Coronavirus India lockdown Day 148 live updates | COVID-19 recoveries cross 2 million; case fatality rate declines to 1.91%
On Tuesday, India recorded the highest single day recoveries of 57,937 in the last 24 hours.
Speaking during a press conference organised by the Health Ministry, on Tuesday, NITI Aayog Member V.K. Paul said that “while our vaccine candidates are progressing well there is no 100% guarantee that they will succeed”. India, then needs to remain strict about its containment and surveillance efforts, he said.
“We cannot afford to relax and lower our guard against COVID-19 as this can prove to be dangerous for India,” he warned.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
4: 15 p.m. | New Delhi
Asian Games medallist Sucha recovers from COVID-19 after nightmarish experience during treatment
Asian Games medallist runner Sucha Singh has recovered from COVID-19 but not before a nightmarish experience while undergoing treatment.
Giving an account of his ordeal, Singh said it was “disrespectful” that an athlete, who has won laurels for the country, had to endure so much at this stage of life since he had to run from pillar-to-post to even get the test done.
— PTI
4: 10 p.m. | Maharashtra
Maharashtra: Shops on either sides of road open in Kalyan, Dombivli
Shops on either sides of the road in Kalyan and Dombivali towns here in Maharashtra opened on Wednesday after the local civic body allowed commercial establishments, barring malls, gymnasiums and swimming pools, to operate on all days outside COVID-19 hotspots.
The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) also extended the timings for shops to remain open.
— PTI
4: 05 p.m. | Maharashtra
MSRTC allowed to resume inter-district bus service
The Maharashtra government has allowed resumption of inter-district bus services of the state transport corporation, a senior official said on Wednesday.
After the lockdown was enforced in the state following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, inter-district bus operations of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) were suspended.
— PTI
4: 00 p.m. | Rajasthan
Rajasthan Governor voices concern over rising COVID-19 cases in State
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Wednesday voiced concern over the growing COVID-19 cases in the State, and asked Health Minister Raghu Sharma to chalk out a new strategy to contain the spead of the disease.
Mishra discussed the steps being taken to prevent the pandemic spread in the state with Sharma, a statement from Raj Bhawan said.
— PTI
3: 55 p.m. | New Delhi
U.S. hands over second shipment of 100 ventilators to India in COVID-19 assistance
The U.S. on Wednesday handed over to India 100 ventilators, as part of President Donald Trump’s offer of assistance to New Delhi in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ventilators are manufactured in the U.S. and are compact, easy to deploy and provide India with flexibility in treating patients affected by the virus, the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
— PTI
Kerala | 3: 50 p.m.
Kerala’s Champakkara market to be opened with restrictions
The Champakkara market in Ernakulam which was shut down 40 days back in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 infections in the city is set to be opened subjected to restrictions shortly. Initially, the market will be accessible to wholesale dealers alone and retail trade for the public would be allowed only in due course after evaluating the situation.
— Staff Reporter
3: 40 p.m. | Vaccine
Coronavirus: Rich can’t get priority for vaccine; poor need help, says Pope
Pope Francis on Wednesday warned against any prospect that rich people would get priority for a coronavirus vaccine.
“The pandemic is a crisis. You don’t come out of it the same — either better or worse,” Francis said, adding improvised remarks to his planned speech for his weekly public audience.
— PTI
3: 35 p.m. | Karnataka
Former MLA of Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar dies after undergoing treatment for COVID-19
Former MLA of Chamarajanagar Assembly constituency C Guruswamy, undergoing treatment for coronavirus, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Mysuru on Wednesday, Health Department said.
Guruswamy (68) was admitted to the private hospital on August 5 after testing positive for COVID-19, the officials of the department said.
— PTI
3: 20 p.m. | Uttar Pradesh
3-day Monsoon Session of U.P. Assembly begins Thursday
The three-day Monsoon Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will commence on Thursday, with authorities making special seating arrangements following COVID-19 protocols and setting up testing centres near residences of MLAs for easy collection of swab samples.
Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit has said all members will undergo COVID-19 test in a day and there will also be thermal screening facility outside the House.
