More than 85,000 new Covid cases were reported across India in the past 24 hours, government data showed on Saturday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country past the 59 lakh-mark. Over 1,000 deaths were also recorded in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of deaths recorded since the pandemic began past 93,000. The number of recoveries reported in the past 24 hours is around 93,000 as well, taking the total number of people who have fought off the virus past 48 lakh.
Around 13.4 lakh Covid tests were also conducted in the past 24 hours. India is the second worst-affected country by the Covid pandemic, second only to the United States in the total number of active cases
Here are the Live updates on Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked where is the United Nations in the coronavirus fight as he delivered a virtual address at the annual UN General Assembly today. The Prime Minister spoke on a wide range of issues including the coronavirus pandemic and India's role in the United Nations. He stressed that India has been looking at an extended role in the UN. "Till when will India be kept away from the UN's decision-making process?" the Prime Minister asked. Read
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expressed apprehensions of a "second wave" of coronavirus transmission as more people are moving out for work, and called for stricter compliance with norms.
Speaking at a virtual meeting with ministers and officials of Marathwada and Nashik divisions on the COVID-19 situation, the CM expressed concerns over asymptomatic patients, allowed to remain at home, stepping out without proper precautions and infecting others.
He said the focus should be on reducing the mortality rate. Read
The Karnataka government has reduced the cost of RT- PCR tests for COVID-19 - considered the most reliable test to detect coronavirus - saying the cost of reagents for the test has come down.
Samples sent by the government to private labs for testing will now cost a maximum of ₹ 1,200, while private samples will cost ₹ 1,600.
In July, the cost for samples sent by the government was ₹ 2,000 and those sent by private labs was ₹ 3,000. They were brought down in August to ₹ 1,500 and ₹ 2,500, respectively.
In a meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told seven states with high COVID-19 cases, including Karnataka, to increase RT-PCR tests.
Karnataka plans to increase daily COVID-19 testing from 65,000 to one lakh, Health Commissioner Pankaj Pandey told NDTV. The one lakh tests will include 60,000 RT-PCR and 40,000 Rapid Antigen Test or RAT.
Cinema halls and open air theatres will be allowed to operate in West Bengal from October 1 with limited number of participants, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI. She also said musical, dance and magic shows will be permitted in the state from next month.
Karnataka today reported 8,811 new COVID-19 cases and 86 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 5,66,023 and the death count to 8,503, the Health department said, reported news agency PTI. The day also saw 5,417 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of the 8,811 fresh cases reported today, 4,083 cases were from Bengaluru Urban alone.
Gujarat on Saturday reported 1,417 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total count of infections to 1,31,808, state health department said, reported news agency PTI. With 13 more deaths due to the infection, the fatality count went up to 3,409, it said. A total of 1,419 patients were discharged in the state in the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,11,909, the department said. With this, the case recovery rate in the state now stands at 84.90 per cent, it said in a release.
Jammu and Kashmir today recorded 1,217 fresh coronavirus cases, while 20 died in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 71,049 and the death count to 1,125, officials said, reported news agency PTI. It was for the 24th consecutive day that the number of fresh cases crossed 1,000 in a 24-hour period. "The Union Territory recorded 1,217 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with 720 cases in Jammu and 497 in the Kashmir valley," the officials said.
Rajasthan reported 2,045 fresh coronavirus cases today while the state's death count due to the infection rose to 1,426 with 14 more fatalities, according to a health department bulletin, reported news agency PTI. The state's infection tally now stood at 1,26,775. Ajmer, Banswara, Baran, Bikaner, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Kota, Pali, Sikar, Tonk and Udaipur reported one death each, the bulletin said. The maximum number of fresh cases was reported from Jaipur (415), while Jodhpur and Bikaner reported 335 and 108 infections, respectively.
Kerala's daily COVID-19 graph continues to surge with 7,006 new cases being reported today, taking the infection count to 1,66,939 and over 50,000 people are presently under treatment, state Health Minister KK Shailaja said, reported news agency PTI. In the last 24 hours, 58,799 samples have been tested. The state has been witnessing a massive spike in daily cases since the past few days. While 6,477 cases were detected on Friday, it was 6,324 on Thursday and 5,376 on Wednesday.
As a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Assam government has declared a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for air passengers arriving in Guwahati from Saturday, reported news agency ANI. As per the guidelines, a person arriving in Guwahati by air will have to undergo Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at a designated testing centre after he/she deboards. Kamrup Metro district administration will make necessary arrangements for it. "If the RAT result is positive, the person will undergo home isolation / treatment at a COVID Care Centre or hospital, as per protocol," the guidelines read.
Equine Biotech, a startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has developed an indigenous RT-PCR diagnostic kit called "GlobalTM diagnostic kit" for accurate and affordable diagnosis of COVID-19, said Indian Institute of Science, reported news agency ANI. It has been approved for use in authorised COVID-19 diagnostic labs by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The test takes about 1.5 hours to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in patient samples, Indian Institute of Science informed.
As many as 966 persons have so far tested positive for coronavirus in 7,810 offices in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, under the civic body's "COVID-19 coordinator" initiative, a senior official said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI. As part of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) drive, 67,845 tests were conducted in 7,810 offices, in which 966 persons have tested positive so far, said Rajiv Gupta, additional chief secretary and in-charge for COVID-19 management in the city.
India's COVID-19 case count crossed the 59-lakh mark with a spike of 85,362 new cases. A total of 1,089 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. The total case count now stands at 59,03,932 including 9,60,969 active cases. The total death count in India rose to 93,379, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
Daily new COVID-19 infections in India remained below the 90,000 mark for the fifth consecutive day while the caseload zoomed past 58 lakh, health ministry data said on Friday.
Over 47 lakh people have recovered from the disease, pushing the national recovery rate to 81.74 per cent.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 58,18,570 with 86,052 infections being reported in a day. The death toll climbed to 92,290 with 1,141 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.