Top 10 coronavirus updates: Kerala reports 11,755 new cases, health minister says peak still away
A look at the biggest developments of the day.
- India’s coronavirus count rose to 69,79,423 on Saturday as the country reported 73,272 new cases in the last 24 hours. The toll rose by 926 to 1,07,416. There are 8,83,185 active cases in the country. The recovery rate stood at 85.52%.
- Kerala recorded its biggest one-day rise of 11,755 new cases, taking its tally to 2,77,855. The state’s toll rose by 23 to 978. Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja, however, said that the state’s peak had not arrived yet. “Daily numbers could peak around 20,000,” she told the The Indian Express. “Our effort is to keep it below 15,000 a day. We hope that by November, these numbers would begin to decline.”
- The number of new cases remained lower than the number of recoveries for the seventh straight day, The Indian Express reported, citing government data. This is the longest period that new cases have remained lower than the recovered cases.
- Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech, which had sought permission from the Drugs Controller General of India to conduct phase three clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, was asked to submit complete safety and immunogenicity data of the ongoing phase two trial before starting the third phase.
- Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that coronavirus patients admitted at North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run Hindu Rao Hospital will be moved to government-run facilities as resident doctors and staff of the former have threatened to go on strike over non-payment of salaries for the last three months.
- The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it was not possible to provide more relief to different sectors affected by the coronavirus crisis, adding that “courts should not interfere in fiscal policy. The government made the statement in an affidavit on the loan moratorium case.
- The Dalai Lama said that the world must make efforts to avert another pandemic in the future. He lauded frontline health workers for their fight in tackling the health crisis.
- A case was filed against Biju Janata Dal MLA Umakanta Samantray in Odisha’s Puri city after he attended the funeral of a party colleague despite testing positive for the coronavirus. He later apologised for his action.
- Japan and Vietnam governments will now allow short-term business travel between their countries, with an aim to boost their economies amid the coronavirus crisis.
- The global coronavirus count reached 3,69,51,286 while the toll went up to 10,69,194, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of recoveries crossed 2.56 crore.