Coronavirus still here, must not let situation worsen during festival season, says Modi
India on Tuesday registered under 50,000 new cases, lowest single-day rise since end of July.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address to the country on Tuesday, said that people must not forget that the coronavirus has not gone, though the lockdown has been removed.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava on Tuesday said that there is a possibility of coronavirus reinfection if antibodies reduce in five months.
India’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 75,97,063 with 46,790 new infections in 24 hours. This is the lowest single-day jump in fresh cases since the end of July. On July 23, India had recorded 45,720 cases in one day. The country’s toll, meanwhile, rose by 587 to 1,15,197.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 4.03 crore people and killed 11,17,470, according to Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide recoveries have crossed 2.76 crore.
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.
Here are the day’s top updates.
11.02 pm: Delhi’s tally rises to 3,36,750 on Tuesday as it reports 3,579 new cases. The Capital’s toll rises by 41 to 6,081.
11.00 pm: Maharashtra reports 8,151 new cases, which take its tally to 16,09,516. The toll is at 42,453.
10.57 pm: Schools in Andhra Pradesh will reopen from November 2, The Times of India reports. Classes will be held on alternate days for all grades.
6.56 pm: Kerala records 6,591 infections on Tuesday, ANI reports. The state’s active cases stand at 91,922 while the recoveries reach 2,60,243. Kerala’s toll is at 1,206.
6.54 pm: Tamil Nadu’s coronavirus tally rises to 6,94,030 on Tuesday as it reports 3,094 new cases. The state’s toll rises by 50 to 10,741.
6.53 pm: Mizoram records no new cases on Tuesday, ANI reports.
6.26 pm: The prime minister says that India has come a long way since the imposition of the ‘janata curfew’. “With time, economic activities are also picking up,” he adds.
6.25 pm: Modi adds that various versions of vaccines are being developed in India.
6.22 pm: Modi says that the government is working on how to bring the vaccine to all the citizens in a speedy way.
6.21 pm: The prime minister says that even slight carelessness can sabotage India’s progress. “Going through a difficult time, we are moving forward, a little carelessness can stop our movement and spoil our happiness,” he says. “Taking care of responsibilities and vigilance will go hand in hand, only then will happiness remain in life.”
6.19 pm: Modi emphasises on the “do-gaz doori” or six-feet distance. He urges people to observe proper hygiene.
6.17 pm: The prime minister praises the health workers. “Our doctors and health workers have served such a huge population,” Modi says. He adds that India will soon cross 10 crore coronavirus tests. He says that testing has been an important asset in the fight against the crisis.
6.14 pm: Modi says India is doing better than several other countries. “The fatality rate in India is 83 out of every 10 Lakh population,” he says. “It is more than 600 in US, Brazil, Spain, Britain. We have over 90 lakh beds and 2,000 labs.”
6.12 pm: The prime minister urges the media to help create awareness about the crisis.
6.11 pm: “I want to see you and your families safe,” Modi says. “I want the festive season to be a happy one for you.”
6.08 pm: Modi says that the fight against the coronavirus cannot weaken unless a vaccine is developed.
6.06 pm: “If you are stepping out without a mask, you are endangering the children and the elderly in your family,” Modi says.
6.05 pm: Modi says that this is not the time to be careless. “We cannot believe that coronavirus has gone and the danger has subsided.”
6.03 pm: The prime minister stresses on the need to keep maintain the progress that India has achieved in slowing down the coronavirus.
6.02 pm: Modi asks the citizens to not forget that the virus has not gone, though the lockdown has been removed.
5.56 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his address to the country.
5.51 pm: The number of coronavirus patients under home isolation in Delhi has increased by a margin of 1,804 in the last six days, PTI reports, citing government data. Experts say pollution levels, opening of movie halls and increased activity ahead of festivals could be the reason.
5.48 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 2,351 new cases on Tuesday, which push the state’s tally to 4,59,154, PTI reports. UP’s toll rises by 30 to 6,714.
5.16 pm: The Union health ministry says India’s cumulative, weekly and daily positivity rates stands at 7.90%, 6.0% and 4.5%, respectively. It adds that the active cases are 9.8% of total cases.
5.09 pm: Bhargava adds that drugs studied under the World Health Organization’s “Solidarity trial” have not been performing as well as expected.
5.06 pm: Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava says there is a possibility of coronavirus reinfection if antibodies reduce in any person in five months, ANI reports. “That is why it is important to wear mask and take precautions even if one was infected earlier,” he adds.
4.20 pm: Union health ministry says six states – Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh – account for 64% of India’s active Covid-19 case tally, reports ANI.
4.14 pm: Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says India has the highest number of coronavirus recovered cases in the world, according to ANI. Bhushan says that the country is second in terms of the number of tests conducted. He adds that India has recorded 310 cases per million in the last seven days, which is among the lowest on a global scale.
4.07 pm: The number of coronavirus containment zones in Chennai falls down to 29, reports The Hindu. There were over 70 containment zones in the city after the Greater Chennai Corporation resumed barricading streets in the first week of October after Covid-19 cases started surging.
4.03 pm: Delhi health department writes to hospitals and district authorities to alert them about co-infections of the coronavirus with other seasonal ailments and implement guidelines on it issued by the Union health ministry, according to PTI.
4.00 pm: Senior Communist leader Maruti Manpade dies in Solapur, Maharashtra, reports The Hindu. He was admitted to a hospital last week after he tested positive for Covid-19.
