Coronavirus Case and Fatality Rate in India, Coronavirus Third Wave Highlights: India once again crossed the 40,000-mark with 46, 164 new coronavirus cases were detected on Thursday. It was the second day in a row when the Covid deaths were above the 600-mark. At 604, there was a slight dip in the daily Covid fatalities, the national bulletin said.
One of the key factors in the latest spike in the daily cases is the post-Onam surge in Kerala. The state, which has been reporting more than half of the total cases in the country, has reported over 31,000 cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest that the ‘God’s Own Country’ has witnessed since May. The test positivity rate of Kerala has touched a frightening level of 19 per cent, an Indian Express report says.
Another worrying sign is the rising active cases in India. The government data shows that there was a jump of around 11,000 active cases in the last 24 hours. At present, India has 3,33,725 active Covid-19 cases, the health update says.
Also Read: What does India entering ‘endemic’ phase of coronavirus pandemic means?
The national recovery rate remains at a healthy level of 97.63 per cent, the health ministry data says. On the vaccination front, India has now achieved a new milestone as over 60 crore Covid jabs have been administered nationwide during the mass vaccination drive. The daily testing is at a moderate level of nearly 18 lakh Covid tests conducted in a day, the ICMR data shows.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said that the pace of new coronavirus cases has stabilised. The UN agency says that globally, 4.5 million cases are being reported in a day. This comes after a sharp spike that was witnessed in the last 60 days. India is still among the top nations reporting a maximum number of cases, the WHO tally shows. Along with India, the US, Brazil, Iran and Britain have been reporting a high number of coronavirus cases.
Also Read: Hyderabad begins mop-up drive to vaccinate those who have missed out on shots
In India, a lot is being talked about the endemic phase of the coronavirus pandemic after the statement by WHO’s top scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan. While the current phase may have reported moderate levels of new infections, the point is about an unpredictable trajectory in future. Major states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have reopened schools and unlocked key economic activities.
Apart from this, the festive season can also impact the Covid recovery in India. Along with under 1-crore Covid jabs on daily basis, the cumulative coverage is still far from the desired levels.
Here are the latest Covid updates from India and around the globe:
Two coronavirus-related deaths and 42 fresh cases were reported in Punjab on Thursday, according to a medical bulletin.
The new fatalities were reported from Ludhiana and Kapurthala, raising the toll to 16,362.
The toll also included two deaths which were not reported earlier.
The infection tally rose to 6,00,420 with the detection of new cases.
The number of active cases stood at 407.
Amritsar and Jalandhar reported six fresh COVID-19 cases each, followed by five in Bathinda.
With 32 recoveries from the infection, the recovery count reached 5,83,651, according to the bulletin.
The Union Territory of Chandigarh reported five new cases of COVID-19, taking the total count to 65,077, according to the medical
bulletin. The count also includes one case which was not reported earlier.
The toll figure stood at 812.
The number of active cases in the city was 39 while the recovery count stood at 64,226. (PTI)
I’ve demanded more vaccines from Union Health Minister. From next month our target is 5 lakh vaccination (per day). Health Minister has approved it and assured us of more vaccines. We will prepare to vaccinate 5 lakh people every day from next month: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai (ANI)
Assam reports 562 new COVID-19 cases, 776 recoveries and 11 deaths
Active case: 6,434
Death toll: 5,618 (ANI)
Focus should also be placed over the next few months to suppress the levels of transmission of the virus so that the chain of transmission can be controlled more effectively: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh reports 19 new COVID-19 cases, 22 recoveries and zero deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total recoveries 16,86,056
Death toll 22,794
Active cases 342 (ANI)
‘India achieves unprecedented milestone! 50% of the eligible population inoculated with the first dose of the #COVID19 vaccine,’ tweets Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The state governments were advised that they should continue with their vaccination programmes and in case they require more vaccines, the same would be provided to the extent possible: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (ANI)
He suggested that state govts should explore possibility of placing night curfew in areas with high positivity. Besides, he stressed on need for adequate intervention in areas having higher infection, through contact tracing, vaccination drives & COVID appropriate behavior: MHA (ANI)
Union Home Secretary reviewed the efforts being made by the state governments to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections and observed that more efforts would be required to arrest the increase in infections: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (ANI)
Union Home Secretary reviewed steps taken by State Governments of Kerala and Maharashtra for checking the spread of COVID-19: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (ANI)
India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crosses 61 crore landmark milestone. Nearly 68 lakh vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm today: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (ANI)
No fresh death due to COVID-19 in Delhi, 16th time since onset of second wave; 45 new cases: Authorities (PTI)
Tamil Nadu reports 1559 new COVID-19 cases, 1816 recoveries and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 26,07,206
Total recoveries 25,54,323
Death toll 34,814
Active cases 18,069 (ANI)
Delhi reports 45 new COVID-19 cases, 21 recoveries and zero deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 14,37,595
Total recoveries 14,12,102
Death toll 25,080
Active cases 413
Positivity rate 0.06 % (ANI)
RTPCR testing scam during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Uttarakhand: Two doctors, who were deployed as medical officers at Kumbh Mela, suspended in connection with the matter on charges of negligence of duty. (ANI)
At least 97 patients tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on Thursday, raising the tally of infections to 4,04,965 in the region, a health official said.
