Coronavirus Live News: On Covid surge after Durga Puja, Mamata Banerjee says, ‘most cases among fully vaccinated’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that the new cases of COVID infection in the state are from mostly among those who have been fully vaccinated but their immunity after being administered both doses is not exceeding six months. She directed the state health secretary to take up the matter with the Centre and seek to know the reasons behind it. "It may not be that these people (those affected by the pandemic after vaccination) are dying. But why will their immunity fall ? It's not a single case, there are a number of them," the chief minister said during an administrative at , West Bengal has in the last four days witnessed a sudden surge in the number of COVID-19 cases post Durga Puja festivities. "The recent cases of fresh infection are from among those who have already got both doses of the vaccine. There are reports. The reason is that the immunity given by the vaccine is not beyond six months. We all know that. Do not know how much you will be able to talk about it outside your home ... But the fact remains," Banerjee said during an administrative meeting here at the Uttar Kanya, the branch secretariat of the state government in north Bengal. - PTI

Venezuela on Monday reopened public schools and universities which serve more than 11 million students, after a long closure amid the coronavirus pandemic, though some schools remained closed for repairs or because of lack of staff.President Nicolas Maduro's government has delayed the restart of in-person classes several times, amid new peaks in infections and vaccination delays.Youth Minister Mervin Maldonado said 8.7 million children would return to classrooms across the country and some 3.1 million students would resume attending universities.Children dressed in uniforms of blue pants and red shirts and wearing masks filed into schools in the capital Caracas starting at 7 a.m., as teachers dispensed antibacterial gel. - Reuters

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 102.8 crore with more than 58 lakh vaccine doses administered on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night, it added. In the 18-44 age group, 40,92,47,732 first doses and 12,86,74,750 second doses have been administered since the start of phase three of the vaccination drive, according to health ministry data. The ministry further said that cumulatively 71,88,31,679 first doses and 30,98,37,374 second doses of Covid vaccine have been administered so far. India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 102.8 Crore (1,02,86,69,053) on Monday. More than 58 lakh (58,87,981) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm on Monday, it said. The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined. PTI

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,92,757 on Monday with the addition of eight cases, a health department official said. The death toll remained unchanged at 10,523, the official added. The recovery count stands at 7,82,150, leaving Madhya Pradesh with 84 active cases. With 53,932 samples being examined during the day, the number of tests so far in MP went up to 1,99,47,811, the official said. An official release said 6,89,29,743 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in MP, including 3,67,527 on Monday. Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 7,92,757, new cases 8, death toll 10,523 (no change), recovered 7,82,150, active cases 84, number of tests so far 1,99,47,811. PTI

The Bombay High Court on Monday said there was a chance of active COVID-19 cases rising despite large-scale vaccination as people were dropping their guard after getting inoculated. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said chances of Maharashtra witnessing a spike in cases was likely, especially during the festive season, since several citizens had stopped following safety protocols imposed by the government. "Despite large-scale vaccination, there are chances of increase in COVID-19 cases. This can be attributed to people dropping their guard after getting vaccinated and not following COVID appropriate behaviour," HC said. The bench made the observations while hearing a public interest litigation filed by social worker Firoz Mithiborwala seeking quashing of Maharashtra government's Standard Operation Procedure (SOPs) and its notification not permitting local train travel for those who were yet to complete both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. - PTI

Telangana on Monday recorded 179 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,70,453, while the death toll rose to 3,949 with two more fatalities. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of fresh cases with 66, followed by Karimnagar (15) and Warangal Urban (11) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM today. It said 104 people recovered from the infectious disease and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,62,481. Active cases stood at 4,023. It said 38,588 samples were tested on Monday and the total number tested till date was 2,73,47,333. The samples tested per million population were 7,34,748. The case fatality and recovery rates were at 0.59 per cent and 98.81 per cent compared to the national average of 1.3 per cent and 98.15 per cent, respectively. PTI

