Coronavirus India highlights: Winters, festivities may reverse gains made against COVID-19, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed on Monday the COVID-19 situation in nine states, including West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, and expressed concern that the winters and the festive season could potentially threaten the gains made against the viral infection.

Interacting with the state health ministers and principal secretaries or additional chief secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana and Kerala, he stressed that India has the highest recovery rate and one of the lowest fatality rate, globally.

Vardhan informed the meeting that of the total active cases in the country, only 0.44 per cent were on ventilator support, 2.47 per cent in ICU and just 4.13 per cent occupied oxygen-supported beds, according to a Health Ministry statement. He, however, said the nine states and some districts there have been reporting a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, high average daily cases on a weekly average, decline in testing, high rate of mortality within the first 24 or 48 or 72 hours of hospitalisation, high doubling rate and higher death among the vulnerable population.

Belgian health authorities are confident the second wave of hospital admissions related to COVID-19 has peaked in the hard-hit country. Speaking at a news conference by the coronavirus crisis center Monday, virologist Yves Van Laethem said about 400 people were hospitalised due to coronavirus complications on Sunday, compared with 879 on November 3. 'Subject to an unpleasant surprise,' the peak in hospital admissions was reached that day, Van Laethem said.

Some 6,948 patients are currently being treated in Belgian hospitals following a COVID-19-infection. It's about 500 less than on November 3. To break the chain of contamination, Belgium has returned to partial lockdown measures including the closure of nonessential shops, bars and restaurants, as well as the extension of the autumn school vacation. (AP)

In a dip in fresh coronavirus infections, Kerala recorded 3,593 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing the caseload to 4,89,702, while the toll climbed to 1,714 with new 22 fatalities, Health minister K K Shailaja said. As many as 5983 people were cured of the
infection, taking the total recoveries to 4,08,460, while 79,410 people are undergoing treatment for the disease, the minister said in a press release. Kerala had recorded 5,440 fresh coronavirus cases yesterday. In the last 24 hours, 32,489 samples were sent for testing, taking the aggregate to 51,30,922 specimens examined so far.

Bangladesh has made wearing of masks mandatory at places of worship, including mosques, churches and temples, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as the total number of cases crossed 420,000 in the country, according to a media report. The Religious Affairs Ministry, in a notice, said that people have become careless in their use of masks despite various guidelines issued by the ministry to wear them at all religious sites, the Dhaka Tribune reported on Sunday.

"So, fresh instructions have been issued to ensure social distancing, proper health guidelines, and the wearing of masks at religious sites," the notice said. All places of worship including mosques, temples, and churches have been requested to announce the directives regularly through their loudspeakers or megaphones, it added.

As of Sunday, Bangladesh registered 420,238 COVID-19 cases and 6,067 deaths from the deadly disease. (PTI)

Pfizer Inc on Monday said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over 1 million people, roiled the world’s economy and upended daily life.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. emergency use authorization later this month.

If authorized, the number of vaccine doses will initially be limited. Many questions also remain including how long the vaccine will provide protection. However, the news provides hope that other vaccines in development against the novel coronavirus may also prove effective.

Tripura's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,543 on Monday as 26 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. Two fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 356, he said. West Tripura district, under which Agartala falls, has reported 184 coronavirus fatalities so far, the official said. Tripura now has 1,222 active coronavirus cases, while 29,942 people have recovered from the disease and 23 patients have migrated to other states, he said.

As the national capital reels under the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients under home isolation in Delhi has mounted to 24,723, a rise of 50 per cent in the last two weeks, while the containment zones count has expanded by over 32 per cent in the same period. Coronavirus cases have spiralled since October 28 when 5673 fresh cases were recorded and on November 8, the daily infection tally was 7745, the highest single-day spike here till date. In this period, a staggering over 74,000 new cases have been reported.

