Coronavirus in India Latest Update Live: All-party meet over Covid management begins; Chandigarh allows reopening of higher educational institutes from August

The COVID-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 7,516 as six more people tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Tuesday. Of the new patients, three have travel history and others were detected during contact tracing, he said. The death toll remained at 129 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, the official said. At least three more people were cured of the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 7,368. The Union Territory now has 19 active cases. South Andaman is the worst-affected district as it currently has 18 active cases. (PTI)

Uttarakhand reports 50 new #COVID cases, 33 recoveries, and zero deaths today.Active cases: 620Death toll: 7,357 (ANI)

Karnataka reports 1,464 fresh #COVID cases, 2,706 discharges, and 29 deaths in the past 24 hours.Active cases: 26,256Total discharges: 28,24,197Death toll: 36,226 (ani)

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday virtually inaugurated a 100-bed makeshift COVID-19 hospital at Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda district. The chief minister thanked the HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) team for supporting the state government in developing the facility to tackle future waves of the pandemic. Singh described it as yet another example of Punjabis rising to every challenge. No war since the Independence has led to such loss of lives as the pandemic, he pointed out, adding, "We have fought together but the war is still on and we have to be prepared for the third wave." (PTI)

Madhya Pradesh saw 19 fresh cases of coronavirus that took its tally of infections to 7,91,689 on Tuesday, an official from the state health department said. With no new casualties, the toll stood at 10,512, while the count of recoveries reached 7,80,987, the official said, adding that the central state is now left with 190 active cases. At least 72,713 swab samples were tested during the day, taking the number of tests conducted so far in the state to 1,36,28,509, it was stated. (PTI) 

Authorities in Mexico say they have found fake doses of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir offered for sale on the internet and at a private hospital near the US border. The federal medical safety commission said late Monday that the fake antiviral drug, which it called "a health risk," was found at a hospital in the Gulf coast city of Tampico, in the border state of Tamaulipas. The commission said the doses had been purchased in an "irregular manner" on the internet, but did not say whether the medication had been used there. The drug's manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, confirmed the falsification. The appearance and lot numbers on the packaging did not match the original. The US and Mexico have approved remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19. (AP)

The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Maharashtra crossed the 4-crore mark on Tuesday, including one crore doses being given to beneficiaries in less than a month's time due to increase in stock, officials said. Maharashtra hit the 3-crore mark on June 26, while the number of doses administered had crossed the 2-crore mark on May 13. The state had administered 1.20 lakh doses till Tuesday afternoon, in the process taking the overall count to over 4 crore, with 3,06,99,399 people getting the first jab and 93,25,362 getting the second one as well, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas said. (PTI)

The Centre has moved the Supreme Court seeking extension of time granted by the apex court to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to frame guidelines for ex-gratia compensation to families of those who died of COVID-19 by another four weeks. The apex court had in its June 30 verdict directed NDMA to recommend within six weeks appropriate guidelines for ex-gratia assistance on account of loss of life to the family members of persons who died due to COVID-19. The Centre in an application said that the exercise which was in active consideration of the NDMA was at an advance stage and requires a little more in-depth examination. "Applicant (Union of India) respectfully submits that exercise to frame appropriate guidelines for payment of ex-gratia payment to the victims of COVID-19 disaster under section 12 (iii) of the DMA (Disaster Management Act) is in active consideration of the NDMA and going on," said the plea, drawn by advocate Rajat Nair. "It is submitted this exercise, though at an active advance stage, requires a little more in-depth examination before the same is finalised and implemented. Any accelerated formulation, in the respectful submission of the applicant, may result into undesirable results," it said. The Centre urged the top court to grant another four weeks to frame the guidelines. (PTI)

Kerala reports 16,848 new COVID cases, 12,052 recoveries, and 104 deaths todayActive cases: 1,26,398 Total recoveries: 30,45,310Death toll: 15,512 (ANI)

The Union Territory of Ladakh recorded seven COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking its infection tally to 20,264, while 11 more patients were cured of the disease, pushing the number of recoveries to 19,959, officials said. All seven new cases are in Leh, they said. There was no fresh fatality due to the disease in the UT, and the death toll stands at 206, the officials added. The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ladakh now stands at 99 -- 83 in Leh and 16 in Kargil district. (PTI)

Chandigarh administration allows reopening of institutes of higher education for next academic session from August, subject to the condition that all staff & students must have received at least one dose of vaccine at least two weeks ago. (ANI)

The strategy to prevent resurgence of COVID-19 cases through various public health measures has been deliberated upon in different technical committees and the Centre continues to advise states to strictly follow the strategy of "test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour", Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday. Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said this in response to a question on whether the government has undertaken any detailed study with experts on how to minimise the threat and likelihood of a third wave of the pandemic, if not prevention. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Pawar said the strategy and interventions required to prevent resurgence of COVID-19 cases through instituting various public health measures has been deliberated upon in various technical committees under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Directorate General of Health Services. These technical committees include subject experts from the field of public health, clinicians, scientists, microbiologists, etc. drawn from eminent public health institutions and hospitals as well as the World Health Organization. The Ministry of Health continues to advise states to strictly follow the five-fold strategy of "Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour", Pawar said in the reply. States and union territories have been accordingly advised the same through formal communications, video conferences as well as through deployment of central teams. (PTI)

