The Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday said that the national Capital is witnessing a third spike in coronavirus cases which is showing more cases than before.
The Union Health ministry said India recorded three new deaths per million population in the last 7 days, as compared to the global average of seven new deaths.
Nepal will provide free Covid-19 tests and treatment, Surya Thapa, an aide to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, said on Tuesday. The move follows a Supreme Court order for free treatment last week after the government asked citizens who could afford to pay to do so, limiting free testing and care to only those who couldn’t.
India on Tuesday recorded 38,073 Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the country to 85,91,730, according to the health ministry’s data. The toll rose by 448 to 1,27,059 in 24 hours. There are 5,05,265 active cases and 79,59,406 recoveries.
This is the lowest daily rise in cases since July.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 5.08 crore people and killed 12,62,413 people, according to the John Hopkins University data. The recoveries stand at 3,32,36,147.
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.
10.56 pm: Mumbai reports 535 new cases of coronavirus, taking the tally to 2,65,677, reports PTI.
The Maharashtra capital records 19 deaths, taking the toll to 10,481.
10.55 pm: Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district records one more fatality due to Covid-19 on pushing the toll to 70, while the district’s tally surges to 19,531 with 119 new cases, reports PTI.
10:51 pm: Gujarat records 1,049 new cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of infections in the state to 1,82,719.
Five more people die in the state, taking the total fatalities to 3,773.
10.49 pm: Four people die of the coronavirus infection in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district, as the toll reaches 3,484, reports PTI.
10.45 pm: Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district records one more death due to Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the district’s toll to 81, reports PTI.
9.10 pm: Karnataka registers 2,362 new cases, and 20 deaths, taking the state’s case count to 8.51 lakh and toll to 11,430, according to ANI.
9.08 pm: West Bengal reports 3,891 new cases, 4,415 recoveries and 53 deaths, reports ANI. The state’s case count stands at 4,13,112, including 3,72,265 discharges and 7,403 deaths.
9.07 pm: Goa decides to partially reopen schools for classes 10 and 12 from November 21, releases guidelines, according to ANI.
9.06 pm: A crowded market seen ahead of Diwali in Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar, reports ANI.
9.05 pm: Uttar Pradesh’s Covid-19 toll increases by 30, taking the overall figure to 7,261. The state’s infection count stands at 5,01,311 with 2,155 new cases, reports PTI.
9.02 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research says a third spike in cases has been seen in Delhi, which is showing more cases than before. The medical body attributes it to factors like pollution, cold weather and festivals playing major role in rise of infections, according to PTI.
9.01 pm: Surat reports 183 cases, taking the city’s infection count to 37,734, while the toll increased to reach 1,031, reports PTI.
6.56 pm: Jammu and Kashmir records 492 new cases with 206 from the Jammu division and 286 from Kashmir division. The total number of cases stands at 99,844, with 5,415 active cases, 92,880 recoveries and 1,549 deaths.
6.54 pm: Punjab allows reopening of bars in hotels, shopping malls and multiplexes in areas outside containment zones, reports ANI.
6.53 pm: Andhra Pradesh registers 1,886 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases to 8,46,245. There are 20,958 active cases, and 8,18,473 recoveries. The toll stands at 6,814.
6.52 pm: All Rapid Antigen Detection Testing centres and RT-PCR sample collection centres of Delhi have been instructed to ensure that oxygen saturation of all clients undergoing test or sample collection is mandatorily checked and recorded on the OPD (outpatient department) slip, according to ANI.
6.50 pm: Kerala records 6,010 new cases today. Active cases in the state at 78,694, reports ANI.
5.03 pm: Union Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says India recorded an average of three new deaths per million population in the last 7 days, as compared to the global average of seven new deaths.
2.22 pm: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Reuters. The finance minister, the defence minister and Zelensky’s top aide are also reported to be infected.
2.11 pm: Puducherry registers 102 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally in the Union territory to 36,000, reports PTI. The toll climbs 604 after two more deaths were reported. The test positivity rate was 2.7%.
2.07 pm: Bangladesh makes masks mandatory at places of worship, including churches, mosques and temples, to contain the spread of Covid-19, reports PTI. The country has so far reported 4,20,238 infections and 6,067 deaths.
2.04: Nepal will provide free Covid-19 tests and treatment, says Surya Thapa, an aide to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, according to Reuters. The move follows a Supreme Court order for free treatment last week after the government asked citizens who could afford to pay to do so, limiting free testing and care to only those who couldn’t.
2.01 pm: Odisha reports 987 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally in the state to 3,03,780, according to ANI. The overall tally includes 12,584 active cases, 2,89,689 recoveries and 1,454 deaths.
12.56 pm: Australia is considering opening its borders to low-risk Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and even parts of China, says Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Reuters reports.
12.49 pm: Work to distribute the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer BioNTech is gearing up after the companies announced successful interim data earlier on Monday, but it will not be coming to local pharmacies for the general public any time soon, Reuters reports.
