Covid-19: Parliament’s Monsoon session will be held, decision soon, says minister Pralhad Joshi

9.29 pm: Here are the top updates from Sunday:

1. India reported a record 28,638 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its total to 8,49,553. The toll in the country rose to 22,674 with 551 new deaths. More than 5.15 lakh people in the country have recovered. The Union health ministry said the country’s recovery rate has reached 62.93%.
2. Maharashtra reported 7,827 new coronavirus cases and 173 deaths in 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 2,54,427 and the toll to 10,289. Delhi, on the other hand, reported 1,573 new coronavirus cases and 37 deaths. The Capital’s tally rose to 1,12,494 and the toll reached 3,371. Tamil Nadu’s tally rose to 1,38,470 with 4,244 new cases. Sixty-eight new deaths took the state’s toll to 1,966.
3. The Uttar Pradesh government ordered a complete lockdown in the state over the weekends amid rising coronavirus cases. The new lockdown orders will be imposed from next week, starting July 18. Chief Minister Adityanath also directed officials to conduct 50,000 coronavirus tests in the state per day. The Srinagar administration also ordered a lockdown in 68 containment areas of the city.
   
4. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Monsoon session of Parliament will be held with all safety precautions amid coronavirus risks. “There will be Monsoon session... But when, it will decided very shortly,” he said.
   
5. Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu said that coronavirus cases in the state may double in the next 15 to 30 days. The minister added that the next two months will be particularly challenging for the government in its fight against the health crisis.
   
6. Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan tested positive for the coronavirus. Their test results came a day after veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan were found to have contracted the infection. Mumbai’s coronavirus count rose to 92,720 on Sunday with 1,263 new cases. Forty-four new deaths in the city took its toll to 5,285.

8.40 pm: Traders in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur town have decided not to sell to customers who are not wearing masks, reports PTI. “During a meeting, representatives of trade bodies voluntarily proposed to implement ‘no mask, no goods’ policy under which customers will have to compulsorily wear masks while purchasing goods from shops,” says Mayor of Municipal Corporation Ambikapur Ajay Kumar Tirki.

8.33 pm: Delhi’s coronavirus recovery rate has improved to 79.97%, reports PTI, citing the health ministry bulletin.

8.27 pm: Tamil Nadu records 4,244 coronavirus cases and 68 deaths, taking the state tally to 1,38,470 and the toll to 1,966, according to PTI.

8.25 pm: Gujarat records biggest single-day jump of 879 coronavirus cases, taking the case count to 41,897. The toll rises to 2,047 after 13 more deaths, reports PTI.

8.16 pm: Goa’s coronavirus tally rises to 2,453 after 85 new cases. The toll in the state is 14, reports ANI, citing Goa’s Directorate of Health Services bulletin.

8.13 pm: Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir will open in a phased manner from July 14, and the administration has issued guidelines for the entry of tourists, reports ANI. In this phase, tourism is limited to those arriving by air only. RTPCR [reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] testing of all tourists compulsory on arrival and tourists to have confirmed hotel bookings.

7.29 pm: Mumbai’s coronavirus tally rises to 92,720 on Sunday with 1,263 new cases. Forty-four new deaths in the city take its toll to 5,285.

7.25 pm: West Bengal reports 1,560 new coronavirus and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state’s tally rises to 30,013 and the toll reaches 932.

7.09 pm: Maharashtra reports 7,827 new coronavirus cases and 173 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total number of cases in the state to 2,54,427 and the toll to 10,289.

6.30 pm: Delhi’s coronavirus tally rises to 1,12,494 after 1,573 new cases. The overall toll rises to 3,371 after 37 more deaths, reports PTI.

5.56 pm: All four bungalows of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s family have been sealed after sanitisation, reports ANI, citing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

5.54 pm: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reports five new coronavirus cases in Mumbai’s Dharavi area. The total number of cases in the area rises to 2,375, according to ANI.

5.52 pm: Himachal Pradesh’s coronavirus tally rises to 1,191, of which 256 are active, reports ANI, citing the state health department.

5.08 pm: Srinagar District Magistrate Shahid Iqbal Choudhary says that ever since the lockdown was lifted, there has been a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the city, ANI reports. “Today [Sunday], there are 1,611 positive cases, including 1,100 active cases,” he adds. “We have increased fine for not wearing a mask to Rs 1,000 from Rs 500.”

