Delhi recorded a positivity rate of 15.33 per cent amid the festive season and rising pollution in the city, according to the bulletin issued by the health department.
Coronavirus India Live Updates: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in Delhi amid a spike in new cases. Taking to Twitter after the meeting, Shah said RT-PCR tests will be doubled in the national capital (over 1 lakh in a day) and 750 ICU beds will be set up at a Dhaula Kuan-based DRDO facility. “Mobile testing vans of the Ministry of Health and ICMR will be deployed where the labs in Delhi are more likely to be used, making greater use of their capacity,” he added. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers of the central government attended the meeting chaired by Shah.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel who has been battling Covid-19 for some weeks now, has been shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. Patel, 71, had announced on Twitter on October 1 that he had contracted coronavirus. In a tweet Sunday, Ahmed Patel’s son Faisal said, “On behalf of his family, we would like to share that Shri Ahmed Patel had tested positive for Covid19 a few weeks ago. He has now been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon for further treatment.”
India went past the 88 lakh mark after recording 41,100 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours ending 9 am Sunday. The country’s total tally currently stands at over 88.14 lakh cases. With 447 people succumbing to the virus Saturday the death toll stands at 1,29,635. Out of the total cases, 4.79 lakh cases are active, while 82.63 lakh people have recovered after testing positive.
The new COVID vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech would begin to be delivered at the "end of this year, beginning of next year" if everything continued to go well, one of its creators said on Sunday. Last week, BioNTech and co-developers Pfizer said preliminary analysis showed their vaccine could prevent more than 90 per cent of people from getting Covid-19. About 43,000 people took part in tests.
Prof Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, told the BBC that the goal was to deliver more than 300 million doses worldwide by next April, which "could allow us to only start to make an impact". He said the bigger impact would happen later, adding: "Summer will help us because the infection rate will go down in the summer and what is absolutely essential is that we get a high vaccination rate until or before autumn/winter next year." If everything continued to go well, he said, the vaccine would begin to be delivered at the "end of this year, beginning of next year". (PTI)
Thirty more people died of coronavirus in Punjab in the past two days, raising the toll to 4,458, while 1,054 new cases pushed the infection count to 1,41,658, a health department medical bulletin said on Sunday. Eight fatalities were reported on Saturday while 22 deaths took place on Sunday, it said. There are 5,769 active COVID-19 cases in the state as of now, according to the bulletin. A total of 1,025 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,31,431, it stated. Eighteen critical patients are on ventilator support while 140 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said. A total of 28,68,278 samples have been collected for coronavirus testing so far in the state, it said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in Delhi amid a spike in new cases. Taking to Twitter after the meeting, Shah said RT-PCR tests will be doubled in the national capital (over 1 lakh in a day) and 750 ICU beds will be set up at a Dhaula Kuan-based DRDO facility. “Mobile testing vans of the Ministry of Health and ICMR will be deployed where the labs in Delhi are more likely to be used, making greater use of their capacity,” he added.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers of the central government attended the meeting chaired by Shah.
The Union home minister said that some MCD hospitals will be converted into dedicated COVID hospitals. Dedicated multi-departmental teams will visit all private hospitals in Delhi to clearly indicate the availability of beds and other medical conditions. In order to save more lives, more oxygen cylinders, high flow nasal cannula and other necessary equipment will be made available to the Delhi government by the Centre, he added.
Haryana reported another 1,957 new cases of coronavirus infections and eight deaths in the last 24 hours on Sunday evening, taking the cumulative number of positive cases in the state to 1,99,874 and 2,019 deaths. The number of active Covid patients in the state reached 19,557. Among the active cases, there were 334 patients in a critical condition out of whom 42 were on ventilator support while 292 patients were on oxygen support. Gurgaon and Faridabad continue to witness a surge amid the ongoing festive season. While Faridabad added 643 new Covid-19 patients, Gurgaon added 515 in the last 24 hours.
In the last 24 hours, 1,930 patients recovered, taking the total number of recovered patients in the state to 1,78,298 and recovery rate to 89.21 per cent. Among the eight patients who died in the last 24 hours, three died in Bhiwani, two in Faridabad, and one each in Gurgaon, Sonipat and Sirsa.
The Covid situation in other districts of Haryana appeared under control, according to the Sunday evening Covid bulletin. In the last 24 hours, while Hisar added 163 new patients, Sonipat added 136, Ambala 18, Karnal 17, Panipat 38, Rohtak 92, Rewari 26, Panchkula 24, Kurukshetra 14, Yamunanagar 10, Sirsa 34, Mahendragarh 43, Bhiwani 38, Jhajjar 61, Palwal 28, Fatehabad 45, Kaithal zero, Jind eight, Nuh three and Charkhi Dadri one.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took stock of Delhi’s COVID-19 situation in the wake of recent spike in cases in the national capital, PTI reported. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers of the central government attended the meeting chaired by Shah. The home minister reviewed the situation arising due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in Delhi and discussed ways to deal with it, a home ministry official said.
Andhra Pradesh added 1,056 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the cumulative to 8.54 lakh on Sunday. In 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday, 2,140 patients got cured while 14 others succumbed in the state. The latest bulletin said the total recoveries increased to 8.28 lakh and the toll to 6,868, leaving 18,659 active cases. Guntur district reported 206, West Godavari 154, Krishna 153 and East Godavari 139 fresh Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. Nine other districts added less than 100 each, with Srikakulam accounting for the lowest 24.
