Coronavirus In India Updates: Confirmed cases now stands at 53,08,015 including 10,13,964 active cases
The phase-III human clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University, and being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), will begin at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune next week.
Dean of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital Dr Muralidhar Tambe told this to PTI on Saturday.
"The phase-III trial of "Covishield" vaccine will begin at Sassoon hospital from next week. It is likely to start on Monday. Some volunteers have already come forward for the trial. Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose," he said.
"From Saturday, the hospital started enrolling volunteers for the trial. Those who are willing to volunteer for the vaccination should contact the hospital," he said.
Under phase-II, trials were conducted at Bharti Vidyapeeth Medical College and also KEM Hospital in the city.
India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 53-lakh mark with a spike of 93,337 new cases in last 24 hours, data released by the Health Ministry this morning showed. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 53,08,015 including 10,13,964 active cases. The country also witnessed 1,247 deaths during the 24-hour period, it said.
With record 95,885 recoveries, India has overtaken the United States of America to record the highest coronavirus recoveries in the world, the Health Ministry tweeted. According to the latest Health Ministry data, more than 42 lakh people have beaten COVID-19 in the country till now. Some 41 lakh people have recovered in the US.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases:
Coronavirus: Rajasthan Imposes Prohibitory Orders In 11 DistrictsConcerned over the rising number of coronavirus cases, the Rajasthan government on Saturday decided to impose Section 144 of the CrPC in 11 districts of the state.
The state has 33 districts and the provision prohibits an assembly of more than five persons at a place.
According to a release, the government also decided to continue the ban on social or religious functions till October 31.
However, the permission for 20 people at funerals and 50 in marriage functions will continue.
The decisions were taken in a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the release said.
4,644 new COVID-19 cases, 2,862 recoveries and 18 deaths reported in Kerala today, taking active cases to 37,488 and death count to 519: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Assam's Covid Death Count Climbs To 548, Tally Soars To 1,55,453Eight more COVID-19 patients died due to the virus in Assam on Saturday, pushing the death count to 548, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The state's coronavirus tally soared to 1,55,453 with 2,595 new cases, he said.
The deaths were reported from Majuli, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Kamrup Rural, Chirang and Goalpara districts, Mr Sarma said.
The fresh cases include 553 from Kamrup Metropolitan, 205 from Jorhat, 199 from Lakhimpur and 173 from Golaghat.
Assam has conducted 28,71,017 tests so far and 35,175 since Friday, he said.
The recovery rate is 80.90 per cent with 1,23,684 patients having been cured.
The state now has 31,218 active cases, while three have migrated out.
Drug Controller Approves Commercial Launch Of Low Cost Covid Test "Feluda"The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the commercial launch of "Feluda", the Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) COVID-19 test, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) said on Saturday.
This test uses an indigenously developed, cutting-edge CRISPR technology for detection of the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, CSIR said in a statement.
The Tata CRISPR test achieves accuracy levels of traditional RT-PCR tests with quicker turnaround time, less expensive equipment and better ease of use.
2,011 prisoners and 416 jail staff tested positive for COVID-19 in prisons across Maharashtra. 6 prisoners and 4 jail staff died of the disease so far: State Prison Department
Railways Allows 10% Staff Of Private Banks To Travel In Mumbai Local Trains
The Railways has allowed select 10 per cent employees of co-operative and private banks to travel on Mumbai's suburban trains. The service is currently restricted for the general public in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Employees of nationalised banks are already allowed to travel by trains.
2-Member Centre Team Reviews COVID Measures In Jammu
A two-member health ministry team visited different hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir to review COVID-19 control measures following a spurt in the cases over the past few weeks, officials said.
The high-level team was headed by Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, S K Singh.
"We have come to see the functioning of COVID dedicated hospitals and how to make these institutions better to face the challenge posed by the disease," Mr Singh said.
Raman Singh Tests Coronavirus PositiveFormer Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Saturday tweeted that he had been detected with COVID-19. He said he got himself tested after exhibiting symptoms and appealed to those who came in contact with him over the past few days to check if they too were infected.
