Wednesday 2 September 2020

India

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India sees 'unprecedented surge' in COVID-19 testing, says Centre; over 11 lakh tests in past 24 hrs

07:56 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Update

Over 11 lakh tests done in past 24 hrs, says Centre

According to the ministry of health, India on Thursday witnessed an unprecedented surge in testing. Over 11,70,000 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

07:54 (IST)

Coronavirus in US LATEST Updates

Budget deficit to hit record USD 3.3 trillion due to virus, recession

The federal budget deficit is projected to hit a record USD 3.3 trillion as huge government expenditures to fight the coronavirus and to prop up the economy have added more than USD 2 trillion to the federal ledger, the Congressional Budget Office said.

The spike in the deficit means that federal debt will exceed annual gross domestic product next year a milestone that would put the US where it was in the aftermath of World War II, when accumulated debt exceeded the size of the economy.

The USD 3.3 trillion figure is more than triple the 2019 shortfall and more than double the levels experienced after the market meltdown and Great Recession of 2008-09.

Government spending, fuelled by four coronavirus response measures, would register at USD 6.6 trillion, USD 2 trillion-plus more than 2019.

07:49 (IST)

Coronavirus in UK LATEST Updates

Fresh virus restrictions across UK as cases rise

Coronavirus restrictions were tightened in the Scottish city of Glasgow and extended in parts of northern England on Wednesday following a surge in infection rates.

The new measures come amid a steady uptick in cases across Britain, which has suffered Europe's deadliest outbreak of Covid-19, with more than 41,500 confirmed deaths.

Regional restrictions imposed on the towns of Bolton and Trafford in England's Greater Manchester area were due to be lifted on Wednesday but at the last minute they were prolonged.

-AFP

07:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in US LATEST Updates

US states told be ready to distribute Covid-19 vaccine by 1 Nov

The Trump administration has urged US states to get ready to distribute a potential Covid-19 vaccine by 1 November – two days before the presidential election.

Dallas-based wholesaler McKesson Corp. has a deal with the federal government and will be requesting permits to set up distribution centers when a vaccine becomes available.

"The normal time required to obtain these permits presents a significant barrier to the success of this urgent public health program," Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told states in an 27 August letter.

"CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities."

-AFP

07:35 (IST)

Coronavirus in Assam LATEST Updates

Assam reported 3,555 new COVID cases, 8 deaths yesterday

The COVID-19 death toll in Assam rose to 323 after eight more people succumbed to the disease, while 3,555 new infections increased the state's caseload to 1,15,279, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

Three of the fresh fatalities were reported from Dibrugarh, two each from Karimganj and Kamrup Metropolitan and one from Darrang, he said.

The 3,555 new positive cases, which is the second highest single-day spike in the state, include 924 from Kamrup Metropolitan, 236 from Nagaon, 213 from Dibrugarh and 200 from Baksa.

The steepest one-day spike of 4,593 cases was reported on 12 August. The new cases were detected out of 47,744 tests and the positivity rate is 7.44 percent.

07:33 (IST)

Coronavirus in India LATEST Updates

International passengers can avail COVID-19 tests on arrival at entry airports

International passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights after landing in India will have the option of getting themselves tested for COVID-19 at the entry airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Wednesday.

If the RT-PCR test result is negative, the international passenger will be allowed to catch his or her connecting domestic flight and he or she will not need to undergo any institutional quarantine at the destination city, the ministry's order said.

The test result will come in a maximum of seven hours. Till the results come, the passenger will have to remain in the waiting lounge of the entry airport, the order noted.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: The Centre on Wednesday announced guidelines for the resumption of Metro rail services in the country, even as COVID-19 caseload in the country surged past 37 lakh with 78,357 fresh infections reported in 24 hours.

The cumulative toll rose to 66,333 with 1,045 more fatalities the recovery rate reached 76.98 percent, said the health ministry in its morning update. The health ministry said 54 percent of the COVID-19 cases reported in India are in the age group of 18-44 years, while 51 percent deaths are among people aged 60 and above.

During the day, several states including Maharashtra and Karnataka released figures showing record daily jumps in cases and deaths. While Maharashtra registered its biggest single-day spike of 17, 433 new cases, Karnataka recorded 9,860 fresh infections — the highest in a day so far. Punjab's toll mounted to 1,618 with a record 106 deaths reported in 24 hours.

In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat went into self-quarantine for the second time after an officer on special duty tested positive. The state Cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday was also postponed as a result.

Centre issues guidelines for operating Metro trains

The Centre released the Standard Operating Procedures for the resumption of metro rail services, including measures like mandatory face masks and thermal screening of passengers. All states with metro connectivity, except Maharashtra, are set to begin operations from September 7.

The Centre allowed Metro services to resume under the recently released Unlock-4 guidelines.

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said multi-route metro networks will resume services from 7 September in a graded manner in order to make all lines operational by 12 September. However, metro stations in containment zones will continue to remain closed.

The Metro timings will be staggered, to begin with and only a limited number of trains will ply. Adequate dwell time at stations will be provided to enable smooth boarding/deboarding with proper social distancing. Metro rail corporations can also skip stations where social distancing measures are not followed.

The authorities will make suitable markings at stations and inside trains to ensure norms of physical distancing are followed. They will also provide sanitisers at the entrance gates of the station, stated the guidelines.

Passengers will have to wear masks at all times and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board after undergoing thermal screening at the gates. The use of Smart Cards and cashless/online transactions will be encouraged. Tokens and paper slips/ticket will have to be used with proper sanitization, said the minister.

