The phase three human clinical trial of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine began at Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital on Monday.

Earlier in the day, a lockdown was enforced in 10 districts of Chhattisgarh, including state capital Raipur, till September 28, amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Raipur, which has been reporting 900 to 1,000 daily cases, was declared a containment zone.

India’s coronavirus count reached 54,87,581 on Monday, after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported a rise of 86,961 cases in 24 hours. The toll rose by 1,130 to 87,882. More than 43 lakh people have recovered from the virus in India. The country’s mortality rate is 1.60%.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 3.09 crore people and killed 9,59,295, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of worldwide recoveries is more than 2.1 crore.

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.

11 pm: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says there is no guarantee that any vaccine being currently developed will work. “The more candidates we test, the higher the chance we will have a safe and efficacious vaccine,” he adds during a briefing. “Almost 200 vaccines for Covid-19 are currently in clinical and pre-clinical testing. The history of vaccine development tells us that some will fail, and some will succeed.”

10.12 pm: The phase three human clinical trial of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine has begun at Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital, reports PTI. “We have started the phase-III trials of the vaccine [candidate Covishield],” said Dr Muralidhar Tambe, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital. “We will administer dose to 150 to 200 volunteers.”

9.56 pm: Mumbai registers 1,837 new coronavirus cases, taking the city’s overall case count to 1,86,150, reports ANI. The toll in the city rises by 36 to 8,502.

9.50 pm: Over 11,600 Indians residing abroad have been infected with Covid-19, and 373 of them have died, the Centre has informed the Parliament, reports Hindustan Times.

9.30 pm: Rajasthan records 1,892 Covid-19 cases, 16 deaths, 1,815 recoveries, reports ANI, citing a health department bulletin. The total number of cases in the state stands at 1,16,881, including 1,352 deaths, 97,284 recoveries.

7.32 pm: Dutch daily new Covid-19 cases top 2,000 for first time, reports Reuters.

7.29 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tweets about India’s Covid-19 situation. “12 states and UTs have registered recovery rate more than the national average,” he tweets. “79% of the new recovered cases are from 10 states/UTs.”

7.28 pm: Puducherry’s case count goes up to 23,191, including 4,659 active cases, 18,065 recoveries and 467 deaths, according to ANI.

7.28 pm: Delhi registers 2,548 new Covid-19 cases, taking the Capital’s overall count to 2,49,259. The toll rises by 32 to 5,014, reports ANI.

7.25 pm: Jammu and Kashmir records 1,036 new coronavirus cases, 1,158 recoveries and 23 deaths, taking the Union Territory’s case count to 65,026. The overall tally includes 42,115 recoveries, 1,024 deaths and 21,887 active cases.

5.11 pm: Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech has resigned after receiving criticism for his handling of the pandemic, reports AP.

5.05 pm: A top medical adviser in Britain says the country has turned a negative corner on Covid-19 infection rates, with figures indicating there will be an exponential growth in the disease unless action is taken, reports The Associated Press.

5 pm: Schools in Bhopal reopen on Monday for Classes 9 and 12 on a voluntary basis, reports ANI.

4.01 pm: Gujarat’s Assembly session begins with coronavirus-related precautions in place, PTI reports. MLAs and journalists have been tested for the infection.

3.50 pm: Germany Health Minister Jens Spahn expresses concern over rising coronavirus cases in neighbouring countries like Austria and Netherlands, Reuters reports. He adds that Germany will sooner or later import cases from there.

3.46 pm: Singapore develops a robot to carry out nasal swab tests for the coronavirus, to reduce the risk of exposure among health workers, PTI reports.

3.42 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says 30% of the coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals in the Capital are from other states, PTI reports. He adds that there are 1,000 intensive care unit beds in Delhi.

2.25 pm: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs tells the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin locality in March led to the coronavirus spreading to many individuals.

Read here: Coronavirus: Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi caused many infections, Centre tells Rajya Sabha

2.31 pm: Britain’s health minister Matt Hancock says the country is at “a tipping point” on COVID-19, and warns that a second national lockdown could be imposed if people don’t follow rules, Reuters reports.

2.23 pm: The Union health ministry says 76% of India’s of 86,961 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 are concentrated in 10 states and union territories, ANI reports. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh contribute over 20,000 and 8,000 cases to the overall daily cases, respectively, the Centre adds.

2.20 pm: Philippines relaxes an overseas travel ban on nurses and other medical workers to allow them to take jobs abroad, Reuters reports. President Rodrigo Duterte says the coronavirus situation in his country is under control.

2.18 pm: The United Kingdom is considering a second national lockdown amid an increase in coronavirus cases, Reuters reports.

1.56 pm: The upcoming Monsoon Session of the Uttarakhand Assembly will be limited to just a day and there will be no Question Hour, Deputy Speaker Raghunath Singh says, according to PTI. Singh says the decision was made considering the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the state. As per the original schedule, the session was to be held from September 23 to September 25.

