A day after AstraZeneca put its COVID-19 testing on hold, Serum Institute of India is under fire for not pausing its clinical trial in India. SII is conducting Phase-3 trials on people in India involving U.K.-based AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
However, Pune-based SII has said that so far there had been “no issues” with its trials.
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:
Primary stage of community spread of COVID-19 in Himachal: Health Minister
Himachal Pradesh is witnessing a primary stage of community spread of COVID-19, Health Minister Rajiv Saizal said on Thursday.
The number of cases is increasing every day but the State’s situation is “much better” than its neighbours, he told the reporters.
The coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh, with about 70 lakh population, have reached 8,296, according to data provided by the State Health Department on Thursday evening.
Mr. Saizal urged the people of the hill State to strictly follow the guidelines and maintain social-distance, wear masks and wash or sanitise hands regularly. He said the cases may be brought down by strictly abiding by the guidelines.
He asked people showing symptoms of the disease to get tested and added that over 2.30 lakh people in the State were already tested for coronavirus infection. Health authorities have been directed to follow IEC (information, education and communication) norms to create awareness among people against the spread of coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Shimla Chief Medical Officer Surekha Chopra said the recent data of COVID-19 cases established community spread of the virus in Shimla. - PTI
Patients can not be turned away from hospitals: Bombay HC
Taking suo moto (on its own) notice of problems faced by patients at hospitals in the district amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday said an ailing person can not be turned away from hospitals because of shortage of beds or staff.
A division bench of Justices Ravi Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala said the main issue which required the court’s attention is making ventilators and beds available to patients so as to reduce the death rate.
“We want all doctors and para-medical staff to rise to the occasion of the severity of the situation and make themselves available 24X7 in this pandemic situation,” the court said.
“We do not want a situation where the patients are required to travel from one hospital to another to secure a bed in the ICU, ventilated beds or (go to another hospital) due to non-availability of doctors and medical staff,” the bench said.
If a hospital can not accommodate a patient, the authorities should help the patient reach another hospital, the court said.
Patients cannot be denied admission to a hospital on the ground of non-availability of medical and para-medical staff, it said.
- PTI
India operates 5th Vande Bharat flight to China
Air India on Thursday operated its fifth Vande Bharat flight to China from Delhi, carrying over 200 passengers, mostly Indian professionals stranded in India due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fifty-five passengers, mostly Indians wanting to return homes, boarded the flight back to Delhi, officials of the Indian embassy here, who coordinated the flight, told PTI.
The flight from Delhi with 212 passengers, mostly Indian professionals and their families stranded in India due to COVID-19, landed in the east Chinese city of Ningbo in the evening, they said.
The flight had a technical halt in Kolkata.
All the passengers travelling to China have to serve a 14-day mandatory quarantine in designated hotels.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma tests COVID-19 positive
Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and he went for home isolation, an official said. The 52-year-old IPS officer has been feeling unwell for the past few days.
He took the test yesterday and it confirmed the infection today. He is in home isolation at the moment,” the senior official of the city police force said. Mr. Sharma had attended the “Police Day” programme held at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other senior officials were present. - PTI
261 fresh cases push Nagaland’s COVID-19 tally to 4,636
As many as 261 people, including 216 security personnel, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nagaland on Thursday, taking the State’s caseload to 4,636, Health Minister S. Pangnyu Phom said.
The 261 new positive cases, which is the second highest single-day spike in the State, include 197 from Dimapur, 59 from Kohima and 5 from Mokokchung, he said. The steepest one-day spike of 276 cases was reported on August 4. "Necessary contact-tracing has been activated in the State," the Minister said.
"Of the total 4,636 COVID-19 cases, 3,776 patients have been cured of the disease, 10 have died and 11 have migrated to other States," Additional Director of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Denis Hangsing said in the daily COVID-19 bulletin. At present there are 839 active cases in the northeastern State, he said. Till date, Nagaland has conducted 68,142 tests for COVID-19, Dr. Hangsing said.
The recovery rate in the State, which had gone up to 87.82% on Tuesday has come down to 81.55% on Thursday. The State had registered its first coronavirus case on May 25.
FIR against man for violating J&K govt’s order on gatherings at wedding ceremonies
Police have registered a case against a man for allegedly violating the Jammu and Kashmir government’s orders regarding large gatherings at marriage functions during the COVID pandemic, officials said.
