Health workers in protective suits spray disinfectant after carrying the body of a COVID-19 victim in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. The world's fourth most populous country has been hit hard by an explosion of COVID-19 cases that have strained hospitals on the main island of Java. (AP Photo)Covid 19 Coronavirus Cases Highlights Coronavirus Statistics India, Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India on July 16 Highlights: India saw a minor dip in the daily coronavirus cases with 38,949 fresh Covid-19 infections on Friday morning. The latest health ministry data says that 542 people lost their lives due to Covid in the last 24 hours. At present, India has 4,30,422 active cases, the government bulletin says. The national recovery rate stands at 97.28%. The key issue remains the poor vaccination graph.
The origin debate of novel coronavirus is not settling down anytime soon. Months after the WHO virtually rejected the idea of lab leak, its boss Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is now saying that it was ‘premature’ to rule out the possible human role (lab leak) in the origin of coronavirus. He said this while asking China to be more transparent about the raw data. The statement comes at a time when the Covid-19 infections are once again increasing all over the world. The US has seen a sharp spike in recent days. Indonesia is now Asia’s epicentre for viral infections. Back home in India, there are various reports talking about a possible third wave hitting the nation in August next month. Coupled with a slow vaccination pace, the high number of infections may erase all the gains India has made so far. The WHO has also said that the third wave is possibly in its initial phase. The global watchdog has also warned of more virulent variants of novel coronavirus.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest on coronavirus pandemic from India and around the globe:
Highlights
The Karnataka government on Friday decided to reopen all medical and dental colleges with immediate effect.
"It has been decided to allow reopening of all Medical, Dental, AYUSH and other allied healthcare educational institutions in the state with immediate effect," Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted on Friday.
Students, faculty members and non-teaching staff should have been vaccinated to attend the colleges, he added. | Read More
In new COVID guidelines, Gujarat Govt extends night curfew in 8 cities of the state till July 31; allows water parks & swimming pools to reopen with 50% capacity from July 20 (ANI)
Mumbai on Friday reported 446 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths, taking its infection tally to 7,30,241 and death toll to 15,678, a civic official said. With 470 people getting discharged from hospitals, the recovery count in the financial capital of the country rose to 7,05,234. The recovery rate stood at 96 per cent while there are 6,973 active cases in the city, the official said.
Notably, the city recorded less than 500 new cases for the fifth time this month. With 35,362 samples being examined on Friday, the number of coronavirus tests carried out in Mumbai so far went up to 77,00,399.
The average growth rate of cases between July 9 and 15 was 0.07 per cent, while the caseload doubling time has improved to 951 days.There are 70 sealed buildings and seven containment zones in the metropolis as of Friday, the official said. (PTI)
Rajasthan Govt bans all religious programmes & congregations including Kanwar Yatra and offering of prayers at public & religious places on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha, in new guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19 (ANI)
States need to look into their own COVID data and check, at which stage of the epidemic they are in. The third wave could happen around the end of August but it isn't inevitable. We need to be more careful: Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology & Infectious Diseases, ICMR (ANI)
Early COVID restrictions stopped the infection on time & left many people unaffected. So, there is a distinct possibility of the third wave because some states still have vulnerable populations: Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology & Infectious Diseases, ICMR (ANI)
Maharashtra reports 7,761 new COVID cases, 13,452 patient discharges, and 167 deaths in the past 24 hours
Active cases: 1,01,337Total discharges: 59,65,644Death toll: 1,26,727 (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir recorded 221 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the infection tally to 3,19,576, while one more fatality took the death toll to 4,362, officials said. Of the new cases, 103 were from the Jammu division and 118 from the Kashmir division, they said.
Srinagar district recorded the highest 40 cases followed by 19 each in Jammu and Pulwama districts. While 10 districts had cases in double digits, the remaining 10 had new cases in single digits, it said. The number of active cases rose to 2,116, while 3,13,098 people have recovered so far, officials said.
The death toll in the union territory rose to 4,362 as one more fatality was reported in the past 24 hours, they said. Meanwhile, officials said there were 33 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) in the union territory as one more case was reported since last evening. (PTI)
With the addition of 39 fresh cases of COVID-19, the tally of infections in Gujarat reached to 8,24,423 on Friday, an official from the state health department said. The toll stood at 10,074, as no new casualties were reported during the day, while 70 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 8,13,743, the official said.
