Coronavirus updates: Karnataka minister BC Patil tests COVID-19 positive; 5,483 new cases in state today

Coronavirus Outbreak in Chhattisgarh Latest Updates

Chhattisgarh govt revises home isolation guideline for asymptomatic patients

Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo on Friday said, “We’ve decided that limited number of COVID-19 positive asymptomatic persons will be initially allowed for home isolation. 50 patients to be allowed in Raipur, 20 each in selected large cities, 10 each in other places and 5 each in small districts.”

Coronavirus Outbreak in Puducherry Latest Updates

Lockdown extended in Puducherry

In line with the Centre, Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy announced that the lockdown now in force has been extended till 31 August but with relaxation in restrictions, ANI reported.

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

10,320 new COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra today

Maharashtra reported 10,320 new COVID-19 cases and 265 deaths on Friday, taking total cases to 4,22,118, including 2,56,158 discharges and 14,994 deaths. Active cases stand at 1,50,662, the state health department said.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Sikkim Latest Updates

Sikkim govt extends statewide lockdown till 3 Aug

 The Sikkim government on Friday extended the complete lockdown in the state till 3 August in view of a spurt in COVID-19 cases, a senior official said.

As per the revised guidelines from the Home Department, the lockdown remains extended till 6 am on 3 August, a notification issued by Chief Secretary SC Gupta said.

A set of revised guidelines with regard to restrictions on movement and gathering of people, however, will come into force on 3 August and will be applicable till 31 August, he said.

The Sikkim government had reimposed a complete lockdown in the state on 20 July for six days and extended it till 1 August in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Himalayan state has recorded a nearly seven-fold increase in coronavirus cases in the last one month, registering a total of 610 infections till July 30. One COVID-19 patient has died and 395 are under treatment.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Delhi Latest Updates

BJP accuses Manish Sisodia of ‘scaring’ people about COVID-19 situation in Delhi

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had tried to “scare” people by claiming that COVID-19 cases in Delhi will reach 5.5 lakh by 31 July, but the situation was brought under control with the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the city BJP unit said on Friday. In June, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader had said that Delhi was likely to have 5.5 lakh novel coronavirus cases by the end of July and 80,000 beds would be needed to accommodate patients.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta in a press conference asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to answer why it had tried to “scare” people with Sisodia claiming that there would be 5.5 lakh coronavirus cases by July 31. There was no immediate reaction from Sisodia or the AAP on the issue.

The national capital has seen a drop in the number of active cases over the past few days. On Thursday, Delhi had 10,743 active cases, down from 10,770 on Wednesday, 10,887 on Tuesday, 10,994 on Monday and 11,904 on Sunday. The number of active cases was 27,007 on July 1, according to health department bulletins. “The situation was beyond control of the Delhi government and when Home Minister Amit Shah intervened in mid-June, the cases of COVID-19 started declining, bed availability improved and now the Kejriwal government is taking credit for it,” Gupta claimed.

(PTI)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Nagaland Latest Updates

Lockdown in Kohima extended

The Nagaland government extended the total lockdown in its capital, Kohima, till 7 August amid rising COVID-19 cases.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Bihar Latest Updates

LJP asks EC to postpone Bihar Assembly polls

BJP ally LJP on Friday wrote to the Election Commission asking it not to hold Bihar Assembly polls, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and floods in the state.

“COVID-19 pandemic likely to be more serious by October-November, holding Bihar polls then will endanger people’s lives,” the statement said.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Jammu and Kashmir Latest Updates

490 new COVID cases in Jammu and Kashmir, 12 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir registered 490 more novel coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections over the 20,000 mark on Friday, while the death toll rose to 377 with 12 more fatalities, officials said. There are 7,765 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while 12,217 patients have recovered so far, according to the officials. Two out of the 12 new fatalities were from the Jammu region, while 10 were from the Kashmir Valley.

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

Israel, India conducting trials for 4 technologies with potential to detect COVID in about 30 secs

Israel and India are conducting trials here on a large sample of patients for four different kinds of technologies that have the potential to detect COVID-19 in about 30 seconds, including a breath analyser and a voice test, according to an Israeli statement. 

The rapid testing is being jointly developed in cooperation with the Defense Research and Development Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Principal Scientific Advisor, India — coordinated by the ministries of foreign affairs of Israel and India.

These simple, non-invasive technologies include a voice test that uses artificial intelligence to identify changes in the patient’s voice and a breath analyser test which requires the patient to blow into a tube and it detects the virus using terra-hertz waves, it said.

There is also isothermal testing that enables identification of the coronavirus in a saliva sample and a test using polyamino acids that seeks to isolate proteins related to COVID-19, the statement said.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Delhi Latest Updates

Anil Baijal overrules Delhi govt’s decision to reopen hotels

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal on Friday cancelled the Delhi government’s decision to reopen hotels and weekly markets on a trial basis. The decision was taken by the Arvind Kejriwal government as part of the ‘Unlock 3’ guidelines.

Coronavirus Outbreak in Karnataka Latest Updates

Karnataka govt issues Unlock 3 guidelines

The Karnataka government on Friday announced the Unlock 3 guidelines to be implemented in the state from 1 August. The government is planning to lift the total lockdown on Sundays, along with the night curfew.

“In accordance with the unlock 3.0 guidelines from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Sunday lockdown on 2 August has been lifted along with night curfew from 1 August between 9 pm and 5 am,” state Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar said in an order on Thursday.

The guidelines will be effected from August 1 and valid till August 31.

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

DGCA extends suspension of international flights

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday said that international commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till 31 August. Earlier, the ban was imposed till 31 July.

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

Harsh Vardhan says active cases are ‘only’ 1.3rd of total cases

Health Minster Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the COVID-19 situation in the country, News18 reported. The report added that Vardhan noted that “of the total number of active cases, only 0.28% are on ventilators, 1.61% on ICU support and 2.32% on oxygen support”.

He added, “India has achieved the milestone of more than 1 million recoveries, which has taken the recovery rate to 64.54%. This shows that the active cases under medical supervision are only 33.27% or approximately 1/3rd of total positive cases. India’s case fatality rate is also progressively reducing and currently stands at 2.18%, one of the lowest globally.”