With 22,771 people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in a day, the highest so far, India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 6,48,315 on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 18,655 with 442 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data.
With a steady rise, the number of recoveries stands at 3,94,226 with 14,335 COVID-19 patients having been cured in the last 24 hours, according to the updated data at 8 a.m.
The number of recovered patients exceeded the active cases by 1,58,793 as of Saturday.
There are 2,35,433 active cases of COVID-19 presently in the country, the data showed.
“The recovery rate has further increased to 60.81%,” the Union Health Ministry said.
Globally, coronavirus has killed more than five lakh people in seven months.
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:
Nashik COVID-19 count now 5,187, death toll touches 270
Nashik reported 323 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the infection count to 5,187, while the samples of eight people who died recently tested positive during the day, increasing the toll from the infection to 270, an official said.
Of the eight deaths, five are from Nashik city, he added.
— PTI
COVID-19: 5 deaths in Noida, CMO among 83 new patients
Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar on Saturday recorded five more deaths due to COVID-19, while 83 more people,including the chief medical officer, were found positive for the infection in the district, official data showed.
The death toll due to the novel coronavirus has now reached 28, while the tally of positive cases rose to 2,646, the highest for any district in the state, according to the data released by U.P. Health Department.
— PTI
Maharashtra reports 7074 new cases, positive tally exceeds 2,00,000
Maharashtra reported 7074 new cases in the State today, taking the total positive to 200,064. 295 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the State.
Out of these, 124 deaths occurred in the last 48 hours and rest 171 are from the previous period. 3395 patients were discharged today. Totally, 1,08,082 COVID-19 patients were discharged after full recovery until today, said a State health bulletin.
Gujarat reports 712 new cases
Gujarat recorded 712 new cases and 21 deaths on Saturday. The total Covid-19 numbers are: 1927 fatalities and 35,398 positive cases. There are now 8057 active cases while 25,414 patients have been discharged in total.
- Mahesh Langa
M.P. reports 307 new cases
Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 307 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 14,604. The number of active cases stands at 2,772.
Five patients died of the illness on the day, taking the State-wide death toll to 598. As for recoveries, 185 patients were discharged from hospitals on the day. So far, 11,234 persons have been cured of the illness, says the State Directorate of Health Services.
- Sidharth Yadav
Delhi death toll passes 3000
Delhi reported 2505 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 97200 said a heath bulletin issued by the Delhi government on Saturday.
According to the bulletin, 55 deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3004. Of the total cases, 68,256 people have recovered and there are 25,940 active cases.
2632 people recovered on in the past 24 hours.
- Delhi bureau
Tamil Nadu reports 4280 new cases
Tamil Nadu reported over 4000 positive cases in a single day yet again, with 4280 persons testing positive on Saturday, taking the total to 1,07001. 2214 patients were discharged today, taking the total to 60592. There were 65 deaths on Saturday, taking the death toll to 1450, said the State health bulletin.
T.N. CM announces new regulations for Chennai from July 6
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday announced new regulations for areas covered by Chennai Metropolitan Police from July 6 till further orders.
Total lockdown in the city will come to an end on the midnight of July 5.
The Chief Minister said takeaways in hotels will be allowed to continue from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Deliverymen should have the identity card of their organisations.
Tea stalls can continue parcel service from 6 a.m to 6 p.m. Vegetable and provision stores will have the working time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Indian dozes off at Dubai airport, misses repatriation flight
A 53-year-old Indian worker in the UAE has missed a special repatriation flight after he dozed off at the Dubai International Airport, a media report said.
P. Shajahan, who worked as a storekeeper in Abu Dhabi, was supposed to fly to Thiruvananthapuram on the Emirates jumbo jet chartered by the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) Dubai, Gulf News reported.
It was the first-ever jumbo jet chartered for repatriation.
Mr. Shajahan, who had paid 1,100 dirham (USD 300) for the ticket, said that he did not sleep on the previous night as he kept on waiting for the confirmation of his ticket for the jumbo jet flying 427 stranded Indians to Kerala.
- PTI
UP records 24 more deaths, 757 fresh cases
The death toll due to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh reached 773 on Saturday with 24 more fatalities, while the total number of cases in the state mounted to 26,554 as 757 fresh infections were reported in the last 24 hours, an official said.
Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said there are 7,627 active cases in the state. So far, 18,154 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease.
The state has a recovery rate of 68.36 per cent, he said.
Prasad said the testing capacity in Uttar Pradesh has crossed 25,000 tests per day and 26,061 samples were tested on Friday.
Over 8.34 lakh tests have been done in the state so far, he added.
17 TTD staff test positive for coronavirus
As many as 17 staff members of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, have tested positive for COVID-19, a top functionary of the TTD board said.
After holding an emergency meeting on the hills, TTD board chairman YV Subba Reddy told reporters that an ’archaka’ (assistant priest), some musicians and security staff were among those infected in recent times.
The best treatment was now being provided to the affected staff, and that the TTD would not compromise on the health, safety and security of the employees.
After the COVID-19 spread, the shrine was closed and was re-opened for the devotees on June 11, allowing only 6,000 of them per day. All precautions have been taken, he said.
Keeping in mind the spike in the cases of coronavirus in the country, TTD has determined that under any circumstance not more than 12,000 devotees would be allowed into the ancient shrine, he said.
Goa will set up plasma bank, says health minister
Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Saturday said the state will have a plasma bank to treat COVID-19 patients.
He said Goa Medical College and Hospital already has the facilities required to operate such a bank and people who have recovered from the infection would be asked to come forward to donate plasma.
A decision on setting up such a bank will be conveyed to the Indian Council of Medical Research soon, he added.
He said GMCH’s department of transfusion medicine will be given more human resources.
Convalescent plasma therapy, also called passive antibody therapy, seeks to obtain plasma from the blood of people who have recovered from the infection to inject into patients undergoing treatment.
Week-long total lockdown in Arunachal’s Capital Complex from July 6
The Arunachal Pradesh government on Saturday announced that a week-long total lockdown will be imposed in the Capital Complex, comprising Itanagar and Nagarlagun, from July 6 in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, a top official said on Saturday.
The total lockdown will be imposed at 5 am on July 6 and will be in place till 5 pm on July 12, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar told reporters.
He was flanked by Health Secretary Dr P Parthiban, state Surveillance Officer Dr L Jampa and Capital Complex Deputy Commissioner Komkar Dolum.
There will be certain exemptions which would be announced on July 5, Kumar said.
“Capital Complex will be under lockdown from 6th July (Monday) to 12th July (Sunday). Detailed guidelines and SOP for compliance will be issued shortly,” Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted.
The Capital Complex region has seen a rapid rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, 89 so far, causing worries to the state administration. This measure was taken as a corrective step, Kumar said.
Of the 89 cases, 81 are active while eight people have recovered, he added.
Meanwhile, 20 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Saturday, taking the virus count to 252, Dr Jampa said.
Of the total cases, 176 are active while 75 people have recovered and one patient has died, he added.
To combat coronavirus, Tripura starts free supply of fruits with Vitamin C
The Tripura government on Saturday started free distribution of pineapple and lemon juice in a bid to boost immunity of people in urban areas with Vitamin C for combating COVID-19.
Dubbed the Chief Minister’s Coronavirus Prevention, the programme was launched by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb ahead of a day’s total lockdown across the State on July 5.
The lockdown followed the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases. At the last count, Tripura had a total of 1,534 cases with 324 of them active and one having died.
Mr Deb, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio, said that the State government would spend Rs. 1 crore to implement the public immunity boosting programme to be carried out every Saturday in July.
He said that the Vitamin C-enriched juice and fruits have been distributed in 316 locations through self-help groups in coordination with the urban local bodies.
“While the scheme is aimed at increasing the people’s immunity, more than 300 farmers would be able to sell their fruits at reasonable prices,” the Chief Minister said, adding that a healthy society is the foundation for the socio-economic development of any State.
Tripura annually produces 1.40 lakh tonnes of two exotic and juicy two varieties of pineapples — Kew and Queen. -- Rahul Karmakar
TN's recovery rate is 57%, fatality rate at 1.3%
Tamil Nadu may have breached the grim benchmark of one lakh COVID-19 infections, racing to second place in the country behind Maharashtra, but the government says ramped up testing and early detection are among the factors leading to reporting of such high numbers.
