Coronavirus Case and Fatality Rate in India, Coronavirus Third Wave, Covid R-Value, Today September 5 News Highlights: It has happened! After the consistent surge in the active Covid-19 cases, India on Saturday crossed the critical 4-lakh mark. While the number of new infections is still at moderate levels, it is the consistency that has sent the alarm bells ringing. Along with this, the crucial R-factor has also breached the existing mark. At 1.17, the R-factor value is much higher than what we saw almost three weeks back when the Centre and other health experts had warned about the impending third wave.
We should also keep in mind other vector-borne diseases and viral infections, and flu which are prevalent at this time of the year. The situation is worrisome in Uttar Pradesh. There is no clarity of the mystery fever, while many maintain that it is dengue. The problem with this scenario is that in case a person is feeling feverish or complains of general flu-like symptoms, the immediate response is not about Covid but that of dengue or malaria. In some cases, this might be true also, but the consensus of being vigilant about the novel coronavirus has somewhat taken a backseat. India is almost in the total unlock stage barring few regional curbs. While we agree that lockdowns are not a permanent solution to this, but a societal change must come from within. In terms of daily caseloads, Kerala Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, and Mizoram are showing the continued surge. These are the same states that have an R-factor value of more than 1.
However, a positive ray of hope continues to be the vaccination drive across the country. India’s cumulative number of administration of doses crossed 67.72 crore as of Saturday. The vaccination drive, on the other hand, has led to more states opening up their borders for tourism, allowing either tourists who have been vaccinated or those who get a negative RT-PCR test to enter their states. While the move is required to revive the economies of the states as well as the tourism industry, it can also pose problems in the prevention of a threatening third wave.
India reported 42,766 new Coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its overall Covid-19 tally to 3,29,88,673, while active cases rose for a fifth consecutive day, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. With 308 new fatalities, The Covid-19 death toll has climbed to 4,40,533. The number of active Covid-19 cases in the country has increased to 4,10,048, and now comprises 1.24 per cent of the total infections, the health ministry said.
As India battles the invisible enemy, here are state-wise Covid updates from the country and around the world:
West Bengal reports 707 new COVID cases, 723 recoveries, and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 8,652
Total recoveries: 15,24,917
Death toll: 18,502 (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh reports 96 fresh COVID-19 cases, 219 recoveries and two deaths today.
Active cases: 1,633
Total cases: 2,14,504
Death toll: 3,595 (ANI)
A total of 8,326 people were administered COVID-19 vaccine in the national capital on Sunday, according to data on CoWin portal. The number was low as all government vaccination centres remain closed on Sundays.
According to the Delhi government’s vaccine bulletin, which reports figures from the previous day, a total of 1,68,283 people were administered the vaccine on Saturday. On Saturday, 1,02,822 beneficiaries received the first dose and 65,461 the second dose.
A total of 84,365 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received their first shots on Saturday, while 47,256 in the same group were given the second shot. After Sunday’s vaccination, the city has administered 1,41,04,279 vaccine doses, of which 1,00,43,321 were first doses and 40,60,958 were second doses.
The national capital has a stock of 7,02,870 Covishield and 1,61,459 Covaxin jabs. The vaccine stock is expected to last another six days. (PTI)
Maharashtra: Mumbai reports 496 fresh COVID cases, 237 recoveries, and 2 deaths
Active cases: 3,815
Total recoveries: 7,24,077
Death toll: 15,993 (ANI)
Maharashtra’s Covid tally rises to 64,86,174 with 4,057 fresh cases, 67 more fatalities push death toll to 1,37,774; recoveries surge to 62,94,767: Health Department (PTI)
Haryana’s Covid tally rose to 7,70,557 on Sunday with 14 fresh cases, while the death toll remained at 9,683 as no new fatality was reported in the past 24 hours, a health bulletin said.
Of the fresh cases, five were reported from Faridabad district, among others.
