Union Home Minister Amit Shah tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday. Shah said that he will isolate himself at home as a precaution. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit also recovered from the infection.
More than 20 officials involved in the Air India Express crash rescue in Kerala tested positive for the coronavirus. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also visited the site of the crash, will go into isolation, his office said.
India on Friday reported 64,553 new cases in 24 hours, taking its tally to 24,61,190. The toll rose by 1,007 to 48,040. The coronavirus has infected more than 2.07 crore people across the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide toll has risen to 7,52,893. More than 1.29 crore people have recovered.
The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.
These are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.
10.55 pm: Haryana reports 797 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths today. The state has 45,614 total cases and the toll rises to 518.
10.37 pm: Karnataka reports 7,908 new coronavirus cases, 104 deaths and 6,940 recoveries. With this, the state has 2,11,108 cases, including 1,28,182 cases of discharge and 3,717 deaths.
10.35 pm: Rajasthan reports 1,278 new coronavirus cases, taking the states total to 58,692, according to ANI.
9 pm: New cases reported today:
Maharashtra: 12,608 new cases, 364 deaths; tally now 5,72,734, toll stands at 19,427,
Uttarakhand: 313 new cases; total rises to 11,615, toll stands at 147,
Punjab: 1,077 new cases, 25 deaths; total rises to 29,013, toll now 731,
Gujarat: 1,087 cases, 15 deaths; tally rises to 76,569, toll now 2,448,
Madhya Pradesh: 796 new cases, 16 deaths; total rises to 43,414, toll stands at 1,081.
8.45 pm: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu is asymptomatic and responding to treatment, ANI reports. He is admitted in the Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute in Bengaluru.
8.40 pm: Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal has tested positive for the coronavirus. He will isolate himself at home, he announces.
7.24 pm: President Ram Nath Kovind, in his speech on the eve of India’s Independence Day, says the country is indebted to doctors, nurses and other health workers who are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus crisis.
Read more: Coronavirus has changed our lives, India indebted to health care workers, says President Kovind
7.21 pm: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says that his government has not made a decision yet on beginning the new academic session amid the coronavirus crisis, PTI reports.
7.18 pm: Manipur’s coronavirus tally rises to 4,198 as 86 new cases are reported in the last 24 hours. The state’s toll stands at 13.
7.15 pm: Mumbai’s Dharavi slum records nine new coronavirus cases on Friday, ANI reports. The area’s tally rises to 2,658. Only 87 cases are active.
7.06 pm: Tamil Nadu records 5,890 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally past 3.26 lakh. The toll rises to 5,514 as 117 deaths are reported.
7.00 pm: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit tests negative for Covid-19.
6.57 pm: Kerala records 1,569 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The state’s tally rises to 41,090. Nearly 27,000 people have recovered.
5.31 pm: Madhya Pradesh minister Tulsi Silawat recovers from the coronavirus
5.24 pm: Russia records 5,065 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 9,12,823, PTI reports. Russia’s toll rises to 15,498 as 114 more deaths are reported.
5.14 pm: Uttar Pradesh records 4,512 new coronavirus cases and 55 deaths on Friday, PTI reports. The state’s tally rises to 1,45,287 and the toll reaches 2,335.
5.05 pm: Home Minister Amit Shah tests negative for the coronavirius. He says he will self-isolate as a precaution.
4.55 pm: The health of veteran playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month, is deteriorating, MGM Healthcare in Chennai says.
4.51 pm: Meghalaya records 11 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its total to 1,204, PTI reports.
4.39 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Office says he will go into self-quarantine after over 20 officials involved in the Air India rescue operations test positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports. Vijayan had visited the site of the crash.
4.34 pm: Vietnam registers to buy the coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia, Reuters reports. The country signs up for 50-150 million [50 lakh to 15 crore] doses of the vaccine.
4.31 pm: A coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by China National Pharmaceutical appeared to be safe and triggered immune responses in early and mid-stage trials, Reuters reports. The firm is testing the vaccine in the United Arab Emirates.
4.27 pm: The Union health ministry says a record 8,48,728 coronavirus tests were done in the last 24 hours.
4.24 pm: Delhi registers 1,192 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths on Friday. The Capital’s tally crosses 1.50 lakh and the toll reaches 4,178. More than 1.35 people in Delhi have recovered from the infection.
4.22 pm: More than 20 officials involved in the Air India Express crash rescue in Kerala test positive for the coronavirus, The Hindu reports.
2.59 pm: As many as 224 inmates of the district jail in Bihar’s Araria city have tested positive for the coronavirus in less than a week, PTI reports.
2.43 pm: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja says the state may report 10,000 to 20,000 coronavirus cases per day in August and September if more people don’t join the fight against the pandemic, PTI reports.
1.34 pm: The Union health ministry says India’s coronavirus recovery rate is now 71.17% while the death rate is 1.95%.
1.27 pm: The Mizoram government on Thursday issued a new standard operating procedure for social eventS, allowing only 50 people to attend weddings and memorials, according to PTI.
1.24 pm: In India, Tripura reports 164 coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 6,785, PTI reports. The toll rises to 46 as one more patient dies.
1.18 pm: Britain will purchase potential coronavirus vaccines from American firms Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, Reuters reports. The two new deals bring the number of vaccine agreements signed by the UK government to six. The country plans to secure 362 million [36.2 crore] vaccine doses for a population of 66 [6.6 crore] million.
1.14 pm: The Maharashtra police report 147 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The police force’s overall count of cases rises to 11,920. Over 100 policemen have died of the coronavirus in Maharashtra.