The southern state’s numbers as on Friday clocked a total of 1,02,721 with 1,385 deaths, while recoveries stood at 58,378. The recovery rate is 57 per cent.
Around 12.70 lakh samples have been tested so far, the numbers being 35,028 on Friday. The state’s fatality rate is 1.3 per cent.
Among the many infected include state Higher Education Minister K P Anbalagan.
DMK legislator J Anbazhagan, who had tested positive for the deadly virus, died early in June.
When health minister Dr C Vijayabaskar took to Twitter to announce the first Coronavirus case in Tamil Nadu on March 7, an engineer from Kancheepuram with a travel history to Oman, little did people imagine the state would register over a lakh cases in a little less than four months.
No community transmission in Manipur, says health officials
High ranking Health department officials clarified on Saturday that there is no community transmission of COVID-19 in Manipur. Dr K. Rajo, the health director said that that some policemen were infected in Jiribam. These policemen were on duty during the arrival of thousands of students from other parts of the country at the Jiri railway station.
Dr Rajo further said that the total number of COVID-19 positive is 1316. "What is happening in Manipur is mere local transmission," he said.
Dr Khoirom Shashikumar, additional director of health and spokesperson said, "There is no community transmission in Manipur and the rumour should be stopped since it wlll affect tourism and others." He also disclosed that in the last 24 hours 37 persons were found positive.
One Assistant sub inspector was found positive in Jiribam district. The concerned officials ordered testing of the remaining policemen working with him in the police station. Officials said that 27 other policemen were found to have contracted the infection. One officer said "There is no community transmission but the rise is due to arrival of people coming from others parts of the country." -- Iboyaima
Indian-led team develops cheap, electricity free centrifuge for testing
Researchers, led by an Indian scientist, have developed a cheap, electricity free centrifuge to separate components in patient saliva samples for the detection of the novel coronavirus, an advance that may increase accessibility of COVID-19 diagnostics in poor regions of the world.
According to the scientists, including Manu Prakash from Stanford University in the US, the ‘Handyfuge’ device spins sample-containing tubes at very high speeds, enough to separate the virus genome from patient saliva samples, without needing electricity.
They said the cheap centrifuge, described in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study published in the platform medRxiv, can be assembled using readily available components for a cost less than five USD per unit.
It can allow clinicians and scientists to carry out a quick and cheap diagnostic technique called the LAMP assay to detect the presence of the novel coronavirus genome in patient saliva samples, the scientists noted.
The LAMP protocol, according to the researchers, “has the benefits of being simple, requiring no specialised equipment, rapid, requiring less than an hour from sample collection to readout, and cheap, costing around one dollar per reaction using commercial reagents.”
Now, a police band creates COVID-19 awareness in Vellore
The clanging of cymbals and drums on Friday morning, take people standing at an arterial junction in Konavattam in Vellore district by surprise. They turn around, to see a group of men clad in red and black, playing instruments.
The men are members of the police band, attached to the Vellore Armed Reserve Police unit, and have been roped in to create awareness about COVID-19 at important junctions in the district.
“Many people return from different districts and they don’t inform us. The main aim of using the band is to create awareness that they should voluntarily come forward and get tested,” said Pravesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Vellore.
AIIMS-Rishikesh dedicates new 100-bed ward to COVID-19 patients
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh on Saturday started functioning a new ward with 100 beds for COVID-19 patients. The decision to dedicate a new ward to COVID-19 patients was taken in view of rising cases of the pandemic in the state, said dean hospital administration Brigadier Udai Bhaskar Mishra.
The number of beds in the ward at present is 100 and it will soon be increased to 300, he said.
Fresh ‘unlock 2’ guidelines in J&K; religious places to remain closed
Fresh guidelines under the “unlock 2” phase came into effect in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday with the Union Territory administration deciding against opening religious places and educational institutions, but allowing hotels to operate with full capacity.
There will be no inter-state and inter-district movement except for those carrying valid passes, while the night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am will continue to remain in force till further orders.
The new guidelines were issued on Friday night by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam and will be applicable till July 31. Prior to it, the administration issued a fresh classification of the districts in “red”, “orange” and “green” categories for a successful implementation of the instructions aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19.