There are 287 active cases in the state, while 7,60,243 people have recovered from the infection so far. The recovery rate was 98.66 per cent, the bulletin said. (PTI)
Gujarat on Sunday reported 14 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 8,25,490, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,082, an official said. The discharge of 16 people from hospitals took the recovery count to 8,15,262, leaving the state with 146 active cases, he informed.
Vadodara and Surat reported five cases each, and one case each was witnessed in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar and Navsari. A government release said 4,80,410 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Sunday, which increased the number of doses administered so far in Gujarat to 4,91,03,453.
The COVID-19 tally in neighbouring Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu remained unchanged at 10,637 on Sunday, while the discharge of three people took the recovery count to 10,631, leaving the Union Territory, which has seen four deaths so far, with an active caseload of two.
Gujarat’s COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 8,25,490, new cases 14, death toll 10,082, discharged 8,15,262, active cases 146, people tested so far – figures not released. (PTI)
Telangana’s Covid tally rises to 6,59,543 with 230 fresh cases, death toll reaches 3,884 after one more person succumbs to the disease; recoveries surge to 6,50,114: Health bulletin (PTI)
Three more people tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan on Sunday, taking the state’s infection tally to 9,54,129, according to a medical bulletin.
So far, 8,954 people have died from the infection in the state since its outbreak last year. The fresh cases were reported from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ganganagar.
The number of active cases also came down to 82 in the state. So far, 9,45,093 people have recovered from the disease in the state. (PTI)
Kerala on Sunday reported 26,701 fresh COVID-19 cases and 74 deaths pushing the total infection count to 42,07838 and the fatalities till date to 21,496, the state government said.
The test positivity rate (TPR) was found to be 17.17 per cent after testing 1,55,543 samples in the last 24 hours, according to a state government release. With this, 3,23,90,313 samples have been tested till now, it said.
The bulletin also said that since Saturday, 28,900 people have recovered from the infection taking the total recoveries to 39,37,996 and the number of active cases to 2,47,791.
Among the 14 districts of the state, Kozhikode recorded the highest number of cases with 3,366 followed by Thrissur (3,214), Ernakulam (2,915), Malappuram (2,568), Palakkad (2,373), Kollam (2,368), Thiruvananthapuram (2,103), Kottayam (1,662), Alappuzha (1,655), Kannur (1,356), Idukki (1,001) and Pathanamthitta (947), the release said.
Of the new cases, 78 were health workers, 96 from outside the state and 25,481 infected through contact with the source of the contact not being clear in 1,046 cases, the release said.
There are currently 6,24,301 people under surveillance in various districts. Of these, 5,91,061 are in home or institutional quarantine and 33,240 in hospitals. (PTI)
Kerala reports 26,701 new COVID-19 cases, 28,900 recoveries and 74 deaths.
Active cases: 2,47,791
Total recoveries: 39,37,996
Death toll: 21,496
Test positivity rate is 17.17% in the state (ANI)
Punjab: 98 Pakistani Hindus, who came to India on pilgrimage 1.5 years ago & got stranded due to COVID restrictions, returned via Attari-Wagah border today
“We were scheduled to return on Sept 3 but were turned back as they didn’t have RT-PCR test report,” says protocol officer (ANI)
Three more people tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan on Sunday, taking the state’s infection tally to 9,54,129, according to a medical bulletin.
So far, 8,954 people have died from the infection in the state since its outbreak last year. The fresh cases were reported from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ganganagar.
The number of active cases also came down to 82 in the state. So far, 9,45,093 people have recovered from the disease in the state. (PTI)
Goa’s coronavirus caseload went up by 72 to reach 1,74,419 on Sunday, while the death of five patients took the fatality count to 3,208, a state health department official said. A total of 89 patients recuperated from the infection during the day, which pushed the state’s recovery figure to 1,70,311.
There are 900 active cases of coronavirus in Goa at present, the official said. “As 5,374 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours for COVID-19 detection, the overall test count of the coastal state grew to 12,36,809,” he added.