The big issue is the disastrous position we are seeing due to the second COVID wave. I request parties, political leaders to concentrate on how Centre failed to solve our problems. Why waste time unnecessarily by taking up phone tapping issue?: Former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy (ANI)

Sikkim on Tuesday reported 147 new COVID-19 cases, which pushed the tally in the state to 23,796, a health department bulletin said. The death toll rose to 325 as one more person succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, it said. Of the fresh cases, 76 were reported from East Sikkim, 45 from West Sikkim and 26 from South Sikkim. Health Minister Dr MK Sharma had on Monday said several cases of Delta variant of coronavirus have been detected in the state. (PTI)

The Delhi High Court Tuesday said it expect that the Delhi government will take a final decision within two or three days on the issue of re-opening of spas in the national capital by imposing strict conditions in line with COVID-19 guidelines. The high court said spas can be allowed to start subject to conditions such as permitting only vaccinated employees and client and curtailing the number of persons at a time. Justice Rekha Palli, who was hearings pleas to reopen spas which have been shut since April on account of the second wave of COVID-19, said that if no decision is taken by the next date of hearing on July 27, the issue would be heard by the court. "If they don't take a decision, we will see. I have given an indication," the judge said. (PTI)

he Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday made a negative coronavirus report or vaccination certificate mandatory between Aug 1 and 15 for those entering the state from areas having more than three per cent weekly positivity rate. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters said it will be applicable for all those coming by air, rail or road routes from such states. All those coming from other states having weekly positivity rate more than three per cent will have to produce a negative RTPCR report not older than four days or vaccination certificate of both doses, Prasad said. "The restriction is only for the states having high weekly positivity rate of over three per cent. There is no restriction for other states," he said, adding that the number of active cases in the state has come down to 1,093 in Uttar Pradesh. (PTI)

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to launch a free vaccination drive through private hospitals in the state, for the benefit of public, by utilising CSR funds provided by private companies, state Health Minister M Subramanian said on Tuesday. Talks were held in this connection with 117 private hospitals in Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Salem and the scheme will be launched in this city initially and later expanded to other parts of the state, Subramanian told reporters here. (PTI)

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said several Indian companies are increasing their production of COVID-19 vaccines and that the country may become the first in the world to develop a DNA-based vaccine. Replying to a short duration discussion on COVID-19 management in Rajya Sabha, the minister said technology transfer to several companies has started and they will begin production in the coming days to reduce vaccine shortage in the country. "Cadila has completed third phase trial of its DNA vaccine and has applied for emergency use authorisation before DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India). Our expert team is looking into it. When this will come in the market, India will be the only country where scientists have developed a DNA vaccine," Mandaviya said in Rajya Sabha. (PTI)

Opposition members criticised the handling of the Covid pandemic by the government and the vaccination programme while debating in Rajya Sabha and said people were dying on the streets due to lack of oxygen, which is a matter of shame in the 21st century. While participating in a short duration discussion on the management of the pandemic, implementation of vaccination policy and challenges of a likely third wave, the Opposition members of the Upper House questioned the government's preparedness and suggested for a better coordination with the state governments. (PTI)

The Gauhati High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the "alarming" Covid-19 situation in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh observing that the positivity rate in the three states is "extremely high". The Gauhati High Court is the common high court of four states. While its principal seat is at Guwahati in Assam, it has three outlying benches at Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar for the states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh respectively. (PTI)

Kerala on Tuesday recorded 16,848 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection caseload to 31,87,716, with the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) climbing close to 12 per cent after remaining around the 10 per cent mark for several weeks. The number of people who have succumbed to the virus rose to 15,512 with 104 more deaths, a state government release said. (PTI)

Once India starts reopening schools, it will be wise to being with the primary section as children have a lower number of ace receptors to which virus attaches, making them much better at handling viral infections than adults, said ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava on Tuesday. He, however, stressed that for such a step to be considered, it must be ensured that school teachers and other support staff members are vaccinated. Addressing a press conference, he said the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR's) latest national serosurvey has found that the seroprevalence among those aged six to nine was 57.2 per cent which is very similar to adults. (PTI)

Andhra Pradeshs cumulative coronavirus cases touched 19,44,222 as 2,498 were reported afresh in 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. The state also reported 2,201 recoveries and 24 deaths in24 hours, a health department bulletin said. The total recoveries increased to 19,07,201 and deaths to 13,178, it said. (PTI)

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge said on Tuesday that the government's COVID-19 death toll figure of 4-5 lakh is "false" and conservative and claimed the average number of deaths cannot be less than 52.4 lakh so far in the country. Participating in a short duration discussion on COVID-19 management in the Upper House, the Congress leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "failed" in tackling the pandemic and made former health minister Harsh Vardhan a scapegoat for the "mismanagement" of the health crisis. (PTI)