Doctor in charge of treatment returns home after 98 days
The doctor in charge of treatment at Goa’s dedicated COVID-19 hospital, Dr Edwin Gomes has returned home after completing 98 days of uninterrupted duty, a senior health department official said on Saturday.
Dr. Gomes received a hero’s welcome as he returned to his home on the outskirts of Panaji on Friday, with people applauding and offering him flowers for his service.
A video of the rousing welcome has gone viral on social media.
Attached to the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Dr. Gomes heads a team of doctors posted at the ESI Hospital, the state’s dedicated COVID-19 treatment facility.
According to a senior official from the health department, Dr. Gomes has returned home after 98 days of uninterrupted duty.
“Gomes has been working tirelessly right from the time the outbreak happened and a dedicated facility was set up at ESI Hospital,” he said.
Gomes has treated around 333 patients in the facility, of which 153 have recovered from the deadly infection, the official said.
PM applauds BJP workers for helping those in need during lockdown
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday applauded BJP workers for extending help to those in need during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, saying for his party workers the nation comes first.
Before he chairs the ‘ Seva Hi Sangathan ’ meet this evening, Mr. Modi said in these challenging times, the party workers have being working tirelessly across India, helping those in need.
“For BJP karyakartas, serving the nation comes first,” he wrote on Twitter.
BJP state units will present a report card to Mr. Modi regarding the public service works and outreach undertaken during the nationwide lockdown period on Saturday evening.
Spread in A.P. at ‘manageable’ level now, says govt.
Coronavirus cases may have shot up by a whopping 14,000 in just over a month in Andhra Pradesh, but the state government said the pandemic spread is at a “manageable” level right now.
‘R naught’, which indicates the scale of transmission of an infection in AP is now 1.2 to 1.3, indicating that the “numbers are under control.”
“It becomes uncontrollable if R naught crosses 2,” Special Chief Secretary (Health), K S Jawahar Reddy said.
About 60-70 per cent of the Covid-19 positive cases being reported now were asymptomatic, he pointed out.
The spurt in cases since June 1 was attributed to the “opening up” post-lockdown.
Nearly 30% of fresh cases in Odisha reported from community
Odisha on Saturday reported close to 30% of total fresh infections from the community, indicating a deterioration in the COVID-19 situation in the State.
Worried over apprehension of community transmission, local administrations have started controlling intra-district movements and emphasised on isolation for persons coming from high infection districts.
As many as 495 new coronavirus cases were detected during the past 24 hours, taking the State’s total to 8601. Among fresh cases, 355 were from quarantine centres while 140 were from the community, accounting for 28.28%.
COVID-19 test must for patients with Influenza Like Illness too
Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Nitesh K. Patil has issued directions to officials concerned to ensure 100 % mandatory COVID-19 test for all ILI (Influenza Like Illness) patients in the district in the wake of increasing number of coronavirus positive cases in the country,
Chairing a District Health Task Force meeting here on Thursday, Mr. Patil said that it was essential that all ILI cases reported in government and private hospitals were subjected to COVID-19 test without fail.
A.P. registers 765 new cases; 12 deaths on Saturday
Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday, reported 765 new cases taking total number of cases to 17,699. With 12 deaths being reported in the State, the death toll stood at 218.
About 376 persons were dicharged on Saturday taking the recovered to 8,008. The active cases in the State stand at 9,473.
Maradu police arrest 20 for violating social distancing and face mask norms
The Maradu police arrested 21 people from the Champakkara wholesale fish market in the early hours of Saturday after it was found that social distancing norms were being flouted during the rush hour.
Some of the arrested included those without weariing face masks, said a wholesale dealer at the Champakkara market. Those arrested have been released on bail.
The major fish market has been at the centre of attraction from health authorities with obvious failure in crowd control. Health standing committee chairperson of the Corporation of Cochin Pratibha Ansari said that several rounds of warnings had been issued after it was found that social distancing norms were not being followed in the market.
A fish broker in the market said that steps are being taken to control the crowd. However, with some of the other markets being closed, more people were coming to Champakkara to make daily purchases. Besides hoteliers and wholesale dealers, retailers and those buying for domestic use also crowd the market, where business is now done between 3 a. m. and 8 a. m .
COVID-19 positive patient goes to hospital on a two-wheeler
A 59-year-old man from Avinashi, Tiruppur district, who tested positive for COVID-19, went to the Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital to get himself admitted after waiting for over 12 hours in vain for an ‘108’ ambulance to pick him up.
