Coronavirus news highlights: Maharashtra reports 13,395 new cases; Gujarat records 1,278 new infections

The Union government on Thursday launched a public awareness drive as part of its fight against Covid-19, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues asking people to follow precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. India reports 78,524 new Covid-19 cases, 971 deaths in 24 hours as the country's caseload went past 68.99 lakh, and the death toll climbed to 1,06,443 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. "As the festival season is around the corner, hence we should be more vigil towards taking precautions against Covid-19. Never forget to wear your masks above your nose, frequently sanitise and wash your hands and maintain social distancing," said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

Thank you for tuning in to DH's live updates of the coronavirus outbreak. For more updates, click here

17.22 lakh Indians have returned from abroad under 'Vande Bharat' mission: MEA

As many as 17.22 lakh Indians have returned from abroad after the government launched the ''Vande Bharat'' evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that under the phase seven of the mission, operational since October 1, 873 international flights have been scheduled from 25 countries to be operated during the course of October 2020.

These include flights from among the 14 countries with which India has a bilateral 'air bubble' arrangement in place, he said at an online media briefing.

The air bubble arrangement has been working satisfactorily adding to the capacity, he added.

Srivastava said as on October 7, 17.22 lakh Indians have been repatriated through different modes of the Vande Bharat Mission.

The flights in phase seven include Air India and Air India Express flights, private and foreign carriers, chartered flights, naval ships and land border crossings, he said.

These flights will reach 24 airports across India, repatriating an estimated 1.7 lakh people. As on 7 October, 210 flights have already been operated from 18 countries, Srivastava said.

(PTI)

With 1,278 new COVID-19 cases, Gujarat's tally rises to 1,47,951; toll up to 3,541 as 10 more patients die: Health department

Maharashtra reports 13,395 new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra reports 13,395 new Covid-19 cases, 358 deaths and 15,575 discharges today. Total cases in the state rise to 14,93,884, including 39,430 deaths and 11,96,441 discharges. Active cases stand at 2,41,986: State Health Department

Karnataka reported 10,704 new Covid-19 cases, 9,613 discharges and 101 deaths today, taking total cases to 6,79,356 including 5,52,519 discharges and 9,675 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 1,17,143: State Health Department

930 new Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths have been reported in Punjab today, taking the total number of cases to 1,21,716 including 10,775 active cases and 3,741 deaths: State Government

Chandigarh reports 102 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of positive cases to 12,922 with 1,392 active cases, 186 deaths, and 11,344 cured cases: Health Department, UT Chandigarh

Rajasthan records 2138 new Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths today. The total cases in the state rise to 1,52,605, including 1605 deaths and 21,382 active cases: Government of Rajasthan

190 new Covid-19 cases & 3 deaths reported in Manipur today. Total positive cases now at 12,679, including 2877 active cases, 9,719 recoveries & 83 deaths till date. Recovery rate is 76.65 %: Govt of Manipur

Jammu and Kashmir report 696 new Covid-19 cases, 1,336 recoveries and 9 deaths today, taking the total tally in the Union Territory to 81,793, including 69,020 recoveries and 1,291 deaths. Active cases stand at 11,482: Government of Jammu and Kashmir

Kerala records 5,445 new Covid-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours. There are 90,579 active cases in the state and 1,67,256 people have recovered from the infection till date: State Government

Tamil Nadu reports 5088 new Covid-19 cases

Tamil Nadu reports 5088 new Covid-19 cases, 5718 discharges and 68 deaths today. Total cases in the state rise to 6,40,943, including 5,86,454 discharges and 10,052 deaths: Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu

With 37 more fatalities, COVID-19 death toll mounts to 5,653 in Delhi; 2,726 fresh cases push tally beyond three lakh: Authorities

Delhi reports 2,726 new ovid-19, 37 deaths and 2,643 recoveries/discharges/migrations in last 24 hours. Total cases in the state rise to 3,00,833, including 5,616 deaths and 2,72,948 recoveries/discharges/migrations. Active cases stand at 22,232: Government of Delhi

Uttar Pradesh reports 3,376 new #COVID19 cases, 45 more fatalities. Infection tally rises to 4,27,459, death toll climbs to 6,245. There are 42,552 active cases of the disease in the state now.