The number of home isolation cases on October 26 stood at 16,396 and the containment zones count that day was 2930, according to official data. On October 28, the number of fresh cases breached the 5000-mark for the first time and the home quarantined cases rose to 16,822. With the third wave of the pandemic hitting the national capital, daily cases surged and containment zones count kept mounting, standing at 3878 on Sunday. The positivity rate which stood at 8.23 per cent on October 26 spiralled to 15.26 per cent on Sunday. (PTI)

You may feel some difficulty to speak while wearing a mask but that small piece of cloth will 'speak' more in the upcoming local body elections in Kerala, the first to be held in the southern state adhering to COVID-19 protocols. The local body polls in the state would be held in three phases from December 8. Cloth masks, with party symbols and messages requesting vote, are wooing voters as the campaign for the three-phased polls is catching up in the state.

As restrictions are imposed on marches and mass gatherings and the number of people accompanying candidates for house visits is strictly regulated in the wake of the pandemic, various political parties are exploring novel ways to reach out to voters. Besides social media platforms, masks have become one of the most sought-after campaign materials in the state. (PTI)

With 2,247 fresh cases of Covid reported in the past 24 hours, the cumulative number of cases has reached close to 5 lakh on Sunday. At the same time, 26 fresh deaths — five in Meerut, two in Gorakhpur — were reported in the state, taking the death toll to 7,206. Out of the total cases, 4,67,108 patients have recovered — 94 per cent recovery rate. In the past 24 hours, 1,858 patients were discharged. The state now has 23,249 active cases. The fresh cases reported include 231 from Lucknow, 223 from Ghaziabad, 204 from Meerut and 139 from Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan holds a virtual meeting with Health Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, and West Bengal to review the coronavirus situation in each state.

Citing health risk to Covid patients and potential danger in increase in infections amid the festive period, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday announced a ban on firecrackers with immediate effect till November 30. However, the civic body allowed the use of less polluting firecrackers like anar, fuljhari for children within the society premises or outside their house on the evening of November 14.

In the guidelines issued today, the BMC said bursting of firecrackers in any other premises like hotel, club, gymkhana, organisation, commercial premises will not be allowed. “We have given an exception for November 14 when in the evening time, especially the children under the guidance of parents, can burst firecrackers that are mild in nature,” the guidelines read. Read more here

With the festive season and winter around the corner, health experts have raised concerns over a possible spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. The coronavirus cases in Gujarat crossed the 1.80-lakh mark on Sunday with 1,020 fresh cases, a state health department report said. Seven deaths were also reported on the day.

Pointing at the uptick in the number of daily cases in Ahmedabad, Prof Dileep Mavalankar, the director of Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Gandhinagar, said as in European nations, where a second wave of the disease has been witnessed, the number of cases in the state may rise too. On Sunday, Ahmedabad recorded 185 fresh Covid-19 cases up from 182 a day ago. Read more here

Delhi Health Minister Satendra Jain on Monday said that the coronavirus cases in the national capital are at a peak, and added that experts say that it could last for another 4-5 days. He also added that the national capital's overall death ratio is 1.59 per cent. "It seems Delhi's Covid-19 cases are at peak now and experts say it can last for 4-5 days. Delhi's overall death ratio is 1.59 per cent. Many people aren't wearing masks. Most cases are from working class. We've increased 110 ICU beds in govt hospitals," Jain said.

The peak in Delhi’s latest wave of coronavirus infections is getting higher by the day. With 7,745 new cases detected on Sunday, Delhi scaled a fresh record, and now is also the fastest-growing state in the country, having overtaken Kerala. In fact, in the last one week, Delhi has contributed more cases than any state, including Maharashtra and Kerala. More than 46,000 new cases were found in the national capital in the last week, a couple of hundred cases more than Kerala. Maharashtra has detected only about 36,000 cases this past week.

With a growth rate of 1.6 per cent a day, Delhi is currently growing more than three times faster than the national rate. It is one of the very few states that are currently witnessing an increase in their active cases. Delhi has close to 42,000 active cases right now, which is lower than only Maharashtra and Kerala.