“Police have registered an FIR against violators of government orders for gathering a large number of invitees at a marriage ceremony in the Solina area of the city,” a police official said.
He said loud bangs were heard from the Solina Payeen area on September 9 night, which triggered panic in the vicinity. People of the area called the Shergarhi police station for curbing the nuisance.
“A preliminary enquiry revealed that the blast-like sound in the Solina area that created panic was due to the bursting of firecrackers at a marriage ceremony in the house of Ghulam Nabi Bhat, a resident of Solina Payeen,” the official said.
He said the house owner had violated the orders of the Srinagar District Magistrate and the COVID-19 standard operating procedure by gathering a large number of invitees at his house, thereby endangering the lives of others.
“Accordingly, a case — FIR No. 45/2020 — under the relevant sections of law has been registered at the Shergarhi police station and a probe initiated,” he added. — PTI
West Bengal reports 41 COVID deaths, 3,112 new cases
The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 3,771 on Thursday after 41 more patients succumbed to the disease, a bulletin released by the state health department said.
The coronavirus tally also mounted to 1,93,175 after 3,112 people from various parts of the state tested positive for the contagion.
Since Wednesday, 3,035 patients recovered from the infection taking the discharge rate to 85.95 per cent.
The number of active cases stood at 23,377, the bulletin said.
During the last 24 hours, 44,347 samples were tested for COVID-19 in West Bengal. - PTI
Maharashtra records 23,446 new cases in single day
In its second-highest single-day surge till date, Maharashtra on Wednesday reported a massive spike of 23,446 new COVID-19 cases to take the total case tally to 9,90,795 of whom 2,61,432 cases are active. A record high fatality spike of 495 deaths - of whom 448 deaths were reported today - pushed the total death toll to 28,282. As many as 14,253 patients were discharged today to take the total recoveries to 7,00,715. Pune reported a consecutive record high surge of nearly 6,000 cases to take its total case tally to 2,18,502. The district reported 50 deaths to take its total death toll to 4,634. Mumbai reported 2,371 cases to take its total case tally to 1,63,115 of whom 26,629 are active; 38 fatalities saw the city's death toll rise to 8,023. - Shoumojit Banerjee
Delhi records 4,308 new COVID-19 cases, highest single-day spike so far; death toll reaches 4,666
Delhi recorded 4,308 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike so far, while a record 58,340 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, authorities said.
According to Delhi government’s health bulletin, the tally of cases touched 2,05,482 while the death toll rose to 4,666 with 28 fresh fatalities.
The positivity rate in the last 24 hours stands at 7.38 per cent. The number of containment zones stands at 1,272, it said.
Thursday’s tally breached Wednesday’s spike.
Delhi reported 4,039 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as the tally breached the two lakh-mark in the city, authorities said.
Fleecing private hospitals come under task force lens
The Telangana government has constituted a task force of IAS officers to oversee the working of private hospitals in treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The decision to form the task force was taken following complaints against private hospitals for not adhering to the maximum rates specified by the government. The task force comprises Rahul Bojja, Sarfaraz Ahmad and D. Divya, all IAS officers, according to a Government Order (GO) dated September 9.
The GO recalled that the government had issued orders specifying the maximum rates chargeable by private hospitals for various services provided by them for the treatment of COVID-19.
The Order said it was also stipulated that the private hospitals shall display the rates at prominent places on their premises and that it shall be the duty of the private hospital concerned to explain to the patient/relatives about charges for various services.
It said complaints are being received from time to time about non-adherence to the maximum rates chargeable (as per the orders) and also to the COVID-19 treatment/safety protocols by private hospitals.
The matter had been examined by the government and it was decided to constitute the task force at the State-level to oversee the working of private hospitals in treatment of COVID-19, the Order said.
The terms of reference of the task force shall be to verify that the maximum rates stipulated by the government and the COVID-19 treatment and safety protocols are being adhered to by the private hospitals, the GO said.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday said in the Legislative Assembly that the State government would appoint a task force to monitor the fees being charged by private hospitals for COVID-19 treatment. - PTI
COVID-19 delays Army officers’ training
The coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic and the eventual nationwide lockdown has delayed the training schedule in the Army’s prestigious Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai. A batch of officer cadets, who were supposed to have completed their training this month, is expected to do so only after a few months.
