Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said on Sunday that it is planning to launch its vaccine for COVID-19 in the second quarter next year if it gets the requisite approvals from the Indian regulatory authorities. The company’s vaccine candidate Covaxin has been developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV) using inactivated Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
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:
IndiGo partners with Stemz Healthcare to offer pre-flight COVID-19 tests to passengers
IndiGo said it has partnered with Stemz Healthcare to offer passengers pre-flight COVID-19 tests in India and few other countries.
“Customers can opt for a home visit or choose a lab visit with over 200+ collection centres in India. The (testing) service is also available in other countries including UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” IndiGo’s press release said.
To book a test, passengers can take appointments online on IndiGo website through a co-branded URL page based on their travel date, the release noted. — PTI
Haryana universities to open from Nov 16
The Haryana government has decided to open colleges and universities from November 16, while online classes have started from Monday, an official said.
In view of the needs of students studying in colleges and universities, it has been decided to open government, government-aided, private colleges and universities from November 16 following the standard operating procedures, according to the official. He said that academic staff would be present in the institutions.
If a student needs to clarify his doubts, he can visit the college keeping in mind the norms of social distancing and following the coronavirus guidelines, the official added. — PTI
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar discharged from hospital
Maharashtra Deputy Chief MinisterAjit Pawar, who was admitted to a city-based hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 last month, was discharged from the medical facility on November 2.
Disclosing this, Mr. Pawar, who was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on October 26, said he will be in home quarantine for next some days and thanked those who had wished him a speedy recovery. — PTI
Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal lead the new COVID case tally
Eighty per cent of the new COVID cases are concentrated in ten States/UT with Kerala (7025), Delhi (5664), Maharashtra (5369), West Bengal (3987) reporting the maximum cases in the past 24 hours, noted data released by the Health Ministry on Monday.
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha also continue to register a high number of cases, it added. The country has reported 45,321 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours along with 496 deaths during this time period, with 10 States and UTs account for 82% of fatalities in the past 24 hours.
"22% of deaths reported yesterday are from Maharashtra with 113 deaths followed by West Bengal with 59 deaths, Delhi (51), Chhattisgarh (49), Tamil Nadu (30), Kerala (28), Uttar Pradesh (26), Karnataka (24), Andhra Pradesh (16) and Odisha (11),’’ said the Ministry. - Bindu Shajan Perappadan
School principals not in favour of postponing CBSE board exams
Several school principals in the national capital and adjoining areas are not in favour of postponement of the CBSE board exams next year in view of continuing closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school principals believe that the postponement of board exams will not be a right move as it will impact the schedule of higher education entrance exams and admission processes as well, which will be disturbing for students.
The Delhi government had last month written to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to not conduct the board exams next year before May and further reduce syllabus as schools still continue to remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
753 new suburban services; 88% locals now back on track
In a bid to prevent crowding in local trains in Mumbai, railway authorities added 753 new special services from Monday, taking the total number of services on the suburban network to2,773.
With this, the railway authorities have resumed 88 per cent of the total 3,141 suburban services which were being operated before the outbreak of COVID-19, officials said.
During normal times before the lockdown, the Central Railway (CR) used to operate 1,772 services, while the Western Railway (WR) ran 1,367 services on the suburban network, they said.
COVID-19 facility should have provision for psychiatric consultation: Health Ministry
The Centre has issued guidelines stating that COVID-19 facilities should have a provision for psychiatric consultation, noting the pandemic has induced mental health concerns, both pre-existing and new onset triggered by lifestyle restrictions and an uncertain future.
The Union Health Ministry on Sunday issued ‘Guidelines on Managing Mental Illness in Hospital Settings during COVID-19’ stating there are at least three groups affected by mental health concerns during the pandemic.
Free online classes begin for 11th standard students in Maharashtra
Maharashtra education department on Monday started free online classes for 11th standard students to prevent loss of the academic session due to the COVID-19 outbreak, an official said.
