COVID-19 LIVE: Recovery in India reaches 68 per cent

19:15 August 07

COVID-19 recovery in India reaches 68 per cent

India's COVID-19 recovery rate on Friday reached a new high with 68 per cent while the case fatality rate touched a new low of 2.05 per cent. The development is likely to give a boost to India's fight against the pandemic when the country is witnessing more than 50,000 cases for the last few days. Ironically, the country has also crossed 20 lakh mark of COVID cases with the highest single-day spike of 62,538 cases.

The positive COVID tally rose to 20,27,075 including 6,07,384 active cases, 13,78,106 cured and 41,585 deaths.

Interestingly, for the fourth successive day, India tested over 6 lakh samples in last 24 hours taking the total sample tested to 2.27 crore.

India's tests per million population also witnessed a sharp increase to 16,513.

In a related development, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) proposed a national clinical registry for COVID-19 (NCRC).

The apex medical research institute, ICMR, wrote to hospitals and institutions identified as dedicated COVID hospitals or health centre inviting a letter of intent (LOI) under the project to establish NCRC. The NCRC aims at collecting good quality real-time clinic data to inform evidence-based clinical practice, research, formatting guidelines and policymaking.

"There is a pressing need for the collection of systematic data on clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory investigations, management protocols, clinical course of COVID-19 disease. Such data will serve as a valuable tool for formulating appropriate patient management strategies," the ICMR said.

19:14 August 07

Bihar reports 3,646 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours

With 3,646 new COVID-19 cases reported in Bihar in the last 24 hours, the tally of coronavirus stands at 71,794, said the state Health Department on Friday.

According to the daily bulletin issued by the state government, the number of active cases rose to 25,128 in the state.

As many as 46,265 patients have been discharged and 400 have died due to the virus in the state, stated the department.

19:06 August 07

Haryana Government on Friday exempted pregnant female employees working in State Civil Secretariat from attending the office & allowed them to work from home.

18:51 August 07

Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

Gujral is a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal and a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab.

Sources said that he had attended a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on personnel, public grievances, law and justice on August 6 2020.

18:42 August 07

1,192 New COVID-19 Cases In Delhi

A total of 1,192 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths were reported on Friday in Delhi on Friday.

The total count of cases in the national capital has risen to 1,42,723.

According to the Health Department, a total of 1,108 recoveries have been reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases includes 1,28,232 recoveries, 10,409 active cases and 4,082 deaths.

According to the official data, 5,612 RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 17,773 rapid antigen tests were conducted today. A total of 11,43,703 test has been conducted so far.

18:38 August 07

19 More COVID-19 Cases Reported In Mizoram

Mizoram on Friday reported 19 new COVID-19 cases taking the total count of cases in the state to 558.

The state has 270 active cases while 288 persons have been discharged/cured of the viral infection. One infected person has also migrated from the state.

No deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the state.

16:51 August 07

Till now nearly 170 TTD staff have tested COVID positive

Tirumala shrine priest succumbs to COVID-19

A 45-year old priest of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanamas (TTD), that manages the Lord Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala Hills, died of COVID-19.

Srinivasacharyulu, who was recently posted for the duties in the temple at Tirumala, tested COVID-19 positive earlier this week and was undergoing treatment at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences.

On Thursday, he experienced breathing difficulty and passed away.

He had been working on deputation at the shrine where he was shifted from another temple in the vicinity. Earlier, a former priest of the temple had died of COVID-19 on July 20.

The famous shrine was reopened for devotees on July 11 following a prolonged closure due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Till now nearly 170 TTD staff have tested positive. Several priests, including the Pedda Jeeyar or senior pontiff, have been afflicted by the pandemic and are undergoing treatment.

15:50 August 07

Goa to start administering Remdesivir to COVID-19 patients

Goa's Health Ministry today received 1,008 vials of Remdesivir from pharma major Cipla. Remdesivir is an anti-viral drug which is administered to Covid-19 patients and results in faster recovery, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

"This anti-viral drug will be beneficial in suppressing the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Uncontrollable viral replication is often responsible for tissue damage and deaths in patients infected with the virus," Rane said in a statement.

The minister also said that the anti-viral drug will be administered to moderately and severely-ill patients suffering from COVID-19 and would help to suppress the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2.

"The drug will help in faster recovery of COVID-19 patients. Introduction of Remdesivir in the COVID-19 treatment protocol will also help us reduce COVID-19 deaths associated with co-morbidity," Rane said.

Goa is currently witnessing a sustained spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. The state has recorded 7,614 coronavirus cases in all, out of which 2,095 are active. 66 people have died after contracting the deadly infection.