3.55 pm: Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE announce that they are starting the combined phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of their mRNA coronavirus vaccine candidate in Japan, reports Reuters. The study will recruit 160 people aged 20 to 85.
3.49 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says he reviewed the coronavirus management aspects of his constituency Wayanad. He also accused the state and central governments of playing a blame-game amid a rise in infection. “It’s critical this stops and everyone focuses on defeating Covid,” he says.
3.41 pm: The coronavirus tally for Andaman and Nicobar Islands rises to 4,126 after 18 people test positive for the infection, PTI reports, citing a health official. The toll stands at 56.
1.08 pm: The ministry adds that the percentage of active cases have fallen below 10%.
1.07 pm: The health ministry says 78% of the new recovered cases are from 10 states and Union Territories and 75% of the new confirmed cases are from 10 states and UTs. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala contribute more than 5,000 to the new confirmed cases.
1.03 pm: Officials seal an outlet of “Kumaran Silks” in Thiyagaraya Nagar after a video shows a huge crowd inside the shop.
1.02 pm: Odisha’s reports 1,904 new cases and 16 additional deaths. This is the second day the state has registered less than 2,000 fresh infections after more than two months.
1.01 pm: The Delhi High Court observes that its blanket order extending interim bails and paroles to prisoners in view of the pandemic must stop now, reports PTI. The court adds that the number of infected persons in jails in the Capital was only three.
“Let us bring to an end the Covid chapter,” says the court. “Let these people surrender or go back to jail. We passed the order in view of the pandemic. Our order has nothing to do with overcrowding of the jails. The Covid chapter is over. The other reasons for grant or extension of bail and parole can continue. We will go back to the situation that prevailed in January-February this year.”
10.43 am: Telangana registered 1,486 coronavirus cases and seven deaths on Monday, taking the state’s tally to 2,24,545, and the toll to 1,282, ANI reports.
10.40 am: The German government says it is investing $488 million in improving ventilation systems in public buildings to help stop the spread of coronavirus, BBC reports. The grants will go to improve the air circulation in public offices, museums, theatres, universities and schools.
10.35 am: Argentina becomes the fifth country in the world to record one million (10 lakh) confirmed coronavirus cases, BBC reports. The country reported 12,982 cases in 24 hours on Tuesday, pushing its tally to 10,02,662. The toll rises by 451 to 26,716.
10.29 am: A nursing officer at a government medical college in Kochi, Kerala, has been suspended for negligence during duty in a covid ward of the hospital, The Indian Express reports.
The incident came to the fore after an audio clip, sent by the officer to her colleagues, revealed that a patient died gasping for oxygen because the ventilator was not inserted properly. In the purported clip, the officer can be heard admitting that several others could have been killed due to negligence.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the issue is a “serious one” and “would dent the image of the state’s health sector”.
10.26 am: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi reports its first coronavirus disease-induced brain nerve damage in a 11-year-old girl, which led to her blurred vision, the Hindustan Times reports.
“We have found Covid-19 infection-induced Acute Demyelinating Syndrome in an 11-year-old girl. This is the first case that has been reported in the paediatric age group,” says a draft report prepared by the hospital’s child neurology division.
10.22 am: The health ministry says the five states most affected by the coronavirus pandemic have seen various stages of decline in the number of Covid-19 cases over the past month. These states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
10.20 am: Microsoft founder Bill Gates said India’s research and manufacturing will be critical to fighting Covid-19 especially for making vaccines on a large scale, PTI reports.
Gates said India is “very inspiring” as it has made huge strides in improving the health of its people in the last two decades. “And now, India’s research and manufacturing will be critical to fighting COVID-19 especially when it comes to making vaccines at large scale,” he said at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020.
10.01 am: India’s tally of coronavirus cases rises to 75,97,063 on Tuesday with 46,790 new cases in 24 hours. The country’s toll climbs up by 587 to 1,15,197. India’s active cases stand at 7,48,538, while the recoveries reach 67,33,328. The recovery rate is 88.63% and the mortality rate is 1.52%.
8.59 am: Bihar’s toll from the coronavirus breached the 1,000-mark on Monday, after seven more patients succumbed to the disease, PTI reports. The state’s tally of infections rose by 912 to 2,05,123.
8.58 am: Odisha reported 1,982 new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing the state’s tally to 2,70,346, PTI reports. The toll rises by 17 to 1,152.
8.55 am: Israel announced it will begin human trials of its vaccine against coronavirus by the end of October, PTI reports. The vaccine named “Brilife”, is being developed by the Israel Institute of Biological Research that was established in 1952 as part of the Israel Defence Forces’ Science Corps, and later became a civilian organisation.
8.51 am: United States President Donald Trump on Monday claimed people were tired of hearing from “Anthony Fauci and all these idiots”, a day after the top infectious disease expert said he was “absolutely not surprised” that Trump contracted the coronavirus as he held large events with few face coverings, AP reports. Trump called Fauci a “disaster”.
8.50 am: A study by Britain’s Oxford University has found that a large number of coronavirus patients, who have been discharged from hospital, experience symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, depression and anxiety two to three months after contracting the infection, Reuters reported on Monday.
Also read
Coronavirus: Patients show symptoms months after contracting infection, says Oxford study
8.47 am: A central government committee on Monday said that at least half of India’s population is likely to have been infected with the coronavirus by next February.
Also read
Coronavirus: 50% of Indians may have had infection by February, Centre’s panel estimates