Coronavirus India Live Updates: India has logged 64,553 cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours with 1,007 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday morning. The total number of cases in the country has now shot up to 24,61,190 with 48,040 deaths. A total of 17,51,555 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the infection, taking the recovery rate to 70.17 per cent, the ministry said on Thursday.
Here are the updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said the country is indebted to frontline workers who are helping tackle the coronavirus crisis, adding that this year's Independence Day celebrations will be restrained because of the pandemic.
"This year's Independence Day celebrations will be restrained as a deadly virus has disrupted all activities, taken huge toll," President Kovind said in his televised address to the nation on the eve of India's 74th Independence Day.
"It was a superhuman effort on part of the government to respond effectively in meeting the challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. With these efforts, we gained control over the global epidemic and have succeeded in saving a large number of people's lives, setting an example for the whole world," he said. Read
The AAP government has invited seven "corona warriors", including an additional district magistrate (ADM), a doctor and an ambulance driver, for its Independence Day event to acknowledge their hard work in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a statement said on Friday.
According to the government, "corona warriors" working in the fields of administration, medicine, nursing, police, civil defense, and sanitation are serving the infected people by risking their lives.
Among those who have been extended special invitation by the government includes ADM (Central) Rajeev Singh Parihar, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital's senior medical officer Hirdesh Kumar, LNJP Hospital's nursing officer Sonu, police constable Pradeep Chauhan, CATS ambulance driver Tej Bahadur, Civil Defence volunteer Dina Nath Yadav and municipal sanitation worker Ashok Kumar. Read
India has touched a new milestone with the highest number of COVID-19 tests in a single day so far, after a record high of 8,48,728 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to 2,76,94,416 on Friday, said the Union Health Ministry.
World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised that a country needs 140 tests per day per million population.
While the national average is 603 tests/day/million population, with focussed efforts of the Centre and effective implementation by the states/UTs, 34 of them have exceeded this figure.
Lav Agarwal, who has been leading the central government's news conferences on COVID-19 over the last six months as joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the bureaucrat announced on Twitter on Friday.
In a tweet, Mr Agarwal said that he is under home isolation as per COVID-19 guidelines after testing positive for the virus. He also urged all his colleagues to self-monitor themselves.
10.5 lakh Indians have returned from abroad after the government launched the "Vande Bharat" repatriation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday, reported news agency PTI. MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the phase five of the Vande Bharat Mission is currently underway and between August 1 and August 12, 300 international flights and 70 domestic feeders have operated reaching 22 airports across India. Around 500 international flights are scheduled to be operated this month, he said. "Earlier this week on August 11, we crossed the one million-mark under the Vande Bharat Mission. As of date, about 10.5 lakh stranded Indians have returned through various modes under this mission," Mr Srivastava said at an online media briefing.
Maharashtra today reported single-day spike of 12,608 COVID-19 cases. The state's tally now stands at 5,72,734 with 19,427 deaths, the state health department said, reported news agency PTI.
Around 500 COVID-19 patients have died in Assam, including around 350 due to comorbidities, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, reported news agency PTI. Mr Sarma said the state has reported 169 deaths with underlying causes as COVID-19 pneumonia. "There is another long list of 300-350 COVID-19 patients, who have died due to cancer, kidney failure, heart disease or other comorbidities," Mr Sarma told a gathering at a plasma donation camp organised by the BJP. However, deaths caused by other ailments are not included in the list of COVID-19 fatalities as per central government guidelines, he said. Assam has so far reported a total of 71,795 COVID-19 positive cases, of which 22,240 are active and 49,383 have recovered.
West Bengal's COVID-19 count jumped to 1,10,358 on Friday with the highest single-day spike of 3,035 cases, the health department said, reported news agency PTI. The death count mounted to 2,319 after 60 more patients died due to the infection, it said in a bulletin. The discharge rate has improved to 73.57 per cent after 2,572 recoveries since Thursday. West Bengal now has 26,850 active cases. In the last 24 hours, 31,317 samples have been tested in the state, the bulletin added.
Tamil Nadu reported 117 deaths and 5,890 new COVID-19 cases today, the state's health department said, reported news agency ANI. The total number of positive cases in Tamil Nadu now stands at 3,26,245, including 53,715 active cases and 5,514 deaths. India touched a new milestone with the highest number of COVID-19 tests in a single day so far, after a record high of 8,48,728 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to 2,76,94,416 on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said. As many as 64,553 new coronavirus cases and 1,007 deaths were reported in country in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Karnataka on Friday reported the biggest single-day spike of 7,908 new cases of COVID-19 and 104 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 2,11,108 and the death count to 3,717, the health department said, reported news agency PTI. The day also saw 6,940 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of the 7,908 fresh cases, 2,452 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. The previous single-day spike was on August 12 with 7,883 cases. As of August 14 evening, 2,11,108 positive cases have been confirmed and they included 3,717 deaths and 1,28,182 discharges, the health bulletin said.

