Coronavirus India Latest Update Live: Delhi reports 36 new Covid cases; active cases drops to 567

Iran on Monday imposed a week-long lockdown on the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region as the country struggles with another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported. The lockdown 'the nation's fifth so far' will begin on Tuesday and last until next Monday. All bazars, market places and public offices will close, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in both Tehran province and the neighboring province of Alborz. 

You can't stop tourists from entering the state. Tourism industry has been the worst affected (in aftermath of COVID), hence it's not right to stop these activities. What can be done and is being done is regulation at crowded places: Himachal Pradesh CM

Ladakh recorded 11 new Covid cases Monday while as many patients were discharged, pushing the respective overall tally to 20,257 infections and 19,948 recoveries, officials said. Out of the total cases, eight were reported from Leh and three from Kargil. Of the total 11 recoveries, five were from Leh and six from Kargil, they said. The number of active cases has come down to 103 -- 84 in Leh and 19 are in Kargil, the officials said. (PTI)

The Supreme Court Monday said hospitals have become like huge real estate industries instead of serving humanity in the face of COVID-19 tragedy while directing that 'nursing homes' running from 2-3 room flats in residential colonies which pay little attention to fire and building safety norms should be closed. The apex court also pulled up the Gujarat government for extending the deadline till July next year for hospitals to rectify the building by-laws violations, and said the "carte blanche" notification was in teeth of its order of December 18 last year and people will continue to die in fire incidents. (PTI)

Andhra Pradesh reports 1,628 fresh COVID cases,  2,744 recoveries, and 22 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Active cases: 23,570Total recoveries: 19,05,000Death toll: 13,154

Delhi reports 36 new COVID cases, 58 recoveries, and three deaths in the past 24 hours Active cases: 567 Total recoveries: 14,09,968 Death toll: 25,030. (ANI)

The Centre has told the Delhi high court that it is taking all steps to safeguard the best interest of the children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and has written to state and Union Territories (UTs) for immediate rehabilitation of the orphaned children. In an affidavit filed on behalf of Ministry of Woman and Child Development on a PIL raising concerns over the children orphaned due to COVID-19, the Centre has asserted that it is constantly engaging with states to discuss the scope and possibility of strengthening the child protection set up during the pandemic. (PTI)

Czech beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic became the third athlete at the Olympic Games Village to test positive for COVID-19, while a woman gymnast training in Chiba prefecture also got infected on Monday, dealing a fresh set of blows to the mega-event which opens in less than four days. This comes after two South African footballers tested positive for the virus on Sunday. Perusic was the second positive case to be revealed in the Czech Olympic contingent. The Tokyo Organising Committee has so far confirmed 58 Games-related COVID cases. "Despite following all precautions (on) COVID-19 beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic became infected. He is currently asymptomatic and is in isolation according to the rules," the country's official Olympic team handle posted. - PTI

The recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the UK has forced HBO to halt the production of its much-anticipated "Game of Thrones" prequel series "House of the Dragon". According to Deadline, the UK shoot of the show has been paused for two days after a positive case in zone A, which includes cast and crew. Based on author George R R Martin's book “Fire & Blood", "House of Dragons" is set over 300 years prior to the events of ‘Game of Thrones’. It and tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war, known as the ‘Dance of the Dragons.’ The surge has also led to the cancellation of actor-director Kenneth Branagh's UK theater production, a revival of "The Browning Version" by Terence Rattigan. - PTI

People travelling to Uttar Pradesh by bus from neighbouring Delhi and Uttarakhand are being screened for COVID-19 at bus stations, a senior official of the UP State Roadways Transport Corporation said on Monday. Thermal screening of all passengers is being done and those with high temperature are undergoing rapid antigen test, the official said. "As of now, buses are not coming from Rajasthan and Bihar. Buses are coming from Uttarakhand and Delhi, mostly to western UP and Lucknow. At every bus station, a medical team has been deployed for testing of the passengers," P K Bose, UPSRTC's regional manager in Lucknow, said. The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said a negative RT-PCR report is mandatory for people coming to UP from states where the positivity rate is more than three per cent. - PTI

Antibody levels remain high nine months after infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, according to a study published on Monday that analysed data from an entire Italian town. Researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and Imperial College London in the UK tested over 85 per cent of the 3,000 residents of Vo', Italy, in February and March last year for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They then tested them again in May and November 2020 for antibodies against the virus. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that 98.8 per cent of people infected in February and March showed detectable levels of antibodies in November. PTI

PM Narendra Modi likely to hold a meeting with floor leaders of all parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha tomorrow, to discuss COVID vaccination policy; presentation on COVID handling to be given at the meeting: Sources