Two persons died of the infection during the day, while 68 were discharged from hospitals, taking the toll to 8,568 and the count of recoveries to 3,95,433, the official said.
Of the total number of COVID-19 cases reported so far, 2,29,266 were from Nashik city, 1,53,477 from other parts of the district, 12,613 from Malegaon and 5,693 were patients from outside the district who were undergoing treatment here, the administration has stated.
As many as 24,29,675 swabs have been tested till date, of which 4,917 were tested on Thursday. (PTI)
COVID-19 | Karnataka reports 1,213 new cases, 25 deaths and 1,206 discharges today; active cases 19,300 (ANI)
The Madhya Pradesh government is considering to reopen schools for Classes 6 to 8 from next month, a state minister said on Thursday. The government had earlier reopened schools for Classes 9 to 12 across the state in the last week of July with 50 per cent cap on attendance. But these classes are being held only on specific days a week. Talking to PTI, Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar said, “We have made up our mind to reopen from next month the middle schools (Classes 6 to 8), which have remained shut due to coronavirus. But we are extra cautious to take a call on it in view of the pandemic.” (PTI)
Kerala posted 30,007 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the second consecutive day it reported more than 30,000, and 162 deaths which pushed the total infection count in the state to 39.13 lakh and the toll to 20,134. According to the central government, 58.4 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases last week were reported from Kerala. On Wednesday, the state recorded 31,445 fresh cases, which was 68.11 per cent of the national total — 46,164 — of new infections in the last 24 hours. As many as 18,997 people have been cured of the infection since Wednesday, taking the total recoveries to 37,11,625 and the number of active cases to 1,81,209, a state government release said. (PTI)
Zimbabwe is opening COVID-19 vaccinations to those aged 14 and older and is only permitting fully vaccinated people to eat in restaurants, to encourage more people to get shots, as a devastating wave of the disease recedes. “On the advice of scientists,” Zimbabwe will start administering vaccines to children aged between 14 and 17, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced. The country is already offering shots to those 18 and older. This makes Zimbabwe one of the first countries in Africa to extend vaccinations to children. (PTI)
A worldwide COVID-19 study led by UK experts and conducted at Indian hospitals among others around the world has been awarded the ‘Guinness World Records’ title for the world’s largest scientific collaboration, involving over 140,000 patients in 116 countries. The record for ‘Most authors on a single peer-reviewed academic paper’ is now held by the Universities of Birmingham and Edinburgh after 15,025 scientists around the globe contributed to the major research into the impact of COVID-19 on surgical patients.