Hours after President-elect Joe Biden declared the coronavirus a top priority, the magnitude of his task became starkly clear Sunday as the nation surpassed 10 million cases and sank deeper into the grip of what could become the worst chapter of the pandemic yet. The rate of new cases is soaring and for the first time is averaging more than 100,000 a day in the United States, which has reported more COVID-19 cases than any other country. An astonishing number — 1 in 441 Americans — have tested positive for the virus just in the last week.

The nation’s worsening COVID-19 outlook comes at an extremely difficult juncture: President Donald Trump, who remains in control of the nation’s outbreak for the next 73 days, is openly at odds with his own coronavirus advisers, and the country is heading into a cold winter, when infections are only expected to spread faster as people spend more time indoors. Read more here

Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi on Monday announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The 65-year-old actor said that he did a COVID-19 test as part of the safety protocol before joining the sets of his upcoming movie Acharya. “I am currently asymptomatic & quarantining myself at home. Request all those who met me in the last 5 few days to also undergo covid tests. Will update you on my recovery soon,” he said in a letter to fans and the media. Read more here

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At least nine more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, raising the tally in the Union Territory to 4,450, a health department official said on Monday. Of the fresh cases, five were detected during contact tracing, while four have travel history, he said. Fifteen more people were cured of the disease on Sunday, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,221, the official said. The coronavirus death toll remained at 60 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as no fresh fatality was reported in the past 24 hours, he said. The Union Territory now has 169 active cases. (PTI)

India on Monday reported 45,903 new cases of the novel coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours. The caseload in the country now stands at 85,53,657. With 490 new deaths, the death toll in the country mounted to 1,26,611. There are a total of 5,09,673 active cases after a decrease of 2,992 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 79,17,373 have cured from the disease, while 48,405 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours.

West Bengal’s Covid-19 recovery rate continued to climb on Sunday as it rose to 89.67 per cent after a record 4,383 patients were declared recovered. The state added 3,920 new cases, but its active caseload dropped to 34,566 on account of the recovery surge. However, in a worrying sign, active cases continued to rise in Kolkata (7,497) and North 24 Parganas (7,151) in the heart of the pandemic epicentre in South Bengal. The infection hotspot reported almost 60 per cent of the latest infections and 40 of the 59 deaths statewide that pushed up the toll to 7,294.

The recovery surge drove down active cases in the other South Bengal districts outside the epicentre with over a thousand patients — Purba Medinipur (1,426), Paschim Medinipur (1,649), and Nadia (1,655). However, Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman made the major gains. At the end of last week, they had active caseloads of 1,177 and 1,227. On Sunday, Purba Bardhaman had 702 patients and 962 in its neighbouring district.

The coronavirus has hit another sobering milestone: more than 50 million positive cases worldwide since the pandemic began. Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reported more than 50.2 million COVID-19 cases globally as of Sunday. There have been more than 1.2 million deaths from the disease worldwide since the pandemic started. The US, with about 4% of the world's population, represents almost a fifth of all reported cases. (AP)

A slight surge in Covid cases and a spike in the positivity rate has spurred Punjab government administrative and health officials to initiate meetings with religious and industrial organisations, who have been asked not to observe even a slight laxity and adhere to Covid guidelines as Diwali approaches. Between November 1 and 8, a total of 3,801 cases were reported along with 122 deaths, while in the previous week — from October 25 to 31 — a total of 3,018 cases had been reported with 96 deaths, and 3,486 cases and 107 deaths were reported from October 18 to 24.

“Though there is a slight increase, looking at the second wave in most European countries and a third wave in Delhi, we have to stay alert. Moreover, our sampling is more or less the same, which is between 18,000 to 20,000 samples per day, but positivity rate in a few districts is increasing and hence we cannot ignore these facts. Hence, we are advising people to stay alert and follow all precautions,” said Hussan Lal, secretary health, Government of Punjab, while talking to The Indian Express. Read more here

With Diwali less than a week away, and amid a spike in Covid cases, officials of malls and markets said footfall is “very low” for a festival season as compared to the same time last year. The city recorded 964 cases — the highest so far — on Sunday. “As compared to the festive season last year, footfall is at least 20% lesser. Many are purchasing items online… 20% is a big amount during festive season, it will make a big difference,” said Aman Bajaj, member, MGF Metropolitan Mall Association.