4.58 pm: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi says the Monsoon session of Parliament will be held with the government ensuring all health precautions for Covid-19 are followed, ANI reports. “Monsoon session will certainly be held,” he says. “The government will do all the formalities and take all precautions.”

4.35 pm: Florida’s Disneyland reopens for the first time in four months with a limited number of guests despite a surge of coronavirus cases, BBC reports. Visitors will be required to wear masks and adhere to other safety measures across the complex.

4.32 pm: More than 60 US Marines in Japan’s Okinawa island have tested positive for coronavirus, AP reports. Of these, 38 originate from Marine Corps Air Station and 23 from Camp Hansen. The two bases have been put under lockdown since the cases emerged.

4.21 pm: Bihar reports 1,266 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 16,305, ANI reports.

4.18 pm: The coronavirus pandemic should not be seen only as a disaster but also as a “corrector” that prepares the society for the next challenge by making us “repurpose our lives”, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu says, according to PTI. Naidu asks people to introspect and assess if they have learnt the right lessons and equipped themselves to deal with such uncertainties during the lockdown.

4.10 pm: All election rallies of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have been cancelled temporarily amid rising coronavirus cases in the country, PTI reports.

3.54 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjriwal says his government has been able to reduce the number of coronavirus deaths by providing pulse oximeters to patients in home isolation.

3.50 pm: Australia’s Victoria state records 273 new cases of the coronavirus and one death on Sunday, Reuters reports.

3.47 pm: Researchers at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University vaccine development program say they plan to begin human trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine in November and are preparing 10,000 doses, Reuters reports.

3.45 pm: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli wishes Amitabh Bachchan a speedy recovery, ANI reports.

3.28 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath directs officials to conduct 50,000 coronavirus tests in the state per day.

3.24 pm: The official funeral for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will be held online this week due coronavirus risks, The Associated Press reports.

3.19 pm: A partial lockdown will be imposed in 68 containment zones of Srinagar from Monday and no movement would be allowed in these areas without permission, says District Magistrate Shahid Iqbal Choudhary. The city has recorded 1,611 coronavirus cases so far.

3.13 pm: Arunachal Pradesh records six new coronavirus cases on Sunday, PTI reports. The state’s overall count rises to 341.

3.06 pm: Andhra Pradesh reports 1,933 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The state’s overall count rises to 29,168. More than 15,000 patients have recovered. The toll stands at 328.

3.00 pm: Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya test positive for the coronavirus, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope says. Jaya Bachchan tests negative. Tope has now deleted his tweet. Scroll.in could not independently verify the information.

2.57 pm: Indonesia’s coronavirus tally rises to 75,699 on Sunday with 1,681 new cases, Reuters reports. The country reports 71 new deaths, taking its toll to 3,606.

2.52 pm: Singapore records 178 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, PTI reports, quoting the country’s health ministry. Singapore’s overall count rises to 45,961. Most of the new cases have been detected among migrant workers living in dormitories.

2.47 pm: Uttar Pradesh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Upendra Tiwari tests positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports, quoting his spokesperson.

2.44 pm: The Uttar Pradesh government releases revised guidelines for “Unlock 2” phase. All markets will be allowed to remain open from Monday to Friday but will be closed on the weekends.

2.42 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visits the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital in Delhi.

2.23 pm: The British government will invest nearly $2 billion to revive the country’s arts and culture sector, which has been adversely affected by the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reports.

2.20 pm: Russia records 6,615 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its overall count to 7,27,162, Reuters reports. The toll rises to 11,335 with 130 new deaths.

2.13 pm: Actor Anupam Kher says his mother, brother, sister-in-law and niece have tested positive for the coronavirus. Kher himself has tested negative.

2.05 pm: Karnataka Health Minister says the coronavirus cases in the state may double in the next 15 to 30 days and the coming two months would emerge as a big challenge for the government in tackling the pandemic, reports PTI. However, he urges people to not panic as the state government is initiating all measures to control the infection spread.

1.59 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Puducherry has risen to 1,418 with 81 new infections, reports PTI. The Union Territory has no new deaths and the toll stands at 18.

1.55 pm: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to implement strict lockdown across the state on weekends, reports PTI.

“The lockdown on weekends will be implemented from the coming Saturday and Sunday especially in the crowded areas,” says Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi. “The markets and offices will remain closed on these days. However, the banks will remain open. This is being done basically to stop the spread of infection through unwanted physical movement. Economic activities will, however, not suffer.”

