Coronavirus: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav tests positive

10.55 pm: Here are the top updates of the day

10.33 pm: Karnataka reports 9,265 cases and 75 deaths, according to PTI.

9.50 pm: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav tests positive for coronavirus, says his party.

9.06 pm: Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. In a Facebook post, Parmar says he had been experiencing symptoms for two days, following which he underwent a coronavirus test, and the results were positive. He says he has isolated himself at his official residence on doctors’ advice.

8.58 pm: Delhi’s coronavirus infection tally rises to 3,17,548 with 3,324 new cases; toll mounts to 5,898 with 44 more fatalities.

8.53 pm: West Bengal reports 3,677 new infections and a single-day high of 64 fatalities, according to PTI. The toll is now 5,808 and the total number of cases 3,05,697.

8.44 pm: Goa has reported 356 cases of the virus today, taking its tally to 39,438, PTI reports. The death of four patients, including a one-year-old baby, took the toll to 519.

8.32 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation publishes data showing that Mumbai recorded 2,211 new cases and 3,370 recoveries from the coronavirus today. As many as 48 people died, of whom 44 had co-morbidities. The number of active cases is now 20,790.

8.22 pm: Russia has granted regulatory approval to a second coronavirus vaccine, President Vladimir Putin has said at a meeting according to Reuters. Russia had in August granted regulatory approval for the first Covid-19 vaccine, without completing all trials.

“We need to increase production of the first and second vaccine,” Putin says in comments broadcast on state TV. “We are continuing to cooperate with our foreign partners and will promote our vaccine abroad.” The vaccine is called EpiVacCorona.

8.08 pm: As many as 1,205 new cases, 1,324 discharges, and 13 deaths have been reported in Haryana today, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,45,507 till date, including 10,187 active cases, 1,33,706 recovered cases and 1,614 deaths.

7.54 pm: Punjab reports 549 new cases, 970 recoveries and 13 deaths. The total number of cases in the state is now 1,25,760, including 1,14,075 discharges, 7,760 active cases and 3,925 deaths.

7.44 pm: Three hundred and one new infections have been recorded in Manipur, 86 people have recovered and six have died in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 14,094 including 10,915 recovered cases, 3,076 active cases and 103 deaths.

7.34 pm: Gujarat reports 1,175 new coronavirus cases, 1,414 discharges and 11 deaths today, taking total cases to 1,55,098, including 1,36,541 recoveries, 3,598 deaths and 14,959 active cases.

7.27 pm: “This has only added to India’s reputation as pharmacy to the world,” Swarup says. “As we move towards development of a Covid-19 vaccine, India has already committed its vaccine production and delivery capacity to help the world in fighting this crisis.”

7.22 pm: Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Vikas Swarup says at the virtual 20th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meet that despite being severely affected by the pandemic, India has kept its supply chains open and provided medicines and personal protective equipment to over 150 countries, ANI reports.

7.10 pm: Andhra Pradesh reports 3,892 new cases, 5,050 recoveries and 28 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 7,67,465, including 7,19,477 recoveries, 41,669 active cases and 6,319 deaths.

7 pm: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 701 new cases, 816 recoveries and 12 deaths today, taking total number cases to 85,409 including 74,318 recoveries, 9,739 active cases and 1,352 deaths, the health department says.

6.39 pm: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweets that India has signed an air bubble agreement with Ukraine, taking the total number of countries with which such deals have been signed up to 17.

5.37 pm: A Japanese supercomputer has showed that humidity affects the spread of aerosols that cause coronavirus, Reuters reports. The supercomputer’s data shows higher risk of infections in dry, indoor conditions during winter.

The finding suggests that the use of humidifiers may help limit infections during times when window ventilation is not possible. Air humidity of lower than 30% resulted in more than double the amount of aerosolised particles compared to levels of 60% or higher, the supercomputer’s simulations showed.

5.32 pm: Pandemic restrictions saw an unprecedented fall in greenhouse gas emissions in the first half of 2020, higher than even during the 2008 financial crisis and World War 2, climate experts say according to AFP. The experts say the year-on-year emissions drop of 8.8% was the largest in modern history.

5.15 pm: Himachal Pradesh records 98 new cases and 168 recoveries since the 9 pm bulletin yesterday. Total cases in the state rise to 17,860, including 250 deaths and 15,153 recoveries. Active cases stand at 2,436.

5 pm: Government and private libraries will be allowed to be open, weekly bazaars can run, business to business exhibitions will also be permitted as part of Maharashtra government’s “Mission Begin Again” guidelines, ANI reports.

4.52 pm: Indian Railways’ Western Railway zone has decided to resume air conditioned local train services in Mumbai from Thursday, according to a retweet of a tweet by actor Vindu Dara Singh of a Mint article, by the official handle of Mumbai Metro. Initially, a total of 10 AC trains will operate.

Metro trains will also be allowed to operate in a phased manner, PTI reports. Health checkup and stamping of passengers at train stations will be stopped. Markets and shops will be allowed to remain open for two additional hours till 9 pm from tomorrow.

4.10 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 2,778 new cases, 3,736 discharges and 41 deaths in the last 24 hours.