At Ambience Mall, an official said, “We haven’t reached the footfall we were seeing pre-lockdown, or even this time last year. But there has been a significant improvement compared to when we had re-opened post lockdown. We have achieved nearly 65-70% footfall of what would be normal on weekends, with 38,000-40,000 visitors. However, the nature of clientele has changed a bit. Earlier, the entire family used to come to celebrate, now we are seeing only one or two members. At the same time, people are not coming for window shopping… they shop and leave, so sales are increasing. Shops are also giving offers that are attracting people.” Read more here

Among the most agonising experiences after the Covid-19 outbreak has been that of families who could not take one last look at their departed loved ones, taken away by the virus. With social distancing norms in place since March and sometimes, family members in quarantine at the time of a person’s death, many departed on their last journey without family and friends nearby. Learning from these heartbreaking stories, the Worli crematorium, spread over 80,000 sq ft carpet area, undergoing redevelopment, will also have facilities like webcasting of last rites for family members in India and abroad.

“We earlier had the webcasting in mind for NRIs. In many cases only the elderly father or mother are alive and the children are abroad. They have come to us and offered to pay in advance and asked us to do their last rites when they pass away in case their children are unable to come. But we have done the Antim Sanskar Seva for over 14,000 people so far and for us is not about the money. But these are very moving experiences,” said Dr Bharat Parekh, trustee of the Hiralal Parekh Parivar Charity Trust that is redeveloping the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Smashan Bhumi near the Nehru Science Centre in Worli. Read more here

Delhi saw 7,745 new cases on Sunday — the highest number of daily cases reported so far by any city. This takes the total number of cases in the city to 4,38,529 while the death toll rose to 6,989 with 77 fatalities. The city performed 50,754 tests in the last 24 hours, recording a positivity rate of 15.26%. Over the last two weeks, the number of active Covid-19 cases has increased by more than 16,000 — the highest ever in the last six months — owing to the rising number of daily infections. Last week alone, Delhi reported over 6,000 daily cases, barring Monday (November 2) which saw 4,000 cases.

As of October 26, the city had 25,786 active cases which soared to 41,857 by Sunday. Active cases reflect the number of people who are presently infected with the disease. Of the total active cases, 24,723 patients are under home isolation while 8,072 are availing treatment in hospitals. Read more here

Close to 10 million Americans have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past 10 months, and with the start of winter just a month away, and the public increasingly likely to spend more time cooped up inside, the virus shows few signs of slowing down. Infections are setting sequential daily records and expected to soar further as cold weather grips northern US states, schools and businesses try to reopen, people move their daily activities inside and the holidays spur gatherings, health officials and experts said. Read more here

Large parts of Europe are in a second lockdown as a new wave of infection sweeps through the continent. Cases in the US are smashing new records. But overall numbers in India are falling — for reasons not yet fully clear. What is the way forward, given the cost of lockdowns? In an interview to the Indian Express, Professor Sunetra Gupta, a proponent of herd immunity, weighed in on this and related questions. Read the excerpts from the interview here

A slight surge in Covid cases and a spike in the positivity rate has spurred Punjab government administrative and health officials to initiate meetings with religious and industrial organisations, who have been asked not to observe even a slight laxity and adhere to Covid guidelines as Diwali approaches. Read More

Among the most agonising experiences after the Covid-19 outbreak has been that of families who could not take one last look at their departed loved ones, taken away by the virus. With social distancing norms in place since March and sometimes, family members in quarantine at the time of a person’s death, many departed on their last journey without family and friends nearby. Read More

Over the last five days, the Mumbai Railway Police and civic authorities have fined 342 passengers travelling on the suburban railway network for not wearing face masks. Read More

Gujarat recorded 1,020 fresh Covid-19 cases and seven deaths on Sunday, taking the state tally to 1,80,980 and total toll to 3,788.