Experts say the vaccine’s complex and super-cold storage requirements are an obstacle for even the most sophisticated hospitals in the United States and may impact when and where it is available in rural areas or poor countries where resources are tight. “The cold chain is going to be one of the most challenging aspects of delivery of this vaccination,” says Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
12.44 pm: Cricket Australia announces that it would allow up to 27,000 spectators, which is 50% of the total capacity, at the Adelaide Oval for the first ever day-night Test between India and Australia, starting December 17, PTI reports.
12.43 pm: Mizoram reports 60 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the state’s tally to 3,156, PTI reports.
12.41 pm: Arunachal Pradesh’s tally of coronavirus cases rises to 15,484, after 48 more people, including an Assam Rifles jawan and a health worker, tested positive, PTI reports.
12.36 pm: The Supreme Court refuses to grant interim relief against the Delhi High Court order on the Aam Aadmi Party government’s decision to reserve 80% of ICU beds in 33 private hospitals for Covid-19 patients, PTI reports. The court asks the Delhi government to approach the High Court for an urgent hearing on the matter on November 12.
A single judge bench of the High Court on September 22 had stayed the Delhi government’s September 12 decision, saying that asking 33 big private hospitals to reserve 80% of ICU beds would violate the fundamental rights of those having other health conditions.
10.49 am: After days of alleging voter fraud on unfounded claims, United States President Donald Trump now accuses the country’s Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical firm Pfizer of withholding the announcement on a Covid-19 vaccine before elections to prevent him from getting a “vaccine win”.
The US Food and Drug Administration “and the Democrats didn’t want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead it came out five days later As I’ve said all along!” Trump tweets. Pfizer on Monday announced that its vaccine, as per preliminary estimates, has been found to be 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.
In another tweet, Trump takes credit for the development and says, “If Joe Biden were president, you wouldn’t have the vaccine for another four years, nor would the FDA have ever approved it so quickly.”
10.44 am: United States President-elect Joe Biden on Monday urged Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus and not consider it a “political statement,” AFP reports.
“So please, I implore you, wear a mask,” Biden said in Wilmington after he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held a virtual briefing with his newly named Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board. “A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start putting the country together.”
The Democrat added that the United States is facing “a very dark winter”, as cases in the country reach a new apex.
10.40 am: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has tested positive for the coronavirus but felt fine as infections surged in the country. “Despite all quarantine measures, I also had a positive test,” Zelensky says on Facebook. “Most people overcome Covid-19. And I will get through this too.”
10.36 am: The World Health Organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday called on everyone to keep fighting Covid-19, warning that while we may be sick of battling the pandemic, the virus is “not tired of us”, AFP reports.
Tedros, who was speaking from quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus, warned that the virus preys on weakness. “It preys on those in weaker health, but it preys on other weaknesses too: inequality, division, denial, wishful thinking and wilful ignorance,” he said.
10.33 am: The health ministry says India’s active cases have fallen below 6% of the total coronavirus infections in the country. The number of recoveries, on the other hand, have risen past 92% of the cumulative cases, it says.
10.13 am: India records 38,073 Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the country to 85,91,730, according to the health ministry’s data. The toll rises by 448 to 1,27,059 in 24 hours. There are 5,05,265 active cases and 79,59,406 recoveries.
This is the lowest daily rise in cases since July.
9.58 am: Brazil’s health regulator suspended the clinical trials of a Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine following an “adverse incident” involving a volunteer recipient on October 29, AFP reports.
The regulator, Anvisa, said in a statement that it could not give details on what happened because of privacy regulations, but that such incidents included death, potentially fatal side effects, serious disability, hospitalization, birth defects and other “clinically significant events”.
9.55 am: The Kerala government issues an health advisory ahead of the opening of the Sabarimala temple for a two-month-long annual Mandala-Makaravilakku season from November 16, PTI reports. The government has decided to allow 1,000 pilgrims every day to offer prayers.
All pilgrims will have to carry a Covid-19 negative certificate with tests done 24 hours before reaching base camp Nilakkal.
Pilgrims must frequently wash hands, maintain physical distancing, use face masks and carry hand sanitisers with them, the advisory says. Those who have been recently exposed to the disease or who have had symptoms like cough, respiratory problems, loss of smell, and fatigue have been asked to avoid making the journey.
9.50 am: Here are the top updates from Monday:
- Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech on Monday announced that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in phase three clinical trials.
- The global tally of coronavirus cases crossed the 5-crore mark, according to the John Hopkins University data.
- The health ministry said that Delhi has overtaken Maharashtra and Kerala as the highest contributor to daily Covid-19 cases. The Capital reported 7,745 cases on Sunday, its highest tally yet.
- Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, while reviewing the coronavirus situation in nine states on Monday, warned that the festive season and winters could potentially overturn the progress made in fighting the disease.