The Centre also directed that the intake of fresh air into the air-conditioning system be increased as much as possible.

Metro services in Mumbai will remain suspended but Delhi, Noida, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Maha Metro (Nagpur), Kolkata, Gujarat and UP Metro (Lucknow) have prepared their respective SOPs, Puri said.

Delhi Metro's Yellow Line to resume from 7 Sept

After the Centre released the SOPs, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief Mangu Singh said that Delhi Metro Yellow Line from Samaypur Badli to Huda City Centre will be made operational from 7 September. Initially, the Delhi Metro will run in two shifts —  7-11 am and 4-8 pm and normal operations will resume from 12 September, Singh said.

Inter-district buses to resume in Tamil Nadu from 7 September

Inter-district bus transport and passenger train services within Tamil Nadu would be permitted from 7 September, Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced. While bus transport is allowed only within districts as of now, there were representations from the public to the government seeking facilitation of services to go from one district to another, he said.

"Considering public welfare, following the Standard Operating Procedure, from 7 September, inter-district government and private bus transport will be allowed across Tamil Nadu," Palaniswami said in a statement.

Similarly, from the same date, passenger train services within Tamil Nadu shall be permitted, he said. Inter-state train services are already operational in permitted routes

Health ministry issues SOPs for exams

The Central government also released SOPs for exams during the COVID-19 pandemic, disallowing staff and students from containment zones, making mask and a health self-declaration mandatory.

The guidelines issued by the health ministry stated that authorities concerned should plan out the examination schedule in a staggered manner to avoid overcrowding at any examination center on any day. Only those examination centers which are outside the containment zone shall be allowed to function, it said.

The guidelines also detailed sanitisations procedures for both pen-and-paper and computer-based exams.

The JEE exams kicked off on Tuesday while the NEET is scheduled to be held on 13 September. The UGC has also directed universities to hold final year exams before the end of September.

Maharashtra, Karnataka see record spikes; Uttarakhand CM goes into self quarantine

Meanwhile, states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttarkhand and Karnataka reported record spikes in their respective case tallies. Maharashtra's COVID-19 case load surged to 8,25,739 with record 17,433 cases detected in a single day while the toll rose to 25,195 with 292 more fatalities.

Haryana reported 15 more COVID-19 fatalities on Wednesday, taking the toll to 721 as the state recorded its biggest single-day jump of 1,792 new cases, the health department's daily bulletin said. With this, the infection count in the state rose to 68,218.

Uttarakhand also witnessed the highest single-day rise of 836 coronavirus cases, which took the state's COVID-19 tally to 21,234, while 11 more people died of the disease. The toll due to the disease mounted to 291 in Uttarakhand, a state health department bulletin said.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said that he had tested positive for the viral infection and was in home isolation.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat once again quarantined himself as his OSD tested positive, sources told news agency PTI. A meeting of the state Cabinet was also postponed for the second time. Rawat had gone into quarantine on 25  August after one of his advisors tested positive. The chief minister has tested negative for the viral infection on 30 August

Karnataka registered a jump of of 9,860 new COVID-19 cases, propelling its overall case count to 3,61,341. 113 more fatalities in the last 24 hours took the state's toll to 5,950. State capital Bengaluru saw its biggest single-day spike as well with 3,420 new cases, taking its overall tally to 1,35,512.

In Delhi, which saw a rise of 2,509 fresh COVID-19 cases,  Lieutenant Governor Anil Baija directed officers to increase the testing capacity by implementing measures such as providing ''testing on-demand'', setting up testing facilities at the National Capital's border points and carrying out screening at major construction sites.

Goa logged 636 new cases while Punjab's toll climbed to 1,618 with record 106 deaths reported in a single day.

Fatality rate dips to 1.76, says health ministry

In its morning update, the health ministry said that India has so far reported 37,69,523 cases of the viral infection. The total number of recoveries in the country has surged to 29,01,908, while the fatality rate has further declined to 1.76 percent. There are 8,01,282, active cases in the country comprising 21.26 percent of the total caseload, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The ministry also said that 36 percent of the fatalities reported are in the age group of 45-60 years, 11 percent in the age group of 26-44 years and 1 percent each among people aged 18-25 years and those below 17 years. As far as cases of coronavirus infection are concerned, 54 percent are in the age group 18-44 years, 26 percent among those aged 45 to 60 years, eight percent among those below 17 years and 12 percent among those 60 years and above, it stated.

Beijing to receive international flights 

Globally, the viral infection has affected over 2.58 crore people and claimed the lives of over 8.58 lakh, according to John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker.

In China, where the first cases surfaced, authorities said the flights from low caseload countries will be allowed into Beijing starting on Thursday, after a freeze of over five months.

The new rules will apply to flights from Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Greece, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Canada, all with low numbers of imported cases of the virus, reported news agency AFP.

But travellers would be subject to centralised quarantine on arrival for 14 days and have to take two coronavirus tests, an official said.

"Starting 3 September, international passenger flights to Beijing, which previously had their entry points diverted, will gradually resume," the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in a statement.

Since late March, as many as 511 Beijing-bound international flights have been diverted to other Chinese cities where passengers are screened for the coronavirus before being allowed to travel on to Beijing, the political heart of the country.

With inputs from agencies



source https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-news-india-live-updates-unlock-4-new-rules-guidelines-latest-news-covid19-bus-service-flight-train-status-maharashtra-tamil-nadu-chennai-8779191.html
Satish Kumar at
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