Daily COVID-19 cases in Odisha during the possible third wave of the pandemic could be 1.5 times than the peak of the second surge, according to a state government estimate. The infected might include 12 per cent children and adolescents in the age group of 0 to 18 years, and the anticipated third spell could last for around 75 days, it said. The caseload during the period is expected to be 7.66 lakh as against 5.22 lakh from April 1 to June 15, the estimate said, adding, the highest number of single-day cases, which was 12,852 on May 22 in the second wave, could be 19,278 if the third surge strikes. (PTI)
The central government on Thursday said the months of September and October will be crucial in pandemic management and cautioned that festivals should be celebrated in accordance with COVID-19-appropriate behaviour. Addressing a media briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reiterated that the country is still in the midst of the second wave. ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said vaccines are disease modifying and not disease preventing so it is very important to continue the use of masks even after vaccination. (PTI)
Workers at public hospitals in Greece held a five-hour work stoppage Thursday to protest a government decision making vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for all health care workers in the public and private sector. About 300 hospital workers rallied outside the health ministry in Athens to protest the measure, which goes into effect on September 1. The government has made clear that no extension will be granted. Those working in the public and private health care sector and those working in care homes who haven’t received at least one dose of the vaccine by that date, or who don’t have a certificate of recent recovery, will be suspended from work. (AP)
Over one crore people have been administered both doses of Covid vaccine in Rajasthan, state Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Thursday. With this, 20 per cent of the target population in the state has been fully vaccinated, he said. “A total of 4, 12, 67,359 beneficiaries have been vaccinated in the state. Of them, 3, 12, 58,116 have been given the first dose and 1,00,09,243 beneficiaries have received both doses,” the minister said. (PTI)
European Union countries that decide to use COVID-19 vaccine booster shots may face increased legal risks because the additional dose has not yet been recommended by the EU drugs regulator, the European Commission said on Thursday.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has repeatedly said that more data is needed before it can approve the use of boosters, but eight European countries have decided to recommend the additional dose, and more than a dozen are set to make similar moves shortly.”Booster doses are currently not part of the marketing authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines and have not yet been subject to a scientific assessment by EMA in the absence of sufficient data,” the EU Commission said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday.”The responsibility to decide to include boosters in their vaccination campaign remains with the Member States,” the statement said, adding: “As long as the booster doses are not part of the marketing authorisation, companies’ liability is modified. (Reuters)
After months of closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, commercial establishments in the city will see the light of the day as the Bengaluru civic body permitted them to operate with several riders, including testing at regular intervals and vaccination of the staff. “In view of the drop in daily COVID-19 infections in the city, the Government of Karnataka has allowed the operation of most commercial establishments, with a condition to adhere to all COVID protocols,” the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said.
With fresh cases outnumbering recoveries, the active Covid-19 case count in Andhra Pradesh increased further by 387 to 14,448 on Thursday. The latest bulletin said 1,539 fresh infections, 1,140 recoveries and 12 coronavirus deaths were reported in the state in 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday. The gross positives now climbed to 20,07,730 while recoveries and toll increased to 19,79,504 and 13,778 respectively. The seven hotspot districts continued to report new cases in excess of 100 each. Chittoor registered the highest 243, East Godavari 228, Krishna 194, SPS Nellore 176, West Godavari 163, Guntur 127 and Prakasam 126 fresh cases in 24 hours. (PTI)
A two-day special COVID-19 vaccination camp will be held for teaching and non-teaching staff of schools in Maharashtra’s Thane district from Friday. District Collector Rajesh Narvekar on Thursday said the camp was being organised in keeping with the Centre’s directive to vaccinate all school teachers on priority before the Teachers’ Day on September 5. (PTI)
Amid concerns of a possible third wave of COVID-19 in coming months, parents are divided over the plan to reopen schools in the national capital. An expert committee set up by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has recommended a phase-wise reopening of schools in the national capital beginning September. While few believe its high time the schools are reopened as the learning loss is huge, others feel there is no harm in waiting for few more weeks or a month as experts have been warning of a possible third wave. (PTI)
Leading science and technology firm Merck on Thursday announced a donation of Rs 1.7 crore over two years to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay to support the development of clinical tests for COVID-19 disease severity assessment. “With this donation, Merck is aiding IIT in the early identification of COVID-19 virus severity to facilitate appropriate healthcare management which will help to relieve the pressure that has been put on the healthcare system in the country,” Merck India, Life Science Business MD, Sunil Punjabi said. (PTI)