The Delhi government has given Rs 1 crore ex gratia to the family of a schoolteacher who died after contracting Covid-19 while on official duty here last year, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Monday. The minister tweeted a video in which Sheoji Mishra's wife and two sons share the trauma they faced after his death. Mishra's son Piyush Kumar says in the video that his father was part of a team deputed to feed migrant workers during the COVID-19-induced lockdown last year, Mishra died in June 2020 after contracting the coronavirus infection, his family says. - PTI

The national flag carriers of Nepal and India have increased the number of weekly flights from two at present to six on the Kathmandu-Delhi route under the air bubble arrangement between the two countries, a media report quoted Nepal's civil aviation body as saying. Currently, the services remain capped due to an air bubble arrangement between Nepal and India that allows one weekly flight in either direction amidst the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an increase in demand for tickets with an exponential rise in the number of outbound passengers from Kathmandu, mostly travelling for medical treatment, and passengers have been scrambling to get tickets on the route, the busiest and the most lucrative one for the airlines. - PTI

Indonesia's surge in COVID-19 infections threatens to hamper government plans to reduce its fiscal deficit and could undermine the credit rating of Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.The rating agency's comments came days after S&P Global Ratings said the country's growing coronavirus outbreak was adding downside pressures on its economy and credit conditions.Moody's rates Indonesia's debt at Baa2, one notch above its lowest investment grade rating, with a stable outlook, similar to Fitch Ratings.S&P also gives Indonesia the same rating, but it has had a negative outlook on Indonesia's sovereign debt since April 2020."Although the effects of recently imposed movement restrictions have yet to show, a resurgence in more infectious mutations of the virus poses significant risks to Indonesia's economic recovery and will challenge government plans to reduce the fiscal deficit to pre-pandemic levels, a credit negative," Moody's said in a statement on Monday. - Reuters

Ripples of 2nd wave can still be seen. Idea of festivals is to share happiness, not COVID. For next 1-2 years till the pandemic is not under control, we shouldn't become part of reason for causing the pandemic to explode again: Dr Neeraj Nischal, AIIMS Prof, Medicine Dept to ANI -

Australian authorities said Victoria state would extend a COVID-19 lockdown beyond Tuesday to slow the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, despite a slight drop in new infections in the state and nationwide.Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said lockdown rules would not be lifted as cases were still being detected in the community, promising more details would be provided on Tuesday, when the lockdown had been due to end."It would be perhaps a few days of sunshine and then there is a very high chance that we'd be back in lockdown again. That's what I'm trying to avoid," Andrews told a news conference in Melbourne, the state capital.Victoria, the country's second most populous state, on Monday reported 13 locally acquired cases, down from 16 a day earlier. All new local cases are linked.Nearly half of Australia's 25 million people are living under lockdowns imposed to quell an outbreak fuelled by the highly transmissable Delta variant, which has become the worst this year. - Reuters

Over 200 people gathered for a religious function at a temple in Gujarat's Bhavnagar city following which police registered an FIR against its organisers for alleged violation of COVID-19 guidelines, an official said on Monday. Notably, the state government in a recent notification said all social, political and religious functions will be allowed with a maximum of 200 people in an open area and in case of closed space, a maximum 50 per cent capacity and not exceeding 200 attendees would be allowed. Acting on an information, the police reached the Dada Saheb Jain Temple in Kalanala area here on Sunday afternoon and found more than 200 people gathered at a hall in the premises, an official from Nilambagh police station said. - PTI

Odisha's COVID-19 tally soared to 9,55,974 on Monday as 1,648 more people tested positive for the infection, while 58 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 5,116, a health official said. Odisha registered a dip in fresh cases and fatalities. As many as 2,215 infections and 66 deaths were reported on Sunday. The state had been recording more than 60 daily deaths since the last one week. As many as 955 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 693 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. - PTI

The highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus is spreading rapidly across Sri Lanka and comprise around 30 per cent of the new cases reported in Colombo, the health authorities said on Monday, advising the government to stop relaxing travel restrictions. Deputy Director-General of health services Dr Hemantha Herath told reporters that the Delta variant, first reported in India, has also spread to the southern districts of Galle, and Matara, as well as to the northern districts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi. - PTI

• The Delta Plus variant - AY.1 and AY.2 - has so far been detected in 55-60 cases across 11 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh and is still being studied for its transmissibility, virulence, and vaccine escape characteristics, Dr Arora said, according to a Union Health Ministry statement. The Delta variant has mutations in its spike protein, which helps it bind to the ACE2 receptors present on the surface of the cells more firmly, making it more transmissible and capable of evading the body's immunity, Dr Arora said.
• “AY.1 is also found in countries like Nepal, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Japan but AY.2 is less prevalent. The variant is still being studied for its transmissibility, virulence, and vaccines escape characteristics," he said. Dr Arora said current vaccines are effective against Delta variant as per the studies undertaken by ICMR on the issue. - PTI

