Covid-19: India in a better position than others, says Modi; WHO warns that pandemic is accelerating

11.03 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

11.01 pm: Delhi records 613 coronavirus cases on Monday, the lowest in two months, and its recovery rate jumped to 88%, NDTV reports. With this, the total tally of infections in the city rises to 1,31,219. The toll climbs to 3,853 following 26 more fatalities.

10.48 pm: World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the coronavirus pandemic “continues to accelerate”, as the number of cases have doubled over the last six weeks. “Covid-19 has changed our world,” he tells reporters from WHO’s Geneva headquarters on Monday. “It has brought people, communities and nations together– and driven them apart.”

10.42 pm: IndiGo announces it is implementing “deeper” pay cuts of up to 35% for its senior employees in order to reduce its cash outflow amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Indian Express reports. This comes days after the airline announcement on July 20 that it would lay off 10% of its workforce.

10.38 pm: Assam records 1,348 coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Monday, Health Minister Himanta Sarma says, according to ANI. As many as 21,724 tests were conducted during the period.

10.37 pm: Jharkhand records 324 new coronavirus infections and four deaths on Monday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 8,803, ANI reports. The toll stands at 90.

10.35 pm: Rajasthan registers 1,134 coronavirus cases until 8.30 pm, Monday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 37,564 and the toll is 633.

10.33 pm: Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus tally rises to 7,863 after 245 new infections were reported on Monday, ANI reports. The toll from the disease in the state stands at 45.

10.31 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh rises to 2,270, including 12 deaths, ANI reports, quoting figures by the state health department.

8.52 pm: West Bengal’s tally of coronavirus infections rises to 60,380 with 1,411 deaths after 2,122 new cases were reported on Monday, ANI reports.

8.51 pm: Mumbai reports 1,033 new coronavirus cases and 39 deaths on Monday. With this, the total tally of infections in the city rises to 1,10,129 and the toll is 6,129. As many as 81,944 patients have recovered.

8.49 pm: Gujarat records 1,052 coronavirus cases and 22 deaths in 24 hours on Monday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 56,874, according to ANI. The toll stands at 2,348.

8.49 pm: Coronavirus cases in Haryana rise to 32,127, including 397 deaths after 795 new infections were reported on Monday, ANI reports.

8.47 pm: Goa registers 258 new Covid-19 infections on Monday, taking the total tally of the state to 5,119, ANI reports, quoting health department’s figures. The toll stands at 36 and 3,410 people have recovered.

8.46 pm: Coronavirus cases in Punjab rise to 13,769 after 557 more infections were reported on Monday, ANI reports.

8.44 pm: Maharashtra registers 227 deaths and 7,924 coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 3,83,723, ANI reports. The toll stands at 13,883.

7.46 pm: United States President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert C O’Brien, has tested positive for the coronavirus, The New York Times reports, quoting the White House.

7.44 pm: Google will keep its employees home until July 2021 in view of the coronavirus outbreak, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company is the first major US corporation to formalise such an extended timetable in the face of the pandemic.

7.42 pm: Jesus Grajeda, health minister of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, died of the coronavirus on Sunday, Reuters reports. With more than 3,85,000 confirmed cases and nearly 43,500 deaths, Mexico has the world’s fourth-highest toll from the coronavirus.

7.25 pm: Madhya Pradesh registers nine deaths and 789 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 28,589, ANI reports.

7.21 pm: The Delhi High Court asks the Aam Aadmi Party-led government why it was going with Rapid Antigen Testing , which has a high rate of false negative results, as the primary method for Covid-19 tests, PTI reports. It also directs the Delhi government to strictly follow the guidelines on testing as issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research and not according to “its own interpretation”.

7.15 pm: The human clinical trials Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine candidate against Covid-19, began at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital in Odisha, PTI reports. Earlier this week, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi had administered the first dose of Covaxin to a 30-year-old man.

7.10 pm: Mumbai’s Dharavi locality registers nine more coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the total tally of cases in the area to 2,540, ANI reports.

7.07 pm: The total tally of coronavirus infections in Jammu and Kashmir rises to 18,390 after 470 new cases were reported on Monday, PTI reports. Of these, 161 were registered in Jammu and 309 were reported from Kashmir. The toll rose to 321 with nine more fatalities.

7.04 pm: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says that a “smart lockdown policy” adopted by his government was proving successful in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus which has claimed 5,842 lives and infected 2,74,289 people in the country, PTI reports.

7.00 pm: Chandigarh reports 23 new Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the Union Territory to 910, ANI reports, quoting the health department figures.