As a result, the ceremonial Passing Out Parade (POP) marking the completion of the training schedule for officer cadets in the Academy, would not be held in September this year like other years and would be delayed by a few months. “This time, due to COVID , and in between everywhere lockdown was there, and that’s why, it [the POP] would be most probably, tentatively, it would be in November,” an officer told The Hindu .
About 20% of Andhra Pradesh population has developed antibodies for SARS-CoV-2: study
Close to 20% of the 5.34 crore population in Andhra Pradesh has acquired immunity to COVID-19, a Sero prevalence study has revealed.
The Sero survey was conducted in two phases last month with a sample size of 5,000 in each of the 13 districts, establishing that 19.7% of people developed antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the infection-causing virus.
Disclosing the survey findings, AP Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Katamaneni Bhaskar said 22.5% population in urban areas and 18.2% in rural acquired immunity for COVID-19.
Of the total surveyed, 19.9 women and 19.5% men developed antibodies, he told a press conference on Thursday evening.
Among the high-risk population (40+ age group and those with comorbidities), 20.3% acquired immunity. - PTI
Gujarat reports 1,332 new COVID-19 cases
Gujarat records 1,332 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths, taking its tally of infection to 1,09,627 while death toll stands at 3,167. Active cases are: 16,230 and the discharges 90,230. - Mahesh Langa
Active cases cross one lakh in Karnataka
With 9,217 new cases on Thursday, the number of active cases in the State crossed one lakh.
While the total number of cases touched 4,30,947, the active cases touched 1,01,537. As many as 7,021 persons have discharged taking the total recoveries to 32,24,54.
With 129 new deaths, the toll rose to 6,937. This is apart from 19 non-COVID deaths. As many as 768 patients are being monitored in the ICUs of various hospitals.
Bengaluru Urban reported 3,161 cases taking the total number of cases here to 1,60,205. With 33 of the 129 deaths from Bengaluru Urban alone, the total number of deaths in this district rose to 2,340.
As many as 54,709 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total number of tests to 35,86,150. Wednesday's tests included 25,468 rapid antigen tests. - Afshan Yasmeen
Private hospitals in Delhi witness rise in admissions amid surge in COVID-19 cases
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, private hospitals in the national capital are witnessing an increase in admissions, with no ICU beds with ventilators available in many of the top private facilities. An analysis of the data in Delhi’s ‘Corona app’ till 5.30 p.m. on Thursday shows that out of the 1,212 ICU beds with ventilators available in private hospitals, 687 are occupied while out of 976 ICU beds without ventilators, 642 are occupied.
Data shows that in private hospitals such as Max Smart in Saket, Batra Hospital, Holy Family, Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, Indraprastha Apollo, Fortis Vasant Kunj, BL Kapur, Fortis, Shalimar Bagh, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, there are no ICU beds with ventilators available.
Out of the total 14,205 beds available - both in the private and government hospitals, 5,896 are occupied, according to the app, indicating an occupancy rate of 41.5%. On July 30, the occupancy of beds reserved for coronavirus patients was 18%, with only 2,958 out of 16,038 beds being occupied.
It was 23.02% on August 10 and 23.40% on August 11. It increased to 28.04% on August 29, with 3,966 out of 14,143 beds occupied, according to Delhi government’s health bulletin.
Delhi reported 4,039 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike so far, as the tally breached the two lakh-mark in the city. On Wednesday, a record 54,517 tests were conducted by authorities in 24 hours, the health bulletin had said.
This was the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, that over 4,000 cases were recorded in Delhi in a day. The previous highest single-day spike of 3,947 cases was recorded on June 23. - PTI
Abruptly discharged Tenkasi COVID-19 patient dies
A COVID-19 positive patient, who was discharged from the Tenkasi Government Headquarters Hospital within 3 days of admission and readmitted to the hospital after a hue and cry on Tuesday, succumbed to the viral infection at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Thursday.
When he was admitted to the GH at Tenkasi on September 3 at 8.30 a.m. with fever, K. Raja Subramanian, 49, of Alwarkurichi tested positive for COVID-19. Even as he was undergoing treatment, he was discharged from the hospital on September 6 at 7 p.m. with the advise of home quarantine for a week. There was no mention in the discharge summary that the patient had tested negative for COVID-19 when he was discharged from the hospital. As the issue surfaced on last Tuesday, officials took immediate steps to bring him back to the hospital for treatment on Tuesday afternoon.