Among the deaths, two each were reported from Ahmedabad and Surat, while one each was reported from Banaskantha, Gandhinagar and Sabarkantha. Read More

With the festive season and winter around the corner, health experts have raised concerns over a possible spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.

The coronavirus cases in Gujarat crossed the 1.80-lakh mark on Sunday with 1,020 fresh cases, a state health department report said. Seven deaths were also reported on the day. Read More

With the death of one more policeman in Mumbai due to coronavirus on Sunday, the fatality count in the city's police force rose to 93, an official said. The 57-year-old police inspector died in the morning, the official said. "The inspector was a Mira Road resident. He was on leave since September 22 over complaints of high blood pressure and was shifted to a nearby hospital. He also suffered from diabetes," he added. (PTI)

West Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 4,05,314 on Sunday as 3,920 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. Fifty-nine more patients succumbed to the infection, pushing the state's coronavirus death toll to 7,294, it said. A record 4,383 more people were cured of the disease, taking the states COVID-19 recovery count to 3,63,454, the bulletin said.

The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state has improved to 89.67 per cent, it said. West Bengal now has 34,566 active coronavirus cases, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported 2,334 new COVID-19 infections pushing the overall tally to 7.43 lakh while the state government cautioned that in view of festive season coming days would be 'challenging' in controlling the spread of the disease. The recoveries stood at 2,386, taking the total number of people walking out of health care institutions after getting cured to 7.13 lakh till date, a health department bulletin said. The COVID-19 toll in the state climbed to 11,344 with 20 related fatalities.

Active cases including those in isolation were at 18,894. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary K Shanmugham said being the festival season, the coming days will be challenging as far as controlling coronavirus is concerned. (PTI)

Kerala recorded 5,440 fresh coronavirus cases and 24 deaths on Sunday as the total number of those affected in the state surged to 4.86 lakh. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said 105 of those infected came from outside the state while 4,699 contracted
the disease through their contacts. "Sources of infection of at least 585 people is yet to be identified. Fifty one health workers were also infected," she said in a release.

With 24 more fatalities, the toll rose to 1,692. Meanwhile, the results of 6,853 people turned out to be negative, taking the number of those cured in the state to 4.02 lakh. (PTI)

Nagaland on Sunday reported more COVID-19 recoveries than detection of fresh cases, as 101 patients were cured of the disease while 49 new infections pushed the state's tally to 9,474, a health department official said. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state increased to an all time high of 88.13 per cent as a total of 8,350 people have recovered from the disease till Sunday. The previous highest recovery rate was 87.86 per cent on Friday, the official.

The COVID-19 death toll in the state increased to 49 as one more person succumbed to the disease in Tuensang district, he said. (PTI)

Sri Lankan government has said it will lift the ongoing capital district lockdown on Monday, warning people to be more vigilant to prevent a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sri Lanka has so far reported 13,419 cases of coronavirus and 34 deaths related to it. Some 7,700 of them have been cured so far.
"The curfew which was in force on the Western province will be lifted at 5 am tomorrow", Army Commander Shavendra Silva, who heads the national operations center to prevent COVID-19, said.

However, Silva said that several areas in the province would still be under isolation. The capital city and the adjoining Gampaha district was under quarantine curfew continuously over the last 10 days.  The city has recorded multiple cases of infections since early October when the island came to be hit by two large clusters of infections.

The UK government is said to be finalising a rollout plan for Vitamin D to be distributed among the most vulnerable groups as emerging science suggests its role as a supplement in cutting the risk of death from COVID-19, according to a UK media report.

Ministers are believed to be drawing up plans for four-month supplies of the vitamin to be delivered directly to the elderly at care home residents in England and those deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable to the deadly virus. The move follows a similar move by the Scottish Government, The Sunday Telegraph' reports. "We are indeed looking at the possible beneficial effects of Vitamin D, and... we will be updating the House shortly," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had told the House of Commons recently in response to a question about the supplement.