Sources in the Health Department told The Hindu that he was a hospital worker at Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore who was residing at Narasa Street in Avinashi. The Health Department informed him that he was COVID-19 positive on Wednesday afternoon, following which he dialled the 108 helpline for an ambulance. However, despite him making multiple calls, none of the ambulances reached his residence as all were occupied. After waiting past midnight with no sign of ambulance, he asked his son to take him to Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital in the early hours of Thursday, sources said. -- R. Akhileish
Three police constables test positive
Three police constables of the district armed reserve police force who were on COVID duty tested positive in Belagavi district on Saturday, according to police sources.
These non-symptomatic cases would be shifted to institutional quarantine in the police head quarters, as per the new guidelines issued on Friday.
Their primary contacts are being traced and would be advised home quarantine. "However, it may be nearly impossible to trace every vehicle that has passed through the check post when the police men were on duty," a senior officer said.
Over 15,000 vehicles have passed through the check post till the end of June. "Doctors are telling us that there may not be a need to quarantine all the passengers in those vehicles. In fact, the passengers have already been asked to observe 14 days quarantine from the date of passage," said the officer.
Police and health officers in the city were tasked with tracing the contacts of a bangle seller who tested positive. "The 58 year old woman of Mali Galli, had visited at least 200 houses since the lock down was shifted. She would have touched the hands of women in all those houses, as she not only sold her ware, but also helped them wear the bangles. We have put 20 staff on this trail. The process should take 2-3 days," said an officer who is a member of the district COVID management committee. -- Special Correspondent
As cases rise, Gujarat CM visits Surat to assess measures
Concerned over the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Surat, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel arrived in the city on Saturday to take stock of preparedness to tackle the pandemic.
Surat has seen a worrisome rise in coronavirus cases over the last few days, with several persons testing positive at Katargam, Varachha and Sarthana localities, which are home to diamond polishing units and workers.
Rupani and Patel, who is also the state health minister, will hold a meeting with the district collector, city civic chief and health officials to take stock of the outbreak and steps being taken to contain the spread.
The Chief Minister is accompanied by Chief Secretary Anil Mukim and chief secretary to the Chief Minister K Kailasanathan.
The diamond polishing units in the city have been hit by the outbreak, as they were ordered to remain shut for a week starting June 30 after 570 workers and their relatives tested positive for the infection in a month.
Three more die in Rajasthan; State reports 204 new cases
Three more persons died of coronavirus in Rajasthan on Saturday, as the state reported 204 fresh cases raising its infection tally to 19,256, officials said.
While one person each died in Bharatpur and Jhunjhunu, a patient from another state succumbed to COVID-19 in Jaipur, according to an official release.
The death toll due to COVID-19 in the state has now risen to 443.
With the fresh cases, the coronavirus tally in the state has reached 19,256, as per the release.
A total of 15,352 patients have recovered and 15,026 of them have been discharged. There are 3,461 active COVID-19 cases in the state as of now, it said.
Collector orders probe into spread of COVID-19 cases at JIPMER in Puducherry
District Collector T. Arun has ordered a probe into the “spread” of COVID-19 at the campus of the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research here.
In an order issued on July 2, the Collector said despite several preventive measures taken at the hospital, 20 cases have been reported from the campus. Even health officials have tested positive, he said. -- Rajesh B. Nair
26 new COVID-19 micro containment zones identified in Ahmedabad
In a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Ahmedabad civic body in Gujarat has identified 26 new micro containment zones in the city, which is the biggest COVID-19 hotspot in the State.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that intense door-to-door surveillance will be carried out to detect new cases in these micro containment zones, where movement of people is restricted.
These newly-identified areas took the number of micro-containment zones in the city to 84, where around 35,000 people live. - PTI
Assam govt starts plasma bank; first donor is doctor who recovered from COVID-19
In a bid to treat coronavirus patients, a plasma bank started functioning at a hospital in Assam on Friday with the first donor being a doctor who recovered from COVID-19, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The plasma bank has been set up at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), he said.