1.55 pm: The health ministry adds that India’s recovery rate of Covid-19 cases has crossed the 80%-mark with over 90,000 recoveries recorded for the third consecutive day.

1.52 pm: The Union health ministry says that out of the 86,961 new cases reported in 24 hours, 76% of the infections are concentrated in 10 States and Union Territories. Maharashtra has alone contributed more than 20,000 and Andhra Pradesh has contributed more than 8,000, it adds.

1.48 pm: Schools in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, partially reopen on Monday.

12.43 pm: Ninety-one Indian citizens from the United Arab Emirates arrive in Indore aboard an Air India flight, PTI reports.

12.40 pm: Schools in South Korea’s capital Seoul and its neighbouring areas resume in-person classes for the first time in almost a month on Monday, Reuters reports.

12.37 pm: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern lifts all coronavirus restrictions across the country, except in hotspot Auckland, Reuters reports.

12.35 pm: Odisha reports 4,242 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking its tally to 1,84,122, PTI reports. The state’s toll rises by nine to 710.

12.29 pm: The Supreme Court issues a notice to the Centre and the states on a public interest litigation seeking a direction to provide food and proper health care facilities to children and their mothers, ANI reports. The petitioners expressed concern over 14 lakh Anganwadis [rural child care centres] being closed due the coronavirus.

11.21 am: Ten districts in Chhattisgarh, including state capital Raipur, were put under a lockdown on Monday till September 28, amid a surge in coronavirus cases, NDTV reports. Raipur, which has been reporting 900 to 1,000 daily cases was declared a containment zone.

Apart from Raipur, the nine other districts are: Jashpur, Baloda Bazaar, Janjgir-Champa, Durg, Bhilai, Dhamtari, Bilaspur, Bilaspur,

10.03 am: India’s tally reaches 54.87 lakh with a surge of 86,961 new cases and 1,130 deaths in the last 24 hours. The country’s toll stands at 87,882.

9.19 am: Manipur on Sunday issued a standard operating procedure for air passengers, according to Hindustan Times. They are required to apply for an e-pass by giving their personal and flight details, at least two days in advance.

9.16 am: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha on Sunday that four coronavirus vaccines are in advanced stages of pre-clinical trials in the country.

9.14 am: Jharkhand’s coronavirus tally rises to 71,352 on Monday as 1,492 more people test positive for the infection, PTI reports. Two more deaths push the state’s toll to 617.

8.13 am: Mizoram records seven new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing the state’s tally to 1,585, ANI reports.

8.12 am: The Taj Mahal in Agra will reopen for visitors on Monday, after more than six months, PTI reports. A maximum of 5,000 visitors will be allowed in a day into the monument.

8.11 am: Schools in Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Nagaland and Madhya Pradesh will partially reopen on Monday, after more than five months of a lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

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Coronavirus: Here’s a list of states where schools will reopen tomorrow

8.12 am: The Union health ministry says India has acquired the top position in terms of total recoveries from the coronavirus. More than 43 lakh people have recovered, constituting for 19% of the total global recoveries, it said.

8.09 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday.

  1. Schools in Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Nagaland and Madhya Pradesh will partially reopen from Monday after more than five months of a lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Centre had last week allowed the partial reopening of schools on a voluntary basis for Classes 9 to 12 from September 21 and issued the Standard Operating Procedure. However, online and distance learning would continue to be permitted as well as encouraged.
  2. Hong Kong has banned till October 3 Air India from flying to the city after its flight on September 18 carried six people who later tested positive for the infection. The financial hub has also banned Cathay Dragon’s Kuala Lumpur service for the same period after it carried five passengers who were positive.
  3. The Lok Sabha discussed the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said India had the worst of both worlds. “We have neither managed to limit the spread of the virus nor have we managed to keep the economy afloat,” Tharoor said. “GDP for the first time in 41 years will actually shrink.”
  4. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said in Parliament that there were more people on the streets of Mumbai after the coronavirus lockdown was announced than those who would have come out after the Partition of India. “But the government didn’t start trains. People were mowed down by trains on railway tracks. Somewhere we made mistakes,” he said.
  5. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said there has been no significant or drastic mutation in strains of the Covid-19 virus in India till now. “The ICMR has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus collected over the past several months over different time-points and detailed results on mutations and evolution of the virus will be available in early October,” Vardhan said.
  6. Maharashtra reported 20,598 Covid-19 cases and 455 deaths on Sunday. This takes the total cases in the state to 12,08,642. This includes 8,84,341 discharges, 32,671 deaths and 2,91,238 active cases.
  7. Delhi, meanwhile, reports 3,812 cases and 37 deaths in 24 hours. The total cases in the national Capital rose to 2,46,711. This includes 4,982 deaths and 2,09,632 recoveries.