The government is expected to commission clinical trials to further examine the link between COVID-19 and Vitamin D deficiency. (PTI)

• India recorded 45,674 new Covid-19 cases, 559 deaths in last 24 hours; total caseload crosses 85 lakh
• Third wave of COVID-19 in Delhi worst so far; cases to come down soon, says health minister
• Will reopen temples in Maharashtra after Diwali, says Uddhav Thackeray
• Cases filed against 8 Covid patients in Ahmedabad for violating home isolation protocols
• Post-lockdown, Noida Metro’s average daily ridership down to 4,021
• Nearly 50 million people tested positive for Covid-19 worldwide; death toll at 1.25 million
• Joe Biden announces 12-member task force for coronavirus response
• Covid-19 death toll in France crosses 40,000-mark
• Australia's Covid-19 hotspot Victoria relaxes curbs after 9th day with zero cases
• Portugal imposes local night-time curfews as Covid-19 cases hit record

The national capital has hit the peak of the third wave of COVID-19, and the number of cases suggests that it has been the worst since the pandemic arrived in the city, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday. He said the government had no plans yet to rope in hotels and banquet halls to augment the bed capacity for COVID-19 patients as the AAP dispensation had increased the number of beds in hospitals of Delhi.

The national capital has been witnessing a fresh surge in coronavirus cases amid the festive season and rising air pollution. On Friday, Delhi recorded over 7,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time. The city on Saturday reported 79 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in over four months.

Jain, who is on an official visit to Rajasthan's Dungarpur, said the first wave had hit its peak around June 23 and the second on September 17. "The third wave of COVID-19 is at its peak in Delhi. The number of cases suggests it is the worst wave so far. But the cases will come down soon," Jain told PTI.

Amid growing backlash from the opposition BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that his government will soon reopen places of worship across the state after Diwali and is ready to face any criticism for the welfare of his state till then. The chief minister also urged citizens to avoid burning fire crackers and continue wearing masks during the festive period.

In a public address via video-conferencing, Thackeray said: “We will open the temples and places of worship soon. Let Diwali be over. But even when we open the temples, you can leave your chappals [slippers] outside but not your mask.”

Thackery said he has been deliberately delaying the opening of places of worship as many senior citizens frequent them. “After Diwali, we will prepare the guidelines for opening the temples. Let those criticising me continue to do so. I will face all criticisms for the safety of my Maharashtra.”

In an address to the citizens, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday said, "For the next 6 months we will not dismantle the Covid centres and hospitals that we have set up even if they have to be locked up. We have to ensure the second wave does not hit us because we have the medical infrastructure, hospital beds, ventilators etc but where will we get more doctors and healthcare workers from?"

In an address to the citizens, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today reiterated the importance of wearing masks during Diwali amid the pandemic. He said: "Cases in Delhi have increased because of pollution that weakens the respiratory system. We could have banned firecrackers but we are not doing that. You have always listened to me and I know you will continue to do that. Celebrate diwali, light lamps but avoid firecrackers. Those not wearing masks will be fined. Doctors have said that one infected person without a mask can infect 400 others. We will open temples and places of worship soon. Let Diwali be over. But even when we open temples, you can leave your chappals outside but not your mask." 

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Saturday filed cases against eight Covid-19 patients for violating home isolation protocols and admitted five of them to hospitals. The patients were allegedly found moving outside of their houses, where they were isolated, for work and other purposes, officials said. In an indication of a trend reversal after over four weeks, Gujarat on Saturday detected more Covid-19 patients as compared to the number of discharges. While 1,046 people tested positive for the infection, 931 patients were discharged during the day. With this, the state’s cumulative tally neared 1.80 lakh cases and its total number of discharged patients crossed 1.63 lakh. Click here to read more. 