6.57 pm: The Chhattisgarh government extends the ongoing lockdown in major cities till August 6 amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Hindustan Times reports. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The affected cities are Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, among others.

6.51 pm: Uttar Pradesh registers 3,758 coronavirus cases and 31 deaths in 24 hours on Monday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The state’s caseload stands at 26,204 and the toll from the disease is 1,456.

6.48 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh cross the one-lakh mark with 1,02,349 cases, after 6,051 new infections were reported on Monday, ANI reports. The toll from the disease is 1,090.

6.46 pm: Karnataka reports 5,324 coronavirus cases and 75 deaths on Monday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 1,01,465 and the toll to 1,853, ANI reports.

6.41 pm: The Serum Institute of India says that the distribution of Covid-19 vaccine vials in India will be through a government network rather than private entities, the Hindustan Times reports. The firm, known to be the largest vaccine manufacturer by volume across the world, said everyone will get the dose. The clarification came a day after company’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla tweeted saying the company would “keep more than enough” doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for the Parsis, the community he belongs to.

“It was just a casual and friendly conversation between two Parsis,” SII says in a statement. “Once the vaccine is made, everyone will be getting it. It is very early to talk about this.” The Serum Institute of India has partnered with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to mass produce the Oxford vaccine.

6.37 pm: Kerala registers 702 coronavirus cases and two deaths on Monday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says, according to ANI. The state’s total tally of infections now stands at 19,727 and the toll is 495. “The Covid-19 situation in the state capital continues to be serious with seven large community clusters,” Vijayan adds. “A committee headed by the chief secretary has been asked to submit a report on whether any relaxations should be given in the existing lockdown.”

6.35 pm: Tamil Nadu registers 6,993 coronavirus cases and 77 deaths in 24 hours on Monday, ANI reports. With this, the total tally of infections in the state rises to 2,20,716. Of these, 54,896 are active cases.

6.33 pm: “Today, there are more than 11,000 Covid-19 facilities and more than 11 lakh isolation beds in the country,” Modi says. “We also have nearly 1,300 testing labs in the country and more than 5 lakh tests are being conducted daily.”

6.26 pm: “Due to right decisions taken at right time, India is in much better position than other countries in fight,” Modi says at the virtual launch. “The new testing facilities will give West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh more strength to fight Covid-19.”

6.23 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launches three “high-throughput” Covid-19 testing facilities in three cities – Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata. The virtual launch event was attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the chief ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh — Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee and Adityanath, respectively.

5.18 pm: SpiceJet says it will operate its first long-distance flight to Amsterdam on August 1 to bring back Indian citizens.

5.15 pm: Jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav tests negative for the coronavirus, PTI reports. Three of his attendants had been found to have contracted the infection.

4.36 pm: Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane says a total of 1.21 lakh people in the state have been tested for the coronavirus, so far, PTI reports. Of these, 8.11% tested positive. “The number of tests is among the highest per million (10 lakh) people in the country,” he adds. “The recovery rate in the state is also good at 65%. We are sorry that 35 people died.”

4.32 pm: The Centre says India’s fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has been progressively falling and currently stands at 2.28%, which is among the lowest in the world. “With effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardised clinical management protocols based on holistic standard of care approach, the case fatality rate has significantly dipped,” the Health Ministry says in a statement.

4.30 pm: As many as 645 police personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus in Jharkhand, so far, ANI reports.

4.23 pm: Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan have tested negative for Covid-19, and have been discharged from the hospital, says actor Abhishek Bachchan. The two had tested positive on July 12, a day after veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan were found to have contracted the infection. Only Jaya Bachchan had tested negative.

Also read:

Coronavirus: Aishwarya Bachchan, daughter Aaradhya test negative, discharged from hospital

4.20 pm: The Supreme Court directs the University Grants Commission to respond to the petitions which have challenged its July 6 directive to all the universities and colleges to conduct final year examinations by September 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan posted the matter for hearing on July 31.

4.17 pm: The Supreme Court reserves its order on a plea which sought that all the money collected under the PM CARES Fund for the Covid-19 pandemic should be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund, PTI reports. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan that the PM CARES Fund is a “voluntary fund” while funds to the NDRF and SDRF are made available through budgetary allocations.

4.12 pm: Meghalaya government enforces a 72-hour lockdown in the state’s capital, Shillong, amid rising number of coronavirus cases, PTI reports.

