Coronavirus live: Two Chhattisgarh ministers test positive for coronavirus

India records 18,599 new cases, 97 fresh fatalities

Chennai corporation workers paste a 'coronavirus hotspot' banner at a residence in Anna Nagar West, Chennai, on Monday following a spike in COVID-19 cases

India has reported 18,599 new COVID-19 cases, 14,278 recoveries, and 97 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data updated by the Health Ministry on Monday.

The country currently has 1,88,747 active cases with the cumulative death toll of 1,57,853. Number of total cases stand at 1,12,29,398 and total recoveries at 1,08,82,798.

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Here are the latest updates:

Chhattisgarh

Two Chhattisgarh ministers test positive for coronavirus

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo and Revenue Minister Jaisingh Agrawal have tested positive for coronavirus, amid the ongoing budget session of the state Assembly.

So far, four legislators have contracted the viral infection during the Assembly session, which began on February 22.

Last week, two MLAs in the state had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Delhi

86.25% new COVID cases in 6 States: Govt

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the six States that cumulatively account for 86.25% of the new coronavirus cases reported in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on March 8.

Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 11,141, followed by Kerala with 2,100 and Punjab with 1,043 new infections, the Ministry said.

"Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have been reporting a surge in the COVID daily new cases. They cumulatively account for 86.25 per cent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours," the Ministry said in a statement.

Delhi

Delhi nearing end of pandemic phase: Jain

Despite the number of daily cases witnessing an upward trend over the past week, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said COVID-19 was nearing an “endemic” phase in the Capital.

He said the positivity rate has been below 1% for over two months and not been fluctuating, which is a good sign.

“The positivity rate in November 2020 was at a high of 10-15%,” he said.

“COVID-19 is nearing an endemic phase in Delhi. Experts say some cases will continue to occur in the endemic phase over the next few years, but it will not spread like it was in the pandemic phase. Delhi witnessed a swine flu outbreak around 10 years ago but still some cases are reported every year. COVID-19 is not going to end completely. We will have to learn to live with it,” Mr. Jain said.

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Delhi nearing end of pandemic phase: Jain

 

Karnataka

A year after the novel coronavirus altered the ‘normal’ in Karnataka

On March 8, 2020, when news of the first COVID-19 case hit Karnataka, no one could have imagined that the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus would bring in a “new normal”. Now, exactly a year on, our very vocabulary has been altered, with terms such as “pandemic”, “social distancing”, “masking”, and “lockdown” becoming everyday words.

In one year, COVID-19 has infected over 9.5 lakh people and claimed the lives of over 12,000 in the State. Nearly 43% of the total caseload and over 36% of the total fatalities are from Bengaluru Urban. The country’s first death was reported from Kalaburagi on March 12, 2020.

The pandemic that shook the government health authorities also made them realise that combating the disease meant strengthening the surveillance system as well as coordinating with the private healthcare sector. There were many lessons to be learnt along the way, through trial and error.

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A year after the novel coronavirus altered the ‘normal’ in Karnataka

(With inputs from Agencies)