The AAP government has invited seven "corona warriors", including an additional district magistrate (ADM), a doctor and an ambulance driver, for its Independence Day event to acknowledge their hard work in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a statement said on Friday.
Mumbai's COVID-19 death count has crossed the 7,000-mark after 47 new fatalities were reported on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, reported news agency PTI. So far, 7,035 people have died due to the infection in the city, it said. The number of coronavirus patients in the metropolis increased to 1,28,550 with the addition of 979 cases during the day, it said. The BMC said that the number of recovered patients went up to 1,01,861 after 907 patients were discharged from hospitals on Friday. Mumbai's COVID-19 recovery rate is 79 per cent, the civic body said, adding that there are only 19,354 active cases in the city now. Out of the 47 patients who died during the day, 37 suffered from various co-morbidities.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said that India has done its best to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and that the country's recovery rate among COVID-19 patients is the highest in the world while the fatality rate is the lowest. India, the second-most populous country in the world with over 130 crore people, is the world's third worst-affected country by the pandemic after US and Brazil.
Chandigarh reported one more death due to COVID-19 as 86 fresh cases took the infection tally to 1,928 in the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana on Friday, reported news agency PTI. A 20-year-old man who had died on Wednesday was declared coronavirus positive, taking the fatality count to 28 in the union territory. He had suffered a cardiac arrest on August 11, as per a medical bulletin. Meanwhile, 86 fresh cases were reported. Among the fresh patients were two girls, aged two and five; and a boy, aged six, the bulletin said.
Delhi on Friday reported 1,192 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of cases in the national capital to 1,50,652, reported news agency ANI. According to the Delhi government's health department bulletin, 11 deaths were reported today, taking the count to 4,178. There are 11,366 active cases in the national capital currently. 12,73,140 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Delhi so far. There are currently 523 containment zones in the national capital, according to the bulletin.
The first two COVID-19 patients, who were with plasma therapy in Goa, have tested negative for the virus, the state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said today, reported news agency ANI. Addressing media regarding COVID-19 situation in the coastal state, Mr Rane said that it is a "great achievement for us" as the first two patients treated for COVID-19 with plasma therapy have tested negative. The state health department has also decided to reserve three of its wards in Goa Medical College (GMC) to treat extremely critical COVID-19 patients. The critical patients were earlier shifted to ESI hospital.
आज मेरी कोरोना टेस्ट रिपोर्ट नेगेटिव आई है।
- Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 14, 2020
मैं ईश्वर का धन्यवाद करता हूँ और इस समय जिन लोगों ने मेरे स्वास्थ्यलाभ के लिए शुभकामनाएं देकर मेरा और मेरे परिजनों को ढाढस बंधाया उन सभी का ह्रदय से आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ।
डॉक्टर्स की सलाह पर अभी कुछ और दिनों तक होम आइसोलेशन में रहूँगा।
In a humanitarian gesture, Odisha's KIIT, deemed to be a university, has decided to provide technical and professional education free of cost to the children of Odisha's COVID-19 victims, reported news agency PTI. Founder of KIIT and KISS, Achyuta Samanta, said that the move aims to extend a helping hand to the affected families. "The novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted normal life and livelihoods of the people across the country, including Odisha. Sons and daughters of COVID-19 victims in Odisha, who are interested, can apply to different technical and professional courses of KIIT-DU, including ITI and diploma engineering, as per their eligibility for admission," he said. This facility will be available for two academi years, 2020-21 and 2021-22 only, officials said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with those who visited the Kozhikode plane crash site are going into self-quarantine, reported news agency ANI, quoting the Chief Minister's Office. Co-operation & Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran will hoist the national flag at the Independence Day function in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow, it said.
Puducherry reported as many as 328 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths, and 181 cured cases today, the Union Territory's Health Department said, reported news agency ANI. The total number of coronavirus cases has gone up to 6,995, including 2,880 active cases, 4,009 cured cases, and 106 deaths. As many as 64,553 new coronavirus cases and 1,007 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
As many as 147 more policemen in Maharashtra have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 11,920, the state police department said, reported news ageny ANI. The total number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra's police force includes 2,227 active cases, 9,569 recovered cases, and 124 fatalities. As many as 64,553 new coronavirus cases and 1,007 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The country's coronavirus count has risen to 24,61,191 including 48,040 deaths.
Observing that the current situation is "not at all conducive" for places of worship to reopen, the Bombay High Court on Friday refused to pass any interim order directing that temples in Maharashtra be opened for public, reported news agency PTI. The 2-judge bench, hearing the matter, said the COVID-19 situation in the state has not improved and people must therefore, pray at home. "For the love and safety of humanity, pray at home," the bench said.
Scientists have found the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms first appear, an advance that may help clinicians rule out other diseases, and help patients seek care promptly or decide sooner to self-isolate. Read more

Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said on Thursday, although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain. Read more

If a COVID-19 vaccine is proven effective, the US will ensure it's distributed for free to all Americans, officials said Thursday, underscoring there will be no shortcuts on safety. Read more

The UK began trials of a new smartphone app on Thursday designed to track COVID-19 infections within the community, with versions also available in Indian languages such as Punjabi, Gujarati, Bangla and Urdu in order to reach ethnicities not well-versed in English. Read more

The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government to initiate action against those private hospitals allegedly charging excessively for COVID-19 patients in violation of guidelines and beyond the prescribed rates fixed by the government. Read more

Guards armed with rifles escort Dr Kumar Gaurav as he makes the rounds at his hospital on the banks of the Ganges River. Read more