The Delta variant was primarily responsible for the second wave of COVID-19 in the country, accounting for over 80 per cent of new cases, Dr N K Arora, co-chair of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium said, underlining that the cases may go up if a new, more infectious variant comes. The variant is also around 40-60 percent more transmissible than its predecessor, Alpha variant, and has already spread to more than 80 countries, including the UK, the US and Singapore. - PTI

Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,46,681 on Monday as 32 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 5,120 as no fresh fatality was reported, it said. Ranchi district registered the highest number of new cases at 10, followed by East Singhbhum (five) and Dhanbad (four). The state now has 327 active cases, while 3,41,234 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 42 in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. - PTI

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday urged caution as the legal lockdown restrictions come to an end in England on so-called ‘Freedom Day’, even as he remains in self-isolation after coming in contact with UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid who has tested positive for COVID-19. Johnson warned of the ‘extreme contagiousness’ of the Delta variant of coronavirus, which continues to keep the infection rate in the country at very high levels. Under Step Four of the government's four-step roadmap to end lockdown, COVID restrictions have now been replaced with guidance emphasising personal judgement and responsibility on face masks in indoor settings and caution in large gatherings. - PTI

"Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has issued a revised and consolidated directive for Eid-Al-Adha celebrations for both rural and urban areas which will remain in force with effect from 5 am of July 20 until further order. - ANI

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Kerala government to file its response during the day on an application against the three-day relaxation in COVID-19 restrictions in the state in view of the upcoming Bakrid festival. On July 17, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced the concessions at a press conference and said that in view of Bakrid (Eid-ul-Azha) being celebrated on July 21, textiles, footwear shops, jewellery, fancy stores, shops selling home appliances and electronic items, all types of repairing shops and shops selling essential items shall be allowed to open on July 18, 19 and 20 from 7 AM to 8 PM in category A, B and C areas. The matter came up for hearing in the apex court before a bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai. - PTI

Trust in Indonesian President Joko Widodo's ability to handle the pandemic has fallen sharply among the public, a survey showed, as authorities struggle to contain a wave of coronavirus infections that has pushed hospitals to breaking point.Fueled by the spread of the more virulent Delta variant, Indonesia has reported more new COVID-19 cases than any country in the world, according to the latest seven-day average from a Reuters data tracker. It was second only to Brazil in terms of the number of deaths.The opinion poll by The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), which was conducted in late June before the worst of the current outbreak, showed trust that the president can handle the pandemic fell to 43% compared with 56.5% in a poll in February. - Reuters

Japanese shares ended lower on Monday for a fourth straight session, as sentiment was hit by worries over the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics could worsen the health crisis.The Nikkei share average fell 1.25% to 27,652.74, falling below a major support level of its 200-day moving average of 27,672 for the first time since early last year."The 200-day average is an important technical level. A fall below that could possibly lead to a fall to around 25,500," said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, a senior strategist at Mizuho Securities.Semiconductor-related stocks led the decline after U.S. tech shares slumped last week, with the Philadelphia semiconductor shares index hitting a one-month low.Taiyo Yuden lost 3.63%, while Sumco fell 4.1%. - Reuters

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court order quashing the Maharashtra government notifications regulating the rates chargeable by private hospitals and nursing homes to non-Covid patients. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and M R Shah said it is not going to interfere with the high court order as the state government cannot issue such notifications. At the outset, advocate Rahul Chitnis, appearing for the Maharashtra government, said the state has filed an appeal against the October 23, last year order of the high court quashing the notifications relating to capping of price of treatment for non-Covid patients. The bench said that it cannot issue such notifications at the time when the State government itself does not have necessary infrastructure to treat non-Covid patients at government hospitals. - PTI

The union territory of Puducherry logged 42 fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours, the first time in four months it came down below the fifty mark. The 42 new infections took the overall tally to 1,19,745, Director of the Department of Health S Mohan Kumar said on Monday. He said this was the first time after more than four months that Puducherry recorded less than 50 new cases. The Puducherry region reported 36 of the fresh cases, followed by Karaikal (three), Yanam (two) and Mahe (one). - PTI

