With the daily tally of new coronavirus cases touching a 24-day high at 41,649 cases on Saturday, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to several States that all districts reporting a positivity rate of more than 10% in the last few weeks ought to consider strict restrictions.
According to a statement from the Health Ministry the curbs must aim to “prevent/curtail movement of people, formation of crowds and intermingling of people to prevent spread of infection”.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Odisha govt. eases COVID-19 restrictions
The Odisha government on Saturday announced graded unlocking process throughout the State beginning August 1.
Following improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the State, the government lifted weekend shutdown restrictions, except at three urban centres such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, and allowed all shops to resume daily business.
The duration of night curfew has also been reduced. The curfew will now be in force across the State from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. instead of the present 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Karnataka insists on RT-PCR test for Kerala, Maharashtra travellers
With Kerala and Maharashtra seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases, Karnataka has made a negative RT-PCR certificate mandatory for all arrivals from the two States. The certificate should not be older than 72 hours, irrespective of vaccination status.
“The negative certificate is mandatory for all the passengers coming to Karnataka by flight, bus, train and personal transport. This is applicable for all flights originating in Kerala and Maharashtra. Airlines should issue boarding passes only to passengers carrying RT-PCR negative certificates not older than 72 hours,” an official circular said.
The government directed all Deputy Commissioners of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru and Belagavi, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi and Bidar, to establish border check posts and deploy staff to ensure that all vehicles (driver, passengers, helper, cleaner) entering Karnataka are checked for compliance.