Coronavirus: Talks on with India to join global vaccine allocation plan, says WHO
Attorney General of India KK Venugopal went into self-isolation on Monday after his colleague was found infected.
The World Health Organisation on Monday said it was in talks with India about joining the Covax global vaccine allocation plan. “India is certainly eligible, like all countries in the world, to be part of the COVAX facility and discussions are ongoing in that regard,” said WHO adviser Bruce Aylward.
India’s coronavirus count rose to 42,04,614 earlier in the day, with a record rise of 90,802 new cases. The toll increased by 1,016 to 71,642. India is now the world’s second-most affected from the pandemic after the United States. As many as 32,50,429 people have recovered so far, pushing India’s recovery rate to 77.31%. Metro services resumed in a phased manner in a select few cities even amid a rise in cases.
Globally, the virus has infected 2.71 crore people, and 8.89 lakh have died due to it, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 1.81 crore people across the world have recovered from the infection.
Read the day’s top 10 coronavirus updates.
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.
10.50 pm: Assam registers 2,785 new cases.
10.32 pm: Mumbai records 1,788 cases of Covid-19, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. As many as 1,541 patients have recovered today. Thirty-one people have died. The number of active cases in the city rises to 24,144.
10.30 pm: Dharavi slum in Mumbai records just five more cases, PTI reports. The total count is now 2,824, but only 95 cases are active. As many as 2,469 persons have recovered from the infection.
10.27 pm: Uttar Pradesh records 56 more deaths due to COVID-19, taking the state’s toll to 3,976, while 5,649 fresh cases push the tally to 2,71,851, PTI reports. The fatality rate in the state is 1.46%.
10.19 pm: North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. He asks people who have come in contact with him over the past few days to isolate themselves.
10.12 pm: The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort will be open for tourists from September 21, says District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh. Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India (Agra circle) Vasant Kumar Swarnkar says only 5,000 tourists will be allowed each day at the Taj Mahal – 2,500 before 2 pm and the rest after, reports NDTV. At Agra Fort, 2,500 tourists will be allowed every day. “Masks are mandatory to enter the monuments and all tickets must be purchased online. Ticket counters will not be open,” he adds.
10.02 pm: Himachal Pradesh adds 245 new cases to its tally in the last 24 hours, says the state health department. The total number of cases is now 7,660, including 54 deaths.
9.59 pm: Rajasthan reports 1580 fresh infections and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours, says the state health department. The total number of cases stands at 92,536 including 1,151 deaths.
9.46 pm: The World Health Organisation is in talks with India about joining the Covax global vaccine allocation plan, says WHO adviser Bruce Aylward, according to Reuters. “India is certainly eligible, like all countries in the world, to be part of the COVAX facility and discussions are ongoing in that regard,” he adds. “We would welcome Indian participation... India has extensive experience [with vaccines].”
9.36 pm: Karnataka’s tally breaches the 4-lakh mark with 5,773 new cases and 141 fatalities, reports PTI. The state’s toll is now 6,534
9.06 pm: West Bengal registers 58 additional deaths, taking the state’s toll to 3,620, reports PTI citing the health department. The state’s tally rises to 1,83,865 with 3,077 new cases.
9.04 pm: BJP MLA Rita Dhiman tests positive, says Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Himachal Pradesh, RD Dhiman. She attended the first day of Monsoon session of state Assembly today.
8.19 pm: A plea in the Supreme Court seeks an order to the Election Commission to delay the Bihar Assembly polls due to the pandemic and the worsening flood situation in the state, reports The Hindu.
8.13 pm: The Union health ministry has informed the Supreme Court that spraying disinfectants on humans triggers physical and psychological effects, reports The Hindu. The ministry was replying to a plea, questioning the efficiency of disinfection tunnels, spraying and fogging to prevent Covid-19.
8.11 pm: The Pune Municipal Corporation issues showcause notices to three private testing laboratories in the city for not providing updated testing data on a regular basis, reports ANI.
8.09 pm: Manipur’s coronavirus tally goes up to 7,106 after 84 new cases in 24 hours, reports ANI. The state’s active case count stands at 1,710 and 38 patients have died so far.
8.06 pm: In Maharashtra, 179 more police personnel test positive for Covid-19, taking the case count in the force to 17,091, reports ANI. The toll in force rises to 176.
