India's confirmed coronavirus cases, on Friday, crossed the 5,00,000 mark.
According to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, India still stands at the fourth position with the U.S leading the table with 24,24,054 cases followed by Brazil with 12,28,114 cases and Russia with 6,19,936.
While publishing this article, India's confirmed cases stood at 5,04,165 with several States sending their inputs. According to Union Health Ministry, India's total cases stand at 4,90,401.
While the global death toll stood at 4,90,055, India's toll is at 15,619.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers . You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here .
Here are the latest updates:
3,460 fresh COVID cases in Delhi take tally to over 77,000; death toll climbs to 2,492
Delhi recorded 3,460 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the tally in the city to over 77,000, while the death toll from the disease mounted to 2,492, authorities said.
On Tuesday, the national capital had reported the highest single-day spike of 3,947 cases.
On Wednesday, Delhi had eclipsed Mumbai as the city worst-hit by the pandemic in the country.
Sixty-three fatalities have been recorded in the last 24 hours, a Delhi health department bulletin said on Friday.
The bulletin said the death toll from coronavirus infection has risen to 2,492, and the total number of cases mounted to 77,240.
Central team visits Ahmedabad to take stock of the COVID-19
A central government team led by joint secretary in the health ministry Lav Kumar Agarwal visited Ahmedabad to take stock of the COVID-19 situation and measures the local authorities have taken to combat the pandemic, which is spiking with higher number of cases.
On Friday, Gujarat recorded 580 new COVID-19 infections and 18 new deaths, bringing its tally to 1772 deaths and 30158 cases. With 532 new discharges, total patients so far discharged are: 22038.
The team members visited micro containment zones in the city and sought to know the details about the measures the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has put in place to halt the spread of the virus which has infected over 20000 persons and killed 1399 persons so far.
Ahmedabad is the worst hit with highest mortality of above 5 % in the country.
After visiting the city, the team members held meetings with state government officials and members of the task force the state heal health department has set up to advise and help the state authorities in dealing with the highly infectious disease.
Meanwhile, the state continues to see upward trajectory of the disease with 580 new infections on Friday. There are now 6348 active cases out of which 61 are on ventilator support. -- Mahesh Langa
Maharashtra records highest single-day surge
Maharashtra recorded its highest single-day surge in Covid-19 cases yet on Friday, with 5,024 fresh cases taking the State's total case tally to 1,52,765. 175 new deaths pushed the total death toll to 7,106. Of these, 91 were reported in the last 48 hours while 84 were from an earlier period, said State Health Department officials. Of the total case tally, 65,829 are active ones. As many as 2,362 patients were discharged today, taking the total number of recoveries till date to 79,815. With 1,297 new cases, Mumbai's total case tally has reached 72,175. The city's death toll has risen to 4,179. As many as 44 of the new deaths today were from Mumbai city, 14 from Pune district and a further 14 from Aurangabad among other parts of the state.
Most Indian millennials, Gen Z say stress legitimate reason to take time off work: Survey
Approximately three out of four millennials and Gen Z in India feel stress is a legitimate reason to take time off work, much higher than the global average, a survey said.
While the COVID-19 crisis has been unprecedented, 85 per cent millennials and 74 per cent Gen Zs in India agreed that policymakers had taken the appropriate actions to support workers during the pandemic, according to the ninth Deloitte ‘Global Millennial Survey’
Millennials included in the study were born between January 1983 and December 1994, while the Generation Z respondents were born between January 1995 and December 2003.
The survey consisted of two parts -- a ‘primary’ survey of 18,426 millennials and Gen Zs across 43 countries conducted between November 2019 and early January 2020.
It was followed by a ‘pulse’ survey of 9,100 individuals in 13 countries taken between April and May in the midst of the worldwide pandemic. Indian respondents were part of both the surveys.
13 more coronavirus deaths in Haryana; 421 fresh cases reported
Thirteen more coronavirus-related deaths were reported from Haryana on Friday as the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 12,884 with 421 fresh infections, a health bulletin said.
Five deaths each were reported from Gurgaon and Hisar, two from Faridabad and one from Karnal, it said.
COVID-19 fatalities in Haryana now stand at 211, 151 of which are males and remaining 60 females.
According to the bulletin, Gurgaon and Faridabad now have a total of 81 and 70 fatalities, respectively.
Hisar has a total of six fatalities, while Karnal district has five, it said.
With 421 fresh cases, the COVID-19 tally in the state climbed to 12,884, the bulletin said.