4.09 pm: The toll from Covid-19 in Puducherry rises to 43 after three more deaths were recorded on Monday, PTI reports. With 86 new infections, the total tally of cases in the Union Territory is now 2,782.

4.06 pm: The Delhi High Court says it will not further monitor a petition initiated by it to assess the preparedness of the Aam Aadmi Party-led government in the Capital to handle the coronavirus crisis, PTI reports. The court observes the government has taken adequate steps such as increasing the number of ambulances, setting up helpline numbers, ramping up testing and creating plasma banks to contain the spread of the disease.

3.01 pm: Hong Kong says that the Chinese administration has agreed to help it build an emergency ‘Fangcang’ field hospital amid a surge in coronavirus cases, according to AFP.

3 pm: Teddy bears are being used to maintain physical distancing at a restaurant in Mexico’s Polanco neighbourhood, reports AFP.

2.53 pm: The threat to the euro zone economy from the coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta tells Italian daily La Repubblica. Panetta adds that he did not see the need to tweak the bank’s asset purchase programme.

2 pm: The United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled a new weight loss strategy, in an effort to reduce obesity among the population, a risk factor for Covid-19, PTI reports. A new Better Health campaign will provide a range of evidence-based tools and apps with advice on how to lose weight.

1.54 pm: Hong Kong makes wearing of masks in public compulsory, as the number of cases rise sharply, AFP reports. Dining in restaurants will be banned for a week starting July 29, the South China Morning Post reports. People will no longer be allowed to move around in groups of more than two. As many as 140 new infections have been recorded in Hong Kong on Monday.

1.44 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa claims the measures mentioned in the state budget could not be fulfilled due to the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reports. He says there will be no more lockdowns. “If necessary we will take a loan and complete the work,” he says.

1.35 pm: Delhi reports 613 new cases and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, Delhi’s tally rises to 1,31,219 including 1,16,372 recovered/discharged/migrated and 3,853 deaths.

1.19 pm: Telangana reports 1,473 new cases and 8 deaths, reports ANI. With this, the state’s total count rises to 55,532.

1.07 pm: Odisha registers 1,503 new cases, taking the total number to 26,892. The toll in the state stands at 147.

1.05 pm: Himachal Pradesh’s tally rises to 2,187, says the state health department. There are 955 active cases, 1,203 recovered cases and 12 deaths.

1.02 pm: Over 100 new cases and one death reported in Maharashtra Police Force in last 24 hours, according to ANI. With this, the total cases in the force rises to 8,584.

12.58 pm: A team of the Defence Research and Development Organisation visits Patna to find a suitable location for setting up a 500-bed temporary coronavirus hospital, PTI reports. The team had visited other parts of Bihar on Saturday and Sunday.

12.48 pm: The lockdown in Ballia and Rasra towns in Uttar Pradesh has been extended till July 31 due to a rising number of cases, PTI reports. The Ballia lockdown was imposed on July 2, and Rasra on July 18.

12.40 pm: Odisha’s Covid-19 tally surges to 26,892 with 1,503 fresh cases, while the toll rises to 147 as seven more people die, PTI reports.

12.26 pm: “As of now, there’s an arrangement of 15,500 beds at hospitals in Delhi,” says Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Only 2,800 Covid-19 patients remain at these hospitals, 12,500 beds are vacant. In June, we were at 2nd position in the country as far as states with the highest cases were concerned. Today we’re 10th.”

12.10 pm: In Nagaland, 45 new cases have been found out of 335 lab results received – 23 in Kohima, 14 in Dimapur and 8 in Mon, says state Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom.

12.07 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claims that the “Delhi model” of fighting the coronavirus is being discussed around the country and abroad. “Today the recovery rate in Delhi is 88%, only 9% of the people are ill now and 2-3% of the people have died,” he says. Kejriwal adds that there is no need to impose a second lockdown in Delhi.

11.21 am: Rajasthan records 449 new cases and seven deaths, ANI reports. The total number of cases in the state stands at 36,878 including 10,124 active cases and 631 deaths.

10.56 am: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says 404 beds are available in Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital as of 7 am today, as against a total of 529 beds, ANI reports. At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 1,283 beds are available against a total of 1,515.

10.49 am: Arunchal Pradesh reports 32 new cases, including six personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, according to PTI. Eleven fresh cases were reported in Seppa, the district headquarters of East Kameng, eight in Changlang district, six in Upper Siang, five in the Capital Complex region and one each in East Siang and Lower Subansiri districts. The total number of cases in the state is now 1,158.