The financial capital on Monday reported 276 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the lowest after August 24, and seven fatalities, a civic official said. The tally of infections now stands at 7,53,956 and the death toll at 16,220. Mumbai had logged 270 cases on August 24. So far this month, Mumbai reported the highest number of fatalities (7) due to COVID-19 two times- on October 6 and 25. The day before Mumbai had recorded 408 cases and six fatalities. Generally, the city logs a fewer number of cases on Mondays due to a lesser number of tests. With 27,185 new tests, the number of samples examined so far in Mumbai rose to 1,12,41,005, the official said. Mumbai's average recovery rate is 97 per cent. The average doubling rate of cases is 1,314 days. The average growth rate of cases stood at 0.05 per cent for the period between October 18 and October 24, the official said. Currently, 43 buildings in Mumbai remain sealed due to COVID-19 cases, he said. PTI

The COVID-19 tally in Goa reached 1,77,915 after 29 cases were detected on Monday, while the death toll remained unchanged during the day at 3,358, an official said. The recovery count increased by 59 on Monday to touch 1,74,042, leaving the state with 515 active cases, he said. With 3,002 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 14,52,375, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures: Positive cases 1,77,915, new cases 29, death toll 3358, discharged 174042, active cases 515, samples tested till date 14,52,375. PTI

The Supreme Court Monday dismissed a plea seeking direction to stop mass COVID-19 vaccination of Covishield and Covaxin till all stages of clinical trials are completed saying it is key to protecting the population and no doubt should be cast on it. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna refused to entertain the plea challenging the May 26 order of Karnataka High Court dismissing the plea of an ex-serviceman Mathew Thomas. The bench said, ‘The High Court is right in dismissing the plea. Let us not cast doubt on the vaccination process. It is a key to protecting the population. We don't want the petition to be argued at all. Even issuing notice on this appeal will be subject to great mischief’. The bench further said that the country has gone through a very critical stage during the pandemic and India is not the only country where vaccination is underway. - PTI

China's latest COVID-19 outbreak has forced the capital Beijing to delay its annual marathon race and step up other curbs, as the sprawling city and neighbouring Hebei province go into high gear in their preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics Games.China reported 35 new domestically transmitted cases for Sunday, official data showed on Monday. Beijing has banned entry of people from other cities with cases, and closed indoor venues such as some chess and card parlours, even in districts without infections.The decision to postpone the Beijing marathon, which had been due to take place on Oct. 29-30, follows a similar decision in the central city of Wuhan, which hasn't reported any local infections.Although the infection numbers are far smaller than many places outside China, authorities have adopted a zero tolerance strategy, aggressively tracking potential infections, imposing travel restrictions and curbs on tourism and service sectors. - Reuters

Russia reported a record high number of daily COVID-19 cases and some central European countries imposed fresh restrictions on Monday, as a new wave of the pandemic gathered pace.In Asia, the Red Cross called for urgent help for Papua New Guinea and China's latest outbreak forced the capital Beijing to delay its annual marathon and step up other curbs, less than four months before it hosts the Winter Olympics.Authorities around the world have been sounding the alarm as infections surge, with governments in regions where vaccine uptake has been low forced to toughen up restrictions in a bid to stop the virus raging out of control.Russia on Monday reported 37,930 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic.Frustrated by the slow take-up of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine by its own population, authorities are introducing stricter measures this week to try to curb the spread of the pandemic. - Reuters

Moderna Inc said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated in children aged six to 11 years, and the company plans to submit the data to regulators soon.Moderna said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children and safety was comparable to what was previously seen in clinical trials of adolescents and adults.A panel of FDA advisers will vote on Tuesday whether to authorize rival Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11 years.The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for adults over the age of 18 years, and recently gained clearance for a third dose in some Americans.However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is yet to authorize the vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12 through 17. Sweden has paused the use of the Moderna vaccine for younger age groups after reports of cases of heart inflammation in young adults. - Reuters