Confirmed new virus cases hit a new high in U.S.
The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000 Friday — eclipsing the mark set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April — in a resurgence that has led some governors to backtrack or at least pause the reopening of their states.
While the increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalisations in parts of the country, especially in the South and West.
Arizona, Texas and Florida are among the states that have been hit hard.
The number of confirmed infections soared past the previous high set on April 24 of 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April.
Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, in part because of advances in treatment and prevention but also because a large share of the new infections are in younger adults, who are more likely than older ones to survive.
Hyderabad market traders to shut shops for 8 days
The Begum Bazar in Hyderabad will remain shut for eight days from Sunday. An emergency executive committee meeting of the city Kirana Merchants Association held on Thursday took the decision after it came to light that more than 400 coronavirus cases have so far been reported in the Goshamahal division of the city corporation where the market area is located.
“The decision of closing down shops from June 28 to July 5 was taken as a precautionary measure. Some of our member merchants also tested positive of coronavirus. Keeping in view of the safety of our merchants, their family members and customers, we took the decision,” association president Laxminarayan Rathi told PTI.
Telangana has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the past several days with 920 people testing positive and five succumbing to the virus on Thursday, taking the total cases to 11,364 and the toll to 230.
Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh, who represents Goshamahal constituency, had on Thursday said so far five of his staff -- two drivers and three gunmen -- tested positive for coronavirus and the results of five more were awaited.
Gujarat records 580 new COVID-19 infections and 18 new deaths, bringing its tally to 1772 deaths and 30158 cases. With 532 new discharges, total patients so far discharged are: 22038
Delhi schools to remain closed till July 31
Schools in Delhi will continue to remain closed till July 31 in view of the COVID-19 situation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Friday.
“Reopening schools is not merely a technical work, rather, it is a creative work that would give schools a new and bigger role. Schools will continue to be closed in Delhi till July 31,” Mr. Sisodia said.
Mr. Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister, made the announcement after a meeting with officials of the Directorate of Education (DoE) on how to reopen schools.
Eight new COVID-19 cases in Dharavi; doubling rate now 140 days
Dharavi, Mumbai’s biggest slum, reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Friday, which took the area’s tally to 2,218, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
The doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in Dharavi has now improved to 140 days and the current growth rate of the pandemic is at 0.47 per cent, the official said.
The slum’s coronavirus fatality count remained unchanged at 81 as no new death case was reported in the last 24 hours, he said.
According to the official, Dharavi now has 1,019 active cases and the number of patients discharged so far is 1,118.
Detection of flu-like symptoms in daily surveys has quadrupled, says Chennai Corporation
Detection of people with flu- like symptoms during daily door-to-door survey has seen a four-fold increase after the lockdown came into effect a week ago, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said on Friday.
During the pre-lockdown times, about 600-700 symptomatic cases used to be recorded every day by field personnel and nowit has crossed the 3,000 mark for a day, he said.
The lockdown from June 19-30, does not allow relaxations previously seen for several businesses, shops and other retail outlets and only stores selling essentials are permitted from 6 am till 2 pm.
The curbs are applicable in Chennai and parts of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur.
“Yesterday, 3,217 people were found with symptoms (indicating flu-like symptoms) in the door-to-door surveys.
The number has now increased to 3,000 (daily average). This may go up to even 3,500,” he told reporters.
The reason behind the increase was the availability of people at their homes -in view of the lockdown- when field survey personnel make their daily visits, he said.
TN reports 3,645 cases and 46 deaths on Friday
Tamil Nadu, on Friday, reported 3,645 persons new cases taking the total to 74,622. About 1,358 persons were discharged taking the total to 41,357.
With the State registering about 46 deaths, the death toll stood at 957.
Satyendar Jain to be discharged
Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, who was admitted to hospital and found COVID-19 positive, tested negative for the virus today, according to AAP sources. He will be discharged from the hospital later in the day. - reports Nikhil M. Babu.
Commercial passenger air services suspended till July 15
DGCA says that scheduled international commercial passenger air services will now remain suspended till July 15. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes, a DGCA circular said.
Occupancy in trains increasing day by day
Chairman Railway Board V.K. Yadav said, "Of the 230 special trains, 78 trains are running at an occupancy of over 100% as on June 26. Very soon we will announce more trains on routes considering the requirement of passengers. It may not be suitable to run trains at full strength, will depend on COVID-19 situation."
He said, "So far, Ministry of Railways has received ₹620 from Central COVID fund and if needed more can be sanctioned to us. Railways is spending about ₹2 lakh per COVID coach, mainly for maintenance, food protective gears."