India’s coronavirus fight people driven; gets great strength from COVID warriors: PM Modi

The Union government on Thursday launched a public awareness drive as part of its fight against COVID-19, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues asking people to follow precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

The start of a 'jan andolan' (mass movement) campaign comes in view of upcoming festivals, winter season and opening up of the economy, as a lack of adherence to recommended precautions can increase cases of the infection.

Modi said India's coronavirus fight is people-driven and gets great strength from its COVID warriors. He also urged the masses to unite to fight the virus.

Home Minister Amit Shah said a global pandemic like COVID-19 can be fought only when all countrymen come together.

Using the hashtag 'Unite2FightCorona', Prime Minister Modi tweeted,"We have to continue the momentum and protect our citizens from the virus."

"Let us #Unite2FightCorona! Let us always remember: Wear a mask. Wash hands. Follow social distancing. Practice 'Do Gaj Ki Doori.' Together, we will succeed. Together, we will win against COVID-19," he said in another tweet.

Important for all of us to be safe and healthy: Ganguly

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly says it is important for all of us to be safe and healthy and take precautions to fight Covid-19 ; also urges people to wear mask, maintain social distancing and sanitize and wash hands regularly.

Manipur: Handloom business in Imphal resumes after Covid-19 lockdown

“After lockdown started it was hard to get raw materials. Now the business has restarted slowly & we can buy yarns to weave clothes for online orders & then sell our products,” says a handloom business owner

'We should be more vigil towards taking precautions against Covid-19 during festive season'

As the festival season is around the corner, hence we should be more vigil towards taking precautions against Covid-19. Never forget to wear your masks above your nose, frequently sanitise and wash your hands and maintain social distancing: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

India records spike of 78,524 new Covid-19 cases

As per the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India on October 8 reported a single-day spike of 78,524 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.

971 deaths in the same period, pushed the Covid-19 toll in the country to 1,05,526.

India’s confirmed cases of coronavirus stand at 68,35,656 which include 9,02,425 active infections. More than 58 lakh people have recovered from the virus.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 11,94,321 samples were tested on October 7. Cumulative samples tested for Covid-19 till October 7 are 8,34,65,975.

Govt to map out cold chain storage facilities for Covid-19 vaccine delivery

With the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country.

A national expert group is talking to public and private sector entities in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry and agro businesses as well as food delivery start-ups such as Swiggy and Zomato to identify cold storages or fridges at the taluka level that can stock and distribute the vaccine, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

A draft scheme for the vaccine distribution is likely to be released around the middle of next week, they said.

At least one domestic and three foreign vaccines are likely to be available to India in the coming months.

Most of the vaccine candidates will require a cold supply chain, with temperatures that can go well below zero degree Celsius, down to -80 degrees Celsius, though most need to be kept at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.

(PTI)

Police personnel stand in respect during a wreath laying ceremony for a slain policeman in Srinagar

Police personnel stand in respect during a wreath laying ceremony for a slain policeman at police headquarters a day after he was killed during an attack by suspected militants while being on duty as security force for a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician, in Srinagar on October 7, 2020. Credit: AFP

Gujarat govt allows pvt labs to conduct rapid antibody tests

In a respite to citizens, the Gujarat government on Thursday granted permission to private laboratories to conduct rapid antibody tests for detecting coronavirus infection.

Till now, designated private laboratories were allowed to conduct only RTPCR tests, which are more accurate.

As per an official release, now citizens can undergo rapid antibody tests at designated laboratories, which are required to take permission from chief district health officers or medical officers of municipal corporations before conducting tests.

Laboratories have been asked to use ICMR-approved ELISA or CLIA rapid antibody test kits and they must mention in the report which kit was used, it was stated.

