With a single-day increase of 47,703 COVID-19 cases, India's virus tally mounted to 14,83,156 on Tuesday, while the recoveries surged to 9,52,743 pushing the recovery rate to 64.24 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The country's death toll due to the virus rose to 33,425 with 654 deaths being reported in a 24-hour span, the data updated at 8 am showed. There are 4,96,988 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country presently.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has instructed all district collectors, SPs, municipal commissioners and health officials to conduct the last rites of COVID-19 suspects without insisting on testing of swab or waiting for the report, an official said.Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Speaker V P Sivakolunthu and his deputy, ministers and MLAs who took the COVID-19 test on Monday at the assembly premises tested negative on Tuesday.
The study revealed a high proportion of all infections is likely to be asymptomatic. "The higher prevalence in slums could be possibly due to population density and shared common facilities (toilets, water points etc.). The infection fatality rate (IFR) is likely to be very low (0.05-0.10%), it would be attributed to effective containment efforts and active measures to isolate symptomatic cases by BMC," said Daksha Shah, BMC health officer. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)
Referring to several recent studies across the world, the WHO has said that some outbreaks that have occurred in crowded indoor spaces suggest "the possibility of aerosol transmission." Such situations have arisen "during choir practice, in restaurants or in fitness classes," it said. The organisation however added the caveat that the spread is although "combined with droplet transmission". Ultimately what people are concerned about is which air is safe to breathe and which is not. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)
According to Dr Amitabha Nandy, community transmission of COVID-19 had started in Bengal way back in early-April and matters have only gotten worse primarily due to the "bizarre attitude" of the implementing agencies and the citizens.
Nearly 8 million subscribers of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have withdrawn about Rs 30,000 crore in less than four months. "The amount withdrawn between April and the third week of July is much more than the usual withdrawals during the same time last year and pandemic-related job losses, salary cuts and medical expenses may explain this substantial increase," said a media report.
489 COVID19 cases reported in J&K today, 134 from Jammu division & 355 Kashmir division. Total number of cases in the Union Territory is now at 18,879, including 7,661 active cases, 10,885 recovered & 333 deaths: J&K Govt
24 new COVID19 cases reported in Chandigarh today; the total number of cases in the Union Territory stands at 934: Health Department
Himachal Pradesh's COVID19 case tally rises to 2,284. There are 1,031 active cases, 1,224 recovered cases and 12 deaths: State Health Department
Dharavi slum sprawl adds 3 new COVID-19 cases, taking tally to 2,543: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
The plight of people who already have mental health problems is unimaginable as the pandemic continues to spread. They say it is getting harder to survive by the day. Some of the major issues are unavailability and unaffordability of medicines due to shortages and a financial crunch respectively. Those affected have even gone to the extent of ending their lives due to this.
According to the Delhi Corona app, only 2,783 beds of the 15,438 dedicated beds for coronavirus patients across private and government hospitals in the national capital are occupied.
Mysuru City Corporation which is chalking out various measures to create awareness among residents has come up with this innovative idea amid rising COVID-19 cases in the district. Some of the garbage collection trucks and auto tippers are been fitted with loudspeakers to educate people about COVID-19 and measures to be adopted to stop the spread of the virus and stay safe.
The Gujarat government has increased the fine for not wearing face mask and spitting in public places in the state to Rs 500 from Rs 200 announced earlier. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday, the government said in a release. Except for some parts of the state like the municipal limits of Ahmedabad and Surat, the government had earlier fixed Rs 200 as fine for not wearing face mask. This will be increased to Rs 500 starting August 1, the release said.
In a rare outburst on social media, megastar Amitabh Bachchan hit back at an anonymous troll, who wished death upon him from coronavirus. Addressing one "Mr Anonymous", Bachchan wrote on his blog that the troll was trying to gain a sense of self-importance by verbally attacking a star like him.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and his 5 family members test negative for the second time, a week after their first test also came negative. Himachal CM & his family members had gone in self-quarantine after an aide tested positive for COVID19.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announces extension of lockdown in containment zones till August 31
According to the UNICEF, in India, there are still around 20 million children under five years of age who are suffering from wasting. According to the Global Hunger Index 2019, wasting among children in India rose from 16.5 per cent in 2008-2012 to 20.8 per cent in 2014-2018. Wasting is a life-threatening form of malnutrition, which makes children too thin and weak, and puts them at greater risk of dying, poor growth, development and learning.
Secretary Assembly R Munussamy in a release stated that two watch and ward staff who were on duty in the front and back gates and a private assistant to BJP MLA V Swaminathan tested positive for COVID-19. The offices in the Assembly will remain closed till July 31 and will function from August 3.
Uttar Pradesh has become the second state after Tamil Nadu to cross the 20-lakh mark in terms of the number of samples tested for COVID-19, informed Secretary to the UP Chief Minister, Alok Kumar on Tuesday. "State UP govt tested 91,830 samples for COVID-19 yesterday and in the process becomes the second state, after Tamil Nadu, to cross the 20 lakhs COVID-19 testing mark," tweeted Kumar.
As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Uttar Pradesh has a total of 26,204 active COVID-19 cases.