"We are seeing a very encouraging trend in ‘reverse direction’. For example now trains running from Gorakhpur, UP to Mumbai are at full occupancy. Similar is the case with trains from Bihar to Mumbai, UP to Ahmedabad. This is a good sign that economic activity has started and people are returning to work. - reports Yuthika Bhargava.
Bihar's tally rises
123 more COVID-19 positive cases take the total number in the state to 8611. - reports Amarnath Tewary.
Working to employ UP’s all migrant workers in state: Yogi
Uttar Pradesh has enough potential to employ all migrant workers, said UP CM Yogi Adityanath. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh said barring those below 18 years of age, the skill mapping of remaining 30.47 lakh workers and labourers in the State has been completed. - PTI
Tamil Nadu could lose ₹85,000 crore in revenue: CM
Tamil Nadu could sustain a revenue loss of about ₹85,000 crore due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, and the State has already incurred a loss of about ₹35,000 crore, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said in Tiruchi.
Chennai Police Head Constable Saravanan rides 40 kilometres in his bicycle every day for COVID-19 prevention duty and in his 25 years of service in the police department, he mentions that he has been travelling only in his bicycle. Seen at Guindy on Friday.
WB CM announces relaxation
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announces relaxation of night curfew hours. During the extended coronavirus lockdown till July 31, restrictions will be in place from 10 pm to 5 am in the state. Ms. Banerjee said, "We want Metro Rail services in Kolkata to resume from July 1."
Notice sent to Jaipur hospital for conducting trials of Patanjali drug
Rajasthan’s Health Department has served a notice to NIMS hospital here seeking an explanation on conducting trials of Patanjali Ayurved’s drug Coronil on coronavirus patients, an official said.
“We served notice to the hospital on Wednesday evening seeking explanation in three days. The hospital did not inform the state government nor sought permission,” Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jaipur, Dr Narottam Sharma said.
He said the reply from National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Jaipur is awaited.
The launch of the drug by yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday triggered a debate after which the Ayush Ministry sought all information on its trial and put a ban on advertising it as a drug to cure coronavirus.
The Rajasthan government has clarified that the drug cannot be not used as a medicine in the state without the permission of the Ministry of AYUSH. - PTI
Shopping malls in Gurugram to be opened in a week's time. State government to issue SOPs on this, says Gurugram Municipal Commissioner. - reports Ashok Berwal
Only a small proportion of young children, adolescents develop severe symptoms: study
A multicentre study involving 82 health-care institutions across 25 European countries carried out between April 1 and April 24 has found that children (including infants) younger than 18 years generally have only mild COVID-19 disease symptoms, and deaths were less than 1%. However, 8% of children develop a severe symptoms of the disease that may require intensive care support and prolonged ventilator support.
The study led by Marc Tebruegge of University College London, which addresses the scarce data on COVID-19 in children and adolescents, was published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health .
Maharashtra govt asks AMC to deploy staff to verify COVID-19 bills
The Maharashtra government has asked the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to deploy its staff in the city’s private hospitals to verify the medical bills being charged from the COVID-19 patients.
Shiv Sena leader and Member of the state Legislative Council (MLC), Ambadas Danve, told this to PTI.
He said the instructions were given to the AMC during a meeting of all-party representatives in Aurangabad with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday.
Huge circles are painted on a street to mark physical distancing in a market place at Grant Road in Mumbai. Painting in yellow is an initiative by a group of architects, urban planners with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to help address the issue of social distancing post COVID-19 lockdown.
No COVID-19 deaths in 4 NE States so far: Health Ministry
The North-Eastern (NE) States have a comparatively lower number of COVID-19 cases in the country, with 3,731 active cases and 5,715 recoveries. Also the death rate continues to be low, with no deaths in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
Union Minister V. Muraleedharan questions Kerala's containment strategy
Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan on Friday said the number of COVID-19 positive cases in Kerala could be much higher than officially reported given the State's "dismal" record in random population testing.
Escalating his war of words with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over Kerala's containment strategy, Mr. Muraleedharan said in a Facebook post that the number of random tests in Kerala (372 per lakh of the population) was much lower than the national average (553 per lakh of the population).
If the number of tests conducted was any yardstick of effective pandemic control, Kerala ranked 28th among States. The low number of tests belied the Kerala government's claim that it had successfully controlled community spread in the State.