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday demanded 40 lakh more COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Centre on an urgent basis to inoculate the state's eligible population. Singh said the state was expecting 2.46 lakh doses to arrive Tuesday but noted that vaccines remain in short supply as it has run out of Covishield and was left with a mere 3,500 Covaxin doses as of Monday. (PTI)

Andhra Pradesh reports 2,498 fresh COVID cases,  2,201 recoveries, and 24 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Active cases: 23,843Total recoveries: 19,07,201Death toll: 13,178 (ANI)

Zydus Cadila, Bharat Biotech conducting trials of Covid vaccines on children. Also, Zydus Cadila has applied for emergency use authorisation for its DNA-based vaccine against coronavirus: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Rajya Sabha. (PTI)

The Punjab government on Tuesday ordered reopening of schools for Classes 10 to 12 from July 26 as it further relaxed Covid curbs. Besides, the state government also announced to increase the number of people for indoor events to 150 and outdoor programmes to 300, subject to an upper limit of 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue, a statement said. Earlier, the gathering of 100 persons for indoor and 200 for outdoor events was allowed. (PTI)

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday made a negative coronavirus report or vaccination certificate mandatory for those entering the state from areas having more than three per cent weekly positivity rate. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters said it would be applicable for all those coming by air, rail or road routes from such states. All those coming from other states having weekly positivity rate more than three per cent will have to produce a negative RTPCR report not older than four days or vaccination certificate of both doses, Prasad said. (PTI)

Iran on Tuesday broke another record in the country's daily new coronavirus cases, even as Tehran and its surroundings went into lockdown, a week-long measure imposed amid another surge in the pandemic. The country's health ministry announced 27,444 new cases and 250 deaths over the past day, bringing the overall death toll to 87,624 from among more than 3.5 million confirmed cases in the pandemic. (PTI)

Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma Tuesday said the state has managed to "control" the first and the second waves of coronavirus, but urged people to strictly follow health guidelines to prevent a third wave of the pandemic. He was speaking after the foundation-laying ceremony for the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) near Bairwa Basti of Kishanpole Assembly constituency under the National Urban Health Mission. (PTI)

More importantly, a third of the population did not have antibodies i.e 40 crore of the population of the country is still vulnerable: ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava on Fourth National Serosurvey for Covid-19

Children can handle viral infection much better than adults. It has been established that children have lower number of receptors than adults where the virus attaches Once India starts considering opening of schools, it will be wise to open primary schools first DG, @ICMRDELHI pic.twitter.com/zkdNQnQlM2

— PIB India (@PIB_India) July 20, 2021

No deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. But there was an unprecedented surge in demand for medical oxygen during the second wave and it peaked at nearly 9000 MT compared to 3095 MT in the first wave following which the Centre had to step in to facilitate equitable distribution among the states, it said. (PTI)

Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday appealed to the youth to act as ambassadors to motivate people on vaccination against Covid-19. Addressing students of the Bharathidasan government college for women on the second day of four-day vaccination festival here she said, "youth should function as ambassadors to motivate people on vaccination so that all would be safe." She said the territorial government aimed at establishing a cent percent coverage of all eligible people under vaccination before August 15 synchronising with the 75th Independent Day. (PTI)

Singapore has gone back to heightened alert measures to control people's movement in its fight against the spread of COVID-19 as the heath authorities reported 195 new infections on Tuesday. The Ministry of Health said 182 of Tuesday's cases were locally transmitted infection, 135 of which are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and 12 are linked to Karaoke TV cluster. The port receives fish from regional fishing network operators. There were 13 imported cases on Tuesday. Dining in will not be allowed from Thursday (July 22) to August 18 to stem the recent spike in community (local) cases. - PTI

Lockdowns induced by the second wave of COVID-19 are expected to affect business in the short term, and there is some uncertainty on the demand for vehicles in the months ahead, according to tyre major MRF Ltd. In his address to shareholders in the company's annual report for 2020-21, MRF Chairman and Managing Director KM Mammen said the company is hoping that demand for tyres will pick up now as the lockdowns have been lifted. "Industries have learned to work with lockdowns, though in many cases businesses have been affected adversely. Lockdowns have affected our business also and we are hoping that demand for tyres will pick up now that the lockdowns have been lifted," he wrote. Stating that automobile companies had also cut down their production during the lockdowns, Mammen said, "They appear to be getting back to normalcy after the lifting of the lockdown. There is some amount of uncertainty as to how demand will be for vehicles going forward in the months ahead". - PTI

The main opposition Congress said it wouldn't attend the government's meeting with floor leaders of all parties on COVID-19 later on Tuesday. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress is not boycotting the meeting, but it will not attend as it wants the government to present the facts on the floor of both houses of Parliament. The ruling BJP's erstwhile ally SAD will also not attend the meeting, its president Sukhbir Singh Badal said. The government has called the meeting of floor leaders of all parties on the COVID-19 management. The Health Secretary is expected to make a presentation in the meeting, which is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. - PTI