The recent ‘unlocking’ of cinema halls and theatres in Pune may not lead to a flurry of shows and screenings anytime soon, with many of them opting to stay shut right now for a variety of reasons. With refurbishments underway, stage performances yet to be curated and Diwali season round the corner, Pune residents will not be able to enjoy a new play or new movie for some time. “Theatres had been closed for over eight months. Although we welcome the unlock decision… our theatre hall is currently under renovation and we are expecting to be ready by mid-December. We need to prepare the premises in adherence to safety regulations,” said Harshad Rajpathak, theatre manager of Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagruha in Shukrawar Peth. Click here to read more. 

As West Bengal struggles to keep Covid-related deaths under control, the state government has turned to phone calls to check on elderly coronavirus patients with co-morbidities who are in home quarantine. At 1.86 per cent, West Bengal has the second highest Covid death rate in the country after Maharashtra’s 2.6 per cent while the national average hovers around 1.5 per cent. A fortnight ago, the Health Department launched a round-the-clock call centre to ensure timely hospitalisation of elderly Covid-19 patients if they face any health complications. A Health Department official said the decision was taken after several reports suggested that most Covid-related deaths were due to late admission to hospitals. Click here to read more. 

At a time when experts are warning of a second wave of Covid-19 cases in the country, recent trends of the last one-and-a-half months first show a sharp dip followed by flattening of the coronavirus curve. The weekly spike of Covid cases dropped by more than 10 per cent between mid-September and October. The trend was broken in the week ending Saturday with a fall of less than 1 per cent. The weekly decline was 16.54 per cent in the first week of October, 17.77 per cent in the second week and 12.53 per cent in the fourth week. The weekly increase dropped to 13,558 cases in this week compared to previous week’s 13,625 — a fall 0.49 per cent. Click here to read more. 

The Noida Metro has an average daily ridership of 15,124 so far this year, which was 22,758 before the coronavirus pandemic and 4,021 after the lockdown imposed to check the infection, according to official figures. Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NRMC), which shared the figures, said it is now aiming at increasing the ridership while maintaining high standards of public service amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The NMRC, which celebrated its sixth foundation day on November 5, stated that it has maintained 99.77 per cent punctuality and 99.89 per cent reliability as operational highlights. [From PTI/Click here to read more]

Before schools in the state reopen after Diwali vacations from November 23 onwards, RT-PCR test to detect Covid-19 will be conducted for all teachers between November 17 and 22, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Saturday. While detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding the reopening of schools are yet to be released by the school education department, Gaikwad stated that only one child will be made to sit on a single bench and classes will be held on alternate days. She further said that students will be asked to come after eating meals at their homes and will be required to bring their own water bottles. School hours will be reduced to four hours, wherein only science, math and english subjects will be taught, she added. Click here to read more.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has fined at least 2.26 lakh people across the city for not wearing face masks in public places. As much as Rs 4.7 crore has been collected as fines during the pandemic, officials said. On Friday alone, the civic body penalised 9,983 people for not wearing masks, and collected fines worth Rs 19.9 lakh. Each person is fined Rs 200 for not wearing masks in public places. Most defaulters are found in market areas and shops, where overcrowding is noted. Civic officials said Kurla, which falls under the L Ward, has been the most non-compliant. Dr Jeetendra Jadhav, medical officer, L Ward, said the population density of the ward is high, with 80 per cent of it being covered by slums. “We have been counselling people to wear masks and ensure physical distance…” Jadhav said. Click here to read more. 

Jharkhand's coronavirus tally mounted to 1,04,239 after at least 340 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Sunday, PTI reported. The death toll also increased to 897 after two more patients succumbed to the disease, he added. The two fatalities were reported from Ranchi and Hazaribagh, the official said. Ranchi recorded the maximum number of new cases at 86, followed by East Singhbhum at 41.

The coronavirus caseload in India zoomed past 8.5 million after 45,674 cases were reported in a single day. While the overall tally stood at 8,507,754, the number of fatalities also increased to 1,26,121. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease also surged to 78,68,968, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.49 per cent. Follow our blog for all the latest updates.