The Kerala government on Thursday faced flak from its political opponents and public health experts for its alleged “carelessness” and “foolish” decisions regarding COVID-19 management, which according to them has led to the rise in cases and TPR in the southern state which is presently accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the national total of daily infections. Kerala on Wednesday recorded 31,445 fresh cases, which is 68.11 per cent of the national total — 46,164 — of new infections in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
Russia on Thursday reported a record 820 coronavirus-related deaths amid a surge of cases blamed on the Delta variant and the slow rate of vaccinations.The government’s coronavirus task force also reported 19,630 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. (Reuters)
Odisha reported 849 new COVID-19 cases and 66 deaths on Thursday, a Health Department official said. Among the new patients were 130 children, he said. The state has so far reported 10.04 lakh COVID-19 cases and 7,628 deaths. The new cases were reported after testing 71,231 samples, recording a positivity rate of 1.19 per cent. The rate of infection among those below 18 years was 15.31 per cent, the official said. Khurda district, of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the highest 313 new cases. (PTI)
India on Thursday donated a medical oxygen plant to Nepal as part of New Delhi’s continued commitment to the Himalayan nation in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. India’s Ambassador here Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over the 960 Litres Per Minute (LPM) medical oxygen plant to Minister of State for Health Umesh Shrestha at a ceremony at the Ministry of Health and Population, as part of India’s robust partnership with Nepal in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Embassy here said in a statement. The plant has been installed at B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), and is designed to cater to providing 5 LPM per person, amounting to a total capacity of 960 LPM, it said. – PTI
A foreign athlete participating in the Paralympic Games in Japan has been hospitalised with non-severe symptoms of COVID-19, Kyodo News said on Thursday, citing the Games’ organising committee.It is the first hospitalisation of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which opened on Tuesday.Hospitals in Japan treating COVID-19 patients have usually reserved beds for people showing severe symptoms.The national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan government appealed on Monday to hospitals in the capital to accept more COVID-19 patients.Less than 10% of coronavirus patients are hospitalised in Tokyo, and the low level of admissions has added to public frustration with the government’s COVID-19 response, undermining voter support for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. – Reuters
Vietnam will deploy troops to industrial Binh Duong province, a major manufacturing hub in the Southeast Asian country, to help contain an expected 50,000 additional coronavirus infections there over the next two weeks, the government said on Thursday.Binh Duong is adjacent to virus epicentre Ho Chi Minh City and has so far recorded 81,000 COVID-19 cases, a third of which were detected in the past week, according to Vietnam’s health ministry.The province is home to production facilities for dozens of major firms, including South Korea’s Kumho Tire and Tetra Pak, the world’s largest food packaging company.The province also hosts a string of suppliers for Samsung Electronics and Pegatron, a key supplier for Apple. It is one of Vietnam’s largest recipients of foreign investment after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. – Reuters
As the world scrambles to inoculate people against COVID-19, one store owner in Malaysia is finding his paper vaccines have become popular prayer offering items during a religious festival to honour the deceased.The Hungry Ghost festival, celebrated by Buddhists and Taoists across Southeast Asia, centres on a belief that the spirits of the dead return to Earth during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. During this time, people leave out food items for the dead and burn incense and intricate offerings made of paper resembling things the deceased may have wanted.This year, a box set of a syringe and two vaccine vials made of paper are among the fastest-selling items for the festival at Raymond Shieh Siow Leong’s religious goods store in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru. – Reuters
Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd will temporarily close a plant in Japan that makes a key electronic component of smart phones, computers and cars, among other products, to fight a COVID-19 outbreak there, a company official said on Thursday.Murata is the world’s biggest supplier of the component, and any lengthy production halt that disrupted shipments could further squeeze electronic device makers struggling to find other components, including semiconductors.The Echizen plant in the central prefecture of Fukui, which makes multilayer ceramic capacitors, will be shut until at least Aug. 31 after 98 of its 7,000 workers tested positive for the virus, a company spokesperson said.”Our plan at the moment is to stay closed until Aug 31, but any decision to extend that will be based on infection results we see next week,” the spokesperson said.Murata said it planned to used existing stocks of capacitors and output from plants elsewhere to make up for lost production from the Echizen factory. – Reuters