“The patient was conscious, oriented and responded even as he was taken to the Tenkasi Government Hospital by ‘108 Ambulance Service’ for further evaluation,” officials attached to the Department of Public Health then said. However, his health condition deteriorated forcing the hospital authorities to rush him to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Tuesday, where he was admitted in the intensive care unit around 11.20 p.m. Yet, he died on Thursday morning.
The TVMCH mortuary card, dated September 10, 2020, termed the victim as ‘COVID suspect’ even though the patient had tested positive for the viral infection on September 3.
COVID-19: J-K reports 1,592 fresh cases, 13 more deaths
Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 1,592 new COVID-19 cases which took the union territory’s tally to 49,134, while 13 more people succumbed to the disease, pushing its toll to 845, officials said.
This is the eighth time in as many days that the number of fresh cases in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed the 1,000-mark in a 24-hour period.
Thirteen more people died in the union territory in the 24 hours till 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Eight of these deaths were reported from Jammu and five from the Kashmir Valley, the officials said.
With this, the death toll due to the disease has risen to 845, they said.
“The union territory recorded 1,592 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. This is the second biggest single-day spike in new infections in Jammu and Kashmir,” the officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir had recorded its sharpest spike of 1,617 fresh cases on Wednesday. - PTI
Yediyurappa cautions about spike in COVID cases in Karnataka, asks officials to bring down death rate
Cautioning about high number of COVID-19 cases being reported from the state, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday asked the district administrations to work towards bringing down the death rate.
He said providing immediate treatment to those with COVID-19 symptoms and saving the lives of those infected is his government’s priority.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to see to it that there are no issues or complaints regarding relief to those affected by the recent floods triggered by heavy rains in the state.
“COVID infections in the state are increasing day by day...due to some reasons in Bengaluru and few districts the cases are increasing in a big way. With the state reporting a higher number of cases, it is something that we have to take seriously,” Mr. Yediyurappa said.
11 more test COVID-19 positive in Dharavi; 102 active cases
The tally of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai’s slum colony of Dharavi increased to 2,850 on Thursday with 11 more persons testing positive for the infection, the city civic body said. A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said 2,478 patients from Dharavi have already recovered and discharged from hospitals.
According to the official, at present the slum-dominated area has 102 active COVID-19 cases. The BMC has stopped sharing death figures from the area. Meanwhile, the tally of COVID-19 cases in the G-north civic ward, that houses Dharavi, Mahim and Dadar, among other areas, rose to 8,308.
According to the civic official, the tally of COVID-19 cases in Dadar increased to 2,883 - surpassing the Dharavi count - while Mahim has recorded 2,575 infections so far.
Myanmar locks down parts of Yangon amid virus increase
Myanmar was accelerating efforts on Thursday to control the spread of the coronavirus, which has led to campaigning for November’s general election to be suspended in some areas due to partial virus lockdowns.
The Ministry of Health and Sport issued a stay-at-home order for 20 Yangon townships effective from Thursday as cases of the coronavirus continued to rise, with 120 new cases and two deaths. That brings the country’s total to 2,009 recorded cases and 14 deaths since the pandemic began.
The order calls for a partial lockdown, with limited trips out of the house allowed to carry out necessary activities, such as the purchase of food. Until last month’s outbreak, Myanmar appeared to have largely been spared from the pandemic, having recorded just 353 virus cases as of the beginning of August. Political campaigning in locked-down areas was banned on Monday by the state Union Election Commission.
The urgency of tracing potential cases has been underlined recently by the publishing in state-run newspapers of the names of thousands people who have come by air from Rakhine since August 10 but had not reported themselves to authorities. - PTI
COVID-19 count from Tamil Nadu: 5,528 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Thursday. The State’s overall tally is 4,86,052; 6,185 persons were discharged today and the total discharged are 4,29,416; 64 deaths were reported today and the total death toll stands at 8,154; active cases are 48,482.
- Serena Josephine
Telangana reports 2,534 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths
Telangana State reported 2,534 COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday, in 24 hours till 8 p.m. on September 9 and an official bulltein on which is released on Thursday, taking the total cases to 1,50,176.
With another 11 deaths being reported during the day, the total number of fatalities with the virus infection have gone up to 927.