Goa’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,74,419, new cases 72, death toll 3,208, discharged 1,70,311, active cases 900, samples tested till date 12,36,809. (PTI)
Jammu & Kashmir Govt allows reopening of schools for Class 12 for vaccinated students & staff, with 50% capacity; permits DCs to allow reopening of schools for Class 10 after COVID test; also allows coaching centres for civil services/JEE/NEET to reopen with certain conditions (ANI)
Ten bulls charged through the streets of Villaseca de la Sagra on Sunday in pursuit of hundreds of runners as the first bull running fiesta was held in Spain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Villages and towns across Spain hold the fiestas but they were prohibited last year as the country brought in tough health restrictions.
Opposition to them has increased in recent years as Spanish society remains divided over the controversial issue of using bulls for sport. No-one was injured during the country’s first run, in this village of 1,700 inhabitants which is 65 km (41 miles) south of Madrid.In order to comply with health restrictions, up to 900 runners were allowed to run ahead of the bulls each day during the festival between Sept 5-12, the council said, while the crowd was limited to 1,300 people per run.
“We were very excited. There were plenty of controls. If people respect restrictions, we can do this all over Spain,” said Fernando Dominguez, 45, a market worker from Madrid.
A 2020 poll, published by the survey company Electomania, found that 47% Spaniards backed banning bullfighting while 18.6% opposed prohibition and 37% opposed bullfighting but did not want it to be banned. Bullfights take place after bull runs and also as stand-alone events. (Reuters)
Delhi recorded 30 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, while no fresh death due to the infection was recorded for the fifth consecutive day, according to data shared by the health department.
This is also the 24th time since the start of the second wave in the national capital that zero fatality has been reported in a day. The second wave swept Delhi during April-May.
A total of 65,365 COVID-19 tests, including 45,500 RT-PCR ones, were conducted the previous day, the bulletin on Sunday stated. So far, over 14.12 lakh patients have recovered from COVID-19 in Delhi, it said. The number of active cases in the city declined to 351 from 362 the day before, it added. (PTI)
No processions will be allowed. Only eco-friendly Ganesha idols will be allowed. Distribution of food & prasad will not be allowed during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. No function to take place in districts with more than 2% positivity rate: Karnataka govt (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh reports 1,623 new #COVID19 cases, 1,340 recoveries, and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 15,158
Total recoveries: 19,92,256
Death toll: 13,911 (ANI)
British vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday said a decision had not yet been taken on whether healthy children aged 12- to 15-years-old should be vaccinated against COVID-19, following reports that a rollout could begin in the coming days. Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on Friday declined to recommend vaccinations for children in that group, taking a precautionary approach due to a rare risk of heart inflammation, but adding the issue was finely balanced. The government is consulting medical advisers to seek advice on wider considerations, such as the impact on schools, and may still give the go-ahead to broad vaccination of the age group. Some newspapers reported confidence among ministers that the chief medical officers would swiftly back shots for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds, but Zahawi said the government would not prejudge the decision. “No decision will be made until we hear back from the chief medical officers,” Zahawi told the BBC. (Reuters)
Days after suing to block what is believed to be among the nation’s strictest COVID-19 employee vaccine mandates, Washington’s largest state labor union has announced a tentative agreement for Gov. Jay Inslee’s order for state workers. The Northwest News Network reports the Washington Federation of State Employees has negotiated terms for Inslee’s mandate that all 46,000 of its union members be fully vaccinated by October 18 or lose their jobs. The new agreement, which still needs to be ratified, was announced Saturday and defines the exceptions and religious and medical exemptions process for employees who can’t or won’t get their shots. (AP)