1.53 pm: Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari says he is fine and not in self-isolation after 18 people tested positive for the coronavirus at Raj Bhavan, reports ANI. “I underwent relevant tests, the result of which came negative,” he adds. “There are no symptoms of Covid-19.”

1.22 pm: The Delhi government has asked all the district magistrates to document initiatives taken by them in their respective areas to deal with the coronavirus crisis, reports PTI. “The need was felt to showcase all such initiatives taken by the district magistrates so that their efforts are reflected in documents,” an official says.

1.12 pm: Union minister G Kishan Reddy says he has requested the Telangana government to increase coronavirus testing and give proper treatment to patients, reports ANI. He adds that the Center will provide 1,200 ventilators to Telangana.

11.55 am: The Nagaland Police have set up 1,027-bed centre at Ganeshpur to augment the state government’s efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis, reports PTI.

11.52 am: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has sealed actor Rekha’s bungalow in Mumbai’s Bandra area after a security guard tested positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI. The civic body has put a board outside the premises declaring the place as a containment area.

11.45 am: Jharkhand reports 162 new coronavirus infections, taking its total to 3,680, according to ANI. There are total 1,393 active cases and 24 deaths. Over 2,000 people have recovered from the disease.

11.42 am: The rising number of coronavirus cases in Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar is due to gross violation of physical distancing guidelines, an official tells PTI. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation PC Chaudhury says: “The surge in Covid-19 cases is due to gross violation of health safety and social distancing norms and people coming from hotspot districts.”

11.38 am: Chinese vaccine developer CanSino Biologics is in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to launch a Phase III trial of its experimental coronavirus drug, reports Reuters. Qiu Dongxu, executive director and co-founder of CanSino, says Phase III trial was likely to start “pretty soon” and the company plans to recruit 40,000 participants for the test.

11.33 am: Rajasthan reports 153 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total to 23,901. With four more deaths, the toll stands at 507.

11.27 am: South Korea records 44 new coronavirus cases, taking the country’s tally to 13,417, according to AP. The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says 21 of the newly reported cases were local transmissions.

11.22 am: The number of coronavirus cases without known sources of infection continue to increase in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district, reports The Hindu.

11.15 am: Union minister G Kishan Reddy visits Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. He assures doctors and others of the Centre’s support in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, reports PTI.

10.53 am: Amitabh Bachchan, who tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, is now “stable with mild symptoms” and is currently admitted in the isolation unit of Mumbai’s Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, NDTV reports, quoting a statement from the hospital.

10.49 am: Odisha reports 595 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 12,121, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The toll stands at 64.

10.48 am: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav accuses the Centre of following wrong policies in the education sector, alleging that it had led to chaos, PTI reports. “Schools and colleges are closed because of corona,” he says. “For online classes, the children belonging to poor families do not have smartphones. There is a problem of network connectivity at many places, especially in villages.”

10.46 am: The Board of Control for Cricket in India President Sourav Ganguly says the national team will tour Australia in December but called for a shortened period of quarantine for the players, NDTV reports. “This is because we don’t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks,” he adds. “It is very, very depressing and disappointing.”

10.44 am: West Bengal government orders advanced testing equipment from a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company, NDTV reports, quoting an unidentified official. The device, which can conduct coronavirus tests on the Cobas 6800/8800 system, was ordered in May and is expected to arrive by mid August.

10.40 am: Maharashtra government says that people in the state will now have to show their Aadhaar card, Covid-19 test certificate, doctor’s prescription and phone number to buy medicines and drugs to treat the coronavirus, NDTV reports. “We have medicines in enough supply but the demand for the medicines have gone up,” Rajendra Shingne, minister for the Food and Drugs Administration, says. “We have received complaints that these medicines are being sold in the black market. We are going to take action against black marketers.”

10.39 am: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials put a banner outside “Jalsa”, the residence of actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, to define it as a containment zone, ANI reports.

10.36 am: Shah adds that the security forces are playing a huge role in India’s battle against the coronavirus, ANI reports. “Today, I salute these corona warriors,” he says. “They have proved that they not only know how to fight terrorism but also against Covid-19 with help of people.” The home minister made the comments after participating in the “All India Tree Plantation Campaign” run by the Central Armed Police Forces, in Khadarpur, Gurugram.