— PTI
3: 10 p.m. | Maharashtra
Maharashtra: Shops on either sides of road open in Kalyan, Dombivli
Shops on either sides of the road in Kalyan and Dombivali towns here in Maharashtra opened on Wednesday after the local civic body allowed commercial establishments, barring malls, gymnasiums and swimming pools, to operate on all days outside COVID-19 hotspots.
The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) also extended the timings for shops to remain open.
— PTI
3: 00 p.m. | Meghalaya
17 BSF personnel among 49 fresh COVID-19 cases in Meghalaya
Forty-nine more people, including 17 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the northeastern state’s tally to 1,506 on Wednesday, a health official said.
Forty-seven fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in East Khasi Hills district and two in North Garo Hills district, Health Services Director Aman War said.
— PTI
2: 50 p.m. | Tripura
236 new cases push Tripura’s COVID-19 tally to 7,663; toll mounts to 65
Tripura’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 7,663 on Wednesday as 236 people tested positive for the infection, while three more fatalities pushed its coronavirus death toll to 65, a health official said.
Three COVID-19 patients, all hailing from West Tripura district, died due to cardiac arrest at the Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) on Tuesday, he said.
— PTI
2: 40 p.m. | Pakistan
Pakistan reports 613 new COVID-19 cases
Pakistan reported 613 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the country’s COVID-19 tally to 2,90,445.
Apart from the new cases, 11 people died due to coronavirus-related complications in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of National Health Services said. Now, the virus death toll stands at 6,201.
— PTI
2: 30 p.m. | Singapore
Singapore reports 93 new cases of coronavirus: Ministry
Singapore has reported 93 new cases of the coronavirus, majority of them foreign workers, taking the total number of infections in the country to 56,031, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health said of the total number of infections six of them were imported cases and they have been placed under stay home notices upon their arrival in Singapore.
— PTI
2: 20 p.m. | Hyderabad
Dr. Reddy’s launches Avigan (Favipiravir) in India for COVID-19
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd On Wednesday announced the launch of Avigan (Favipiravir) 200 mg tablets in India.
The launch is part of the global licensing agreement with Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd. that grants the Indian drug maker the exclusive rights to manufacture, sell and distribute the tablets in India, Chief Executive Officer of Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, M.V. Ramana said.
— PTI
2: 10 p.m. | Telangana
COVID-19: Telangana reports 1,763 new cases, 8 more deaths
Telangana continued to witness an upward trend of coronavirus cases with 1,763 fresh additions, pushing the state’s tally of positive cases to 95,700.
With eight more fatalities the toll rose to 719, a state government bulletin said on Wednesday, providing data as of 8 PM on August 18.
— PTI
2: 00 p.m. | U.S.A.
Senate Republicans preparing $500 billion virus relief proposal
Senate Republican leaders are preparing a slimmed-down virus relief package of roughly $500 billion that will include extended payments for unemployed people and smaller businesses, a GOP senator has said.
The package will also include $10 billion for the embattled Postal Service, said one top GOP aide on Tuesday. The agency has become the focus of a campaign-season battle over whether it will have enough resources to handle an expected flood of mail-in ballots for this November’s presidential and congressional elections.
— AP
1: 50 p.m. | London
Scientists decode immune system changes in children with rare COVID-19 related syndrome
Scientists have uncovered how the immune system is altered in a rare COVID-19 related illness in children which can cause severe inflammation and heart damage, findings that may lead to better treatment for some of the youngest patients infected with the novel coronavirus.
According to the researchers, including those from King’s College London in the UK, the rare disease, referred to as paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS-TS), has emerged in a small number of children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— PTI
1: 40 p.m. | Odisha
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally rises to 67,122; toll mounts to 372
As many as 2,589 new cases pushed Odisha’s COVID-19 tally to 67,122 on Wednesday, while its death toll mounted to 372 as 10 more patients succumbed to the infection, a health official said.
A total of 1,574 new infections were detected in quarantine centres, while 1,015 people tested positive for the coronavirus during contact tracing, he said.
— PTI
1: 20 p.m. | Rajasthan
COVID-19: 10 fresh fatalities reported in Rajasthan
Rajasthan recorded 10 more fatalities due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the state’s death toll to 908, while 699 fresh cases pushed its tally to 64,676, a health department official said.
Of the latest fatalities, three each were reported from Jaipur, two from Nagaur and one each from Ajmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar, Kota and Udaipur, the official said.