Laboratories are authorised to charge Rs 450 and Rs 500 respectively for ELISA and CLIA test kits, and if samples are collected from homes or hospitals, then the charges would be Rs 550 and Rs 600 respectively, the release said.

(PTI)

Symptoms poor marker for Covid-19 infections, UK study finds

Nearly 86 per cent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 during lockdown did not have any of the known coronavirus symptoms such as cough, fever and loss of taste or smell, a new UK study revealed on Thursday.

The University College London (UCL) authors behind the analysis, published in ‘Clinical Epidemiology’, conclude that a more widespread testing programme is therefore needed to catch “silent” transmission.

“The fact that so many people who tested positive were asymptomatic on the day of a positive test result calls for a change to future testing strategies. More widespread testing will help to capture ‘silent’ transmission and potentially prevent future outbreaks,” said Professor Irene Petersen, from UCL Epidemiology & Health Care.

“Future testing programmes should involve frequent testing of a wider group of individuals, not just symptomatic cases, especially in high-risk settings or places where many people work or live close together such as meat factories or university halls. In the case of university halls, it may be particularly relevant to test all students before they go home for Christmas,” she said.

(PTI)

If Trump tells us to take Covid-19 vaccine, I won’t: Kamala Harris

During the US Vice Presidential debate, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris directly said that if there is a coronavirus vaccine available during Donald Trump’s administration that is not embraced by scientific advisers but pushed by the President, she will not take it.

Harris said, “If Dr Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us to take it, I’m not taking it.”

On his response, US VP Mike Pence asked Kamala Harris to not stop playing politics with lives. He said, “We have vaccine. You are undermining confidence in an eventual coronavirus vaccine by saying you wouldn’t take it unless it was endorsed by public health experts. Stop playing politics with people’s lives.”

Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic Vice President nominee Kamala Harris came face-to-face for debate in Washington DC ahead of US elections 2020.

8 new COVID-19 cases reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai today

8 new COVID-19 cases reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases to 3,300 including 187 active cases and 2,820 discharges: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Indonesia reports daily record of 4,850 new coronavirus cases

Indonesia reported a record high 4,850 new coroanvirus cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 320,564, the country's Covid-19 task force said.

There were also 108 new deaths reported, taking the total to 11,580, the highest coronavirus death toll in Southeast

Germany has secured 9 million Covid-19 rapid antigen tests per month and aims to increase that, Health Minister Jens Spahn said

Reuters Photo

Europe buys Gilead's remdesivir for 500,000 Covid-19 patients amid supply worries

Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it had agreed to sell Europe up to 500,000courses of its antiviral drug remdesivir, as the continent scrambles to shore up supplies of one of only two drugs approved to treatCovid-19patients.

Ramping up cold storage facilities critical as India preps for Covid-19 vaccine, say experts

The safe delivery of vaccines for mass immunisation against Covid-19 is a massive challenge and India will need to significantly ramp up its cold chain facilities, say experts as the world’s second most populous nation moves into the next stage of management of the disease and looks towards a preventive.

South Asia faces worst ever recession due to Covid-19, tipping millions into poverty: World Bank

Millions of people in South Asia are being pushed into extreme poverty as the region where a quarter of humanity lives suffers its worst-ever recession due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Thursday.

195 Maharashtra police personnel tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking total positive cases to 24,581 in the force, including 21,862 recoveries, 2,462 active cases, and 257 deaths

Robot assist hospital staff in serving Covid-19 patients

To protect the health workers from Covid-19 infection, the East Coast Railways Central Hospital here is using a Medical Robot called MeD ROBO to provide medicines, food and remote assistance to patients in the coronavirus ward, without any need for physical contact.

Puducherry logs 386 new Covid-19 cases, tally rises to 30,539

The five fatalities took the toll in the union territory to 556. The overall coronavirus cases in the Union Territory shot up to 30,539 (after transfer of eight cases to Tamil Nadu),

'Jurassic World: Dominion' suspends production after positive Covid-19 tests

Production on "Jurassic World: Dominion" has been halted for two weeks after multiple people involved with the production team tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Jharkhand government has said a maximum of 50 people can enter a place of worship at a time and devotees must wear masks and maintain social distancing.