Active COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh fell below 5,000 mark on Monday even as the state recorded 295 fresh infections, taking the tally to 20,63,872, while the death toll climbed to 14,350 with seven more deaths. With 560 people being cured, the total recoveries are at 20,44,692, leaving 4,830 active cases. East Godavari district accounted for the highest number of new cases with 69 followed by Krishna with 68, a state government bulletin said, providing details during the last 24 hours ending 9 AM today. Chittoor district topped the chart with 882 active cases followed by Krishna-842. More than 27,000 samples were examined today and cumulatively over 2.92 crore samples have been tested. Over five crore people have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine, a state government tweet said. PTI

Kerala on Monday recorded 6,664 fresh coronavirus cases, and 281 related deaths which raised the caseload to 49,12,789 and toll to 28,873. Of the 281 deaths, 53 were reported in the last few days, 219 were those which were not confirmed until June 18 last year due to lack of adequate documentation and 9 were designated as COVID deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, a state government release said. With 9,010 more people recovering from the virus since Sunday, the total recoveries touched 48,17,785 and the active cases dropped to 74,735, the release said. As many as 61,202 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 1,168 cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (909) and Kollam (623). - PTI

Over 550 students have tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh in one month, a state health official said on Monday. As many as 556 students of various government and private schools have tested positive from September 27 to October 25, he added. The highest, 196 students, were found corona-positive in Hamirpur district, followed by 173 in Kangra, 104 in Una, 26 in Mandi, 22 in Shimla, 14 in Kinnaur, eight in Kullu, seven in Bilaspur, four in Solan and one each in Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti districts, he added. Of 196 students in Hamirpur district, 35 students of Navodaya Vidyalaya at Doongri were found Covid-positive on October 8, while 15 and 12 students of the Government Senior Secondary School in Bara were tested positive for the viral disease on October 23 and 24 respectively. - PTI

The Delhi High Court Monday said that prima facie, a suit filed by several doctors' associations against Yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly spreading misinformation against allopathy amid the COVID-19 pandemic deserves consideration and cannot be ‘thrown out’ at the first stage. Justice C Hari Shankar said at the present stage, it only needs ‘to see if allegations in the plaint make out a case to be entertained’. ‘The allegations may be right or maybe wrong. He may say he did not say any such thing... It needs to be looked into,’ said the judge. ‘Prime facie, it appears that the present suit can't be thrown out at the threshold without granting leave to institute the suit,’ said the court which had earlier sought Ramdev's stand on the institution of the proceeding. The court listed the matter on October 27 to enable the counsel for Ramdev to make his submissions. - PTI

Six persons in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh were found infected with the new coronavirus variant AY.4, a health official said on Monday. ‘As per the report received from the Delhi-based National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), six persons were found infected with the AY.4 variant of coronavirus. Their samples were sent for genome sequencing along with other infected persons in September,’ chief medical and health officer (CMHO) B S Saitya said. It is for the first time in the last 19-month history of the pandemic that the AY.4 variant was found, he said. Saitya said all the six persons who were found to be infected with the AY.4 variant were fully vaccinated. They have recovered after treatment, he added. The CMHO said over 50 people who came in contact with these six persons in the last few days were found to be healthy after testing. Meanwhile, Dr Anita Mutha, who heads the microbiology department of the Indore-based Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, said AY.4 is a new variant of coronavirus and not much information is available about its severity. - PTI

The Delhi High Court Monday told the authorities here that guidelines and protocols set for COVID appropriate behaviour and controlling of the crowd in marketplaces must be followed scrupulously in this festive season. The high court's order came while hearing a PIL initiated on its own on violation of COVID-19 protocols in various markets in the national capital. The high court said it does not want to see penalties being collected from people for violation of COVID-19 norms but it wants that the crowd is being managed nicely by the authorities. We expect from the respondents (Centre, Delhi government and Delhi Police) that these guidelines, Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), COVID appropriate behaviour, and controlling of the crowd at market places will be executed by them scrupulously in this festive season," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said. (PTI)