Coronavirus Update: Kerala Reports Highest Single-Day Surge Of 4,644 COVID-19 CasesThe state of Kerala reported the highest single day surge of COVID-19 cases- 4,644 on Saturday.
The new cases took the infection count to 1,31,025, while the death count mounted to 519 with 18 more deaths.
This is the third consecutive day that over 4,000 cases have been reported from the southern state.
As many as 4,351 and 4,167 positive cases were detected on Thursday and Friday respectively.
Coronavirus Update: Phase 3 Trial Of Oxford Vaccine To Begin In Pune Next Week The phase-III human clinical trial of Covishield, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University, and being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), will begin at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune next week.
"The phase-III trial of ''Covishield'' vaccine will begin at Sassoon hospital from next week. It is likely to start on Monday. Some volunteers have already come forward for the trial. Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose," Dean of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital Dr Muralidhar Tambe told this to PTI said.
Read Railway Minister Piyush Goyal Says 97 Migrants Died On Shramik Trains During COVID-19 LockdownNinety-seven people died on board the Shramik Specials trains during the lockdown,
the government has informed the Rajya Sabha, admitting for the first time that migrant labourers lost their lives in the trains which were run to ferry them during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal provided the statistics to the upper house of parliament.
"Based on the data provided by State Police, 97 persons have been reported dead till 09.09.2020 while travelling on board Shramik Special Trains during current Covid-19 situation/crisis," the minister said.
"The state police registers case under Section 174 of Cr.PC in cases of unnatural deaths and follows further legal process," the minister said.
Read Parliament May End Session Before October 1 As Covid Cases Rise: SourcesThe Centre is exploring the possibility of curtailing the ongoing monsoon session of parliament by several days, sources say. The government is concerned for the safety of MPs after three of them - who had attended the session - tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week, days after their mandatory test reports turned out negative.
The government has held a discussion with the opposition as it is trying to build a consensus over the prospects of wrapping up the session before October 1, sources say. The matter will be taken up at the Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting this evening.
Seventeen members of the Lok Sabha and eight from the Rajya Sabha had tested positive for the coronavirus in the mandatory tests carried out before the monsoon session of parliament started. Among the infected Lok Sabha MPs, the BJP had the maximum number -- 12. The YSR Congress had two MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP had one each.
Read Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan Tests Positive For COVID-19
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Saturday said he has tested positive for COVID-19.
"In anticipation of the upcoming Assembly sessions, I underwent a #COVID19 test on Saturday and my results have returned positive. I am asymptomatic and will be under home isolation," Mr Narayan tweeted.
He has requested all those who have come in contact with him to take the necessary precautions.
India Has Highest Global Covid Recoveries, Overtakes US: Health MinistryIndia has overtaken the United States of America to record the highest coronavirus recoveries in the world, the Health Ministry tweeted. According to the latest Health Ministry data, more than 42 lakh people have beaten COVID-19 in the country till now. Some 41 lakh people have recovered in the US.
The Ministry of Health credited the country's high recovery rate (79.28 per cent) - the highest in the world - to the Central government-led "focused, calibrated, responsive and effective measures of early identification through high and aggressive testing, prompt surveillance and tracking coupled with standardised high quality clinical care have together resulted in this global achievement".
Coronavirus live updates: Rajasthan reports 813 fresh cases, 7 deaths
Seven deaths and 813 new coronavirus cases were reported in Rajasthan on Saturday.
Two deaths were reported from Hanumangarh while Ajmer, Banswara, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Sikar reported one death each, taking the total number of fatalities in the state to 1,315, according to an official report.
Three ministers, two MLAs test COVID-19 positive in Sikkim
Three ministers of the Prem Singh Tamang government and two BJP MLAs have tested positive for COVID-19, news agency PTI reported.
All legislators and staff of the state legislative assembly were tested for COVID-19 on Friday as a precautionary measure ahead of the proposed one-day assembly session on Monday.
