Coronavirus: Delhi reports more than 8,000 daily cases for the first time

11.00 pm: Delhi reports more than 8,000 daily cases for the first time on Wednesday. The Capital’s tally rises to 4,59,975. The toll increases by 85 to 7,228.

10.19 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discuss global collaboration for countering the COVID-19 pandemic, the PMO says in a statement.

Modi also expresses appreciation for for WHO’s important role in facilitating a coordinated global response to the crisis.

9.04 pm: Madhya Pradesh registers 4,907 new cases, taking total positive cases to 17,31,833. The toll goes up by 125 to 45,560.

9.03 pm: West Bengal registers 3,872 new cases, taking the state tally to 4,16,984. The toll goes up by 49 to 7,452, according to ANI.

9.01 pm: Madhya Pradesh’s Covid-19 tally goes up by 883 to 1,79,951, reports ANI. The state’s toll rises to 3,055 with 13 more deaths.

9 pm: A huge crowd seen at Mumbai’s Dadar Market ahead of Diwali.

8.59 pm: Karnataka reports 2,584 new cases, 2,881 discharges and 23 deaths, reports ANI. The total number of positive cases in the state rise to 8,53,796, including 8,11,581 discharges and 11,453 deaths.

7 pm: Manipur registers 180 new cases in 24 hours, taking the state tally to 20,950, reports ANI. The toll stands at 202. The numbers of active and recovered cases are 3,057 and 17,698.

6.20 pm: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan says India’s Covid-19 response approach was pre-emptive, proactive and graded, reports ANI. Attending a meeting of BRICS, he adds that India has curated its response keeping in mind the large population size.

6.15 pm: Nagaland Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom says the state reported 42 fresh coronavirus cases and 90 recoveries on Wednesday, reports ANI.

6.13 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 507 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally in the Union territory to 1,00,351, according to ANI. The overall tally includes 5,480 active cases, 93,313 recoveries and 1,558 deaths.

6.11 pm: Union health ministry says Goa has registered 40% of the state’s deaths in the last one month, adding that it is a cause of worry, according to The Times of India.

6.07 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says the state Education Department has decided to not conduct pre-final examinations for students currently in classes 10 and 12, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI.

6.04 pm: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan advises states to focus on higher testing, especially in districts with higher positivity, and mandatory testing of symptomatic but negatives patients by RAT, reports The Times of India. The minister also asks states to focus on high-risk groups and vulnerable populations for severe acute respiratory infections/influenza-like illness surveillance.

4.34 pm: All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi Director Randeep Guleria says storing Pfizer’s vaccine at minus 70 degree Celsius will be a challenge for countries like India, ANI reports. “We’ll have difficulties in maintaining a cold chain, especially on rural missions,” he says. “Overall [this is ] encouraging news in vaccine research for those in Phase III trials.”

4.29 pm: Gujarat will open secondary schools and colleges from November 23, PTI reports, citing state Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

4.25 pm: Bihar registered 702 new cases on Tuesday, which took its count of active cases to 7,219, ANI reports.

4.12 pm: The Delhi government directs officials to ensure that Chhath Pooja celebrations are not allowed in public places and temples or at river banks, ANI reports.

4.07 pm: The interim trial results of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus show that it is 92% effective in providing protection from the infection.

The results are based on data obtained from over 16,000 trial participants, who received both the shots of the two-dose vaccine.

“As a result of a statistical analysis of 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates that the Sputnik V vaccine had an efficacy rate of 92% after the second dose,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund says in a statement.

4.02 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says that the duration of the third peak of the Capital’s coronavirus cases is longer than that of the previous peaks, PTI reports. He adds that the peak may subside in the next few days.

2.55 pm: The Delhi government extends the validity of all vehicle-related documents till 31 December in view of the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI.

2.54 pm: All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi Director Randeep Guleria says we need to “work aggressively” towards curbing the spread of the coronavirus as the Capital is witnessing a surge in cases, according to ANI. He adds that super spreading events must not have happened in Delhi.

2.51 pm: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai says the Aam Aadmi Party government will begin phase 2 of the “Red Light On, Engine Off” campaign from November 16, and it will continue till November 30, reports ANI. He adds that 2,500 marshals will be deployed for the campaign.

2.15 pm: Delhi High Court directs the Aam Aadmi Party government to file a status report on the steps it has taken to control the spread of coronavirus in view of surge in cases in the last two weeks, reports PTI. The High Court pulled up the government for relaxing norms for public gatherings and transport when cases are increasing.

12.28 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says the Narendra Modi government has to define its coronavirus vaccine distribution strategy. His comments come two days after Pfizer said that its vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

“GOI [Government of India] has to define a vaccine distribution strategy and how it will reach every Indian,” Gandhi tweets. “Even though Pfizer has created a promising vaccine, the logistics for making it available to every Indian need to be worked out.”

The former Congress chief also attached a media report with his tweet, saying that no cold chain logistic company in India has the capability to transport the Pfizer vaccine to India. It requires a temperature storage of minus 70 degrees.

12.25 pm: The Supreme Court refuses to interfere with the Calcutta High Court order banning the sale and use of firecrackers in West Bengal during Kali Puja, says preservation of life is more important amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports PTI.

“We are all battling for life in this situation and all of us have elderly people in our home,” the court says. “We are in a situation where, at this time, preservation of life is more important and the High Court knows what is required at the ground level.”

12.22 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain says the testing in the national Capital has increased amid a record rise in new cases, reports ANI. “Three times more tests are being done now as compared to last peak,” he says. “No doubt third peak is here, hope cases fall in next couple of days. 17,000 RT-PCR tests were conducted yesterday, we’ve increased testing.”

12.20 pm: Prakash Rajpurohit, Ajmer district collector in Rajasthan, says that Pushkar fair will not be held this year due to coronavirus restrictions, reports ANI. “The government will not conduct any programme at the fair,” he adds.

10.47 am: The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday announced that it would close all educational institutions for a fortnight, amid a rise in coronavirus cases, PTI reports.

Meanwhile, the state Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur decided to recommend to the Governor to convene the winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly from December 7 to December 11.

10.45 am: Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor Professor Tariq Mansoor on Tuesday got himself registered to be the first volunteer for the Covaxin trials – a vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech, PTI reports. The phase 3 trials of Covaxin have begun at the JN Medical College and Hospital of the university.

10.43 am: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Tuesday banned marriage processions in the Odisha capital and limited attendance in marriage functions to 100 people, and funerals to 50, the Hindustan Times reports. The BMC said children below 10 years, old people, pregnant women and people with comorbidities are advised to avoid public gatherings of any kind, while people with severe acute respiratory illness would not be allowed to such functions.

10.42 am: Delhi on Tuesday recorded 7,830 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day rise till date, taking the infection tally in the national Capital to over 4.5 lakh, PTI reports. As many as 83 new fatalities pushed the number of deaths to 7,143.

10.15 am: India records 44,281 Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the country to 86,36,011, according to the health ministry’s data. The toll rises by 512 to 1,27,571 in 24 hours. There are 4,94,657 active cases and 80,13,783 recoveries.

10 am: Here are the top updates from Tuesday.

1. The Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday said that the national Capital was witnessing a third spike in coronavirus cases as it was reporting more daily cases than ever before.
2. The Union Health ministry said India recorded three new deaths per million population in the last seven days, as compared to the global average of seven new deaths.
3. 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.
4. The Supreme Court refused 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. The court asked 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.
5. Incumbent United States President Donald Trump accused the US Food and Drug Administration and drug manufacturer Pfizer of withholding the announcement on Covid-19 vaccine ahead of the presidential elections in the country to deny him a “vaccine win”.