The Haryana government on Sunday directed vice-chancellors of residential universities to continue conducting online classes till October 15, modifying its earlier order to plan the reopening of institutes from the upcoming academic session. COVID-19 induced curbs in the state were extended for a fortnight with the relaxations permitted earlier allowed to continue. “The Mahamari Alert-Surakshit Haryana is extended for another fortnight, that is from September 6 (5 am onwards) to September 20 (till 5 am), along with guidelines to be implemented during this period issued vide earlier orders,” an order by Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan on Sunday stated. However, making some modifications in earlier orders, it stated that vice-chancellors of residential universities in the state are directed to continue conducting classes online till October 15. A decision to allow students to attend classes physically in residential universities shall be taken on October 15 after assessing the prevalent Covid situation, it stated. Meanwhile, university administrations may strive to ensure to get all students, faculty members and staff, including the outsourced ones, fully vaccinated and share the progress with the Department of Higher Education, Technical Education and Medical Education and Research, as the case may be, the order stated. (PTI)
India coach Ravi Shastri has tested positive for COVID-19 but the team have been cleared to continue with the ongoing fourth test against England at The Oval, the touring side said in a statement on Sunday. Bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel are also isolating “as a precautionary measure after Mr Shastri’s lateral flow test returned positive last evening”, the statement said minutes before the start of the fourth day’s play. The players have since undergone two lateral flow tests — on Saturday night and on Sunday morning. “The members upon returning negative COVID reports were allowed to proceed for Day 4 of the ongoing fourth test at The Oval,” the statement added. The five-test series is level at 1-1. (Reuters)
The death of a 12-year-old boy on Sunday due to Nipah virus infection has sparked fear of another outbreak in Kerala, a state still struggling with continuous Covid surge. The boy had symptoms of both encephalitis and myocarditis. His samples were tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, which returned positive for the virus. The Centre has already announced that it was sending a team to Kerala to support the state’s public health measures. READ FULL STORY
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the state will be based on the availability of oxygen and it was “up to the people to prevent or invite a ‘third wave’ of the pandemic”. Inaugurating a virtual medical conference, Thackeray asked political parties to refrain from indulging in politics and demanding reopening of places where crowds cannot be avoided. Medical practitioners from various parts of the state as well as state COVID-19 task force members attended the virtual conference. “Don’t play with the lives of people. Hold agitations, but against COVID-19. It is up to us to prevent a third wave or invite it,” the chief minister said. He claimed Maharashtra is the only state which has upgraded its health infrastructure to tackle the pandemic “like no other country has done”. “We are only falling short of oxygen production, which takes a little longer. At present, our daily oxygen production is around 1,200 to 1,300 metric tonne which is used for industrial as well as medical purposes. For the industrial purpose, oxygen is required in steel, glass and pharma sectors. We need 150 metric tonne daily for non-COVID-19 patients and 200 metric tonne for COVID-19 patients,” he said. (PTI)
Russia’s coronavirus cases tally hit 7 million on Sunday, with the country reporting 18,645 new infections in the past 24 hours and 793 more deaths. The latest figures took the total number of cases to 7,012,599, with the overall death toll at 187,200. Russia’s state statistics service Rosstat keeps a separate count and said in August that 365,000 people died from COVID-19 or related caused between April last year and last July. The number of excess deaths, which some epidemiologists say is the best way to measure the death toll during a pandemic, reached 528,000 in July, Rosstat data showed. (Reuters)
Two major coastal districts in Odisha — Khurda and Cuttack — have accounted for 55 per cent of the COVID-19 cases detected on Sunday, a health department official said. least 805 more people have tested positive for the infection, of which 346 are from Khurda district, which comprises state capital Bhubaneswar, and 98 from Cuttack, the official said. With the detection of the fresh cases, the state’s COVID-19 tally rose to 10,11,558, while seven more fatalities pushed the toll to 8,047, he said. Two deaths each were recorded in Angul and Balasore and one each succumbed to the infection in the districts of Bhadrak, Cuttack and Khurda. Since the outbreak of viral disease, both Khurda and Cuttack have accounted for 25 per cent of the state’s caseload. “As Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are the state’s main political, educational and commercial hubs, many people across Odisha visit these places frequently. That has led to the surge in numbers in these two places,” said CBK Mohanty, the chief of the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET). Khurda is currently the lone district in the state which comes under ‘Red Zone’ with 2,782 active cases. The place has also registered maximum fatalities at 1,465. Of the 805 new patients, 131 are children and adolescents, according to the health department. (PTI)