The Australian dollar on Monday hit its lowest level against the greenback for 2021 as COVID-19 lockdowns that have restricted the mobility of almost half of the country's population were extended to stop the spread of Delta variant. Risk aversion in the region also pushed the kiwi dollar lower.The Aussie was 0.17% lower at $0.7385, as simultaneous lockdowns in Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which account for the bulk of the country's economic output and employment, hurt investor sentiment.That is the Aussie's lowest level since July 12, 2020, despite commodity prices that remain near multi-year highs, and is far from the currency's February high of $0.80.The risk-sensitive kiwi was also trading 0.09% lower on Monday at $0.6993, despite the hawkish outlook tabled by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand last week when it announced it would halt its bond buying stimulus programme, pushing the currency as high as $0.7050. - Reuters

Arunachal Pradesh reported 256 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the tally to 42,820, while the death toll mounted to 202 after a 95-year-old woman succumbed to the virus, a senior health department official said on Monday. The northeastern state now has 4,211 active cases and 38,407 people have recovered from the disease, he said. The elderly woman died at Rama Krishna Mission Hospital here due to Covid pneumonia, State Surveillance Officer Lobsang Jampa said. - PTI

The two-day Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or class 10 exams began across the state on Monday, amid COVID-19 concerns. As many as 8.76 lakh students have registered for the examination. This is for the second consecutive year that the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is conducting the SSLC examinations amid the pandemic. Due to COVID-19 situation, for the first time, the examinations have been reduced from six days to two days, with students writing one paper for three subjects per day. On Monday, students are writing the exam for core subjects mathematics, science and social science, while on July 22 there will be exams for languages such as Kannada, English, Hindi, Sanskrit. The department this year has increased the number of examination centres and teachers on duty, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board officials have said, adding that as many as 1.19 lakh staff have been deployed for 73,064 exam halls in 4,885 centres across the state. - PTI

• India saw a single day rise of 38,164 new coronavirus infections, while the death toll climbed to 4,14,108 with 499 daily fatalities, the lowest in around 104 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The total tally of COVID-19 cases has increased to 3,11,44,229.
• The active cases have declined to 4,21,665 and comprises 1.35 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.32 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed. A decrease of 995 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
• Also, 14,63,593 tests were conducted on Sunday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 44,54,22,256, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.61 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for 28 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.08 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,03,08,456 and the case fatality rate stands at 1.33 per cent, the data stated. - PTI

India reported on Monday 38,164 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, data from health ministry showed, with deaths rising by 499, lowest in over three months. - Reuters

Frontline health and social care workers in England may be able to carry on working even if they are exposed to someone with COVID-19, the government said on Monday as minister seek to ease pressure on the health service caused by rising infections.Cases of COVID-19 are surging in Britain, causing hundreds of thousands of workers to be told they need to spend 10 days at home because they have been identified as a close contact of someone with the disease.That has caused staff shortages in schools, businesses and the healthcare system.To ease the burden on the healthcare system, where the rise in cases is also causing increased workload, the government announced an exemption for fully-vaccinated staff in exceptional circumstances.The new rules will apply to staff whose absence would cause a significant risk of harm. - Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings fell to the lowest level in more than a year, according to a poll published on Monday, as a sluggish COVID-19 vaccine rollout dented voters' confidence in his conservative government.A Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper showed Morrison's public support dropped two points to 51% over the last three weeks, the lowest level since he faced criticism early last year over his response to devastating bushfires.Morrison has come under increasing pressure as a slow national vaccine rollout leaves Australia exposed to a deadly new wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Sydney and Melbourne, the country's biggest two cities, are in lockdown in a bid to stem a fast-moving outbreak of the Delta variant.Morrison's Liberal-National Party coalition government also slumped to its lowest electoral position this term, the Newspoll showed, trailing the opposition Labor Party 47-53 on a two-party preferred basis. - Reuters

China reported 31 new coronavirus cases in mainland on July 18 compared to 33 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Monday.Of the new cases, 26 originated overseas, and five were local transmissions, all in the southwestern border province of Yunnan, the National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin.Another 17 asymptomatic coronavirus cases were detected on the mainland on July 18, compared to 27 a day earlier. China does not count asymptomatic infections as confirmed cases.China's total accumulated COVID-19 cases has now reached 92,277, with deaths unchanged at 4,636. - Reuters

London clubbers on Monday flocked to one of the first rule-free live music events since the pandemic began last year, dancing through the night and rejoicing in human interaction as England lifted most COVID restrictions at midnight.Britain, which has one of the world's highest death tolls from COVID, is facing a new wave of cases, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson is lifting most restrictions in England in what some have dubbed "Freedom Day".Epidemiologists are generally skeptical that lifting restrictions is the right thing to do, but many young British people have had enough of more than 1 1/2 years of lockdowns, say they and crave a party."I have not been allowed to dance for like what seems like forever," said Georgia Pike, 31, at the Oval Space in Hackney, east London. - Reuters