1.10 pm: The Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition challenging the University Grants Commission proposal to hold final-year exams amid the coronavirus crisis, Bar and Bench reports.
1.06 pm: Puducherry registers 328 coronavirus cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours, PTI reports. The Union Territory’s tally rises to 6,995 and the toll reaches 106.
1.02 pm: Himachal Pradesh records 20 new cases on Friday, taking its tally to 3,836.
11.58 am: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the lockdown enforced in Auckland will be extended by 12 days, The New Zealand Herald reports.
11.52 am: The Uttarakhand government issues an ordinance, which makes it compulsory for all members of the state Assembly to contribute 30% of their salary and allowances towards the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.
11.49 am: As many as 25 Covid warriors, including doctors, nurses, police personnel and workers at crematoriums, have been invited to the “At Home” ceremony hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 15, The Indian Express reports.
11.38 am: Odisha recorded 1,977 new coronavirus cases, 1,422 recoveries and deaths on Thursday, ANI reports. With this, the state’s tally of infections rises to 54,630 and the toll stands at 324.
10.48 am: Telangana reports 1,921 new cases and nine deaths till 8 pm on Thursday.With this, the state’s tally stands at 88,396, including 674 deaths.
10.47 am: Former President Pranab Mukherjee still on ventilator support, reports ANI citing the army hospital.
10.42 am: The annual pilgrimage to the Kailash Kund lake has been cancelled this year, reports PTI. “Based on the circumstances and SOPs [standard operating procedures], the J&K administration, in consultation with Kailash Sewa Sangh, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Dharmarth Trust and Vasuki Annapurna Langar, has decided that it was not advisable to hold this year’s Kailash Yatra and expresses its regret while cancelling it,” says Bhaderwah Additional Deputy Commissioner Bhaderwah Rakesh Kumar.
10.40 am: The potential vaccine developed by Oxford University will be produced in Mexico if its advanced trials are successful and it receives regulatory approval, reports Reuters. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador says the agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca should result in a vaccine that the government would provide free starting in the first quarter of 2021.
9.44 am: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lifts the lockdown in a major city near the border with South Korea where thousands had been quarantined for weeks over coronavirus worries, reports AP.
9.43 am: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says the government will need a vaccine access strategy that is inclusive and equitable, ensuring availability, affordability and fair distribution.
9.37 am: The Odisha government is planning to amend the epidemics act to increase the punishment for non-compliance of pandemic guidelines, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy tells Hindustan Times. After the amendment, imprisonment term may extend to two years or fine up to Rs 1 lakh or both. As the state Assembly is not in session, the amendment to the act would be done through ordinance route.
9.35 am: India on Thursday tested 8,48,728 samples, says the India Council of Medical Research.
9.31 am: India has reported 64,553 new cases of the virus on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health. This takes the total number of infections to 24,61,190. The toll is up by 1,007 more people to 64,553
8.37 am: The Jammu and Kashmir administration announces that the Vaishno Devi Yatra, which has been suspended for five months, will resume on August 16, reports ANI.
8.33 am: Mizoram’s tally rises to 657.
8.30 am: Lucknow Chief Medical Officer RP Singh sets fixed daily rates for hospitals.
8.24 am: Amravati Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana is being shifted to Mumbai from Nagpur for further treatment, reports PTI.
8.03 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Serum Institute of India will conduct a virtual meeting with principal investigators of 17 trial sites across the country on Friday to discuss the Covishield vaccine trial, reports The Indian Express.
7.57 am: North Dakota, Wyoming and Alabama are the three new states in the United States to launch apps to warn users about potential exposure to the coronavirus, reports Reuters.
7.56 am: New Zealand will on Friday announce its decision on coronavirus lockdown extension, reports Reuters.
7.51 am: The United Kingdom government adds France and Netherlands to its travel quarantine list, according to AFP. In return, Paris also announces a “reciprocal measure”.
7.45 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday
- India on Thursday reported nearly 67,000 new cases in 24 hours, taking the overall count to 23,96,637. The toll rose to 47,033 after 942 deaths were reported. As many as 56,383 more people recovered, taking the total number of discharged cases to 16,95,982. India’s coronavirus recovery rate reached 70.77% and the death rate fell to 1.96%.
- Five security personnel of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur tested positive for the coronavirus, Surekha Chopra, chief medical officer, said.
- Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Janmabhoomi trust in Ayodhya, tested positive for coronavirus. Das had the shared stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram temple on August 5. Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, was discharged from a hospital in Bengaluru after he recovered from the infection.
- Andhra Pradesh reported 9,996 coronavirus cases in a day. The state’s tally rose to 2,64,142 and the toll reached 2,378. The coronavirus cases in West Bengal rose to 1,07,323 with the highest single-day spike of 2,997 infections. The toll jumped to 2,259 after 56 people succumbed to the disease.
- The National Expert Group on vaccine administration for Covid-19 decided that the Centre would handle procurement of the vaccines. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila announced the launch of what it said was the cheapest generic version of anti-viral drug remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment in India. One 100 gram vial of the medicine will cost Rs 2,800.
- The Philippines government said it plans to launch clinical trials for the coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia in October. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, slashed its coronavirus toll by over 5,000 after adopting a new method to count the deaths. UK will from now only take into account the deaths that have happened within 28 days of patients testing positive for the coronavirus.
- Globally, coronavirus has infected more than 2.06 crore people, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide toll has risen to 7,50,744. More than 1.28 crore people have recovered.