8.04 pm: Uttarakhand records 807 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s case count to 25,436, reports ANI. The toll in the state stands at 348.
8.02 pm: Punjab registers 2,110 new coronavirus cases and 61 deaths on Monday, taking state tally to 65,583 and toll to 1,923, reports ANI, citing the state government.
7.53 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announces certain relaxations in lockdown in urban areas, including the opening of non-essential stores on Saturdays and relaxation in their time from Monday to Saturday till 9 pm, reports ANI, citing the CMO.
“Night curfew will be in place in all cities/towns now from 9.30 pm to 5 am, as per revised decision,” the order reads. “Hotels and restaurants will be allowed to remain open on all days, till 9 pm, after which home delivery of food will be allowed, as per revised guidelines.”
6.55 pm: Legislators in the Maharashtra Assembly on Monday pulled down their masks while speaking during the first day of the monsoon session, citing discomfort, PTI reports.
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zhirwal had asked MLAs to put on masks. But Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said exhaled breath condenses on spectacles while wearing a mask, which blocks vision while reading. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also pulled down his mask, saying he was finding it difficult to speak.
6.44 pm: The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association office in New Delhi has been shut down after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus, and came to work without a “negative” certificate, PTI reports. “It has come to my notice that there has been a COVID-19 positive case in DDCA today,” DDCA Joint Secretary Rajan Manchanda says in an email. “Please shut down the club with immediate effect till further orders and please ensure sanitisation of the entire club premises as soon as possible.” Instructions have also been given to shut down the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, where the office is located.
6.41 pm: Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh records 171 new coronavirus cases, pushing the district’s infection tally to 8,906. The number of active cases is 1,520.
6.32 pm: The Rashtravadi Janata Party has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking that it order the Election Commission to postpone the Bihar Assembly polls, ANI reports. The election, scheduled for October-November, should be held in March 2021, the plea says.
6.27 pm: The Delhi government says it has done 7,804 RT-PCR coronavirus tests today, ANI reports. As many as 15,150 rapid antigen tests have been carried out.
6.22 pm: Delhi has recorded 2,077 new Covid-19 cases. As many as 2,411 individuals have recovered and 32 have died.
5.08 pm: Britain is working to reduce the 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from other countries, including Spain and France, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says, according to Reuters.
4.56 pm: Andaman and Nicobar Islands records 40 new coronavirus on Monday, taking its tally to 3,332. The Union territory’s toll stands at 50.
4.50 pm: Congress Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asks the Centre how it plans to stop the alarming spread of the coronavirus in the country. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi must answer the nation on the strategy ahead,” he says. “Will Modi ji answer for his failed leadership? How will the government stop the alarming rise in cases? How will they restore the sinking economy?”
3.32 pm: United Kingdom Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the rise in coronavirus cases in the country is concerning but not out of control, Reuters reports. UK reported 2,988 new cases on Sunday – its highest since May.
3.27 pm: Singapore reports 22 new coronavirus cases on Monday – its lowest daily count since mid-March, according to Reuters.
3.25 pm: The Jawaharlal Nehru University will hold a virtual convocation in November in view of the coronavirus crisis, according to ANI.
3.20 pm: Delhi metro says train operations from 7 am to 11 am were smooth and 7,500 passengers travelled on the first day of the resumption of services, ANI reports.
1.28 pm: Sikkim’s Covid-19 toll rises to six on Monday, PTI reports. The state has reported 1,910 cases so far.
1.15 pm: Attorney General of India KK Venugopal goes into self-isolation after his colleague tests positive for the coronavirus, Live Law reports.
1.10 pm: Karnataka Minister for Medical Education Sudhakar K says that he has called a meeting of experts to discuss the case of Covid-19 reinfection in Bengaluru, ANI reports.
Also read: Coronavirus reinfection: Bengaluru woman tests positive again in a month, says private hospital
12.25 pm: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the country expects to receive its first batches of a potential coronavirus vaccine by January, reports Reuters. Pharmaceutical company CSL Ltd has agreed to manufacture a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University if trials prove successful.
“Australia needs some hope,” Morrison tells reporters.
12.16 pm: BJP President JP Nadda says Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led from the front in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI. Nadda is addressing Jharkhand BJP state executive meeting via video conference.
12.08 pm: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacks the Narendra Modi government over India ranking second globally in terms of the coronavirus count.
