Coronavirus: Centre stresses on ‘test-track-trace and treat’ strategy amid festival season

Here are the day’s top updates:

10.30 pm: Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 4.73 crore people and killed 12,08,654, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 3.14 crore people have recovered from the infection.

10 pm: Delhi on Tuesday reported its biggest rise in daily new coronavirus infections with 6,725 cases, data from the health bulletin showed. The city now has a total of 4,03,096 cases, pushing the positivity rate to 11.29% amid worsening air pollution and the festival season.

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Coronavirus: Delhi reports 6,725 new cases in biggest daily rise so far, tally over 4 lakh

7.18 pm: Rajasthan reports 1,725 new Covid-19 cases and 10 deaths, according to ANI. The tally stands at 2,02,220 with 1,936 fatalities, 1,83,899 recoveries and 16,385 active cases.

7.15 pm: A coronavirus patient casts his vote in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Karnataka after being taken to a polling booth via an ambulance, reports ANI, citing State Election Commission. The polling booth was later sanitised to facilitate other voters.

7.12 pm: The Centre creates Integrated Government Online Training Platform to train healthcare professionals as well as non-medical workers in a bid to develop capacity building among coronavirus warriors involved in the fight against the pandemic, reports ANI.

7.08 pm: The Centre says India’s growth story was intact despite the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Hindustan Times. “We are expecting further improvement in economy in months to come,” Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj says, according to PTI.

7.05 pm: Union Minister of Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says some countries, including those in the Gulf region, have not removed restrictions on the entry of Indian citizens. He adds that India was ready to fly passengers whenever they ease the restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

6.31 pm: France Health Minister Olivier Veran says every 30 seconds, one resident of Paris is getting infected with Covid-19, while every 15 minutes, there is a Parisian arriving at a hospital because of the infection, according to Reuters. Veran made the remarks in response to demand for opening up small bookshops and other smaller stores despite a lockdown in the country.

6.26 pm: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says schools will reopen for classes 11 and 12 from November 21 following all coronavirus-related standard operating procedures, reports ANI.

6.24 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 478 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the Union territory to 96,188, according to ANI. The tally includes 5,968 active cases, 88,718 recoveries and 1,502 fatalities.

6.21 pm: The coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh rises to 8,30,731 after the state reports 2,849 new infections, reports ANI. There are 21,672 active cases, 6,734 deaths and 8,02,325 patients have recovered so far.

6.17 pm: Kerala registers 6,862 new coronavirus cases, 8,802 recoveries and 26 deaths, reports ANI. The active case tally now is 84,713, while 3,64,745 people have recovered. The toll stands at 1,559.

6.15 pm: Meghalaya reports more Covid-19 recoveries than new cases as 101 people recuperate from the infection while 63 fresh cases push the tally to 9,741, according to PTI. The toll in the state is 90.

4.42 pm: “There is a need to show patience and adhere to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks, maintain physical distancing and hygiene,” adds VK Paul.

4.40 pm: NITI Aayog member VK Paul says cases in Gurugram and Faridabad, areas close to Delhi, are also increasing. He also urges people to get tested in case they have symptoms like fever, cold and sore throat, for early detection and treatment of the coronavirus.

4.33 pm: The Centre says there is less pressure on network of hospitals with the declining trend of new coronavirus cases. “There’s major fall in weekly new cases,” says Rajesh Bhushan. “Health care systems are not unnecessarily burdened with Covid cases.”

4.30 pm: Bhushan stresses on the need to proactively pursue “test-track-trace and treat” strategy. The health secretary also says it is important to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and ensure there is no rise in new cases during the festival season. “Let us keep our focus on this strategy even if our numbers are coming down,” says Bhushan.

4.27 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says Manipur, Delhi, Kerala and West Bengal are among the states showing a rise in active cases in India.

4.25 pm: The health secretary says India’s recovery rate is about 92% and the cumulative positivity rate is 7.4%.

4.22 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says that the number of recovered cases in India have crossed 76 lakh, the highest in the world. He also says the weekly positivity rate is 4.4% and daily positivity rate is 3.7%.

4.20 pm: The health ministry is briefing the media about the coronavirus situation in India.

1.29 pm: The Aam Aadmi Party government tells the Delhi High Court that it has instructed all its officials not to paste posters outside homes of Covid-19 positive persons or those in home isolation and those pasted have been ordered to be removed, reports PTI.

1.16 pm: Interpol, an international organisation for police cooperation and crime control, postpones its 89th General Assembly for the first time in history because of the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Hindustan Times. The meeting was scheduled to be held in December in the United Arab Emirates.

1.11 pm: The coronavirus tally in Arunachal Pradesh climbs to 14,998 after the state registers 117 new infections, according to PTI. The state has 1,722 active cases, while 13,238 people have recovered.

1.09 pm: Odisha reports 1,201 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the state to 2,94,415, while the toll goes up by 12 to 1,352, reports PTI. The active cases tally is 13,919.

11:42 am: 74% of the new confirmed cases are from ten states and Union Territories with Kerala, Delhi and Maharashtra reporting the maximum number of cases, says health ministry.

11.36 am: Active cases decline below 5.50 lakh, says health ministry. At 5,41,405 cases, they now account for 6.55% of the total cases.

9.18 am: India’s Covid-19 case count rises to 82,67,623 with 38,310 new cases. The toll goes up by 490 to 12,3097.

9.10 am: Air India says Indians who flew to Wuhan on a “Vande Bharat” flight held “negative Covid reports from certified labs”, reports NDTV. The airline adds that it strictly complies with all safety protocols by regulatory bodies and abides by requirements at destination airports.

The airline’s remark came amid reports that 19 passengers tested positive after reaching Wuhan last week.

8.56 am: Assam’s Covid-19 tally reaches 2,06,982 after 465 fresh infections on November 2. The state’s toll stands at 932.

8.55 am: Mainland China records 49 new cases on November 2, up from 24 a day ago.

8.53 am: Brazil’s coronavirus reaches 55,54,000 after the country logged 8,501 new infections in the last 24 hours. Toll goes up to 1,60,253 after 179 additional deaths.

8.50 am: Here are the top updates from Monday

• India’s coronavirus count rose to 82,29,313 on Monday with 45,231 new cases being recorded in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed. The country’s toll increased by 496 to 1,22,607. The number of active cases stood at 5,61,908, while the recoveries reached 75,44,798.
• Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who had tested positive for the coronavirus on October 26, was discharged from the hospital after recovering from the infection. Pawar will remain in isolation for the next few days.
• Union home secretary and health ministry officials held a review meeting on Monday on the coronavirus situation in the national capital with Delhi government officials. Discussions were held on ramping up testing in critical zones and medical facilities amid the festive season and the onset of winters.
• The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he was self-quarantining after someone he was in contact with tested positive for Covid-19.“I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19,” he tweeted. “I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with WHO protocols, and work from home.”  
• Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that the government was working on another stimulus package amid speculation about a fresh round of stimulus measures ahead of Diwali. He, however, refused to divulge details or give a timeframe.
• The Supreme Court on Monday said it is hopeful that the revision pleas against the discharge of foreign Tablighi Jamaat members be heard and disposed of swiftly. Senior lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the Jamaat members, said the pleas seeking discharge of eight people are listed before trial courts on November 10 and submitted that they should be decided upon on the same day.ADV  
• Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 4.64 crore people and killed 11,99,684, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 3.10 crore people have recovered from the infection.