Russia reported another daily record of confirmed coronavirus cases Monday as a surge in infections has prompted the Kremlin to tell most people to stay away from work starting later this week. The Russian government's coronavirus task force tallied 37,930 new confirmed cases in 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. The task force also reported 1,069 more COVID-19 deaths in the same period, slightly fewer than a record of 1,075 reached over the weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russians not to go to work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7, when the country will observe an extended holiday. In some of Russia's 85 regions where the situation is particularly grave, Putin said the nonworking period could begin earlier and be extended beyond Nov. 7. During that time, most state organizations and private businesses, except for those operating key infrastructure and a few others, are to halt work. (AP)

Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Monday announced a special COVID-19 inoculation drive for 10,000 people who would be observing Chhath Puja across the city. The special vaccination drive will be launched by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri from Kadipur near Burari on Tuesday.  "We have to celebrate Chhath Puja with precautions so a 'Chhath Vrati Special Vaccination Abhiyan' will be started from tomorrow (Tuesday). "In this campaign, 10,000 devotees who would observe the Puja but could not get inoculated due to any reason would be covered," Tiwari told reporters at a press conference. The BJP leader said that party councillors with the help of municipalities will visit every locality and identify people who could not get vaccinated against COVID-19. He said that the vaccination programme will be carried out in association with an NGO Delhiites. He said that for the first phase the entire drive has been divided into 10 sectors. "In my constituency (Northeast Delhi), 4,000 vaccines will be administered to Chhath devotees while 1,000 each will be distributed in the remaining six parliamentary constituencies of Delhi. We aim to finish this special vaccination drive before November 9," Tiwari said.  (PTI)

People in Tokyo can eat and drink in bars and restaurants later in the evening starting Monday as officials ease social distancing rules with the country's daily coronavirus cases reaching their lowest levels in more than a year. Crowds have been returning to bars and trains since Japan lifted its moderate state of emergency on Sept. 30. But officials in Tokyo had asked food and beverage businesses to maintain their early closures through Sunday as a precaution against a quick resurgence. After seeing daily jumps of nearly 6,000 cases in mid-August, Tokyo is now reporting less than 50 new coronavirus infections a day. The 17 new cases reported on Monday was the lowest since June 2020. "I'm overjoyed," Mitsuru Saga, owner of the Taiko Chaya Japanese restaurant in downtown Tokyo, said in an interview with Nippon Television. He said his restaurant will now operate until 11 p.m. for the first time in 11 months. Eateries had been asked to close by 9 p.m. and not serve alcohol. But Saga said he's concerned that many people will still feel uneasy eating indoors.  "Many people now drink at home (due to COVID-19), and I'm worried whether customers will come back," he said. (AP)

Expressing concern over cases of a sublineage of SARS CoV2's delta variant, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asked the central government on Monday to prepare and issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for its prevention. In a tweet, he said many cases of Delta Plus AY.4.2, a new mutated form of coronavirus that has killed thousands of people in several countries like Russia and the UK, have been found in India. "The central government should prepare and issue SOPs for its prevention on the basis of the experience of other countries," Gehlot tweeted in Hindi. "Initially, there were only a few cases of the delta variant but it did not take time to spread across the country," he said. The chief minister added that the government should learn from previous experiences and make full preparations to deal with the new variant. (PTI)

• US Int'l Development Finance Corp COO & Biological E Ltd MD unveiled expansion of Biological E’s vaccine manufacturing facility, Hyderabad & finalised US govt financing arrangement formalising $50 mn to expand company’s COVID vaccine producing capacity: US Embassy&Consulates in India
• Continued partnership will help bolster near-term COVID response efforts & benefit long-term global health in India & throughout Indo-Pacific region. This is in support of historic commitment set out by President Biden & his counterparts in "Quad": US Embassy&Consulates in India (ANI)

Schools, colleges to reopen in West Bengal from November 15, says CM Mamata Banerjee (PTI)

South Korea will donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to Iran, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday reported 37,930 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic. The government's coronavirus taskforce reported 1,069 deaths related to the virus, six short of the record of 1,075 set on Saturday. Faced with worsening infection rates and frustrated by the slow take-up of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine by its own population, authorities are introducing stricter measures this week to try to curb the spread of the pandemic. President Vladimir Putin last week declared that Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 would be paid non-working days. (Reuters)

Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks. Local city and provincial level governments in at least five provinces issued notices in recent days announcing that children ages 3-11 will be required to get their vaccinations. The expansion of the vaccination campaign comes as parts of China take new clampdown measures to try to stamp out small outbreaks. Gansu, a northwestern province heavily dependent on tourism, closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new COVID-19 cases. Residents in parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay indoors due to an outbreak there. The National Health Commission reported 35 new cases of local transmission had been detected over the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu. Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, with others scattered around the country. China has employed lockdowns, quarantines and compulsory testing for the virus throughout the pandemic and has largely stamped out cases of local infection while fully vaccinating 1.07 billion people in its population of 1.4 billion. In particular, the government is concerned about the spread of the more contagious delta variant by travelers and about having a largely vaccinated public ahead of the Beijing Olympics in February. Overseas spectators already have been banned from the Games, and participants will have to stay in a bubble separating them from people outside. (AP)

India is committed to supplying COVID-19 vaccines to other nations and such supplies are likely to begin by the end of this year, as the abundant production will not just meet domestic needs but also generate surplus for exports. a top government official said on Monday. The official, however, added that the supply of vaccines to other nations will have to be balanced against the country's vaccination program. "India's commitment to provide vaccines to other nations stands. It has been reiterated by the Indian leadership... However, major supplies to other nations will have to be balanced against India's own needs of vaccines for the country's vaccination program," the official told PTI on condition of anonymity. India, the world's largest producer of vaccines overall, had suspended exports of COVID-19 vaccines in April to focus on inoculating its own population following a sudden spike in infections. "We do foresee that there will be spare supplies, and in fact going into late 2021 and beyond, there will be generous vaccine supplies, which would then become available for exports, so the situation is being watched carefully, it is a dynamic situation," he said. According to the official, currently the priority is to cover the eligible population of India effectively and in the shortest possible time. "The export needs and commitments are also carefully watched and monitored," he said, adding that going forward, the calibrated approach to exporting vaccines would be taken. The official said: "India would particularly like to fulfil its commitment to COVAX." (PTI)

Mexico's Health Ministry on Sunday registered 87 more confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,666 new cases, bringing the country's overall death toll to 286,346 and the total number of cases to 3,783,327. (Reuters)

Puducherry witnessed a fall in the number of fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 ours ending with 30 infections taking the overall tally to 1,27,765. After recording 61 new cases on Sunday, the union territory added 30 in the last 24 hours, Director of the Health Department G Sriramulu said in a release here. The fresh infections were detected at the end of the examination of 2,618 samples, he said, adding the Puducherry region accounted for 18 cases followed by Karaikal (9) and Mahe (3). The cumulative cases rose to 1,27,765. The Yanam region, an enclave in Andhra Pradesh, did not report any fresh cases, he said. Sriramulu said the number of active cases stood at 454 with 87 undergoing treatment in hospitals and the remaining 367 in home isolation. He said while 43 patients recovered and were discharged from healthcare facilities during the last 24 hours, the overall recoveries stood at 1,25,454. No fresh fatality was reported during the last 24 hours from any of the regions and the death toll remained at 1,857. (PTI)

Britain is likely to require staff in the National Health Service to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday. He told Sky News that mandatory vaccines for health workers would help to protect patients, and that he was not deterred by the fact there is already a staff shortage in the health system. "We are considering it," he told Sky News. "We're yet to make a final decision but I am leaning towards doing it." (Reuters)

Mizoram reported a dip in COVID-19 cases as 158 new infections were detected on Monday, 414 less than the previous day, pushing the tally to 1,17,419, a health department official said. The northeastern state on Sunday had reported 572 cases and on Saturday 745 cases. With daily COVID-19 cases falling below 1,000 for 11 consecutive days since October 15, Mizoram health officials believe the state's COVID curve has started to show a downward trend. The single-day positivity rate on Monday dipped to 6 per cent from 9.47 per cent on Sunday, he said. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 412 as five more persons succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours. Of the 158 fresh COVID-19 cases, 157 were confirmed through Rapid Antigen Tests, while one was detected at a TrueNat facility, he said, adding that 33 children were among the newly infected people. According to a government bulletin, Aizawl district reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 73,226, followed by Lunglei (9,192) and Kolasib district (7,629). So far, Aizawl district reported the highest COVID-19 fatalities at 296, followed by Kolasib (30) and Lunglei (26), the bulletin said. (PTI)