PTI Photo

New daily coronavirus cases top 4,000 in Germany, not seen since April

The alarming jump in numbers came with autumn school holidays about to begin, prompting calls from Chancellor Angela Merkel's government for citizens to avoid travel abroad during the usually busy period for tourism. (AFP)

Arunachal Pradesh reports 260 new Covid-19 cases, one fatality

At least 260 more people, including two security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the northeastern state's coronavirus caseload to 11,267, a health official said.

A woman kneels on the street while praying near security personnel of the Monastery of the Nazarenes, dressed in personel protective equipment (PPE), as churches continue to be closed due to the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Lima.

Reuters Photo

Bulgaria reports new daily record of 437 coronavirus cases

The Balkan country now has 22,743 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 873 deaths.

23 new cases push Covid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to 3,935

The Covid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,935 on Thursday as 23 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

China to pay a big price for spreading Covid-19 globally. says Donald Trump

Less than 50 hours after he returned to the White House from a military hospital where he was treated for the deadly virus, Trump in a video posted on Twitter from the Rose Garden outside the Oval Office blamed China for the global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tripura reports 214 new Covid-19 cases, 3 fresh fatalities

Tripura's Covid-19 tally rose to 27,759 on Thursday as 214 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Three more patients succumbed to the infection, pushing the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 301.

India reports 78,524 new Covid-19 cases, 971 deaths; total tally crosses 68.3 lakh

The national recovery stands at 85.25 per cent. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 68,35,655,while the death toll climbed to 1,05,526 with 971 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours.

Jharkhand reports 829 fresh Covid-19 cases, 10 fatalities

Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally rose to 89,702 on Thursday as 829 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Ladakh adds 82 new coronavirus cases, 2 deaths

Active cases in the Union Territory has gone up to 1228; 953 in Leh district and 275 in Kargil district.

India’s coronavirus fight people driven; gets great strength from Covid warriors: PM Narendra Modi

"We have to continue the momentum and protect our citizens from the virus," the PM tweeted using the hashtag 'Unite2FightCorona'.

Kerala ministers M M Mani and K T Jaleel have tested positive for the coronavirus

While Mani, the Electricity Minister, has been admitted to the government medical college hospital here, Jaleel, Higher Education Minister, is under observation at his official residence.

Donald Trump has been fever-free for more than four days, says White House physician

“The President this morning says ‘I feel great!’ His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” Conley said in a memorandum.

Donald Trump speaks with fellow Covid-19 sufferer, Boris Johnson

"Very thankful for his friendship and support as I recovered from the China Virus," the Republican billionaire wrote on Twitter, referring to the newcoronavirusin a way that has ratcheted up tensions with Beijing.

India declines proposal to test Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine in large study

India's drug regulator has knocked back a proposal from Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd to conduct a large study in the country to evaluate Russia's Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine and has asked it to first test the vaccine in a smaller trial.

A security guard sits outside a closed cinema hall in Allahabad as cinemas prepare to reopen on October 15 at 50 per cent seating capacity after closing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

AFP Photo

France's new daily Covid-19 cases at all-time high, hospitalisations up

France reported on Wednesday a second daily record of newCovid-19infections in five days, with almost 19,000 additional cases over 24 hours, while hospitalisations for the disease stood at a three-month high.

Covid-19 disrupts cataract surgeries at Bengaluru's Minto hospital

Designating 100 out of the 300 beds in Minto Hospital for Covid-19 treatment has hurt the poor since the state’s largest eye hospital is no longer doing elective surgeries.

Read more.

Brazil hits 5 million Covid-19 cases, epidemiologist fears second wave

Brazil passed the mark of 5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases on Wednesday as it approached 150,000 deaths in the second most deathly coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.

Read more.