According to a media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Family Welfare on Thursday morning, a total of 2,071 COVID-19 infected persons were declared recovered taking the total number of recoveries to 1,17,143. The number of active cases remains at 32,106 as at 8 pm on Wednesday including 25,066 in home and institutional isolation and the remaining 7,040 admitted in government and private hospitals for treatment.
COVID-19 update from Bihar: Total death 785; total number of recovered persons 1,37,271 (recovery rate 89.29%); total active cases 15,678; total number of positive cases 1,53,735; and total sample tests done 45,62,913.
- Amarnath Tewary
Number of containment zones rises to 1,272; maximum in southwest, lowest in northeast Delhi
Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, the number of containment zones in the national capital has gone up to over 1,200, with the maximum 234 in southwest Delhi and the lowest 29 in northeast Delhi, according to government data.
There are 1,272 containment zones in Delhi as on Thursday, according to information available on the revenue department’s website.
Of the 11 districts in the city, six have more than 100 containment zones — southwest Delhi (234), west Delhi (169), north Delhi (148), south Delhi (145), central Delhi (120), and east Delhi (104). - PTI
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar tests COVID-19 positive
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Thursday said she has tested COVID-19 positive.
She shared the information on her Twitter handle.
Ms. Pednekar said her rapid antigen test came positive, but she is asymptomatic.
“As I don’t have any symptoms I have home quarantined myself as per the doctors’ advice,” she said in a tweet.
She has also appealed to the people, who had come in her contact, to take necessary precautions.
- PTI
Serum Institute pauses COVID-19 vaccine trials in India
Serum Institute of India (SII) on Thursday said it is pausing clinical trials of AstraZeneca Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the country.
Earlier this week, AstraZeneca said it had paused the trials because of ‘an unexplained illness’ in a participant in the study. However, SII on Wednesday said it was continuing with the trials and had not faced any issues.
SII’s latest announcement also comes against the backdrop of the Central drug regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) issuing a show-cause notice to SII for not informing it about AstraZeneca pausing the clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate in other countries. - PTI
Death rate in Kerala may go up after September 21, says K. K. Shylaja
Minister for Health K. K. Shylaja said on Thursday that the death rate in the State owing to the COVID-19 pandemic may go up with further relaxations coming into effect from September 21 onwards.
The number of positive cases and death rate are likely to go up in view of the relaxations. But we are trying our best to check the spike in death rate and positive cases, she said at the inauguration of various developmental projects at the Govt. Medical College, Ernakulam.
'High prevalence of diabetes is main cause of COVID-19 deaths in Puducherry'
COVID-19-related deaths in the Union Territory has brought to focus the high prevalence of diabetes in a large section of the population in the region.
Among the co-morbidity factors behind COVID- 19 deaths reported in the UT, diabetes is the main cause, and in a few cases, diabetes combined with hypertension is the cause.
Data released by the Health Department on novel coronavirus cases in the UT on September 10 reveal that all six patients who succumbed to the virus were diabetic. Of the six deceased, four patients were also undergoing treatment for hypertension. Out of 10 deaths reported on September 9, five of the patients were diabetic. Data for September 6 revealed that of the 16 deaths reported, 11 people were diabetic. The statistics released earlier for COVID-19 gives a nearly similar picture.
SII pauses Oxford vaccine trial in India
SII has paused Oxford vaccine trial in India after Drug Controller’s notice on Wednesday.
“We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till Astra Zeneca restarts them. We are following DCGI's instructions and will not be able to comment further on the same,” the company said.
Don’t take coronavirus lightly: Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged people not to take coronavirus lightly and follow the rule of wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing till scientists develop a vaccine.
“I have certain expectations from you. That is to follow the rule of wearing a mask and Do Gaj ki Doori (a distance of two yards).
“Be safe and remain healthy. Take care of senior citizens in the family. These things are important. Do not take coronavirus lightly,” Modi said.
Modi also said, till scientists develop a vaccine for COVID-19, “this social vaccine is the best way to save ourselves from coronavirus. This is the only solution.”
He was addressing the national launch of Rs 20,050 crore-Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and several other initiatives in Bihar via video conference.
Chouhan talks to Uddhav about oxygen supply to MP
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke to his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray about the supply of oxygen, which he said has been halted from the western state amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The shortage of oxygen was worrying me a lot. I spoke to Uddhav Thackeray and requested him not to stop the supply at this difficult time,” the chief minister said.