The classes have begun on YouTube and over 60,000 first-year junior college (FYJC or Class 11) students have so far enrolled for these classes, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Director Dinkar Patil said.
The decision to start online classes free of charge for FYJC Arts, Science and Commerce students was taken to avoid the academic loss till colleges start functioning normally, he said.
’Till We Win’: Book on COVID-19 by AIIMS Director to hit stands this month
Randeep Guleria
A new book by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and two other doctors will give a definitive account of India’s fight against COVID-19 and how to deal with the pandemic in the days to come, announced publishing house Penguin Random House India on Monday.
The book, titled “Till We Win”, has been co-written by leading public policy and health systems expert Chandrakant Lahariya and renowned vaccine researcher and virologist Gagandeep Kang. It will hit the stands this month only, they added.
After nine months, Tamil Nadu completes 1 crore RT-PCR tests for COVID-19
Nearly 9 months after it started testing samples for COVID-19, Tamil Nadu on Sunday hit the milestone of one crore tests using RT-PCR kits.
“Tamil Nadu is the only State which goes entirely by RT-PCR testing. With laboratories in all districts, the State’s capacity is over one lakh tests per day,” Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said.
With 73,012 samples having been tested in the last 24 hours, the number of RT-PCR tests done so far stands at 1,00,29,222.
Odisha governor, wife test positive for COVID-19
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19, Raj Bhavan sources said Monday.
Apart from the two, five more members of his family have been diagnosed with the infection, they said.
Schools reopen in Andhra Pradesh
Schools across Andhra Pradesh reopened on Monday for classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 (Intermediate first and second year).
In schools, classes will be conducted on alternate days in three phases. From November 2, students of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 (Intermediate first and second year) will attend half-day classes on alternate days. Students of classes 6, 7 and 8 will attend half-day schools on alternate days from November 23, while classes for primary students (classes 1 to 5) will commence on December 14. Students will attend half-day school on alternate days.
All colleges will start functioning from November 2 and students will attend classes on rotation basis.
The schedule applies to both government and private educational institutions.
India’s COVID-19 caseload crosses 82 lakh-mark, national recovery rate reaches 91.68%
India’s COVID-19 caseload crossed the 82 lakh-mark, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 75.44 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 91.68%, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 82,29,313 with 45,231 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,22,607 with 496 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
A total of 75,44,798 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far, taking the national recovery rate to 91.68%, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 per cent.
The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below six lakh for the fourth consecutive day. - PTI
Maharashtra’s new cases outweigh recoveries
After a near-continual fortnight of recoveries outpacing cases, Maharashtra on Sunday reported 5,369 new COVID-19 cases as opposed to 3,726 patients discharged. The State’s total case tally stands at 16,83,775 while the number of active cases has risen to 1,25,109.
With 113 patients succumbing to the virus, the death toll reached 44,024. The cumulative recoveries have climbed to 15,14,079 with the State’s recovery rate rising further to 89.92%.
Theatres, multiplexes gearing up to reopen on November 10 around Tamil Nadu
Theatres and multiplexes in Tamil Nadu have indicated that they will resume operations from November 10 following the standard operating procedure (SOP) laid down by the State and Central governments.
A few standalone theatres said they will wait for another week and take a decision on the basis of the films that are ready for release. If there are no new releases from the Tamil industry, theatre-owners are planning to re-release a few films or screen other language films.
Europe's COVID-19 cases double in five weeks, total infections surpass 10 million
Europe's new COVID-19 cases have doubled in five weeks, propelling the region on Sunday across the bleak milestone of 10 million total infections, according to a Reuters tally. Just last month, both Latin America and Asia reported over 10 million total cases in their regions. The United States alone has over 9 million cases with a rapidly accelerating outbreak. -Reuters
WHO chief in quarantine after contact tests positive for COVID-19
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but added that he was feeling well and did not have any symptoms.
“I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home,” Tedros said in a tweet.