At least 26 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on Sunday, pushing the tally in the state to 31,945, a health department official said.
The coronavirus death toll remained at 359 as no patient has succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said. On Saturday, 64 people were discharged from GB Pant Hospital, the main referral facility for COVID-19 patients in the state, taking the total number of recoveries to 30,455, the official said.
Tripura currently has 1,108 active cases and 23 coronavirus patients have migrated to other states. West Tripura district, of which state capital Agartala is a part, has accounted for 185 of the 359 COVID-19 deaths, the official said. The northeastern state has so far conducted 4,93,898 sample tests for COVID-19, he said.
"Altogether 2,97,499 rapid antigen tests were carried out and 1,96,399 samples tested through RT-PCR method," the official added.
Delhi recorded 3,235 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the infection tally in the national capital to over 4.85 lakh on Sunday, while the positivity rate climbed to 15.33 percent. Ninety-five more fatalities pushed the death toll to 7,614, authorities said.
These fresh coronavirus cases were detected from 21,098 tests conducted the previous day, the lowest since August 14, when 14,389 tests were done. Of the total tests conducted, 11,877 were rapid-antigen tests, and 9,221 were RT-PCR tests, the bulletin said. Delhi recorded a positivity rate of 15.33 per cent amid the festive season and rising pollution in the city, according to the bulletin issued by the Health Department.
At 3,235, it was also the lowest number of cases since October 26, when 2,832 cases were reported. The national capital had recorded its highest single-day spike of 8,593 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
On Thursday, 104 fatalities, the highest in a day in over five months, were recorded. The city had registered 93 deaths on June 16. On Sunday, authorities reported 95 more fatalities. The 10-day average death rate stands at 1.23 per cent, the bulletin said.
The total number of cases reported so far has climbed to 4,85,405.
Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh on Sunday announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19. "I have tested positive for COVID-19. I request all those who came in close contact with me recently, to self isolate and get tested," Singh tweeted.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 150 Covid-19 vaccines are presently in development, with around 44 candidates in clinical trials and 11 undergoing late-stage testing.
Read our full explainer here
With Karnataka seeing a drop in coronavirus cases since mid-October and more pandemic related restrictions being lifted, the state government has decided to simplify quarantine rules for international passengers arriving in the state. Now, those returning from other countries to the state, including at Bengaluru, can seek exemption from mandatory home quarantine on furnishing a Covid-19 negative certificate.(Read Ralph Alex Arakal's explainer here)
On Saturday, Delhi recorded 7,340 new cases of in a day, taking the infection tally to 4,82,170. The death toll increased to 7,519 with 96 new fatalites recorded in the last 24 hours.
These fresh cases were detected from 49,645 tests, including 19,635 RT-PCR ones, conducted the previous day. The positivity rate in the city was 14.78 per cent amid festivities and rising pollution.
The highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases was recorded on Wednesday and 85 fatalities were recorded that day. On November 12, the number of fatalities was 104, the highest in over five months.
Researchers have discovered new drug compounds that target a protein which enables the novel coronavirus and other viruses with pandemic potential to replicate in human cells, an advance that may lead to new therapeutics for COVID-19. According to the researchers, including those from the the University of Maryland in the US, these compounds disrupt the functioning of a protein complex inside human cells that are critical for the replication and survival of coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19. The scientists believe the findings, published in the journal PNAS, could lead to the development of new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that target viruses such as influenza, Ebola and coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2.
Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Sunday mounted to 3,08,659 with 753 more people testing positive for infection, while 17 fresh fatalities pushed the state's toll to 1,527, a health department official said. Of the 753 cases, 434 were reported from quarantine centres, and the remaining detected during contact tracing. All 30 districts in the coastal state reported less than 100 cases each, the official said. Sundargarh recorded the maximum number of cases at 75, followed by Khurda at 74 and Nuapada at 65. (PTI)
As the national capital continues to report a surge in Covid-19 cases,Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday will review the situation arising in Delhi in the wake of a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, officials said. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Delhi Governor Anil Baijal will also be present at the meeting, ANI reported.
Of all the unknowns that accompany SARS-Cov-2 — the virus that’s known to cause Covid-19, one that’s 1,200 times smaller than the diameter of a hair strand and an invisible speck to the human eye — the least discussed is what it does to the human mind.
There is now increasing evidence that Covid-19, apart from causing lung, heart and kidney damage, can lead to anxiety, depression, psychosis, insomnia and memory fogs, making a person forgetful and disoriented.
A Lancet Psychiatry study published last week found that 18.1 per cent Covid patients had a psychiatric problem within 14 to 90 days of infection.(Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report here)
India recorded 41,100 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours ending 9 am Sunday. The country’s total tally currently stands at over 88.14 lakh cases. With 447 people succumbing to the virus Saturday the death toll stands at 1,29,635. Out of the total cases, 4.79 lakh cases are active, while 82.63 lakh people have recovered after testing positive.
Odisha's COVID-19 death toll crossed the 1,500-mark on Saturday as 15 more people succumbed to the infection, while 902 new cases pushed the tally to 3,07,906, a health official said. As many as 1,271 more people were cured of the disease, taking the state's recovery count to 2,96,516, he said, adding the recovery rate among the COVID-19 patients stands at 96.30 per cent. The case fatality ratio (CFR) stands at 0.49 per cent, the official said.
The state now has 9,827 active coronavirus cases. The number has plummeted below 10,000 for the first time in several months, he said. The state has so far tested over 52.19 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 47,830 on Friday. (PTI)