Mumbai | Total fine of Rs 77,37,41,000 has been collected from mask rule violators till 24th October: BMC pic.twitter.com/pugvkmbFuo

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BSP President Mayawati on Monday said the decision of the Uttar Pradesh government to provide financial assistance to the kin of those killed due to COVID-19 has come in very late. The Yogi Adityanath government in the state had last week announced an assistance of Rs 50,000 each to the kin of those killed due to COVID-19 infection. In a tweet in Hindi, the BSP supremo said, "The decision of the UP government to provide financial assistance to the families of those who died from Corona has been taken very late.Now they should get this help soon." Coronavirus has so far claimed 22,899 lives in the state. (PTI)

Ladakh recorded five fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 20,904 while the number of active cases in the union territory has gone down to 37, officials said. Ladakh has registered 208 Covid-related deaths -- 150 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. Six patients of coronavirus were cured and discharged from hospitals, thereby taking the tally of recoveries to 20,659, they said. A total of 173 sample reports in Ladakh were tested negative, they said. There was no death reported due to Covid in Ladakh Sunday. All the five new cases were reported in Leh, they said. (PTI)

Ladakh recorded five fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 20,904 while the number of active cases in the union territory has gone down to 37, officials said. Ladakh has registered 208 Covid-related deaths -- 150 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. Six patients of coronavirus were cured and discharged from hospitals, thereby taking the tally of recoveries to 20,659, they said. A total of 173 sample reports in Ladakh were tested negative, they said. There was no death reported due to Covid in Ladakh Sunday. All the five new cases were reported in Leh, they said. (PTI)

Arunachal Pradesh did not register any fresh COVID-19 case in the past 24 hours, while 10 more single-day recoveries were reported, a senior health department official said on Monday. The tally remained at 55,089 with 132 active infections, he said.  The death toll, too, stood at 280, as no new fatality was reported since Sunday, State Surveillance Officer Lobsang Jampa said. Arunachal Pradesh now has a recovery rate of 99.25 per cent, after 54,677 people were discharged from hospitals. West Kameng district has the highest number of active cases at 33, followed by Tawang (20), Namsai (17) and East Siang (12), the SSO said. The northeastern state has so far tested 11,80,648 samples for COVID-19. (PTI)

Poland's daily COVID-19 cases are growing at a rate of around 90% compared to the previous week, a deputy health minister said on Monday, as the fourth wave of the pandemic gathers pace. "The results we got on Monday do not reflect what stage of the pandemic we are currently at, they are always lower ... but what is more important is this strong uptrend, and at a high level, which is holding, at the moment it is around over 90% compared to last week," Waldemar Kraska told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1. (Reuters)

Schools in Karnataka re-opened for students of classes 1 to 5 from Monday, strictly adhering to COVID-19 related precautions and guidelines. However, several private schools in the city and in different places across the state, have decided to reopen schools for these students only after Deepavali, official sources said. Several schools had made special arrangements by decorating premises and classrooms to welcome students. "I'm happy to come back to school. I had missed meeting friends, as I could rarely come out of home and there was no school. All these days I used to see teachers teaching on mobile or laptop, now I can see directly," a student of class 4 said with joy. A teacher said the schools have made all the necessary arrangements by following the SOPs issued by the government, and felt happy welcoming children back. With COVID-19 cases declining, Karnataka government in consultation with COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on October 18 had decided to permit re-opening of schools for students of classes 1 to 5 from October 25, by strictly adhering to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and SOPs issued by the Department of Primary and Secondary Education. Parental consent letter for physical classes is mandatory. (PTI)