks, social distancing, provision for thermal screening was mandatory. Local retails shops dealing with essential commodities have been permitted to open in all districts from 7am to 6pm on all days except Sunday.
(Reported by Jimmy Leivon from Manipur)
As per a latest bulletin, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Doraikkannu, battling Covid-19 and on life support, is extremely critical. The 72-year-old minister's health has "suffered a significant deterioration in vital functions and he is extremely critical despite being on maximal life support," Kauvery Hospital's Executive Director Dr Aravindan Selvaraj said in a bulletin. The hospital had said earlier this week that the minister was being treated for severe Covid-19 pneumonia and its complications and maintained the functions of his vital organs was challenging, considering his multiple comorbidities.
Meanwhile, coming to the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering imposing new national lockdown measures next week, amid concerns that hospitals across the country are overwhelmed by a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, The Times newspaper reported. The new restrictions could be introduced on Wednesday and remain in place until December 1, the Times said. Johnson is expected to hold a news conference on Monday to announce the new measures, under which everything could be closed except essential shops and “educational settings,” the newspaper said.
In a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Rajasthan government on Saturday introduced an amendment bill in the state assembly to make wearing a face mask or cover mandatory, PTI reported. The Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal. A new clause in the Section 4 of the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020 has been inserted, which proposes to prohibit the movement of people at public places without properly covering mouth and nose with a face mask or cover.
COVID-19 patients who were administered a novel antibody had fewer symptoms and were less likely to require hospitalisation or emergency medical care than those who did not receive the therapy, according to a new study.
The ongoing Phase II clinical trial, whose interim results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine, tested three different doses of LY-CoV555, a monoclonal antibody derived from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient.
The analysis indicated a reduced viral load in outpatients with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 at the 2,800-milligram dosage level, along with reduced rates of hospitalisation and emergency medical care among patients at all dosage levels.
West Bengal continued to register a record number of recoveries from the coronavirus. More than 4,000 patients were declared recovered from the virus on Friday — the highest single day increase.
This has taken the total number of recoveries to 3,25,888, including 4,015 recorded in the last 24 hours, and improved the recovery rate to 88.16 per cent. The number of active cases dropped to 36,999 compared to 37,094 the previous day.
The trend of falling active cases and rising recoveries has been constant since October 21.
Johnson & Johnson plans to start testing its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in youths aged 12 to 18 as soon as possible, and the company’s previous experience with the same technology in a vaccine successfully used in children could give it a leg up with regulators.
“We plan to go into children as soon as we possibly can, but very carefully in terms of safety,” J&J’s Dr. Jerry Sadoff told a virtual meeting of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Friday.
Depending on safety and other factors, the company plans to test in even younger children afterwards, said Sadoff, a vaccine research scientist at J&J’s Janssen unit, without giving a timeline.
The Covid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 4,317 on Saturday with the detection of 12 new cases, PTI quoted a health official as saying.
Seven of the new cases have a travel history, while five infections were reported during contact tracing, the official said.
The Union Territory now has 182 active coronavirus cases, while 4,076 people have recovered from the disease.