India's COVID tally crossed the 68-lakh mark with a spike of 78,524 new cases & 971 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
Total case tally stands at 68,35,656 including 9,02,425 active cases, 58,27,705 cured/discharged/migrated cases & 1,05,526 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry's Thursday update.
On the same day, Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 death toll crossed the 10,000 mark with 68 more fatalities, while the case tally touched 6,40,943 with 5,088 fresh infections.
The 10,052 deaths as on date includes Chennai's 3,351, Chengelpet 584, Tiruvallur 573, Coimbatore 479, Madurai 395, Salem 365, Kancheepuram 341, a health department bulletin said, adding the remainder was spread across Tamil Nadu.
With more recoveries (5,718) than fresh cases, the number of those cured increased to 5,86,454 and the active cases were 44,437, it said.
Haryana reports 1284 new COVID19 cases today, taking the total cases in the state to 1,38,682. A total of 1,26,267 have been discharged so far, after recovering from the disease and 1548 have died. Active cases stand at 10,867: Health Department, Government of Haryana
Notice period for registration as political parties reduced from 30 days to 7 days for parties who have published their public notice on or before & October 7. This relaxation will remain in force till 20th October, the last date of nomination for Phase 3 of Bihar Elections: ECI
Maharashtra reports 13,395 new COVID19 cases, 358 deaths and 15,575 discharges today. Total cases in the state rise to 14,93,884, including 39,430 deaths and 11,96,441 discharges. Active cases stand at 2,41,986: State Health Department
Mumbai reports 2823 new COVID19 cases, 2933 discharges and 48 deaths today. The total cases in the state rise to 2,22,761, including 1,86,675 discharges and 9293 deaths. Active cases stand at 24,789: Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai
Jharkhand reported 784 new coronavirus cases (out of 32,092 tests), 1,263 recoveries & 8 deaths today, taking total cases to 90,486 including 80,439 recoveries & 775 deaths: State Health Department
Pune reported 2,039 new COVID-19 cases & 58 deaths in last 24 hours, taking total cases to 3,01,392 including 2,61,565 recoveries & 7,028 deaths: Pune Zilha Parishad, Maharashtra
Assam reported 1,188 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 1,91,397 including 1,57,635 recoveries, 32,965 active cases and 794 deaths: State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
Indian Medical Association (IMA) poses several questions to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for issuing protocol of COVID-19 prevention & treatment of asymptomatic as well as mild cases based on AYUSH & yoga.
Members of Joint Platform of Doctors, in their letter to Banerjee, referred to the steep rise in coronavirus cases in Kerala after the recent Onam festival, and a similar situation in Spain following International Women's Day celebrations and a football match to make their point. They also attached with the letter a three-day rolling average of the daily number of infections in the city, which showed a significant rise in caseload.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urged citizens to stand united to defeat coronavirus through collective determination and discipline. He also asked them to wear masks, wash hands and practice social distancing.
Gujarat reports 1278 new COVID19 cases, 1266 discharges and 10 deaths today. Total cases in the state rise to 1,47,951, including 1,27,923 discharges and 3541 deaths. Active cases stand at 16,487: Government of Gujarat
930 new COVID19 cases and 29 deaths have been reported in Punjab today, taking the total number of cases to 1,21,716 including 10,775 active cases and 3,741 deaths: State Government
Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said fever camps will also be held from 3 pm to 5 pm in marketplaces and, further, till 8 pm in some localities to screen more people. “The camps will be focused around the slum localities,’’ he said. Presently, the first batch of fever camps begin at 8:30 am and ends at 11, while the second batch begins at 11.30 am and ends at 1.30 pm.
Puducherry records 386 new COVID19 cases, 5 deaths and 326 discharges today. Total cases in the union territory rise to 30,539, including 556 deaths and 25,256 recoveries: Government of Puducherry
Chandigarh reports 102 new COVID19 cases, taking the total number of positive cases to 12,922 with 1,392 active cases, 186 deaths, and 11,344 cured cases: Health Department
An NGO on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to CBSE and the Delhi government to waive examination fees for students of classes 10 and 12 in current academic year in view of ongoing pandemic and consequent financial problems being faced by parents.
As COVID-19 continues to spread in most countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region, the World Health Organization has called for stronger collective efforts to curtail the virus transmission, urging the countries to plan for efficient roll out of vaccines as soon as they are available.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 3,376 new COVID-19 cases taking the infection tally to 4,27,459 on Thursday, while 45 coronavirus fatalities pushed the state's death toll to 6,245, a health bulletin said. Lucknow reported the maximum fresh cases at 403, followed by 189 each in Prayagraj and Ghaziabad and 180 in Gorakhpur, among other districts, it said.
Jammu and Kashmir report 696 new COVID-19 cases, 1,336 recoveries and 9 deaths today, taking the total tally in the Union Territory to 81,793, including 69,020 recoveries and 1,291 deaths. Active cases stand at 11,482: Government of Jammu and Kashmir
After announcing five special trains the day before, the Central Railway (CR) on Thursday announced another eight trains connecting various cities in Maharashtra. These eight trains will start operating from October 11, it said in a release.
With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged the health department to make best use of the available manpower and ensure optimal utilisation of funds to fight against COVID-19.
Delhi High Court says that it'll continue present system of hearing the matters till November 30, in view of COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, THREE benches are conducting physical hearing of the cases, on rotational basis, and remaining benches are taking up the matter via video conferencing.
The three BJP-ruled municipal corporations will complete de-sealing of over 3,000 properties in residential areas here by Diwali, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said on Thursday. (READ MORE)
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday said in its fresh set of COVID-19 guidelines, the Union Home Ministry has relaxed the restriction on gathering of more than 100 people at political rallies. (READ MORE)
Amid the persisting COVID-19 pandemic, the East Central Railway (ECR), headquartered at Hajipur, has started luggage sanitization and wrapping up services at four prominent stations including Patna junction. (READ MORE)
Airlines may be permitted to operate maximum 75 per cent of their pre-COVID scheduled domestic flights if the passenger numbers continue to remain healthy during the next 7-10 days, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday. The government on September 2 had said Indian airlines can operate up to 60 per cent of their pre-COVID services within the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to everyone to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public movement against COVID-19 and said a global pandemic can be fought only when all the countrymen come together.
As the festival season is around the corner, hence we should be more vigil towards taking precautions against COVID-19. Never forget to wear your masks above your nose, frequently sanitise and wash your hands and maintain social distancing: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan
With the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country.
Eight new COVID-19 cases reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases to 3,300 including 187 active cases and 2,820 discharges: BMC
In a respite to citizens, the Gujarat government on Thursday granted permission to private laboratories to conduct rapid antibody tests for detecting coronavirus infection. Till now, designated private laboratories were allowed to conduct only RTPCR tests, which are more accurate.
The Kerala government has decided not to open bars in the state for the time being considering the rise in COVID-19 cases. A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided against reopening bars and wine parlours immediately. (READ MORE)
The Odisha government on Thursday asked district collectors to consider the possibility of opening up of places of worship of all religious faiths where compliance to COVID-19 guidelines is feasible. Chief Secretary A K Tripathy asked the district collectors to consider the possibility of opening up places of worship for the public and submit and report to the government in the next 10-days.
Thirty-five states and Union territories in the country are performing more than 140 COVID-19 tests per day per million population, while 22 states and UTs have COVID-19 positivity rate less than the national average, the health ministry said on Thursday. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 8.19 per cent, it said.
Two people died of coronavirus in Kargil in Ladakh, taking the death toll in the Union Territory to 63, a bulletin said on Thursday. Ladakh reported 82 new cases, taking the cumulative figure to 4,802, the bulletin released by the Directorate of Health Services said.
Keeping in mind the risks of COVID-19, big-budget Durga Puja committees in Kolkata have decided not to celebrate the festival in a grand manner.
"This year, due to COVID-19, there is a lot of uncertainty about how many people will come out for the festival and maintaining social distancing and sanitisation on such a large scale will be very difficult. This is why members of big-budget puja committees have decided against celebrating in a grand manner. The demand for power supply will be less due to this," West Bengal Power Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee said,
The MeD Robo has been deployed to assist the hospital staff in serving COVID-19 patients by providing medicines, food and remote assistance without any physical contact.
It is operated through a unique mobile app that has been developed as part of the innovation with the help of WiFi facility. Supported by sensor-based features, it is capable to read patients’ body temperature and transmit the same for display on the mobile phone. ((READ FULL REPORT HERE)
The last 3 weeks' trend shows a steep decline in the national cumulative positivity rate, which is currently at 8.19%. 7 states/UTs have reported a positivity rate of less than 5%. 22 States/UTs have a positivity rate less than the national average: Ministry of Health
Progressive International (PI), a global coalition of progressive activists and organisations, on Wednesday launched a working group to promote “a people-first” approach to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
“Almost a year after the first cases of Covid-19, the global response fails to put people first and focus on collective wellbeing. Instead, the rich and powerful propose to hoard any vaccine, stoke divisions, fail to support livelihoods and seize more power by rolling back democratic protections,” PI’s Blueprint Coordinator Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla said.
"I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because I feel great. I feel like perfect. So, I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise," Trump said in a video message.
Standing at the Rose Garden outside the Oval office, Trump attributed his fast cure to Regeneron drug along with others. (READ FULL REPORT HERE)
"We have to continue the momentum and protect our citizens from the virus," the PM tweeted using the hashtag 'Unite2FightCorona'.
"Let us #Unite2FightCorona! Let us always remember: Wear a mask. Wash hands. Follow social distancing. Practice ?Do Gaj Ki Doori.' Together, we will succeed. Together, we will win against COVID-19," he said in another tweet.
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally mounted to 2,80,504 after the highest single-day spike of 3,455 new infections was reported on Wednesday, the health department said in a bulletin.
The death toll in the state rose to 5,376 with 58 more fatalities.
The discharge rate reached 87.97 per cent after 3,024 recoveries were registered across the state, the bulletin said.
The Odisha government on Wednesday said it will provide compensation to the families of COVID Warriors who died on duty in the state.
This was decided at the review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an official said.
Though the Centre had earlier announced to make provision of Rs 50 lakh compensation for each family sacrificing a member in the fight against COVID-19, it accepted only one death case from Odisha, the official said.
Kerala ministers M M Mani and K T Jaleel tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday.
With this five members of the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet have so far been infected by the deadly virus.
While Mani, the Electricity minister, has been admitted to the government medical college hospital here, Jaleel, Higher Education Minister, is under observation at his official residence.