Downward trend in COVID-19 positivity rate in last few days: Delhi Health Minister
Delhi has been witnessing a "downward trend" in the COVID-19 positivity rate Delhi has been witnessing a "downward trend" in the COVID-19 positivity rate, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said today.
"The positivity rate was 6.76 per cent on Friday. It has remained below 7 percent in the last two-three days. Last week, it was around 8 per cent," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Coronavirus cases live updates: 27 new cases push COVID-19 tally of Andamans to 3,631
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,631 on Saturday as 27 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Twenty-three infections were detected during contact tracing, while four new patients have travel history, he said.
Thirty-six more people have been cured of the disease, the official said.
Telangana reports 2,123 new COVID-19 cases, nine deaths
Telangana added 2,123 new cases, pushing the total infection count to 1,69,169, hile death toll rose to 1,025 with nine more fatalities.
Out of the 2,123 fresh cases, 305 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Rangareddy (185), Medchal Malkajgiri (149), Nalgonda (135), Karimnagar (112) and other districts, a state government bulletin said on Saturday, providing data as of 8 pm on September 18.
543 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths in 24 hours in Puducherry
Puducherry added 543 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday taking the overall tally in the union territory to 22,456.
Eleven more people succumbed to the infection as the number of deaths rose to 448, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said.
The fatality rate was two per cent while the recovery rate was 76.63 per cent, he added.
Rajasthan reports 813 new cases of COVID-19, 7 deaths
813 new confirmed cases and seven virus-related deaths were reported from Rajasthan in the past 24 hours, said the State Health Department on Saturday.
With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state has reached 1,12,103 including 92,303 recovered cases, 18,485 active cases and 1,315 deaths.
India overtakes US to record highest number of COVID-19 recoveries: Health Ministry
India has overtaken the United States to register the highest number of COVID-19 recoveries in the world, informed Union Health Ministry, as the total recoveries in the country crossed 42 lakh.
India's recovery rate now stands at 79.28 per cent - the highest in the world. India's Covid tally, the second highest in the world, stands at 53,08,014.
8,096 new cases reported in Andhra Pradesh
About 8,000 fresh cases and 67 deaths were reported in Andhra Pradesh on Friday, taking the total number of cases and deaths to 6,09,558 and 5,244 respectively, state COVID-19 nodal officer said.
According to the data, 11,803 patients have recovered from the virus in the state, taking the total recovered patients to 5,19,891. There are 84,423 active cases in the state.
Of the total deaths reported today, eight were reported in Kadapa, seven each in Chittoor and Krishna, six each in East Godavari, Guntur, and Visakhapatnam, five each in Anantapur, Nellore, and Srikakulam, four in West Godavari, three each in Prakasam and Vizianagaram and two in the Kurnool district, reported news agency ANI
Total samples tested up to 18th September are 6,24, 54, 254 including 8,81,911 samples tested yesterday: ICMR
Coronavirus India: Record 95,880 recoveries in a day
More people in India recovered from the coronavirus than were infected in the last 24 hours, this morning's Health Ministry data showed. The country, which is the second worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, recorded 93,337 new COVID-19 infections in a 24-hour period taking its tally past the 53-lakh mark. The number of people who recovered in the same duration was 95,880, taking India to the pole position as far as recoveries are concerned.
Just In: 93,337 Fresh Cases, 1,247 Virus-Related Deaths In India In 24 Hours
Coronavirus update: Guatemalan president and minister have coronavirus, cabinet to test
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei revealed on Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, just as the Central American country was easing draconian travel restrictions imposed months ago to contain infections.
"The coronavirus test result was positive," Giammattei told a local radio station. The government later confirmed the minister for culture had also tested positive.
Coronavirus update: Dublin tightens virus curbs for second time this weekCoronavirus restrictions were tightened in Dublin for the second time in a week on Friday, as Ireland's capital becomes the epicentre of a fresh wave of infections countrywide.
"Here, in our capital, despite people's best efforts over recent weeks, we are in a very dangerous place," Prime Minister Micheal Martin said in a national televised address.