3.58 pm: A petition filed before Calcutta High Court demanding to stop Durga Puja celebrations in view of the coronavirus pandemic will be taken up this week, reports ANI.

3.52 pm: The Kangra district administration in Himachal Pradesh is planning to conduct coronavirus tests of all school teachers and students, reports PTI.

3.48 pm: The World Bank has approved $12 billion in financing to help developing countries buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments, reports PTI.

1.54 pm: India’s active cases are below 9 lakh for the sixth consecutive day. “After a month, on 9th October, active cases fell below the 9L [lakh mark and have steadily followed a downward slope since,” the Centre had said on Tuesday.

1.39 pm: The Union health ministry says Kerala has crossed Maharashtra in terms of the highest number of new cases in the last 24 hours. It adds that 77% of India’s new cases are from 10 States and Union territories.

1.35 pm: Odisha’s coronavirus tally rises to 2,59,541 on Wednesday as 2,604 more people test positive for the infection, PTI reports. The state’s toll rises by 15 to 1,072.

1.32 pm: Resident Doctors at the Hindu Rao Hospital in Delhi continue their protest over not being paid over the last few months, ANI reports.

12.33 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research says it has conducted over 9 crore tests so far. With 11,45,015 tests in the last 24 hours, the tally stood at 9,00,90,122.

11.25 am: Jharkhand’s coronavirus tally rises to 93,736 as 701 more people tested positive for the infection, reports PTI. The state’s coronavirus toll increases to 805 with seven more fatalities.

11.22 am: Himachal Pradesh Technical Education Minister Ram Lal Markanda has tested positive for coronavirus, reports PTI. He is the fifth minister, including Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, and the 12th MLA in the 68-member state Assembly to have contracted the infection.

11.16 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan urges people to observe appropriate behaviour during the upcoming festival season and the winter months “when the likelihood of an increase in the disease is high”, reports PTI.

11.11 am: The governments in Europe are adding new restrictions to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, reports BBC. While the Czech Republic is imposing a three-week partial lockdown, the Netherlands has made masks mandatory in public indoor spaces. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce more restrictions in the country.

11.02 am: United States Democratic nominee Joe Biden says President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been “erratic” just like his presidency, reports PTI. “And it has prevented Florida seniors and people all across the country from getting the relief that they need,” he adds.

10.48 am: A group of Dutch scientists says an elderly woman in the country died after being reinfected with Covid-19, reports The Independent. They add the 89-year-old woman was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer.

10.45 am: Kerala’s Covid-19 positivity rate rises to 18.16% with the state registering 8,764 new cases on Tuesday, according to The Hindu. A total of 48,253 samples were tested.

10.41 am: Union health ministry says India continues to be the country with one of the lowest coronavirus cases per million and also reported deaths per million, reports The Hindu.

9.29 am: India’s Covid-19 tally rises to 72,39,389, with 63,509 new cases. The toll goes up by 730 to 1,10,586.

9.18 am: The Centre says India’s recoveries (over 62 lakh) are the highest in the world.

9.11 am: American pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly suspends trial of its COVID-19 antibody because of a safety concern, Reuters reports. The antibody treatment is similar to one taken by US President Donald Trump.

Trump had said that the Lilly drug, along with the antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals that he received, was equivalent to a cure.

9.10 am: Here are the top updates from Tuesday:

1. Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson paused advanced clinical trial of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine due to an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers. The move come over a month after AstraZeneca also suspended its vaccine trials due to similar reasons. It, however, resumed the study on September 12.
   
2. The International Monetary Fund predicted on Tuesday that the Indian economy would contract by 10.3% in 2020-’21, owing to the lockdowns imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported. India’s Gross Domestic Product contracted by a whopping 23.9% in the first quarter of 2020-’21.
   
3. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese football federation announced on Tuesday. Ronaldo “is asymptomatic” and “will not play against Sweden” in Wednesday’s Nations League match, the federation said on its website.
   
4. The World Health Organization warned against suggestions that herd immunity might be a realistic strategy to stop the coronavirus pandemic, saying such an approach was “simply unethical”. Herd immunity occurs when majority of a population becomes immune to a disease through vaccinations or through the mass spread of a disease.
5. United States President Donald Trump has tested negative “on consecutive days” using a rapid antigen coronavirus test, the White House physician, Dr Sean P Conley, said in a statement released on Monday as the president began a rally in Florida. This came 10 days after Trump announced he had contracted the coronavirus.
   
6. The Centre issued an advisory to the states for managing seasonal illnesses along with the Covid-19 crisis. It said that there were increasing instances of coronavirus patients contracting seasonal infections. “Given the seasonal pattern of epidemic-prone diseases observed every year in our country, dengue, malaria, seasonal influenza, leptospirosis, chikungunya, enteric fever etc can present diagnostic dilemma and may co-exist in Covid cases,” the Centre said. It added that tests must be done to detect both the coronavirus and seasonal diseases for timely diagnosis.
   
7. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that India is likely to have a vaccine against the coronavirus by early next year and it would possibly come from several sources. He said expert groups were formulating strategies for distribution of the vaccine.