The state's recovery rate improved to 98.70 per cent, and the state is currently left with 606 active cases, of which seven patients are in a critical condition, he said. Surat district reported the highest number of nine new cases, followed by Vadodara with seven, Ahmedabad with five, Amreli, Anand, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Navsari, Jamnagar and Junagadh with two each, and Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath, Valsad, and Patan with one each. (PTI)
Telangana on Friday recorded 715 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 6,35,320, while the death toll rose to 3,751 with four more fatalities. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 76 followed by Khammam (68) and Nalgonda (54) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Friday.
Recoveries outnumbered fresh cases, with 784 people recuperating from the infectious disease, taking the cumulative number to 6,21,541. Active cases stood at 10,028. It said 1,13,069 samples were tested on Friday and the total number tested till date was 2,03,23,407.
The samples tested per million population were 5,46,034. The case fatality and recovery rates were at 0.59 per cent and 97.83 per cent, respectively. (PTI)
India administers more than 38.79 lakh COVID vaccine doses today, taking the cumulative vaccination coverage to 40 crores: Union Health Ministry (ANI)
Uttarakhand reports 39 new COVID cases, 32 recoveries, and 01 death today.
Active cases: 698Death toll: 7,355 (ANI)
Karnataka reports 1806 fresh COVID cases, 2748 discharges, and 42 deaths in the past 24 hours. Active cases: 31,399Total discharges: 28,12,869Death toll: 36,079 (ANI)
The Tripura government has imposed a weekend curfew on Saturday and Sunday and extended the existing day curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation and 11 other towns or Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) from July 19 to July 23 after reviewing the Covid-19 situation.
The weekend curfew will be in force from 6 am on July 17 to 6 am on July 19. | Read More
Daily coronavirus deaths in Russia have hit another record, with the authorities reporting 799 deaths. It's the fourth straight day of record number of deaths. On Friday, officials reported 25,704 new coronavirus cases. Daily new infections in Russia have soared from around 9,000 in early June to more than 25,000 last week.
Officials blamed the surge on the spread of the delta variant and a sluggish vaccine uptake that has remained lower than in many Western countries. As of Tuesday, 28.6 million Russians -- or just 19.5 per cent of the 146 million population -- have received at least one shot of a vaccine.
Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 5.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and a total of 146,868 confirmed deaths in the pandemic. However, reports by Russia's state statistical service Rosstat, which tallies coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively, reveal much higher numbers. (AP)
Tamil Nadu government extends lockdown till July 31 with few more relaxations (ANI)
The Uttar Pradesh government will give Rs 30 lakh as compensation to the family of the each of its over 2,000 employees, half of them teachers, who died due to Covid during the panchayat polls duty. Earlier, the state government had claimed that only 74 government employees, including three teachers, had died during the poll duty.
The Uttar Pradesh Prathamik Shikshak Sangh had released a list of 1,621 primary schoolteachers and other staff, claiming that they died after contracting COVID-19 while performing election duty between April 15 and May 5. The decision came after the government revised it norms. A senior official said of the Rs 600 crore sanctioned for it, the Department of Panchyati Raj released Rs 300 crore to the State Election Commission for disbursement. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday again demanded that the Centre take back unused Covid-19 vaccine stocks from private hospitals and reallot them to the state for better use. Taking part in the videoconference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Covid-19 situation, along with other Chief Ministers, Jagan said the private hospitals in AP could so far administer only 4,20,209 doses of the vaccine against their allotment of over 17.71 lakh doses.
"In reality, the private hospitals are not vaccinating fully to their capacity. Whatever these people are earmarked and whatever they are not able to proceed with, if that quota (of vaccines) is re-allotted to the state government, it would help us in doing a better job," the Chief Minister told the Prime Minister. He said 1,76,70,642 persons could be vaccinated in the state so far though the Centre allocated 1,68,46,210 doses of coronavirus vaccine. (PTI)
The Union Territory of Ladakh has become the first centrally administered territory to complete 100% vaccination with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for its eligible population. According to reports, it has also vaccinated the entire ‘guest population’, including hotel workers, migrant labourers, and Nepalese citizens who earn their livelihood in the region, reports said.