Seized vehicles will be released only after lockdown is lifted, Chennai police say
As Chennai and parts of its adjoining districts are under a complete lockdown, the city police have prohibited gathering of more than five people in public places and have been implementing restrictions on the movement of vehicles on the roads from June 19. At 288 places, the police have set up vehicle check points, with iron barricades and check the vehicles moving on the roads. As of Thursday, 33,455 vehicles that have been seized, are parked at police stations or on roadsides or private parking lots hired by the police.
Total lockdown in Guwahati for 2 weeks
Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announces total lockdown in Guwahati from June 28 midnight to July 12. A curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. will be imposed from today. No vehicle movement will be allowed in the city. No commercial and industrial establishment will be allowed to function. Grocery stores will also be shut. Hospitals, pharmacies will be allowed to function. Banks will be allowed to function with limited staff.
Total lockdown to be strict during the first week, which maybe relaxed on situation assessment. There will be a weekly lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays, in rest of the state of Assam and night curfew will be imposed everywhere. The decision is in view of rising COVID-19 cases. - reports Rahul Karmakar
Delhi's situation is under control: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says, "Delhi has reported 74,000 COVID-19 cases so far, but situation is under control. We have increased COVID-19 testing in Delhi; hence, cases are rising. Delhi govt has set up 3,500 beds for COVID-19 patients in hotels in last 10 days."
"The good thing is that of the total 74,000 cases so far as many as 45,000 have recovered; people are getting cured very quickly too. Of the total 26,000 active cases only 6,000 are in hospitals and the rest and getting treated at home.
Over the last week, the total number of occupied beds has been around 6,000 or thereabouts; though 3000 to 3500 new patients are surfacing every day, the requirement of hospitals beds has more or less remained the same.
There seems to be a mild form of the Coronavirus in Delhi; that is why the number of people getting infected is around the same number of those getting cured; we have 13,500 hospital beds ready in Delhi.
Over the coming days, we will attach banquet halls to hospitals in different parts of Delhi. We are preparing for the future."- reports Jatin Anand.
Central team visits micro-containment zones in Ahmedabad
A central team, led by Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal, visited different areas of Ahmedabad city on Friday morning to review the measures undertaken by the authorities to contain the spread of coronavirus, said officials.
The team is on a one-day visit of Gujarat and expected to visit containment zones as well as civil hospital in the city, the worst-hit by COVID-1 in the state.
The team started its visit from Vasantnagar township in the Gota area of the city, a micro-containment zone, and collected information about the steps taken by the authorities to contain the spread of virus, said the officials.
The team also understood the functioning of mobile clinic vans, named as’Dhanvantari Arogya Rath’, launched earlier this month by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to conduct health check-up of people and distribute medicines. - PTI
A medical technologist testing a modern automated RNA extraction machine, set up at Thoothukudi Medical College on Friday.
U.P. govt’s efforts during COVID-19 helped save 85,000 lives, says Narendra Modi
“If Yogi ji and his teammates had not prepared well, if U.P. would have also faced destruction like in America, then today in U.P. not 600 but 85,000 persons could have lost their lives,” the PM said. - reports Omar Rashid
Can online learning replace the school classroom?
As the number of COVID-19 cases in India continues to rise, the school system in the country has seen a massive upheaval. The Supreme Court today permitted CBSE and ICSE to cancel the board exams of Classes 10 and 12 , which were scheduled to be held in July. Many State governments — including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — have already taken a similar step.
E-learning, however, comes with its own challenges like disparity in access to education and worries of screen addiction. Keeping this in mind, is it feasible to replace class room learning with online classes? Kiran Bhatty, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, and Reeta Sonawat, an Executive Director at the Early Childhood Association, discuss the pros and cons of online learning .
Serological survey to begin in Delhi on Saturday
A serological survey to undertake a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 in Delhi and prepare a broad strategy to combat the pandemic will be carried out in the national capital from Saturday, the Union Home Ministry has said.
The announcement came a day after Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed implementation of various decisions on the coronavirus-related situation in Delhi, which were taken on June 21 in a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Serology (antibody) tests are largely used for surveillance among the community. They can be used on people who have already been tested positive for the virus or even those who are asymptomatic, and can reveal insights on immunity against coronavirus.
Bengaluru not to see another lockdown, for now
Rumours and speculation of another complete lockdown in Bengaluru over the past few days owing to a surge in COVID-19 cases, were spiked on Thursday with the government ruling out the possibility for now.
Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said the question of another complete lockdown did not arise.