The Union Territory of Puducherry reported 103 new COVID-19 cases and one more death on Sunday, taking the overall tally to 1,24,152 and the toll to 1,817. Puducherry recorded the maximum of 54 cases, followed by Karaikal 21, Mahe 15 and Yanam 13, Director of the Health Department G Sriramulu said. Active cases stood at 961, of whom 166 were in hospitals and the others, in home isolation. (PTI)
China administered around 8.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on Sept. 4, bringing the accumulated total to 2.1004 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed on Sunday. (Reuters)
Ladakh’s COVID-19 tally increased to 20,578 with three fresh cases, while the active caseload came down to 59 as 13 more patients recovered from the disease, officials said on Sunday. All the fresh cases were reported from Leh district, they said. So far, Ladakh has recorded 207 Covid-related deaths — 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil. Seven patients were discharged from hospitals in Leh after recovering from COVID-19 and six in Kargil the previous day. With this, 20,312 patients have recovered till date in Ladakh, the officials said. Of the 59 active cases in the union territory, 47 are in Leh and 12 in Kargil, they said. (PTI)
New Zealand reported 20 local COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the same as in previous day, giving authorities more confidence that they are gaining a winning hand over the current outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant. Officials said all the new cases were in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city and the epicentre of the outbreak. Daily case numbers have been declining over the past week, with the community outbreak now standing at 801 infections. “The ongoing fall in numbers is proving that alert level 4 in Auckland and our public health measures are rapidly slowing the spread of the virus, however it is not through yet and we need to remain extra vigilant,” Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a televised briefing. (Reuters)
Japan will issue online COVID-19 vaccination certificates from December, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday. The government plans to issue the certificates – which will be intended for overseas travel rather than domestic use – via a QR scan code through a smartphone app from around mid-December, the Nikkei said, without citing sources. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other cabinet members are slated on Monday for a council meeting on the promotion of a digital society where they will decide on the government’s
policy for digital vaccine passports, the report said. (Reuters)
The COVID-19 recovery rate in Arunachal Pradesh improved to 98.07 per cent after 114 people were discharged in a single day, a senior health department official said on Sunday. The northeastern state now has 762 active cases, and a total of 52,276 patients have so far recovered from the disease, he said. The Capital Complex Region – comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas – has the highest number of active cases at 143, followed by Lower Subansiri (104), West Kameng (52) and Lower Dibang Valley (50). Arunachal Pradesh’s coronavirus tally rose to 53,302 with 85 fresh infections, while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 264, the official said. (PTI)
Australia reported 1,684 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday as authorities race ahead with vaccinations in a bid to end lockdowns on the populous southeast coast in the hope of making Christmas as close to normal as possible. More than 15 million people in Victoria state, neighbouring New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory have been under stay-at-home orders as officials struggle to quell Australia’s worst wave of the coronavirus infections, driven by the Delta variant. New South Wales reported 1,485 cases of Delta and three further deaths on Sunday. Victoria had 183 new cases, while the Australian Capital Territory had 15. There was also one new infection reported in Queensland, which is not under a lockdown. The lockdowns, which keep borders between states and territories closed, are part of a federally advised strategy to manage the outbreaks until at least 70% of those aged 16 and older get fully vaccinated. The plan envisages that Australia might start reopening its international border, closed since March 2020, when 80% of people get their shots. ‘When we get those vaccination rates, life will look better and feel better and we certainly will not have to have a state-wide lockdown ever again when we hit the 80% double dose vaccination rates,’ said Gladys Berejiklian, premier of New South Wales. Only about 37% of eligible people have been vaccinated nationwide, due to the scarce supply of the Pfizer vaccine and public unease about the AstraZeneca shot. (Reuters)
Over 66.89 crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs so far, with more than 1.56 crore doses in the pipeline. More than 4.37Cr vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID19 | Of 42,766 new cases reported in India in the last 24 hours, Kerala recorded 29,682 COVID positive cases yesterday. The state also reported 142 deaths yesterday. (ANI)
COVID19 | India reports 42,766 new cases in the last 24 hours, active caseload stands at 4,10,048 ; Recovery Rate currently at 97.42%