Chouhan said his Maharashtra counterpart had said that he too was facing difficulties due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in his state, but has assured of working towards maintaining the supply.
“We have also made alternate arrangements. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh had oxygen production installed capacity of 50 tonnes, which has now been increased to 120 tonnes. We will take it to 150 tonnes by September 30,” Chouhan added.
No lockdown on Sept. 12 in West Bengal
No complete lockdown in West Bengal on September 12 in the interest of students appearing for NEET, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said.
The West Bengal government had declared lockdown in the state on September 7, 11 and 12.
A large number of candidates had faced difficulty in reaching the exam centres during the JEE (Main) examination held from September 1-6.
Plasma therapy, huge benefit for stage 1 and 2 patients, says Satyender Jain
At a press conference, Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain said “ ICMR did not say that there is no benefit (of using plasma therapy) . When a person is on a ventilator, then may be there is no benefit, before that there is benefit of plasma therapy. There are three stages in ICU and earlier itself it was said that there was no benefit of using it in stage 3. But there is a huge benefit in using it in stage 1 and 2.”
Mr. Jain said that the government will continue with plasma therapy.
The Minister said that all districts have been given directions to conduct COVID-19 tests in densely populated areas. “Any ID proof is needed (for testing). I think everyone in Delhi has an Aadhaar Card. In the country also, how many people are there, all of them have an Aadhaar Card,” he said. -- Nikhil
India putting up well-planned fight against COVID-19, says Amit Shah
Terming coronavirus as an unprecedented challenge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said India is putting up a well-planned fight against the pandemic under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
The BJP leader asked people to take necessary precautions until a vaccine is found.
“Coronavirus is an unprecedented challenge for us. But we are fighting against it in a well-planned manner under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has recognised our efforts,” he said.
Mr. Shah, a Lok Sabha member from Gandhinagar inaugurated or performed ground-breaking ceremony for various projects worth Rs 134 crore in the constituency via video-conferencing.
Though coronavirus has slowed down the pace of ongoing developmental works in Gandhinagar, the pandemic won’t be able to hold back Gujarat or India for long, said Shah, who recently recovered from coronavirus infection.
26% of registered students missed JEE-Main this year
Over a quarter of students who registered for the JEE-Main examinations last week failed to appear to actually write their examinations. Out of the total 8.58 lakh registered candidates, only 6.35 lakh students actually wrote their examinations, according to a tweet by Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Wednesday night.
A section of students had held protests and gone to court in a bid to postpone the examination further, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties in transportation due to local lockdowns.
On the first day of the examination, which was meant for the B.Arch and B.Planning entrance tests, less than 55% of students showed up. About 80% of students appeared for the B.E and B.Tech papers on the remaining days, resulting in a total attendance rate of 74%. -- Priscilla Jebaraj
Ahead of festival season, Kejriwal urges people to take precautions
With the festival season kicking in next month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged people to take precautions against COVID-19 infection.
“Many festivals are approaching in the coming months. While the COVID-19 pandemic is under control in Delhi, it is important to have preventive measures in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 at religious places of worship,” he said.
The Navratri festival that involves temple visits and fasts for nine days will begin from October 17. It will culminate with Vijaya Dashmi or Dussehra on October 25.
The festival of Diwali will be celebrated in the month of November.
“I would like to appeal to the general public as well as the organisations managing religious places to adhere to all the preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the religious places during the upcoming festival season,” the chief minister said in his appeal.
Delhi has witnessed a spurt in number of COVID-19 cases in the last few days with daily testing of virus doubled from 15000-20,000 to now over 40,000 by the city government. -- PTI
Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan tests positive
Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan has tested positive for COVID-19, official sources said on Thursday.
The Minister underwent a test on Wednesday after his car driver, his gunman and personal assistant had contracted the infection and the result came out positive.
Officials said Chavan had been under home quarantine in Bidar after his staff tested positive on Tuesday.
The Minister’s office has requested all those who had come into contact with him recently to undergo tests and take precautions.
