A fresh spike of 92,605 new cases in the last 24 hours took India's coronavirus tally to 54,00,619 cases, the Health Ministry data showed this morning. About 43 lakh Covid patients have recovered so far; 94,612 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, the government said.
Twelve lakh samples- the highest in a day so far- were tested since yesterday, the Health Ministry said in a tweet. This takes the total number of samples collected to 6,36,61,060.
1,133 deaths linked to Covid registered since yesterday has taken the number of fatalities to 86,752.
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are the worst-hit states by the outbreak.
Meanwhile, the ongoing monsoon session of Lok Sabha will be curtailed by several days, the government decided on Saturday after consulting with the opposition at the Business Advisory Committee meeting this evening. The Centre 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 had earlier held a discussion with the opposition as it had been trying to build a consensus. Many opposition parties were also in favour of winding up the session.
The session in Lok Sabha is likely to wrap up by Wednesday next week. Rajya Sabha, the upper House of parliament, is expected to follow suit.
Here are the highlights on Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases:
The stubble burning which is likely to start later this month ahead of the Rabi crop sowing season can exacerbate the Coronavirus crisis, an agricultural-cum-environment expert has cautioned.
"If alternate arrangements to stubble burning are not made, pollutants like particulate matters and toxic gases like Carbon Monoxide and Methane could give rise to severe respiratory problems, which will further worsen the COVID 19 situation, as the Coronavirus also impacts the respiratory tract," Sanjeev Nagpal, also an advisor to the Union and the Punjab governments on the crop residue management, told PTI on Sunday.
"Last year, nearly 50,000 cases of stubble burning were reported in Punjab. Stubble burning contributes about 18 to 40 per cent of particulate matter to atmosphere in northern plains. It also emits large amounts of toxic pollutants like Methane, Carbon Monoxide and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons," said Mr Nagpal, also the MD of Sampurn Agri Ventures Pvt Ltd (SAVPL).
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday informed that over four coronavirus vaccines are in advanced stages of pre-clinical trial in India.
"145 vaccine candidates across the world are under pre-clinical evaluation, around 35 under clinical trials. In India, we gave all support to 30 vaccine candidates -3 of these are in advanced trials of phases 1, 2, and 3. Over 4 in advanced stages of the pre-clinical trial," Harsh Vardhan said in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic
The Minister also said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare received Rs 893.93 crores from PM-CARES Fund for 50,000 made in India ventilators.
"On January 30, World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the world about such disease. But we had started work from January 8. By January 17, we had issued a detailed health advisory and started point of entry surveillance and community surveillance. On January 30, when the first case in India was reported, authorities did 162 contact tracing," he said.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday informed that over four coronavirus vaccines are in advanced stages of pre-clinical trial in India.
"145 vaccine candidates across the world are under pre-clinical evaluation, around 35 under clinical trials. In India, we gave all support to 30 vaccine candidates -3 of these are in advanced trials of phases 1, 2, and 3. Over 4 in advanced stages of the pre-clinical trial," Harsh Vardhan said in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic
The Minister also said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare received Rs 893.93 crores from PM-CARES Fund for 50,000 made in India ventilators.
"On January 30, World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the world about such disease. But we had started work from January 8. By January 17, we had issued a detailed health advisory and started point of entry surveillance and community surveillance. On January 30, when the first case in India was reported, authorities did 162 contact tracing," he said.
Hong Kong has banned Air India flights from Sunday to October 3 after a few passengers on its flight on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival, a senior government official said on Sunday.
Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival.
Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done within 72 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government in July.
Moreover, all international passengers are required to undergo a post-flight COVID-19 test at the Hong Kong airport.
The Assam government has released a list of guidelines and SOPs (standard operating protocols) to be followed. These will come into effect from tomorrow and will be operative for the next 15 days.
Meanwhile, the Muzaffarpur district administration and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) urged people to get themselves treated at a COVID-19 hospital set up recently by the defence agency.
Maharashtra recorded as many as 20,598 new coronavirus positive cases on Sunday, which took
the state's overall tally to 12,08,642, the health department said.
The national capital's COVID-19 case count went past 2.46 lakh on Sunday with 3,812 more people contracting the viral disease, while 37 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,982, officials said.
Before this, the city recorded over 4,000 cases for five consecutive days.
The capital recorded 4,071 cases on Saturday, 4,127 on Friday, 4,432 on Thursday, 4,473 on Wednesday and 4,263 on Tuesday.
Of the total 2,46,711 cases reported in Delhi so far, 2,09,632 have either recovered, been discharged or migrated out.
As many as 52,405 tests were conducted on Saturday to detect COVID-19 infection, of which 11,322 were RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 41,083 rapid antigen tests.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Ahmedabad district rose to 34,941 on Sunday with addition
of 183 new patients, Gujarat health department said.
Arrangements have been made in all districts of Madhya Pradesh for legislators who want to
Maharashtra records one-day spike of 20,598 COVID-19 cases, tally reaches 12,08,642; death count rises to 32,671 as 455 succumb to infection: News agency PTI quoting health department.
COVID-19 cases have shown a surge since the beginning of this month with September 16 recording 4,473 cases, the highest single-day spike here till date. On that day, 33 fatalities were recorded, taking the total number of deaths to 4839, according to official figures shared by the Delhi health department.
The daily cases and daily death counts recorded from September 15-19 stood at: 4263 (36 deaths); 4473 (33); 4432 (38); 4127 (30); and 4071 (38) respectively, according to official data.
"Large outbreaks in certain districts indicate an acute spread... only 10 states are contributing 77 per cent of active cases. If you see state-specific data, you will find that these cases are concentrated in few districts," Dr Vardhan said.
"India is at multiple trajectories across the urban, semi-urban and rural populations," he added.
The Health Minister's comment comes a day after his Delhi counterpart, Satyendar Jain, took a swipe at the centre over its insistence that India has still not entered the community transmission stage.
Of the fresh novel coronavirus cases, state capital Lucknow reported 874 cases, followed by 394 in Kanpur and 302 in Prayagraj. Meerut recorded 230 new patients, while Gorakhpur reported 210 cases.
Britain is at a tipping point on COVID-19, health minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday, warning that a second national lockdown could be imposed if people don't follow government rules designed to stop the spread of the virus.COVID-19 cases have risen sharply in recent weeks to more than 4,000 per day.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called it a second wave and stricter lockdown measures have been introduced in areas across the country - with London possibly next in line.
"The nation faces a tipping point and we have a choice," Hancock told Sky News
"The choice is either that everybody follows the rules ..or we will have to take more measures."Hancock later told the BBC that a second national lockdown was possible option."I don't rule it out, I don't want to see it," he said.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has the highest COVID-19 death rate among all paramilitaries, the Centre said in a written reply in parliament on Sunday." itemprop="description
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has the highest COVID-19 death rate among all paramilitaries, the Centre said in a written reply in parliament on Sunday." itemprop="description
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who was infected with COVID-19 recently, tested negative for the virus for the second time on Sunday.
Mr Khandu had tested positive for COVID-19 on September 15.
Taking to Twitter, the chief minister who is currently in home isolation in New Delhi, informed that he has tested negative for coronavirus for the second time after a repeat RT-PCR test.
"Today my repeat RT-PCR test for COVID-19 came negative for second time. #WearMask #StaySafe," Mr Khandu wrote on his official twitter handle.
The 41-year-old chief minister had tweeted on Sepember 15, "I had undergone Covid test RT-PCR and have tested positive for Covid19. I am asymptomatic and feeling healthy.
However, as per SOP and safety of others, I am self isolating myself and request everyone who came in contact with me to adhere to the SOP."
With 94,612 people recuperating from COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, the total number of recoveries in the country has surged to 43,03,043, taking the national recovery rate to 79.68 per cent, the health ministry said on Sunday.
As many as 60 per cent of the new recoveries were reported from five states -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu -- which also accounted for 52 per cent of the new cases, the ministry highlighted.
Maharashtra continued to top the chart with more than 23,000 new recoveries, while both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh accounted for over 10,000 single-day recoveries, it said.
The country has reported more than 94,000 recoveries for two successive days, the ministry said.
Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Nagpur, residents continued business as usual on the second day of the voluntary janata curfew.
Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi had appealed to the public to observe Janata curfew on Saturday and Sunday in order to control the spread of the coronavirus in the city.
Visuals from the area showed normal traffic conditions while several thronged the streets of the city.
For the first time, India conducted over 12 lakhs COVID-19 tests in 24 hours, amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Higher testing forms an integral part of ''chase the virus'' strategy which aims to catch every missing person to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection, informed the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.
The ministry said that India has crossed a crucial milestone in the fight against COVID-19. In a landmark achievement, for the first time, a record number of more than 12 lakh COVID tests (12,06,806) have been conducted in a single day, while the cumulative tests have crossed 6.36 crore (6,36,61,060).
As many as 4,330 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Odisha, taking the state's coronavirus count to 1,79,880, informed Information and Public Relations Department, Odisha on Sunday.
There are 37,469 active cases in the state while 1,41,657 cases have recovered. A total of 701 people in Odisha have died due to the infection.
India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 54-lakh mark with a spike of 92,605 new cases and 1,133 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.
Disposal of biomedical waste including PPE kits worn by healthcare professionals and public became a challenge during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Union Health Ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
"As informed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), disposal of bio-medical waste including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit worn by healthcare professionals as well as general public became a challenge during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said.
The minister was responding to a query by BJP MP Mahesh Poddar in the Upper House over the disposal of biomedical waste during the coronavirus crisis in the country.
On being asked whether COVID-19 cases increased among individuals employed in garbage collection and disposal, the minister said the data is not maintained by the Centre.
India has reported high COVID-29 recoveries of over 43 lakh (43,03,043) till September 20. According to the government, at least 94,612 people have recovered from the coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, resulting in the Recovery Rate touching 79.68 per cent.
"At least 60 per cent of the new recovered cases are being reported from five states.i.e. Maharashtra, Karnataka Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra continues to lead with more than 23,000 new cases of recovered patients. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh both have contributed more than 10,000 to the single-day recoveries," the health ministry further informed.
A total of 92,605 new confirmed cases (active cases) have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country, taking the cumulative cases to over 54 lakh so far.
The Central government also informed that about 52 per cent of the new cases (active cases) are concentrated in five states, however, these are also the states contributing maximum to the new recoveries.
"52% of the new cases are concentrated in five states. These are also the States contributing maximum to the new recoveries. Maharashtra contributed more than 20,000 to the new cases. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka both have contributed more than 8,000," the Health Ministry said in a tweet. Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are the other two states on the list.
#IndiaFightsCorona
- Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) September 20, 2020
India registers a record High Recoveries, More than 94,000 Recovered in last 24 hours.
India's Total Recoveries continue to rise, cross 43 lakh today.
5 States contribute 60% of new recoverieshttps://t.co/YZvHTbwesk pic.twitter.com/LicLapnbHY
Union Minister @DrJitendraSingh reviews #COVID19 situation in J&K; Expressing concern over Jammu recording one of the lowest COVID recovery rate of 43% in the country, Dr Jitendra Singh announced on Saturday that Centre will monitor Jammu COVID situation on daily basis. pic.twitter.com/9Y9o26YhPk
- Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) September 20, 2020
India's first CRISPR Covid-19 test FELUDA, developed by @IGIBSocial and @TataGroup has been approved for use in India by @DCGI. Congratulations to the entire team! @PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @PrinSciAdvGoI @shekhar_mande @ICMRDELHI @AnuragAgrawalMD @Debojyo04532898
- CSIR (@CSIR_IND) September 19, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss the coronavirus situation with the chief ministers of seven states - badly hit by the pandemic - on September 23 via video conferencing.
The Health Ministry this morning said that a record 12 lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours
#IndiaFightsCorona
- Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) September 20, 2020
India scales another peak.
In last 24 hours, 12 lakh tests were conducted across the country which is an all time record high.
Total #COVID19 tests more than 6.37 cr. pic.twitter.com/lamFdXFLs0
Himachal Pradesh: Tourists have started visiting Shimla after state govt allowed inter-state movement without an e-pass. A tourist says, "Due to lockdown, we were at home for almost 6 months. It feels good to be here. We are taking all precautionary measures." #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/EhWyF6lVWh
- ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2020