The donor is the first doctor who tested positive for COVID-19 in the State at the GMCH, Mr. Sarma said, while expressing his gratitude to him for donating plasma and to the team working at the bank. - PTI
WHO says first alerted to virus by its office, not China
The World Health Organisation has updated its account of the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis to say it was alerted by its own office in China, and not by China itself, to the first pneumonia cases in Wuhan.
On April 9, WHO published an initial timeline of its communications, partly in response to criticism of its early response to the outbreak. In that chronology, WHO had said only that the Wuhan municipal health commission in the province of Hubei had on December 31 reported cases of pneumonia. The UN health agency did not however specify who had notified it.
UP minister, wife test positive for COVID-19, admitted to hospital
Uttar Pradesh Rural Development Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh (Moti Singh) and his wife have been admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here after they tested positive for COVID-19.
Asked about his health, Mr. Singh told PTI on Saturday, “I am fine.”
Asked how long is he expected to stay in the hospital, he said, “I came here only on Friday. I will follow the doctors’ advice.”
Mr. Singh is a four-time MLA from Patti in Pratapgarh district. - PTI
Strict enforcement of curfew in Karnataka on Sunday
The Sunday curfew in Karnataka will be strictly enforced from 8 p.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday. It will not be any different from the restrictions imposed during previous curfews and lockdowns, said B.H. Anil Kumar, Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). “The restrictions that were in place then will be imposed now also,” he told The Hindu .
Exceptions will be made only for essential services and emergencies.
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao reiterated that enforcement will be strict. “Barring an emergency, vehicles on the road will be confiscated.” he said.
What will be open: All shops selling essential commodities like medicine, milk and groceries. Hotels for takeaways.
What will be shut: Public transport - buses, autos and cabs. Places of worship. Malls and dine-in service at hotels and restaurants. Shops selling non-essential commodities, including liquor.
Quick update on today's COVID-19 numbers:
India has registered a record single-day spike of 22,771 COVID-19 cases, as per the latest Health Ministry update.
This pushes India’s total case tally to 6,48,315. The death toll has risen to 18,655 with 442 new deaths, says the government.
There are 2,35,433 active cases in the country. Nearly four lakh people (3,94,226) have recovered so far.
Mizoram postpones opening of schools for 2020-21 academic session
The Mizoram government has postponed the opening of schools for the 2020-21 academic session for an indefinite period as a part of the containment measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak, a minister said.
The government had earlier decided to open educational institutions for the current academic session from July 15.
“We would not be able to open schools during this month as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs directed all the States not to open educational and training institutes till July 31 due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the country,” Mizoram education minister Lalchhandama Ralte said on Friday. - PTI
WHO sees first results from COVID drug trials within two weeks
The World Health Organization should soon get results from clinical trials it is conducting of drugs that might be effective in treating COVID-19 patients, its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
“Nearly 5,500 patients in 39 countries have so far been recruited into the Solidarity trial,” he told a news briefing, referring to clinical studies the U.N. agency is conducting. “We expect interim results within the next two weeks.” - Reuters
Govt revises dosage of anti-viral drug remdesivir to be administered to coronavirus patients
The Union health ministry on Friday revised the dosage of anti-viral drug remdesivir to be administered to coronavirus patients in the moderate stage of illness from the earlier six days to five days as it issued an updated ‘Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19’
The drug, administered in the form of injection, should be given at a dose of 200 mg on day one followed by 100 mg daily for four days (total five days), the new treatment protocols stated. - PTI
Almost a third of COVID-19 samples show mutation, but not worse disease, says WHO
Almost 30% of genome sequencing data from samples of the COVID-19 virus collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown signs of mutation, but there is no evidence this has led to more severe disease, a top WHO official said on Friday.
“I think it's quite widespread,” Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, told Reuters on the sidelines of a briefing held by the U.N. journalists' association ACANU in Geneva.
118 days after first case, T.N.’s tally breaches 1 lakh
After recording the first case of COVID-19 on March 7, Tamil Nadu’s overall tally of cases breached the one lakh-mark on Friday.
With 4,329 new cases, the State accounted for a total of 1,02,721 cases of which 42,955 persons were under treatment. Tamil Nadu’s total case count crossed the 10,000-mark on May 15. In a little over a month, 40,000 more cases were added and positive cases touched 50,000 on June 17. The State reported 50,000 new cases in the last 16 days.
