NEW DELHI: Loss of smell or taste has been added to the list of Covid-19 symptoms, according to the revised clinical management protocols released by the Union health ministry. The ministry said that coronavirus-infected patients reporting to various Covid-19 treatment facilities have been reporting symptoms like fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, expectoration, myalgia, rhinorrhea, sore throat and diarrhea.
They have also complained of loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms.
They have also complained of loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms.
Here are the top developments:
1
India
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic with senior ministers and top bureaucrats. He took stock of the pandemic situation in different states and union territories, including Delhi, the PMO said.
- Ten days after recording two lakh Covid-19 cases, India surpassed the three lakh-mark with the worst daily spike of 11,458 infections, while the death toll too climbed to 8,884 with 386 new fatalities, the Union health ministry said.
- The Covid-19 recovery rate in the country is currently at 49.95 per cent with a total of 1,54,329 patients getting cured of the disease till Saturday, according to ministry of health.
- The health ministry has recommended use of anti-viral drug remdesivir under emergency use authorization, off-label application of immunomodulator tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy for treating Covid-19 patients in moderate stage of criticality.
- Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said it has inked pact with US-based Gilead Sciences to manufacture and market Remdesivir – a potential treatment for Covid-19 – in 127 countries, including India.
- Union home minister Amit Shah will hold a meeting with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others on Sunday to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the national capital.
- Amid a massive spurt in coronavirus cases in India, experts came down hard on the ICMR for its sero-survey findings to assert that there was no community transmission of Covid-19, saying it was not reflective of the current situation and the government was showing “obstinacy” in accepting the truth. Emphasising that community transmission was on in many parts of the country, the experts asked the government to admit it so that people don’t get complacent.
- While studies have shown that men are more prone to dying from Covid-19 than women globally, an analysis of case fatalities in India suggests that females may have a higher relative-risk of Covid-19 mortality in the country. The study, published in the Journal of Global Health Science, presented an age and sex specific view of mortality from the disease using the measure of CFR, which is the ratio of confirmed deaths in total confirmed cases.
2
States
- UP: Uttar Pradesh reported 20 coronavirus deaths and 502 new cases pushing the state’s Covid-19 tally to 13,118. The total number of those who have lost their lives due to the virus so far has now gone up to 385.
- West Bengal: The West Bengal government will set up 200 ‘safe homes’ to provide temporary shelter to the large number of migrant workers returning to the state to keep a check on the spread of coronavirus, a senior official said.
- Tripura: The Covid-19 tally in Tripura crossed the 1000-mark as 37 people tested positive for the infection on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 1,001.
- Delhi: The Delhi government is planning a 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for Covid-19 patients under a sprawling tent in south Delhi to prepare for a projected surge in cases in the city.
- Punjab: Nineteen coronavirus patients have succumbed to the infection in Punjab since June 1 while Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar remain among the worst affected districts in the state, according to the available data.
- Assam: Twenty-five new Covid-19 cases were reported in Assam, taking the state’s tally to 3,718.
- Tamil Nadu: Amid the surging Covid-19 cases, Tamil Nadu health minister said 2,000 more nurses have been appointed to cater to requirements in state-run hospitals in Chennai and nearby districts of Kancheepuram, Tiruvallurand Chengelpet.
- Uttarakhand: Two more Covid-19 patients have died in Uttarakhand, taking the death toll to 21, while the state’s virus count reached 1,759 with 35 people testing positive for the infection.
- Kerala: At least 60 employees of a fire station and a gramma panchayat office in the district were asked to go on quarantine after two people tested positive for coronavirus.
- J&K: A 74-year-old retired doctor, who was Covid-19 positive, died at a hospital, officials said – taking the number of fatalities due to coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir to 54.
- Nagaland: Seven more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Nagaland, taking the state’s tally to 163.
- Meghalaya: Five more Covid-19 infected persons have recovered from the disease in Meghalaya in the last two days, taking the total number of recovered people in the state to 23.
- Telangana: A ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA has tested positive for Covid-19, TRS sources said. He is undergoing treatment, they said.
- Goa: After a few personnel from Goa’s dedicated Covid-19 hospital tested positive for the infection, the state government decided to conduct random testing at slums near the facility in Margao town.
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu: Two persons tested positive for Covid-19 in Diu district, taking the tally of cases to 34 in the Union territory.
- Sikkim: Two Covid-19 patients in Sikkim recovered and were discharged from the STNM Hospital near Gangtok. The number of active cases in Sikkim stands at 58.
- MP: At least 951 persons from 462 villages in Madhya Pradesh have tested positive for novel coronavirus, a report from the state government has said. According to the report, the disease has spread its tentacles in 50 districts of the state, infecting 951 people from the rural areas, of which 32 have died.
- Mizoram: Three more persons, including two women, tested positive for Covid-19 in Mizoram, taking the total tally in the state to 107.
- Gujarat: With 23 workers employed in some diamond units in Surat city of Gujarat testing coronavirus positive, the civic authorities have ordered partial closure of around eight such firms and asked their other staff members to undergo 14-day quarantine.
- Puducherry: Thirteen more Covid-19 cases were reported in Puducherry, taking the tally of viral infections in the Union territory to 176.
- Odisha: Odisha reported its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases after 225 more people tested positive for the disease, taking the state’s tally to 3,723.
- Maharashtra: Health minister Rajesh Tope said that the government has reduced the rates of the Covid-19 tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200.
- Chandigarh: Eleven fresh Covid-19 cases reported in Chandigarh, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union territory to 345.
3
World
- The novel coronavirus has killed at least 426,029 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 7,663,680 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories.
- The United States is the worst-hit country with 114,669 deaths from 2,048,986 cases. At least 547,386 people have been declared recovered.
- Beijing has shut down several markets, including the largest Xinfadi wholesale food market, and locked down 11 residential communities near it after six new domestically-transmitted coronavirus cases were reported, taking the tally to nine in the capital city in the last three days.
- Pakistan’s former PM Yusuf Raza Gilani tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the latest top political figure to contract Covid-19 that has claimed 2,551 lives and infected 132,405 people in the country. Earlier, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said he has tested positive for Covid-19.
- South Africa has seen its largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases — 3,359. South Africa now has more than 61,000 cases, or well over a quarter of the cases across the African continent, including 1,354 deaths.
- Ukraine has recorded its highest daily count of new coronavirus infections for the third day in a row, more than double the count earlier in the month. The health ministry reported 753 new cases, compared with 683 the previous day.
- Nepal recorded 273 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 5,335.
- Sri Lanka announced further relaxation of the curfew, imposed as part of the Covid-19 lockdown, from next week. Sri Lanka has so far recorded 1,880 coronavirus cases, 11 deaths due to the disease and 1,196 recoveries.
- The total number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore surged past 40,000 after 347 new infections were reported, including 345 foreign workers.