— PTI
1: 00 p.m.
COVID-19 recoveries cross 2 million; case fatality rate declines to 1.91%
With a record 60,091 people recuperating from coronavirus infection in a day, the total recoveries on Wednesday crossed 2 million pushing the recovery rate to 73.64%, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate hit a new low of 1.91 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said.
The recoveries have surged to 20,37,870 in the country, while there are 6,76,514 active cases of COVID-19, according to the data updated at 8 a.m.
— PTI
12.15 pm
Hong Kong bars Air India flights till August-end after passengers test positive for COVID-19
Hong Kong has banned Air India flights till the end of August after some passengers on one of its flights tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
11.45 am
Healthcare infrastructure in smaller towns, villages inadequate to handle COVID-19: Survey
A man wearing face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks at an ancient temple of Hindu goddess Kali in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Most Indians don’t believe that India’s tier three, tier four cities, small towns and villages have the health infrastructure to fight COVID-19.
A survey said, 58% of the citizens believe the smaller towns and rural areas are underprepared to handle the fast-spreading virus cases. Only 5% believed they were prepared while 25% said they were somewhat prepared. Some 31% said they were quite unprepared while 27% said they were extremely unprepared.
11.00 am | Uttar Pradesh
Union minister Balyan goes into self-quarantine after meeting coronavirus-infected UP minister
Union minister Sanjeev Balyan has gone into self-quarantine after he came in contact with Uttar Pradesh minister Atul Garg who tested positive for COVID-19, his aide said on Wednesday.
According to the aide of Mr. Balyan, the Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries went into self-quarantine in Delhi after he came to know about Garg’s infection on Tuesday.
– PTI
10.30 am | Kerala
Strict regulations to be in place for Onam season
Strict regulations will be enforced in Kochi to check the spread of COVID-19 during this Onam season.
A district-level COVID review meeting chaired by Collector S. Suhas on Tuesday took a decision in this regard. The meeting also decided to close down the Kothamangalam market on account of increase in the spread of the disease. More tests will be conducted in the area.
10.00 am | Andhra Pradesh
‘COVID-19 spreading due to forcible discharge of patients’
A flower vendor waits for customers the pavement as a wall painting suggesting protective measures against Covid-19 in Vijayawada on August 18, 2020
| Photo Credit:
V. RAJU
Patients being forcibly discharged from COVID-19 Hospitals and COVID Care Centres after 10 days in order to make way for new admissions, regardless of their health condition, is being cited as one of the major reasons behind the spike in coronavirus cases in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts.
9.30 am | Maharashtra
‘Hefty fine if hospitals found overcharging’
Officials seen interacting with public at Chandni Chowk area in New Delhi on August 18, 2020 .
| Photo Credit:
Sushil KumarVerma
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday directed all district collectors to take strict action against those hospitals that were covered under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY), yet continued to overcharge COVID-19 patients.
In a letter to all district collectors, Dr Sudhakar Shinde, CEO of MJPJAY, asked the officials to impose a fine five times the amount of bills that was charged to patients.
9.00 am | Puducherry
COVID-19 hits war room operations
The novel coronavirus has struck at the nerve-centre of COVID-19 operations in Puducherry with positive cases being reported at the war rooms of both the health and police departments.
8.00 am | Andhra Pradesh
Return of migrants led to spike in Prakasam, says Collector
Taking all precautions, a citizen wears a mask as he passes by a wall painting suggesting protective measures against Covid-19 in Vijayawada on July 29, 2020
| Photo Credit:
V. RAJU
Attributing the spike in positive cases to migrants returning to their native places, Prakasam District Collector P.Bhaskar on Tuesday said the district had zero cases for three days when all those who returned from New Delhi after attending a religious congregation recovered. Stating that there was no scarcity of funds, he said oxygen facility would be provided to all the beds in the Government General Hospital.
7.00 am | Assam
Lockdown may return to Guwahati if situation worsens
Guwahati and some other parts of Assam may see a reimposition of the lockdown if the COVID-19 situation spirals out of control, said State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
His warning came hours after a four-day lockdown was imposed in Mizoram capital Aizawl from Monday night after a spike in cases.
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