While Ladakh has a low population, the achievement is no mean feat considering its arduous terrain, extreme weather patterns, and isolated population centres. According to reports citing official data, 89,404 eligible people from all the eligible age groups, including 18-44 years, were administered the first dose. The second jab was administered to 60,936 people. The administration also vaccinated 6,821 Nepalese citizens living in Ladakh. The Union Territory achieved this feat barely three months after beginning the third phase of the vaccination drive. | Read More
Two doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered to high-risk police personnel were successful in preventing 95 per cent deaths due to coronavirus in the Delta variant-driven second wave, according to an ICMR study.
The study, presented by NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, was conducted in Tamil Nadu to see the vaccine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 deaths. | Read More
The national capital recorded 66 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Friday, while the positivity rate dropped to 0.09 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. The single new fatality has pushed the death toll to 25,023, according to the latest bulletin. On Thursday, Delhi had logged 72 cases and one death, with a positivity rate of 0.10 per cent. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court on Friday said it was not satisfied with the Maharashtra government's progress on framing guidelines for door-to-door vaccination against COVID-19 for senior citizens and bed-ridden persons. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said it expects the government to frame the guidelines by July 20. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that information was sought from the public across the state via social media on bed-ridden persons who wish to get the jab at their residence. (PTI)
Schools in Haryana reopened after almost three months only for Classes 9 to 12 on Friday amid strict COVID-19 protocols, with many students saying online education, although necessitated by the pandemic, is not a substitute to classroom teaching. The students also expressed happiness at being able to return to school after a gap of nearly three months. Educational institutes in the state were closed for physical teaching in April when COVID-19 cases were on a rise. (PTI)
Gujarat govt managed the COVID crisis well. Treatment, tracking, and testing need to be in place to contain the spread. Likewise, it's important to speed up vaccination as well. Soon, the State will reach 3 crore vaccination target: PM Modi
The number of cases of long-term COVID-19 reported at a leading private facility here in the wake of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is four times the corresponding figures recorded last year, hospital authorities said on Friday. Long Covid is a condition where people who have recovered from the infection are still exhibiting symptoms far longer than usually expected. Delhi had been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with the recent oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals, adding to the woes. The worst phase was the months of April and May. (PTI)
Forty-seven districts across 12 states and UTs reported over 10 per cent COVID-19 positivity rate for the week ending July 15, the government said on Friday. Just 73 districts recorded more than 100 cases daily in the week ending on July 14, it said. The slow decline in number of coronavirus daily cases is a warning for the country that the situation is currently under control but it can deteriorate if Covid appropriate behaviour not followed, the government said. (PTI)
Pune and some other districts will not witness immediate relaxation of coronavirus restrictions as the positivity rate in these areas has not declined much, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting here, Pawar, who is also the guardian minister for Pune, said the government has decided to continue the level three restrictions in the district. The state government has devised five levels of restrictions, the fifth level being the harshest, depending on the severity of the pandemic in a given area. (PTI)
Pune and some other districts will not witness immediate relaxation of coronavirus restrictions as the positivity rate in these areas has not declined much, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting here, Pawar, who is also the guardian minister for Pune, said the government has decided to continue the level three restrictions in the district. The state government has devised five levels of restrictions, the fifth level being the harshest, depending on the severity of the pandemic in a given area. (PTI)
The Eiffel Tower is reopening Friday for the first time in nine months even though the French government introduced new virus rules this week aimed at taming the fast-spreading delta variant. (PTI)
One dose of vaccine was able to reduce the mortality rate by 82%. Two doses of vaccine were successful in preventing 95% of deaths due to COVID-19 during the second wave: Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog
At least 328 children have lost one or both parents to COVID-19 infection in Maharashtra's Raigad district so far, a senior official said on Friday. District Collector Nidhi Choudhary said a task force was established in the district to trace children who have lost one or both parents to the disease. As per the information collected by the district authorities, at least 14 children have been orphaned, while 314 have lost a parent to COVID-19 infection. (PTI)