10.26 am: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands record 34 cases, taking the Union Territory’s tally to 324, PTI reports. The number of active cases is 142. Nearly 53,000 tests per million persons have been conducted, far higher than the national average, says Lieutenant Governor Admiral (Retired) DK Joshi.

10.12 am: The Centre says that the recovery rate has risen to 63.92%. The recovery to deaths ratio is now 96.55 to 3.45.

9.58 am: Moroccan authorities announce a ban on the entry and exit from eight cities of the kingdom, reports Sputnik. Entry to Casablanca, Tangier, Tetouan, Fez, Marrakesh, Meknes, Berrechid and Settat is prohibited from Monday night.

9.50 am: Forty-three people have tested positive in Kasargod, Kerala, after they attended a wedding ceremony on July 17, reports ANI. The Badiyudukka Police have registered a case against the bride’s father under Kerala Epidemic Diseases Ordinance 2020.

9.12 am: This is the highest single-day surge in fresh infections.

9.10 am: India reports 49,931 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking its overall tally to 14,35,453. The toll rises by 708 to 32,771. More than 9.17 lakh people have recovered.

9.07 am: Manipur reports 59 new cases, taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,235.

9.05 am: An 82-year-old man dies at a medical facility in Dimapur, reports Hindustan Times. Fifty more people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s tally to 1,339.

7.59 am: The United States records 55,187 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.

7.57 am: Australia’s Victoria state reports record-high new cases – 532, reports Reuters.

7.47 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch “high-throughput” testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata via video conferencing on Monday. These facilities will ramp up testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. These labs will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day.

7.43 am: Assam’s tally rises to 32,228 with 1,142 new infections in the last 24 hours.

7.41 am: The Punjab government has decided to provide plasma to private hospitals from government’s plasma bank at a cost of Rs 20,000 per unit, reports ANI.

7.40 am: China reports 61 new cases in the mainland, says the health commission.

7.39 am: Pune registers 2,773 cases and 37 deaths. With this, the toll rises to 1,699 and overall tally stands at 69,738, reports ANI citing District Health Officer Bhagwan Pawar.

7.38 am: Andaman & Nicobar Islands reports six new cases, taking the tally to 324.

7.37 am: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked officials to make tocilizumab injection and plasma therapy available to every patient in a critical condition, reports PTI.

7.32 am: Mexico’s Health Ministry says the country reported 5,480 new cases and 306 fatalities. With this, the country’s tally is 390,516 and toll is 43,680.

7.31 am: Brazil registers 555 deaths in the last 24 hours and 24,578 cases.

7.30 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday

• India reported 48,661 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its overall tally to 13,85,522. The toll rose by 705 to 32,063. More than 8.85 lakh people have recovered. As many as 36,145 patients recuperated in a day, setting a new record.
• The National Task Force on the coronavirus pandemic has decided not to recommend the drug itolizumab in the national protocol for treating the Covid-19 infection for now. The drug was struck down as a treatment option at a meeting on Friday, as most members of the task force felt the evidence cited in favour of the medicine is “inconclusive”.
• Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are both near the 1-lakh mark of infections. With 7,627 new cases in a day, Andhra’s count rose to 96,298 on Sunday, while Karnataka’s climbed to 96,141 with 5,199 cases. This was also Karnataka’s highest one-day rise in infections.
• The total coronavirus cases in Maharashtra rose to 3,75,799 on Sunday after 9,431 new cases were recorded in 24 hours. The toll rose to 13,656. Tamil Nadu reported 6,986 new cases and 85 deaths in a day, taking the state’s total to 2,13,723, including 1,56,526 recoveries and 3,494 deaths. There are 53,703 active cases. Meanwhile, in Delhi the total tally of infections rose to 1,30,606 with 1,075 new cases. The toll rose by 21 to 3.827.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s recovery rate was better and the fatality rate was lower than that of most other nations. He urged people to, however, continue to stay vigilant as the “threat of coronavirus is not over yet”.
• As many as 3,338 people infected with the novel coronavirus are untraceable in Bengaluru, the city’s civic body chief said. The number accounts for over 7% of the total number of cases in the city, which has seen a surge in infections over the last couple of weeks. A lockdown had been imposed in the city from July 15 to July 22.
• Sikkim registered its first Covid-19 death as a 74-year-old man succumbed to the infection in a Gangtok hospital. The Sikkim government has now extended the lockdown in the state till 6 am of August 1.
• The global coronavirus count has now gone up to 1.60 crore while the toll has crossed 6.45 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 92.85 lakh people have recovered.