08:57 (IST)
Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates
Serum to begin Phase 2 trial of Oxford-Astrazeneca candidate today
The phase 2 human clinical trial of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the country by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is set to begin from Tuesday.
The observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of ''Covishield'' on healthy Indian adults will begin at Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital in Pune.
Serum Institute of India has partnered with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca for manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by the University of Oxford.
08:16 (IST)
Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates
Russia formally approaches India for COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V
The Russian Ambassador on Tuesday reached out to India as New Delhi had formally approached for Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, reports News18.
The Indian embassy in Moscow has been engaging with the Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which has developed the vaccine, to get safety and efficacy data on the vaccine trials.
08:10 (IST)
Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates
SC refuses to allow NEET exams abroad; students allowed to return by Vande Bharat flights
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea to set up centres for the NEET examabroad, and directed the Centre to allow overseas students wanting to appear for NEET 2020 to travel to India on Vande Bharat flights.
The Bench, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, added that the students must be quarantined for 14 days. However, the court allowed students to approach the respective state governments with pleas for a shorter quarantine period.
The court also told the Medical Council of India (MCI), which is the body that conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam, that it should consider holding the exam online from next year.
08:03 (IST)
Coronavirus in Karnataka LATEST Updates
Karnataka eases travel restrictions: No quarantine for inter-state travelers
The Karnataka government on Monday eased the coronavirus-induced lockdown that imposed restrictions on inter-state travel, including stamping on the hand indicating whether the individual is coronavirus- infected and the 14-day mandatory quarantine.
The government issued a new circular to this effect to travellers arriving in Karnataka from other states and Union Territories.
The inter-state travellers include businessmen, students, labourers and those passing through irrespective of their purpose of visit or duration of stay in the state, the circular read.
07:57 (IST)
Coronavirus in Odisha LATEST Updates
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rises to 81,479; toll mounts to 419
Odisha's COVID-19 tally shot up to 81,479 on Monday as 2,949 more people tested positive for the infection, while 10 fresh fatalities pushed the state's death toll to 419, a senior health official said.
Cuttack registered the highest number of fresh cases at 589, followed by Khurda (474), Jajpur (215) and Ganjam (179), he said.
A total of 1,826 cases were detected from quarantine centres, while 1,123 people tested positive for the infection during contact tracing, the official said.
07:54 (IST)
Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates
Unlock 4.0 phase to begin from 1 September
The government is likely to allow resumption of Metro train services in the ''Unlock 4'' phase beginning 1 September, but schools and colleges may not reopen anytime soon, officials told PTI on Monday.
Bars, which are so far not allowed to reopen, may be permitted to sell liquor over the counter for takeaway.
Metro rail services may be allowed from 1 September when the ''Unlock 4'' phase in the graded reopening from the coronavirus-induced lockdown will begin, an official said.
07:46 (IST)
Coronavirus in West Bengal LATEST Updates
COVID-19 discharge rate improves in West Bengal
The discharge rate of Covid-19 patients in West Bengal has improved to 78.46 percent on Monday from 58.54 percent on 18 August the state health department said. Altogether 3,285 patients were released from different hospitals during the day.
The death toll due to coronavirus mounted to 2,851 after 57 people succumbed to the disease, while the states tally reached 1,41,837 with 2,967 new cases of infection, the department said in a bulletin.
07:40 (IST)
Coronavirus in Jharkhand LATEST Updates
Shibu Soren, diagnosed with COVID-19, shifted to hospital
JMM chief Shibu Soren, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, was shifted to a private hospital here on Monday as a precautionary measure, official sources told PTI
Soren, 76, and his wife Roopi tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and were in home isolation as they did have symptoms, they said. However, taking into account his age and medical record, the former chief minister was shifted to the Medanta Hospital here in the evening, they added.
His condition is currently stable, official sources said.
07:38 (IST)
Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates
India has tested over 3.5 cr people for COVID-19 so far, says Centre
According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, India has tested more than 3.5 crore people for COVID19 so far, resolutely following its 'TEST TRACK TREAT' strategy.
"As the first step towards timely identification, prompt isolation & effective treatment, higher testing also results in limiting the spread of infection," it said in a tweet.
#IndiaFightsCorona
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) August 25, 2020
India has tested more than 3.5 crore people for #COVID19 so far, resolutely following its 'TEST TRACK TREAT' strategy.@PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @PIB_India @COVIDNewsByMIB @CovidIndiaSeva @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts @ICMRDELHI @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/tcm38I6wPe
07:36 (IST)
Coronavirus in Haryana LATEST Updates
Haryana CM, Speaker, 2 BJP MLAs test positive
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and two BJP MLAs tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, two days before the Monsoon Session of the Assembly is set to begin, reports PTI.
Khattar's test report came positive on Monday, six days after he had attended a meeting with Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was later found infected with the virus.
The chief minister was taken to the PGIMER hospital here for a detailed check-up in the evening, an official said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates: According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, India has tested more than 3.5 crore people for COVID19 so far, resolutely following its 'TEST TRACK TREAT' strategy
The tally of coronavirus cases in India crossed 31 lakh with a rise of 61,408 new cases on Monday, and the recovery rate rose to 75.27 percent with a total of 23,38,035 cured patients recorded so far, the Union health ministry said.