10.33 am: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says India’s efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis is one of the “most successful battles”, ANI reports. “India is one of the most populous countries,” he says. “Everyone thought how will a country like India battle Covid-19, there were apprehensions but today the whole world is witnessing how one of the most successful battles against Covid-19 has been fought here.”

10.31 am: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asks officials in the state to expand plasma therapy facilities for Covid-19 patients after getting permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research, PTI reports.

10.26 am: The parents of an 18-year-old diabetic patient in Kolkata, who tested positive for the coronavirus right before his death, allege he succumbed because of negligence as he was refused a bed by three medical facilities, PTI reports. Subhrajit Chattopadhyay died at the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital on Friday night. “He was admitted only after his mother threatened to commit suicide if he was not treated there,” his father alleges.

10.23 am: The Delhi government says its home isolation model for Covid-19 patients is largely successful with no reported deaths among those recovering at home in the last 10 days, the Hindustan Times reports. “Of 691 deaths that took place during the last fortnight, only seven deaths took place in home isolation (between June 24 and June 30),” the Delhi government says in a statement. “Not a single patient in home isolation died in July. We can attribute this to the chief minister’s decision to distribute pulse oximeters to all patients in home isolation.”

10.10 am: Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa says the government will allow asymptomatic patients of the coronavirus to opt for home quarantine, provided they sign an undertaking agreeing to certain conditions, PTI reports. Patients will have to ensure that their neighbours and housing societies have no objection to their home quarantine, there are no elderly persons in the family and they have a private physician to check their health condition every three hours, he says.

10.05 am: Former India cricketer and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Chetan Chauhan tests positive for Covid-19, PTI reports.

9.47 am: India reports a rise of 28,638 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 8,49,553. The toll rises to 22,674 with 551 more deaths. This is the biggest single-day rise in infections so far.

9.38 am: Sanitisation workers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation arrive at the residence of actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai.

9.29 am: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 248 to 1,98,804, reports Reuters, citing data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

9.25 am: At least 18 people at Maharashtra’s Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor in Mumbai, have tested positive for the coronavirus, reports NDTV. This also includes staff working in close proximity with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The governor is in self-isolation.

9.20 am: Union minister Pralhad Joshi says monsoon session of the Parliament will be certainly held, reports ANI. He adds that the government will take all precautions amid the coronavirus crisis.

8.39 am: After actors Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan test positive for the coronavirus, reports say that Jaya Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya test negative for it.

Read more: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan test positive for coronavirus, admitted to hospital

8.22 am: Visuals of lockdown in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

8.10 am: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says that India made the right choices in its response to the coronavirus pandemic and is as realistically well placed as any country could be under the prevailing circumstances, reports PTI.

8.08 am: Delhi’s active cases of coronavirus reported on Saturday were the lowest in the last 31 days, reports PTI. Meanwhile, not a single coronavirus patient under home isolation in the city has died in July and there has been a “sharp decline” in daily fatality figures in the past two weeks, a government study on casualties said.

8.06 am: United States President Donald Trump wore a face mask in public for the first time on Saturday, reports AFP. “I’ve never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place,” Trump says.

8 am: Amitabh Bachchan is stable with mild symptoms and is currently admitted in the isolation unit of the hospital, says public relation officer of Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, reports ANI. Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek said on Twitter late on Saturday that they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

7.55 am: Here are the top updates from Saturday:

• India on Saturday registered a record single-day increase of 27,114 new cases, pushing the country’s tally to 8,20,916. The toll in the country stood at 22,123 with 519 new fatalities. More than 5.15 lakh people have recovered.
• Several states are going back to strict lockdowns as coronavirus cases continue to rise. A complete lockdown will be imposed in Bengaluru from 8 pm on July 14 till 5 am on July 22. Maharashtra’s Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad cities will go under a complete lockdown from July 14 to July 23. The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday announced a lockdown in the state till July 13, while Patna went under a week-long lockdown from July 10.
• Maharashtra reported 8,139 new coronavirus cases and 223 deaths. With this, the state’s count rose to 2,46,600, and the toll went up to 10,116. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, meanwhile, praised the state government for its containment measures in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum. The area reported 11 new cases in the day, taking the overall count to 2,370. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s assistant municipal commissioner died due to Covid-19.
• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the University Grants Commission to cancel the examinations in all central government universities across the country amid the coronavirus crisis.
• Assam activist Akhil Gogoi tested positive for the coronavirus in prison. He had earlier tested negative earlier in an antigen as well as the confirmatory RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test) but tested positive in an antigen test on Saturday.