Mr. Chavan is the new addition to the list of Ministers in the B S Yediyurappa cabinet who had tested positive for coronavirus. -- PTI
Red Line, Violet Line, Green Line resume services after 172 days
Delhi Metro’s Red Line, Violet Line and Green Line resumed services on Thursday after being closed for 172 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
Yellow Line and Rapid Metro were the first to reopen on Monday, followed by Blue Line and Pink Line on Wednesday.
“Seven lines of the Delhi Metro network are now open! Thank you dear commuters for following the safety guidelines and helping us maintain good service. #MetroBackOnTrack,” the DMRC tweeted after the three new lines resumed services.
Services on Red Line, Violet Line and Green Line resumed at 7 a.m., officials said.
On Monday, the Delhi Metro resumed partial services on the Yellow Line.
The Delhi Metro services were suspended on March 22. -- PTI
India sees record single-day spike of 95,735 cases
India sees record single-day spike of 95,735 infections and 1,172 new fatalities, pushing India’s COVID-19 caseload to 44,65,863 and death toll to 75,062. The numbers were released by the Union Health ministry in its daily update.
With this, the number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 9,19,018. As many as 34,71,783 people have recovered from the infection, according to the govt.
Coronavirus | Plasma therapy didn’t help COVID-19 patients: ICMR
Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy failed to benefit coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) patients, the largest trial conducted across 39 hospitals in India and spearheaded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) found.
The trial spanning April-July enrolled 464 hospitalised patients with “moderate” COVID-19 and administered convalescent plasma — antibodies derived from plasma filtered from the blood of those who have recovered from COVID-19 — on some of them.
Two policemen test positive in Shamli
Two policemen deployed in the security of UP Minister Suresh Rana in Shamli district have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Thursday.
The constables, deployed in Thanabhawan town, were admitted to a COVID hospital Wednesday evening, said superintendent of the local government health centre Kanti Prasad.
Meanwhile, the district court in Kairana remained closed after a staffer tested positive for the virus. -- PTI
SFI urges West Bengal to withdraw Sept 12 lockdown for NEET candidates’ benefit
The SFI, the students’ wing of the CPI(M), has urged the West Bengal government to withdraw the State-wide lockdown on September 12 for the benefit of the NEET candidates who will sit for the examination on the next day.
The West Bengal government has declared lockdown in the State on September 7, 11 and 12.
The lockdown will inconvenience a large number of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) candidates in reaching their exam centres from far-flung areas on September 13, Students’ Federation of India (SFI) state committee president Pratik ur Rahman said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We request the state government to withdraw the September 12 lockdown as the candidates are already faced with a lot of stress due to the pandemic situation. The lockdown will further aggravate their woes as the number of vehicles will be fewer on roads,” it said.
The SFI said if the authorities cannot withdraw the September 12 lockdown, they should at least arrange special trains for the candidates on the exam date.
A large number of candidates had faced difficulty in reaching the exam centres during the JEE (Main) examination held from September 1-6. -- PTI
Travellers from India must take COVID tests for Singapore trip
All travellers from India who are not Singaporeans and permanent residents will have to take a coronavirus test within 72 hours before departing for Singapore from next Thursday, in a move to reduce the number of imported cases from the country.
The travellers will have to present a valid negative test result that has to be taken within 72 hours before their flight to Singapore, the Health Ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.
No online classes for school students in Tamil Nadu from September 21 to 25
To reduce stress among school students, online classes and the telecast of video lessons on television channels will not be conducted from September 21 to 25, School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said in Gobichettipalayam on Wednesday.
Death toll tops 9,00,000 wordwide
The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 9,00,000 since the respiratory disease first appeared in China last year, according to an AFP tally.
There have been more than 2.77 crore confirmed virus cases worldwide, according to an AFP count based on official statistics, with the worst-hit region Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Europe.
The country with the most coronavirus deaths is the United States with over 1,90,000 fatalities, followed by Brazil.
Over 750 students, staff in Tennessee test positive for COVID-19
Tennessee reported on Wednesday that 756 students and staff have tested positive for thhe coronavirus at schools across the state, with more than half the districts reporting.
Gujarat BJP chief tests coronavirus positive
Gujarat BJP chief C.R. Paatil has tested coronavirus positive, a hospital in Gandhinagar where he is undergoing treatment said on Wednesday.
“Paatil is currently admitted to Apollo Hospitals and is undergoing treatment for COVID-19. He is currently stable and being taken care of by multidisciplinary team of specialists,” the hospital said in a statement. - PTI