“Revival of the economy has only just started and livelihoods are important. The situation in the City is under control and not alarming. There is no need for a complete lockdown again,” he said.
Going for swab test? you might share space with positive patients
How safe are those going to take swab test for novel coronavirus infection at the COVID-19 wing of Government Rajaji Hospital? It looks, the chances of a “doubtful” patient contracting the virus is high.
The State Health Department is encouraging people with symptoms like fever, cold, cough and breathing problem to take swab test at the earliest to confirm whether or not they were infected with the deadly virus. But, at the COVID-19 wing of the GRH, patients who go for testing could get infected as they need to mingle with already tested and confirmed positive patients who come there seeking admission.
Store positive samples for 30 days before destroying: ICMR to govt labs
The ICMR has advised government laboratories to retain all samples testing positive for coronavirus infection for a minimum of 30 days before destroying them.
In its ‘Guidelines for storage of respiratory specimens collected for COVID-19 diagnosis by RT-PCR platforms in government laboratories’, the apex health research body said appropriate procedures to disinfect all samples prior to disposal must be followed and the labs should keep a record of the destruction.
According to the guidelines, all samples being stored for a long-term must be appropriately labelled indicating laboratory identifiers, date of collection and must be kept in properly functioning -80degreesC deep freezers.
A proper inventory (preferably electronic) of stored samples should be essentially maintained. - PTI
A brief update on the latest COVID-19 numbers:
India recorded the highest-ever daily spike of 17,296 COVID-19 cases, pushing the total tally to 4,90,401.
The death toll is now 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, as per data released by the Union Health Ministry.
India registered over 14,000 cases for the seventh day in a row and witnessed a surge of 2,99,866 infections from June 1 till 26.
The number of active cases stands at 1,89, 463 while 2,85,636 people have recovered. - PTI
Positive patient found dead in washroom of COVID-19 ward in Bengaluru
A 60-year-old COVID-19 positive patient ended her life in the washroom of the COVID ward in K.C. General hospital in Bengaluru early on Friday morning.
The woman, along with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, was shifted from a quarantine centre to the hospital on June 18 after they tested positive.
This is the second instance of a COVID-19 patient ending life in a COVID ward in the city.
Northern Railway installs alarm system in COVID-19 isolation coaches
The Northern Railway has installed an alarm system in its isolation coaches at Shakur Basti station to alert doctors of any emergency situation involving a patient.
“Applying their ingenuity, the railway engineers have developed a circuit system whereby each COVID care coach is being provided with an alarm bell. On the other end, a display board with light and sound connection against each coach number has been installed in the coach housing doctors and specialized medical staff,” the Northern Railway said in a statement.
In case of emergency, as soon as the patient presses the emergency call bell, a red light fitted outside the coach will glow with a loud sound. This will also be simultaneously displayed on the board installed in the doctor’s coach, where the bulb against the coach number will light-up with an alarm sound. This will enable the caregivers to immediately rush to the particular coach to attend to the sick person.
On the demand of the Delhi government, the Northern Railway had placed 503 isolation coaches at nine stations of Delhi area for patients having very mild to mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus. The Shakur Basti isolation coaches currently have five patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. - PTI
COVID-19 count rises, but recovery rate improves in Delhi
Delhi continued to be the city with the highest number of total COVID-19 cases, after it surpassed Mumbai on Wednesday.
Though the total number of cases in Delhi is high, 44,765 people have recovered and there are only 26,586 active cases, which is 36.03% of the total cases. Officials have started preparing for a 100% survey of households in containment zones and a comprehensive survey of the rest of the city.
TN CM denies possibility of community spread
There is no community transmission of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Thursday.
Addressing the media, he said, “If there is community spread of the virus in the State, you [the press] and I will not be standing here. The State government has been able to identify all COVID-19-positive persons and their contacts to control its spread.”
Madhya Pradesh to screen 8 crore people for COVID-like illnesses in July
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced the launch of a ‘Kill Corona’ drive in July to screen the State’s 8 crore people for COVID-19 -like illnesses.
Nearly 14,000 health workers will survey families within a fortnight and spread awareness on containing the virus. The drive will kick off from Bhopal, said the State Directorate of Health Services.
Railways cancels all regular train services till August 12
All regular mail, express and passenger services as well as suburban trains have been cancelled till August 12, the Railway Board said on June 25. Sources said that the decision was taken keeping in mind the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country.
However, all special trains — 12 pairs running on the Rajdhani routes since May 12 and 100 pairs operating since June 1 — will continue, they said.