“BJP government’s claims have been exposed with India becoming number 2 in the world in corona cases,” he tweets. “The government took public data from the Arogya Setu but it failed to control spread of coronavirus. The truth of the BJP’s event management drama of ‘thali, tali’ and lighting diyas is also in front of the public.”
11.26 am: An undertrial prisoner died in the district jail from the coronavirus in the Banda District Jail in Uttar Pradesh, PTI reports. He had tested positive for the virus on September 1.
11.24 am: Kochi Metro resumed services on Monday from 7 am, following necessary measures against Covid-19, ANI reports. The first train departed with only five passengers from Aluva station to Thykoodam.
11.22 am: Telangana registers 1,802 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,42,771, while nine more deaths push the toll to 895, PTI reports.
11.19 am: Rajasthan registers 722 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the state’s overall count to 91,678, ANI reports. The toll from the disease stands at 1,147.
10.58 am: Arunachal Pradesh’s coronavirus tally rises to 5,000 as 86 more people, including 11 security personnel, test positive, according to PTI.
10.51 am: Honduran Finance Minister Marco Midence says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports Reuters. Midence was appointed as the finance minister on August 20.
10.47 am: Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar records two more coronavirus fatalities, taking the toll in the district to 33, according to PTI. The number of active cases in the district has risen to 899.
10.45 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expresses happiness as Metro services resume in the city, but says that there should be no negligence in following precautions against the coronavirus.
10.44 am: The United Nations Children’s Fund has announced that it will lead the procurement and supply of coronavirus vaccines to ensure that all countries have safe, fast and equitable access to initial doses when they are available, reports PTI.
10.40 am: A total of 4,95,51,507 samples have been tested up to Sunday, says the Indian Council of Medical Research. Of these, 7,20,362 samples were tested on Sunday.
10.05 am: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are the five worst-affected states in India due to the coronavirus pandemic.
10 am: West Bengal observes complete lockdown today to rein in the coronavirus pandemic.
9.38 am: India reports a record single-day increase with 90,802 new cases, taking its tally to 42,04,614. The toll has risen by 1,016 to 71,642. As many as 32,50,429 people have recovered from the disease so far.
9.17 am: Visuals of Bengaluru Metro and Lucknow Metro resuming service.
9.15 am: More than 200 United Nations staff members have been infected by the coronavirus in Syria, reports Reuters.
9.09 am: Odisha recorded its highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases on Sunday with 3,810 new infections, reports PTI. The state’s tally has risen to 1,24,031. With eight fatalities, the toll is at 546.
8.29 am: Delhi Metro tweets pictures of passengers as metro services on the Yellow Line resume.
8.23 am: Railways will operate 13 special trains in Tamil Nadu from Monday, as the state government eased restrictions on the lockdown enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19, ANI reports.
8.21 am: Metro rail services begin in select cities of the country today, more than five months after it was stopped. Only asymptomatic people are allowed to board trains, which will not be operating in containment zones. Masks are mandatory and passengers will have to undergo thermal screening at stations.
8.09 pm: Here are the top updates from Sunday:
- Andhra Pradesh registered 10,794 new infections and 70 deaths in 24 hours, reported ANI, citing a health ministry bulletin. The total number of cases in the state rose to 4,98,125 and the toll from the disease stood at 4,417. Delhi’s tally touched 1,91,449, with 3,256 new cases reported in 24 hours. The toll rose by 29 to 4,567.
- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has informed the Supreme Court that tickets booked by passengers between March 25 to May 3 for domestic and international air travel will be fully refunded within 15 days.
- A 27-year-old woman in Bengaluru was infected a second time with the coronavirus, a month after her first bout, the Fortis Hospital said. Doctors claimed this was the first documented case of reinfection in Karnataka.
- Actor Arjun Kapoor announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19. In an Instagram post, the actor said that he was “feeling okay” and is asymptomatic.
- Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Issac has tested positive, his office has confirmed. Congress leader from Haryana Deepender Singh Hooda has tested positive for Covid-19.
- An ambulance driver has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman who had tested positive for Covid-19 while taking her to a hospital in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.
- Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has been in Pune for the past three days, engaged in meetings with district and health authorities, to discuss measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, reported NDTV. The Pune district is now the worst-hit in Maharashtra and the Union health ministry raised an alert on Saturday that it was one of 11 “districts of concern”.