The COVID-19 caseload mounted to 31,06,348, a day after it crossed 30 lakh, while the toll rose to 57,542 with 836 new casualties being reported in a span of 24-hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has declined to 1.85 percent, the ministry said. The total count of cases includes 7,10,771 active cases, which comprise 22.88 percent of the total caseload.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 3,59,02,137 samples have been tested up to 23 August with 6,09,917 samples being tested on Sunday.
ML Khattar, Haryana Speaker test COVID-19 positive
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, and two BJP MLAs tested positive for COVID-19, two days before the Monsoon Session of the Assembly is set to begin.
Khattar's test report came positive on Monday, six days after he had attended a meeting with Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was later found infected with the virus.
Khattar was taken to the PGIMER hospital for a detailed check-up in the evening, PTI reported, adding that his condition was stable.
"I was tested for novel coronavirus today. My test report has returned positive. I appeal to all colleagues and associates who came in my contact over the last week to get themselves tested. I request my close contacts to move into strict quarantine immediately," the chief minister tweeted.
Khattar's earlier test report came negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, two days after he had attended the meeting with Shekhawat over the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue in New Delhi. The chief minister had on Thursday decided to go into home quarantine for three days as a precautionary measure.
Khattar, who is also the Leader of the Assembly, will not be available for the Monsoon Session. He underwent the test on Monday as mandated by the Speaker for all MLAs and Assembly staffers ahead of the session, beginning 26 August.
Speaker Gupta (73) and BJP MLAs Aseem Goel and Ram Kumar also tested positive for COVID-19, the state government said.
Meanwhile, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said that the oxygen levels of Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik dropped on Monday. Naik is also COVID-19 positive.
Sawant added a joint team of doctors from the Command Hospital, New Delhi and AIIMS will be arriving in Goa on Monday night to take stock of Naik's medical condition. Naik is an MP from Goa.
The team will decide whether to shift Naik to Delhi for further treatment, Sawant added.
Centre likely to allow metro services to resume from 1 Sept
The Centre is likely to announce 'Unlock 4' guidelines this week, PTI reported. The permission to resume metro services across the country from 1 September, is likely to be among the new guidelines. States will, however, take the final call on reopening the rapid transport networks depending on the coronavirus situation there.
Metro services were suspended in late March to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 31 lakh people in the country so far.
The 'Unlock 4' phase is part of the Centre's graded lifting of restrictions due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Meanwhile, schools and colleges may not reopen anytime soon, the report said. Bars, which are so far not allowed to reopen, may be permitted to sell liquor over the counter for takeaway.
The report quoted officials as saying that deliberations are underway on whether to allow reopening of higher educational institutions such as universities, IITs and IIMs.
There is almost no possibility of allowing cinema halls to reopen from 1 September as it will not be commercially viable for film-makers or cinema hall owners to operate following social distancing norm.
In the 'Unlock 4' guidelines, the central government will only mention about prohibited activities and the rest can resume. The state governments will take a final call on additional activities that should continue to remain prohibited during the 'Unlock 4', the report said.
Hong Kong researchers report first documented coronavirus re-infection
Researchers in Hong Kong documented the first case of a cured coronavirus patient getting reinfected, reports said on Monday.
A man who recovered from COVID-19 was infected for the second time, four and a half months later "in the first documented instance of human re-infection", researchers at the University of Hong Kong were quoted as saying by Reuters.
"The findings indicate the disease, which has killed more than 800,000 people worldwide, may continue to spread amongst the global population despite herd immunity," the report said.
SP Balasubrahmanyam tests negative for COVID-19
Singer SP Balasubrahmanyam has tested negative for coronavirus and he is stable and fine, his son SP Charan said on Monday.
"My father is fine and stable and his coronavirus test has tested negative," he said in a statement. The 74-year old, hugely popular for his singing skills in several languages,was admitted to MGM Healthcare on 5 August after he tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a hospital bulletin issued on 22 August, the playback singer was on ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit.
State-wise cases and deaths
Maharashtra reported 11,015 new cases of COVID-19 and 212 deaths on Monday. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 6,93,398, including 5,02,490 recoveries and 1,68,126 active cases, the state's health department said.
Tamil Nadu reported 5,967 new COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths, taking total cases to 3,85,352, including 3,25,456 discharges and 6,614 deaths. The number of active cases stands at 53,282, according to the health department.
In Delhi, 1,061 new cases, 1,200 new recoveries, and 13 deaths were reported. The total number of cases are now at 1,62,527, including 1,46,588 recovered cases, 11,626 active cases and 4,313 deaths, the Delhi government said.
Madhya Pradesh reported 1,292 new cases of coronavirus and 17 deaths. The total number of cases are now at 54,421, including 11,944 active cases, 41,231 recoveries and 1,246 deaths.
Punjab reported 1,516 new cases today. The total number of cases rises to 43,284 including 13,798 active cases, 28,357 recovered cases and 1,129 deaths so far, as per the state's health department.
With inputs from PTI
source https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-news-india-live-updates-unlock-4-covid19-pandemic-bus-service-flight-train-shop-lockdown-latest-updates-maharashtra-8748501.html
