NEW DELHI: The total number of recoveries among Covid-19 patients in India has jumped to 13,28,336, pushing the recovery rate to 67.62 per cent on Thursday, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 2.07 per cent, the Union health ministry said.
The recoveries exceeded active cases of the coronavirus infection by 7,32,835, it stated.
The recoveries exceeded active cases of the coronavirus infection by 7,32,835, it stated.
Here are the top developments:
1
India
- The Centre has released Rs 890.32 crore as the second instalment of the Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness package to 22 states and Union territories, the health ministry said on Thursday. The amount of financial assistance to each state and Union territories is based on their Covid-19 caseload.
- There are 5,95,501 active cases of Covid-19 in the country, which as a percentage of the total cases has seen a “significant drop from 34.17 per cent on July 24 to 30.31 per cent as on date”, the ministry said. A total of 46,121 Covid-19 patients have been discharged in a span of 24 hours.
- Focused implementation of ‘test, track, treat’ strategy by the Union and state and Union territory governments, ramped up hospital infrastructure and testing facilities, and emphasis on treatment of the hospitalised patients through the standard of care protocol advised by the Centre have effectively ensured that mortality of Covid-19 patients is contained, the ministry said.
- India saw a single-day spike of 56,282 cases, taking the country’s Covid-19 tally to 19,64,536, while the death toll due to Covid-19 climbed to 40,699 with 904 new fatalities being reported in 24-hour span, data showed.
- India’s proactive and graded multi-level institutional response to Covid-19 made it possible for the country to maintain “very low cases and deaths per million” population, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
- This was achieved and maintained despite high population density, low fractional GDP spending and per capita doctor and hospital bed availability compared to developed nations, he said at a virtual meeting of the regional director of WHO for South-East Asia with ministers of health of the member nations.
- Sounding a note of caution that protracted spread of Covid-19 pandemic poses ‘downside risk’ for the domestic economy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said the central bank will use the available monetary space ‘judiciously’ to boost growth.
2
States
- Gujarat: Eight coronavirus patients died in a fire inside the ICU ward of a private hospital in Ahmedabad city in the early hours of Thursday, officials said. A para-medical staff member of the hospital was injured in the tragedy.
- Delhi: Delhi recorded 1,299 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally in the city to over 1.41 lakh, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 4,059, authorities said. Fifteen fatalities due to Covid-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours.
- Kerala: In the highest single day surge, Kerala reported 1,298 fresh Covid-19 positive cases, as the infection tally breached the 30,000 mark and the death toll climbed to 97. Of the positive cases, 1,017 were infected through contact, while the source of infection of 76 people is not yet known.
- Odisha: Fire officers in Odisha were asked to review safety measures at medical facilities where coronavirus patients were undergoing treatment after several people were killed in a blaze at a Covid hospital in Ahmedabad.
- Haryana: Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged cured Covid-19 patients to motivate people to take precautions against catching infection rather than fearing the disease. The CM also appealed to the cured Covid-19 patients to donate their plasma for treatment of others.
- HP: Twenty people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh, taking the tally of cases in the state to 2,937, officials said. The death toll due to the disease stands at 13.
- Andhra: A new Covid-19 centre with 250 beds will be launched in the Krishna District Government Hospital this week as part of efforts to ramp up the capacity, a top official said. Also, twenty beds would be earmarked for Covid-19 patients in the Andhra Hospital from Friday.
- J&K: Jammu and Kashmir’s tally of Covid-19 cases crossed the 23,000-mark with 499 fresh infections, while the Union territory’s toll climbed to 436 as 10 more people succumbed to the disease, officials said. The total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir now stands at 23,454.
- Nagaland: The Nagaland government has issued new standard operating procedure for home isolation of asymptomatic coronavirus patients to decongest the designated Covid-19 hospitals in the state and resume other essential healthcare services in them.
- West Bengal: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the cord blood bank in Kolkata will be used for treating Covid-19 patients in addition to the plasma bank at the state-run Calcutta Medical College Hospital. She announced that psychology students will be inducted for tele counselling of Covid-19 patients and their families.
- Karnataka: Eight products aimed at mitigating Covid-19, developed by various start-ups at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre, were launched by Deputy chief minister Dr C N Ashwathnarayan through an online platform. The BBC is an initiative of Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, government of Karnataka.
- Meghalaya: At least 44 more people, including 14 BSF personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Meghalaya, raising the tally in the state to 983. Meghalaya currently has 633 active cases.
- UP: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to take Covid-19 as a challenge and intensify the fight against it. He also directed them to improve the health facilities in Kanpur, Varanasi, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Prayagraj.
- Puducherry: Five more people including two women succumbed to Covid-19 in Puducherry, taking the death toll in the Union territory to 70. As many as 195 new cases were reported taking the overall tally to 4,621, of which 1,743 were active cases.
- Telangana: The surge in Covid-19 cases continued in Telangana, with 2,092 new cases being reported, the highest single day spike so far, while the death toll mounted to 589 after 13 more people succumbed to the virus.
- Rajasthan: Rajasthan reported eight deaths due to Covid-19 and 539 new cases of the virus. The number of positive cases have also increased to 48,384 with the reporting of 539 fresh cases.
- Jharkhand: With 1,060 new Covid-19 cases reported in Jharkhand, the total number of coronavirus cases reached in the state 15,130.
3
World
- The World Health Organization on Thursday urged the member nations of its southeast Asia region to maintain essential health services and accelerate resumption of healthcare facilities hit by the pandemic as an integral part of the Covid-19 response. The pandemic has put immense strain on health systems across the South-East Asia Region.
- The novel coronavirus has killed at least 708,236 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 18,843,580 cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories.
- Israel claimed that it already has in hand an “excellent” vaccine against the coronavirus pandemic, but it has to go through regulatory processes which are set to begin with human trials following the autumn holidays. Israel’s defence minister Benny Gantz visited the Israel Institute of Biological Research where he met with its director Prof Shmuel Shapira to receive an update on the progress on work to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.
- The United States is the worst-hit country with 158,268 deaths from 4,824,175 cases. At least 1,577,851 people have been declared recovered.
- Germany will require people arriving from countries deemed high risk, such as the United States, to take coronavirus tests starting this weekend, the health minister said, as the country recorded its highest daily tally of new infections in three months.
- Nepal reported 381 new Covid-19 cases, taking the country’s total count to 21,390. Till date, 15,156 people who tested positive for the Covid-19 infection have recovered from the disease and returned home. Nepal has reported 60 deaths due to Covid-19.
- A health official said Vietnam’s Covid-19 outbreak could peak in the coming 10 days as the country reported another death and scores of new infections. Deputy health minister Nguyen Truong Son said new infections have been found every day and “therefore, we have to continue keeping guard up.”
- Germany’s national disease control center has registered the highest number of new coronavirus infections in a day for three months. The Robert Koch Institute says 1,045 cases were recorded on Wednesday. It was the first time since May 7 that it has counted more than 1,000 cases in a day. It’s still far short of early April’s peak of more than 6,000.