13:12 August 07

Odisha registers highest single-day spike of 1,833 COVID-19 cases; 12 more fatalities push death toll to 247

Odisha registered its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on Friday as 1,833 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

The state's COVID-19 death toll soared to 247 as 12more patients succumbed to the infection, he said.

The new infections reported from 29 of Odisha's 30 districts have pushed the state's coronavirus caseload to 42,550, the official said.   

11:55 August 07

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rises to 1,948

Ninety-three more people including 68 security personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the northeastern state's tally to 1,948, a senior health official said on Friday.

Of the total 1,948 COVID-19 cases, 700 are active as 1,245 have recovered from the disease and three have died, he said.

The fresh cases were reported from Namsai district (55), Lohit (10), East Kameng (8), Capital Complex and Tawang six each, two cases each from Changlang and Lower Siang districts and one each from West Kameng, Tirap, Papumpare and West Siang respectively, State Surveillance Officer Dr L Jampa said.

11:54 August 07

Telangana Covid-19 tally crosses 75K, 600 deaths

Telangana reported a further spurt in Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours. The state reported 2,207 cases on Friday, up 195 cases in comparison to the 2,092 cases reported Thursday. The latest updates take the overall tally to 75,257 even as the death toll climbed by 12 totalling 601 deaths at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

With 23,495 tests conducted on Thursday, the cumulative numbers have touched 5,66,984, state health officials said.

As per the health department's media bulletin, results of 1,539 samples are awaited.

10:48 August 07

Over 60,000 cases in a day for 1st time take India's COVID-19 tally past 20 lakh

Registering over 60,000 cases in 24 hours for the first time, India's COVID-19 tally galloped past 20 lakh on Friday, while the number of recoveries surged to 13.78 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The COVID-19 tally had crossed 19 lakh just two days back.

It took 110 days for COVID-19 cases in the country to reach one lakh and 59 days more to cross the 10-lakh mark. Thereafter it took just 21 days more to go past 20 lakh.

This was the ninth day in a row that the COVID-19 tally increased by more than 50,000.

According to the health ministry data updated at 8 am, 62,538 cases were added in a day taking the total coronavirus caseload to 20,27,074.

The death-toll climbed to 41,585 with 886 people succumbing to the infection in 24 hours, the data showed. 

At the same time, the number of patients who recuperated from the disease surged to 13,78,105 on Friday taking the recovery rate to 67.98 per cent. There are 6,07,384 active coronavirus cases in the country presently.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative 2,27,88,393 samples have been tested for coronavirus infection up to August 6 with 6,39,042 being tested on Thursday.

10:18 August 07

Former HP CM Dhumal in home quarantine

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal along with his staff members has quarantined himself at his house here as a precaution after the state power minister tested positive for coronavirus.  

In a Facebook post, Dhumal stated that hehas quarantined himself at his house.

09:28 August 07

Rahul Gandhi slams Modi Govt as COVID cases in India crosses 20 Lakh

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today slammed the Central government as India crossed the 20 lakh COVID-19 positive cases.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress leader reiterated his earlier tweet, sent out on July 17, which stated "The 10,00,000-mark has been crossed. With the rapid spread of COVID-19, by August 10, more than 20,00,000 will be infected in the country. The government must take concrete, planned steps to stop the epidemic."

"20 lakh-mark has been crossed, Modi government is missing," the Congress leader tweeted today.

08:23 August 07

West Bengal Reports 2,954 New Cases Of COVID-19 On Thursday, Highest In Single Day

West Bengal on Thursday reported 2,954 new cases of COVID-19, which is highest in terms of the number of positive cases reported in a day in the state.

According to West Bengal Health Department, 2,954 COVID-19 cases, 2,061 discharged, and 56 deaths reported in West Bengal on Thursday.

The total number of cases in the state is now at 86,754, including 61,023 discharged, 23,829 active cases, and the death toll is at 1,902, as per the State's Health Department. 

08:13 August 07

COVID-19 LIVE: Tirumala shrine priest succumbs to coronavirus week after testing positive

Hyderabad:India on Friday registered more than 2 million coronavirus cases, with the countrywide figure standing at 20,25,409, reports said. 

According to covid19india.org data, India crossed 2 million benchmark and total postive cases stands at 20,25,409. 

According to reports, India currently stands at the second position in the world in term of COVID-19 cases. 

Six major states in India have recorded more than one lakh cases in the last six months since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with over 4.5 lakh cases and over 16000 deaths. Tamil Nadu comes in second with over 2.5 lakh cases and over 4,461 deaths.

On the other hand, with the deadly virus spreading rapidly all over the country, there are eight states and union territories - Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Ladakh, Mizoram, Arunanchal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands where there are less than 1,000 active cases.