India’s case Fatality Rate is currently 2.25%. The Recovery Rate is more than 64% as on today. With 35,176 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries stand at 9,52,743: Government
With this, three accused and six CBI officials have so far tested positive. The latest victims of the infection were two head constables (Muthuraja and Murugan). They were immediately shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital for treatment from Madurai Central Jail. One another accused in the case had tested positive on July 24.
The Sassoon General Hospital in Maharashtra's Pune has claimed to have reported the country's first case of 'vertical transmission' of the coronavirus infection from a mother to her child through the placenta.
Vertical transmission takes place when the baby is in the uterus. If the mother is infected, the transmission of the virus takes place through the placenta- an organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy and provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby.
Total COVID-19 cases in Delhi Prisons stand at 221. Out of the 60 infected inmates, there are 55 recoveries, 2 active cases, 2 deaths while one inmate has been released and is under home quarantine. Out of 161 staff members, 122 have recovered and 39 active: Prison Official
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HP Sandesh passed the order directing the state to reconsider its decision and place the same on record at 2.30 pm on Wednesday.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) -- an international forum launched by India -- have come together to forecast that the state will face serious challenges in reviving the economy. For recovery, Kerala can consider reopening the tourism sector partially by exploring the concept of 'travel bubble', the two agencies suggested in the report 'Response to COVID-19 - Kerala'.
Walmart-owned Flipkart has announced the launch of its hyperlocal delivery service 'Flipkart Quick' that will enable customers to receive grocery, fresh vegetables, meat and mobile phones in 90 minutes. The service will be available in select locations in Bengaluru initially and gradually scaled up and expanded to six large cities by the end of the year, Flipkart Vice-President Sandeep Karwa said.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Speaker V P Sivakolunthu and his deputy, ministers and MLAs who took the COVID-19 test on Monday at the assembly premises tested negative on Tuesday. Swabs were collected from as many as 126 persons in the assembly premises on Monday, of which six tested positive, while the rest are negative.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sarang Kotwal was hearing a PIL seeking disclosure of names of COVID-19 patients to enable contact tracing and to save others from being infected. The PIL, filed by law student Vaishnavi Gholave and Solapur-based farmer Mahesh Gadekar, claimed the fundamental right to life and the right to lead a healthy life stand above the fundamental right to privacy in the present situation where public interest and morality are important.
The Odisha government has instructed all district collectors, SPs, municipal commissioners and health officials to conduct the last rites of COVID-19 suspects without insisting on testing of swab or waiting for the report, an official said. The state government issued a letter on Monday after it was noticed that cremation of bodies was being delayed as officials waited for the corona test reports of the victim after his/her death, the official said.
Tripura's COVID-19 tally breached the 4,000-mark on Tuesday after 147 more people tested positive for the infection, officials said. West Tripura district reported 40 fresh cases, Sepahijala 41, Gomati 22, Khowai 12, North Tripura 18, Dhalai nine, South Tripura district three and Unakoti two, they said.
14 BRTF and two Assam Rifles personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the northeastern state's caseload to 1,239 on Tuesday, a senior health official said.
Tests were done on the CM, Speaker, Deputy Speaker ,Lok Sabha member , Ministers, legislators and staff of the legislative assembly/ complex and watch and ward , following N R Congress legislator N S Jayabal testing positive for the virus. Swabs were collected from as many as 126 persons in the assembly premises on Monday , of which six persons tested positive.
The Gujarat government has increased the fine for not wearing face mask and spitting in public places in the state to Rs 500 from Rs 200 announced earlier. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday, the government said in a release. Except for some parts of the state like the municipal limits of Ahmedabad and Surat, the government had earlier fixed Rs 200 as fine for not wearing face mask.
Odisha's COVID-19 tally breached the 28,000 mark with 1,215 new cases, while the death toll climbed to 154 as seven more patients, including a five-year-old boy, succumbed to the infection, a Health Department official said on Tuesday. The state's virus caseload now stands at 28,107 as 1,215 positive cases were reported from 28 of the 30 districts of the state.
Former Puducherry MLA and NR Congress General Secretary V Bhalan (68) died of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
(READ FULL REPORT HERE)
The court expressed its shock after taking note of the fact that the number of RT PCR tests for Covid-19 infection conducted between July 15 to July 23 are below 6000. "...almost 50 per cent capacity of the RT PCR tests are not being conducted in Delhi. The focus seems to be mainly on testing through RAT (rapid antigen tests) whereas RT PCR is the gold standard test," the court said.
Charminar zone of GHMC limits is now one of the worst impacted areas across the state and the city with 31 containment zones.
(READ FULL REPORT HERE)
Himachal Pradesh reported 94 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including four Army jawans and two CAPF personnel, taking the state's tally to 2,271, officials said. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 1,025.
"A woman was admitted to an isolation ward at a private hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. In the same ward, a doctor, who does not practise at the same institution, was also a patient in the isolation ward. The woman has alleged that she was molested by the doctor," ADSP Ranvijay Singh said.
As per the available data, 46.13 per cent of 480 COVID-19 deaths in Telangana had no comorbidities, showcasing a different side from what was popularly known that only those with comorbid conditions can succumb.
The district has been seeing upward for 100 cases consecutively for last 3 days. What is even more troublesome is that of the 255 beds in Warangal Urban's MGM hospital barely 55 are vacant. However other key district hospitals have sufficient beds.