People who exhibit over five symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first week are more likely to develop long COVID, irrespective of their age or gender, according to a review of studies. In long COVID, patients experience prolonged symptoms extending sometimes for months. The review, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) on Thursday, summarised current research on symptom prevalence, complications and management of long COVID. The researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK noted that pooled prevalence data in the review highlights the ten most common symptoms of long COVID. These are fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain, cough, headache, joint pain, chest pain, altered smell, diarrhoea and altered taste, they said. - PTI
A senior U.S. health official who signed a sweeping order for masks to be worn on nearly all forms of public transport said they were a key tool in preventing COVID-19 transmission even as some lawmakers call for ending the rules.Marty Cetron, director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, told Reuters Thursday the agency's "current position" is the mandate should not be lifted."Masks are really powerful and we should make sure they're part of our arsenal," Cetron said in an interview. "We mask not just to protect ourselves - we mask because it's the way we take care and express our concern for each other. - Reuters
Malaysia will hold bilateral talks with Thailand to seek assurances there will be no disruption to the supply of AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in its Southeast Asian neighbour, a Malaysian minister said on Friday.Malaysia will also consider ramping up the supply of vaccines developed by China's Sinovac if there are shortages of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told a news conference. - Reuters
For the first time in 16 months, Madhya Pradesh's Indore has recorded just one case of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, an official said on Friday. Amid preparations for the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing vaccination drive, the daily count of infections has gradually declined in Madhya Pradesh. ‘In the last 24 hours, we have tested 8,923 samples and among them only one was found positive for the infection,’ nodal officer for COVID-19 Dr Amit Malakar said. This is for the first time in 16 months that Indore, which was earlier one of the worst affected districts in the pandemic, has recorded just one case in 24 hours, he said. - PTI
The UK is "not out of the woods yet" with the coronavirus pandemic and the number of people hospitalised with the deadly virus could reach quite scary numbers" if the trend is sustained, England's Chief Medical Officer has warned. Professor Chris Whitty also said that people should approach the end of most restrictions from Monday with caution. Whitty said that the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 is doubling around every three weeks and could hit "quite scary numbers" if that trend is sustained. He urged the public to take things ‘incredibly slowly’ as the so-called July 19 ‘Freedom Day’ from legal lockdown restrictions approaches. "I don't think we should underestimate the fact that we could get into trouble again surprisingly fast," he told a webinar hosted by the Science Museum on Thursday. - PTI
Odisha on Friday reported 2,070 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 9,49,929, while 64 more fatalities pushed the toll to 4,925, a senior health department official said. Of the 2,070 new cases, 1,195 were reported from quarantine centres, and the rest detected during contact tracing, the official said. Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is part, recorded the maximum number of new cases and fatalities at 446 and 22 respectively. Other districts which reported more than 100 fresh cases include Cuttack at 319, Balasore at 176, Jajpur at 136 and Puri at 109. -PTI
Govt of Andhra Pradesh issues precautionary guidelines for Eid-ul-Azha (Bakrid on July 20/21) celebrations stating that prayers shall not be performed in Eidgahs or at open places, and should be offered in the Masajits with 50% occupancy to avoid large congregations.
A Nigerian delegate to the Olympics became the first visitor to the Tokyo Games admitted to hospital with COVID-19, broadcaster TV Asahi said on Friday, as Japan battles to stem rising local infections a week before the event.The individual, a non-athlete in their 60s, tested positive on Thursday evening at the airport with mild symptoms but was hospitalised because of age and pre-existing conditions, the broadcaster said, without giving details.On Friday, the Australian Olympic Committee said that tennis player Alex de Minaur, ranked 15th in the world, had tested positive prior to his departure for the Games, becoming the latest athlete to have the virus shatter his Olympics dream."We're very disappointed for Alex," Australia's chef de mission, Ian Chesterman, told reporters. - Reuters
Mizoram's COVID-19 caseload on Friday jumped to 26,207 as 456 more people, including over 100 children tested positive for the infection, a health department official said. The state also reported one more COVID-19 fatality, which took the death toll to 117, he said. The 456 new cases were reported from various districts with Aizawl reporting the highest at 271, followed by Kolasib at 62 and Lunglei district at 58. - PTI