The coronavirus has hit another sobering milestone: more than 50 million positive cases worldwide since the pandemic began. Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker reported more than 50.2 million COVID-19 cases globally as of Sunday.
There have been more than 1.2 million deaths from the disease worldwide since the pandemic started. The U.S., with about 4% of the world’s population, represents almost a fifth of all reported cases.
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:
Delhi: 50% jump in home isolation cases in two weeks
As the national capital reels under the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients under home isolation in Delhi has mounted to 24,723, a rise of 50 per cent in the last two weeks, while the containment zones count has expanded by over 32 per cent in the same period.
The number of home isolation cases on October 26 stood at 16,396 and the containment zones count that day was 2930, according to official data.
TataMD launches new test for COVID-19
Tata Medical and Diagnostics Ltd (TataMD) on Monday launched new diagnostic testing for COVID-19 -- claiming it to be more efficient and simpler than the existing ones -- with the ability to scale up test on a large scale across the country.
The company’s test ‘TataMD CHECK’ has been developed in partnership with CSIR-IGIB (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology).
It has been approved by Indian Council of Medical Research and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and will be available through diagnostic centres and hospitals across India shortly, the company said.
Delhi overtakes Maharashtra as highest contributor to new COVID-19 cases
Seventy-nine per cent of the 45,903 new COVID-19 cases are from 10 states and UTs, with Delhi overtaking Maharashtra and Kerala by reporting 7,745 infections in a span of 24 hours to become the largest contributor to the single-day infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. Delhi had earlier overtaken Maharashtra and Kerala on November 7 also.
The city has reported the highest daily new cases, also its highest tally so far with 7,745 new cases. The national capital is followed by Maharashtra with 5,585 cases and Kerala with 5,585 cases, the ministry said.
Actor Chiranjeevi, who recently met KCR, tests positive
Actor Chiranjeevi has tested positive for coronavirus. The 65-year-old said that he underwent COVID-19 test as part of the safety protocol before joining the sets of his upcoming movie ‘Acharya’.
“Unfortunately tested positive. I am currently asymptomatic and quarantining myself at home,” he said. He further requested all those who met him in the last five days to also undergo COVID-19 test.
TTD will take a call on sevas after Unlock 6 guidelines: EO
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy has said that a decision on performing ‘sevas’ and extending darshan to senior citizens at the Lord Venkateswara temple will be taken after the Central government issues the ‘Unlock 6’ guidelines.
During his maiden ‘Dial Your EO’ programme at Tirumala on Sunday, Mr. Jawahar Reddy addressed 29 callers, many of whom sought reintroduction of Arjitha sevas and the special darshan queue for senior citizens, physically challenged and woman carrying infants, which were suspended after the lockdown was clamped to check the spread of coronavirus.
A caller Ramachandra Rao from Hyderabad wanted the TTD to emulate the Dubai airport model in providing entry to senior citizens without waiting time. Srinivasulu from Nellore urged Mr. Jawahar Reddy to keep the temple and its vicinity sanitised in view of the rise in the pilgrim footfalls.
Radiology holds key in tackling the pandemic
The Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital celebrated a rare achievement on Sunday, the International Day of Radiology (IDoR). It has performed over 17,000 CT scans and 16,000 X-ray scans on persons with COVID-19.
The IDoR, first introduced in 2012, is celebrated on November 8 and coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of X-rays.
The theme for the current year is ‘Radiologists and radiographers supporting patients during COVID-19’.
Dean R. Jayanthi said the government installed an exclusive CT scanner for the post-COVID care centre within a fortnight. “Ever since this hospital was declared an exclusive COVID care hospital for the State, we have in place stringent measures to prevent infection to staff and doctors and to mitigate cross-infection among patients. We strictly follow zero-contact techniques,” she said.
COVID-19 has transformed healthcare provision forever, says experts
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the spotlight on several new areas in Tamil Nadu. From learning to deal with the unknown to investing in facilities and taking steps to curb the infection and maintaining the mental well-being of the infected persons, healthcare providers are learning to stay ahead in the game.
On Sunday, three experts — Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, Girdhar J. Gyani, director-general of the Association of Healthcare Providers of India, and Preetha Reddy, vice-chairperson, Apollo Hospitals — spoke about their experience during the crisis. They were participating in the first of a series of conversations hosted by The Hindu . Sunday’s discussion focussed on the theme of evolving patient-centric healthcare systems post-COVID.
Elderly COVID survivors with no home find warmth at hospital
Many elderly patients who have recovered from COVID-19 have been admitted to the ‘Dependants Ward’ of Gandhi Hospital, for the past five months.
Apart from the fact that some of them cannot eat, sit, walk or clean themselves up without help, a common thread binding them is that they have no home to return to. They all used to stay at old-age homes.
Gandhi Hospital superintendent M. Raja Rao said that apart from the elderly, patients with disabilities, mental illnesses and malignancies, who are in a mostly bed-ridden condition, are admitted to the ‘Dependants Ward’.
The State-run hospital is designated as a COVID-exclusive facility.
Kerala calls for avoiding overcrowding at Sabarimala
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Kerala, the State Health Department has issued an advisory emphasising the importance of restricting the number of pilgrims and preventing crowding during the coming Sabarimala pilgrimage season, so as to prevent a potential spread.
The advisory points out that religious congregations and church choirs have led to major superspreading events of COVID-19 in the West and that it was imperative that people do not congregate even temporarily at Nilakkal or Pampa.
The number of pilgrims will be strictly limited, according to the government directives. Pilgrims and others accompanying them, such as drivers or cooks, are expected to maintain all COVID-19 safety protocols. Maintaining physical distancing as far as possible, avoiding crowded and closed spaces and frequent handwashing/sanitising are a must.
India records 45,903 new COVID-19 cases, 490 more deaths
India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 85,53,657 with 45,903 new infections being reported, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 79 lakh, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.56%, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll from the disease climbed to 1,26,611 with 490 new fatalities being registered, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
The total number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 79,17,373, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.56% while the case fatality rate stands at 1.48%.
The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below 6 lakh for the 11th consecutive day. There are 5,09,673 active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country as on date which comprises 5.96% of the total caseload, the data stated. - PTI
Kerala test positivity rate remains over 11%
Kerala tested 48,798 samples and reported 5,440 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
Public health experts were worried about the upcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage, when people from other States would also congregate, possibly causing the case graph to rise again.
The test positivity rate was steady, touching 11.1% on Sunday.
Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines poses a huge challenge
The government recently said it will procure the vaccine and distribute it under a special COVID-19 immunisation programme to four categories of people, free-of-charge. The priority groups named are healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and ASHA workers, a second category that includes frontline workers including police and armed forces, the third category of those aged above 50 and finally those below 50 years of age with co-morbidities.
“All of those sounds like a simple rank-ordering, but it is not. Hard choices may need to be made. For example, when there is insufficient supply to offer vaccines to all who would otherwise qualify, which group will be prioritised?” asks Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Professor of microbiology at CMC Vellore in an email to The Hindu.
Deciding whom to vaccinate first may be dictated by the characteristics of the vaccines that become initially available, such as the ones that are more effective in the younger population than in older people. “Should we then not vaccinate the elderly? Is there a bar below which vaccines should not be used in a particular group? As soon as we move beyond the big picture characterisation of initial priority groups, there are more questions for discussion than clear answers,” she says.
U.S. becomes first nation to cross 10 million COVID-19 cases
The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.
The United States has reported about a million cases in the past 10 days, the highest rate of infections since the nation reported its first novel coronavirus case in Washington state 293 days ago.
The daily average of reported new deaths in the United States account for one in every 11 deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis
