Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi succumbed to COVID-19 on a day when India's tally crossed the 56-lakh mark with a spike of 83,347 new cases. 1,085 deaths were also registered in the daily bulletin.
The total case tally in the country now stands at 5,646,011 including 9,68,377 active cases, 45,87,614 cured/discharged/migrated and 90,020 deaths, Health Ministry's latest update informed.
Reporting more cases of recovered ones over fresh infections for five consecutive days, India also recorded over one lakh recoveries for the first time.
Four people died of COVID-19 in Meghalaya on Wednesday, pushing the death toll in the state to 42, a senior health official said. A 68-year-old woman died of COVID-19 in South West Garo Hills district, while three men lost their lives in the East Khasi Hills district, Health Services director Aman War said.
Four private hospitals were issued notices on Wednesday for alleged non-adherence to COVID protocols after the recent deaths of 48 coronavirus patients, an official said.
Assam's COVID-19 tally went up to 1,63,491 after 2,098 positive cases were detected on Wednesday, while 11 more people succumbed to the disease taking the death toll to 597, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Pune district reported 3,886 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 2,61,683 on Wednesday, a health official said. He said the death toll rose to 5,954 with 84 more patients succumbing to the infection during the same period in the western Maharashtra district.
Chhattisgarh recorded 2,434 new coronavirus cases and seven more deaths, taking its case count to 93,351 and the death toll to 728 on Wednesday, a health official said. A total of 576 people were also discharged from various hospitals following recovery while 4,196 patients completed their home isolation during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 56,773.
The Nagaland government has decided to withdraw the steep COVID-19 cess on petrol and diesel, state minister Neiba Kronu said on Wednesday. The COVID-19 cess of Rs 5 per litre on diesel and Rs 6 per litre on petrol and other motor spirits was imposed on April 28, amid a crunch in the state's finances in the wake of the lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 5,325 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 5,57,999 while the death toll mounted to 9,010 with 63 more fatalities. With 5,363 patients getting discharged from various hospitals, the cumulative number of cured people breached the five lakh mark.
The Punjab government on Wednesday capped charges for coronavirus tests at private labs to check profiteering. Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu in a statement said the government has directed that no private lab should charge more than Rs 1,600 (inclusive of GST/taxes, documentation and reporting) for a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Five more COVID-19 patients died in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, pushing the death toll to 136, while 280 fresh cases took the state tally to 13,050. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said two deaths were reported each from Mandi and Kangra and one from Solan.
A total of 24,000 samples from 71 districts across the country were tested for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in May and the nationwide seroprevalence was found to be less than one per cent, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Amid rising COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh, state home minister and BJP leader Narottam Mishra on Wednesday caused a flutter saying he doesn't wear a face mask in any programme.
Chandigarh reported 10 fatalities due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 137, while 180 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 10,726, according to a medical bulletin on Wednesday. An 82-year-old man was among the 10 people who died from coronavirus, it said.
As many as 536 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Goa on Wednesday, taking the statewide tally to 29,879, a health department official said. He said 395 people were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered cases to 23,857. Also, eight patients succumbed to the infection, pushing up the toll to 376 in the coastal state, the official said.
Sixty-four more coronavirus-related fatalities were reported in Punjab on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 2,990, while the infection tally reached 1,03,464 with 2,123 new cases, according to a medical bulletin.
At least 67 more people, including 45 security personnel, tested positive for COVID-19 in Nagaland on Wednesday, taking the tally in the state to 5,671, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. The death toll rose to 16 after a person from Mon district succumbed to the disease, an official said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday expressed confidence that his governments just launched My family - my responsibility campaign would strengthen the fight against COVID-19 in the state which has recorded more than 12 lakh cases so far.
The Haryana government has allowed reopening of universities and colleges amid COVID-19 outbreak to enable the students to seek guidance from their teachers, with a trial run to start from September 26. (READ MORE)
Karnataka on Wednesday reported 6,997 new COVID-19 cases and 38 fatalities, taking the infection tally to 5,40,847 and the toll to 8,266, the health department said. The day also saw 5,460 patients getting discharged after recovery.
The Centre on Wednesday suggested that Karnataka concentrate more on nine districts where the most number of COVID-19 deaths have been recorded, even as the state said the increase in number of tests was helping it to bring down positivity and case fatality steadily.
Andhra Pradesh has crossed the coronavirus peak and the infection positivity and mortality rates have been on a declining trend, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
The Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday allowed the phase-3 trial of anti-COVID-19 vaccine ''Covaxin'' in Lucknow and Gorakhpur. The vaccine is currently being tested by Bharat Biotech Ltd in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.
At least 166 persons tested positive for coronavirus, while six died of the infection in Maharashtra's Amravati district on Wednesday, an official said. With the latest casualties, the toll in the district has risen to 253, the official said.
With single-day addition of 1,436 new cases of COVID-19, the count in Maharashtra's Nashik district has reached 67,653 on Wednesday, a health official said. Apart from this, 20 more casualties have taken the toll in the region to 1,225, the official said.
Delhi recorded 3,714 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as the tally in the city mounted to over 2.56 lakh, while the death toll rose to 5,087. These fresh cases were recorded from the more than 59,580 tests done the previous day.
To tackle the coronavirus pandemic in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the assistance to Rs 3,000 crore under a package and sought a Rs 1,000 crore adhoc grant.
Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday recorded 2,346 new coronavirus cases, taking the total count to 1,13,057, the state health department said. The death toll due to the pandemic went up to 2,077 with 42 fatalities during past 24 hours, it said in a statement in the evening.
Twenty-seven more people died from coronavirus in Haryana on Wednesday as 1,986 fresh cases took the state's infection tally to 1,16,856. So far, the disease has claimed 1,233 lives in the state.
At least four COVID-19 care centres in Aurangabad will be upgraded as dedicated health centres with increased bed capacity amid the rise in infections in the city, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Union Minister for state railways (MoS) Suresh Angadi (65) passed away at AIIMS, Delhi on Wednesday due to COVID-19. He was initially asymptomatic, but had to be admitted later to the AIIMS trauma centre. He is the first member of the Union cabinet to succumb to the pandemic. (READ MORE)
Ahmedabad's tally of coronavirus casesrose to 35,488 with 185 new cases being reported on Wednesday, the Gujarat health department said. With three more COVID-19 patients dying, the death toll in the district reached 1,807, it said.
West Bengal's COVID-19 death toll surged past the 4,500-mark on Wednesday after 61 more patients succumbed to the virus, even as the coronavirus tally went up to 2,34,673 with 3,189 fresh cases, the health department said in a bulletin. The state has so far reported 4,544 COVID-19 fatalities.
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CICSE) will conduct compartment and improvement exams for class 10 and 12 from October 6 to 9, the board announced on Wednesday. The results will be declared on October 17, it said.
Mumbai's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,90,138 on Wednesday with the addition of 2,360 new cases, while 52 fresh deaths took the toll to 8,601, the city civic body said. The financial capital has recorded over 2,300 daily COVID-19 cases for the fifth time in September and more than 50 fatalities in 24 hours for the fourth time so far this month.
The Gujarat government on Wednesday said strict action will be taken against private laboratories engaged in COVID-19 testing if they are found violating the standard operating procedure.
Gujarat on Wednesday reported 1,372 new coronavirus positive cases, taking the total count of infections to 1,27,541, state health department said. With 15 deaths, the overall toll reached 3,370, it said.
A few days before her 28th birthday on August 27, a pregnant woman here found she had contracted COVID-19, but what was her greatest worry was what lay in store for her baby. Displaying grit while going through an induced coma, Priyadarshini was delivered of a pre-term girl, but the woman's anxiety and pain was she could not see her infant immediately after birth.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1,249 fresh coronavirus cases and 20 deaths due to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 67,510 and the death toll to 1,062, officials said on Wednesday.
Bihar's COVID-19 tally rose to 1.73 lakh on Wednesday as 1,598 people tested positive for the infection while one fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 874, health department bulletin said. Patna district accounted for the highest number of 219 new cases, followed by 89 in Muzaffarpur, 72 in Purnea, 71 in Supaul and 58 in Araria.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Mylan Laboratories Limited will collaborate to identify potential therapies for COVID-19, the country's premier research body said in a statement on Wednesday. A series of clinical trials will be conducted towards new and innovative solutions to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in India as part of this collaboration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to reassess if lockdowns of one or two days are effective in containing COVID-19 and told them to press on with full strength in opening economic activities while fighting the virus.
Authorities in Jammu on Wednesday declared over a dozen localities as 'red zones' and announced a strict lockdown except for essential services and tight perimeter control around those as the region witnessed a spike in coronavirus cases.
Maharashtra's coronavirus case tally rose to 12,63,799 on Wednesday with addition of 21,029 cases, the state health department said. With 479 COVID-19 patients dying during the day, the death toll reached 33,886, it said.
India is conducting COVID-19 tests at a rate of 875 per million population per day, which is more than six times the figure recommended by the WHO, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Jaipur has reported 314 deaths till now, followed by 137 in Jodhpur; 105 in Bikaner; 98 in Ajmer; 95 in Kota; 76 in Bharatpur; 57 in Pali; 46 in Nagaur; 45 in Udaipur; 36 in Alwar; 29 each in Barmer and Sikar; and 24 in Dholpur.
Indian manufacturers can produce around 3.48 crore RT-PCR combo kits per month, which gives the country a capacity to conduct around 11.35 lakh RT-PCR COVID-19 tests daily, the government said on Wednesday.
In the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday, 8,291 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospitals while 45 more succumbed, the latest bulletin said.
Pandemics caused by a new virus have the propensity to infect human population in multiple waves and some countries which initially successfully contained the COVID-19 outbreak are now reporting a resurgence of cases, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
Kerala's COVID-19 cases saw the highest single day surge with 5,376 new cases on Wednesday, taking the infection tally to 1,47,132 while the death toll soared to 592 to with 20 deaths. So far, 1,04,682 have recovered from the infection. The state reported 5376 positive cases today after 51,200 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Jammu and Kashmir reports 1249 new COVID19 cases and 2796 recoveries today, taking the total tally in the union territory to 67,510, including 46,530 recoveries and 1062 deaths. Active cases stand at 19,918: Government of Jammu and Kashmir
PM Narendra Modi chairs a high-level virtual meeting with Chief Ministers & Health Ministers of seven COVID-19 high burden States/UT to review COVID response and management. These States/UT are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, & Punjab.
Rajasthan reported 1,946 new COVID19 cases, 1,553 recoveries & 15 deaths today, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 1,20,739 till date, including 18,992 active cases, 98,986 discharged cases & 1,382 deaths: State Health Department, Govt of Rajasthan
The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing. Hopes are high that answers about at least one candidate being tested in the U.S. could come by year’s end, maybe sooner.
With 22 new COVID-19 cases, Dharavi's total tally rises to 3,087: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
Tripura reports 504 new COVID19 cases, two more fatalities. Infection tally reaches 23,338, death toll goes up to 250. Number of active cases stands at 6,602: Health official
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was hospitalised on Wednesday due to coronavirus, sources said. The 48-year-old Aam Aadmi Party leader has been admitted to the state-run LNJP Hospital here, they added. He had tested positive for the infection on September 14 and was in home isolation.
Uttar Pradesh reports 5,234 new COVID19 cases, 87 more deaths. The infection tally goes up to 3,69,686, death toll now 5,299. There are 61,698 active cases in the state
54-year-old woman who had tested positive for coronavirus last week allegedly killed herself at a government hospital in Himachal Pradesh's capital Shimla early Wednesday, police said.
Punjab Government has capped COVID-19 tests rates for private labs. No private laboratory to charge more than Rs. 1600 for RT-PCR test for COVID-19, inclusive of taxes. For TrueNat Test, no private laboratory to charge more than Rs. 2000 and Rs 2400 fixed for Cbnaat test.
There is no shortage of oxygen in Delhi govt hospitals. Enough stock is available for the next six to seven days: Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
In a Facebook post, Krishna Rai said: "We made all possible efforts to keep corona at bay but unfortunately we got infected. I appeal to those who came in contact with us to get themselves tested and my close contacts to go into quarantine." She said that on doctor's advice she along with her family members have quarantine themselves in their residence.
India's total tests for detection of COVID-19 has crossed 6.6 crore and tests per million have risen to 48,028 as on date with the national cumulative positivity rate being recorded at 8.52 per cent: Union health ministry
Lulu Mall in Kochi, Kerala's biggest retail mall, was closed temporarily till further notice on Wednesday after authorities declared the Kalamassery Municipality area (Division 34), under which it falls, a containment zone. Ernakulam district collector S Suhas declared the division a containment zone on Tuesday night.
All govt & private hospitals to submit death reports of COVID19 patients along with investigation report & test status within 48 hours of death for State Level Death Audit. COVID test after death is discouraged to avoid undue delay in the release of the body: Odisha Health Dept
While the Phase I trials will take place in St Louis University's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, Bharat Biotech, upon obtaining the required regulatory approval, will pursue further stages of clinical trials in India and undertake large scale manufacture of the vaccine at its GMP facility located in Genome Valley here.
Saudi Arabia suspends travel to and from India, Brazil and Argentina due to COVID19, also bars people who have travelled to any of these countries 14 days prior to their arrival.
253 police personnel of Maharashtra Police tested positive for COVID19 & 5 died in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections in the state force to 21,827 including 3,435 active cases, 18,158 recovered cases and 234 deaths: Maharasthra Police
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, by far the highest in the world, hitting the once-unimaginable threshold six weeks before an election that is certain to be a referendum in part on President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis. (READ MORE HERE)
Over the past week, India conducted fewer tests as compared to the previous mark giving an impression that this “decline” is an effort to keep the daily case count in check. (READ MORE)
Impacted by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, India's economy is forecast to contract by 5.9 per cent in 2020, the UN has said in a report, warning that while growth will rebound next year, the contraction is likely to translate into a permanent income loss. (READ FULL REPORT)
The number of active cases in the state stand at 29,873, of whom 23,527 are under home quarantine. Among the districts, some that recorded a comparatively higher number of cases were Ranga Ready - 217, Medchal -173, Nalgonda - 155, Karimnagar - 136, Warangal Urban - 99, Siddipet - 92 and Nizamabad - 82.
Concerned at the persisting Covid-19 situation in many parts of the country, PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday will hold a meeting with the CMs and health ministers of seven states reporting the highest-burden of coronavirus cases.
These states include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab.
At present, over 63% of the active cases of the country are concentrated in these seven states and they also account for 65.5% of the total confirmed cases and 77% of the total deaths.
The district headquarters hospital in Kendrapara is facing flak after stray dogs were found sleeping on the beds at the Covid-19 isolation ward recently. Pradip Das, a social worker said dogs roam freely in the hospital’s wards and can also be found in the toilets. (READ FULL REPORT)