COVID-19 news from across the nation

Delhi is witnessing a downward trend of COVID-19 cases, according to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Meanwhile, in Bihar FIR has been lodged against the family of the bride, whose marriage turned out to be super-spreader with over 100 new infections. Similarly, a district jail in Rajasthan is becoming a COVID-19 hotspot in the otherwise virus-free district.

Hyderabad:India reported the highest ever single-day spike of 20,903 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours on Friday. With these new cases, India's coronavirus tally has risen to 6,25,544 cases of which 2,27,439 patients are active cases while 3,79,891 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

COVID-19 stats

New Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that there is a downward trend of the coronavirus cases in the national capital due to the concerted efforts of Delhiites and the governments. The Chief Minister also alluded to the prediction of 60,000 active cases made during the re-opening of the city a month ago.

On June 23, the capital had witnessed the highest single-day peak of 3,947 cases, but the number has come down steadily since then. The turnaround came after several meetings were held between the Central and State government officials in mid-June after cases recorded a sharp and sustained spike.

Bihar

An FIR has been lodged against the bride's father whose wedding ceremony in Paliganj sub-division of Patna district set off the biggest infection chain with over 100 guests tested positive. The groom died of virus infection after running a high fever. His body was cremated without being tested for COVID-19.

Around 50 people are being accused of attending the wedding without following proper COVID-19 protocols including wearing a mask and maintaining social distance.

Meanwhile, with an aim to control the possibility of community transmission, all Shiva temples will remain closed till August 4, according to Bihar state religious trust council.

Rajasthan

After a brief spell during which no new COVID-19 infections were reported, the Pratapgarh district is now facing a spurt in cases which are closely linked to the district jail. According to reports, 31 new cases were reported in a single day.

Following the surge in cases, the health department is conducting thermal screening for all prison staff and inmates. The department is also planning to create an isolation ward and shift secondary contacts from certain prison cells. The prison complex has also been sealed.

Karnataka

The head office of the state health department at Anand Rao Circle has been sealed after a staff tested positive. According to reports, the commissioner's has tested positive and the office will remain sealed for the next 24 hours. The office premises will be sanitised and all primary contacts will be quarantined in the coming days.

Uttar Pradesh

The death toll due to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh reached 749 on Friday, while the total number of coronavirus cases in the state mounted to 25,797 after 982 fresh infections were reported.

The Health Department has provided 50,000 additional antigen testing kits for the Meerut division, which is seeing a spurt in cases. Six districts of the division are Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hapur and Baghpat.

Himachal Pradesh

The total cases in the state crossed 1000 as the number of infections reached 1021, with 344 active cases and eight deaths. According to reports, a total of 654 people have been cured of infection so far.

Jharkhand

East Singhum district in the state reported a total of 45 new infections including 19 soldiers who are part of the Rapid Action Force (RAF). Meanwhile, a CRPF jawan stationed at Latehar district also tested positive.

As a measure to control the number of COVID-19 cases, the state government had announced that the lockdown would be extended till July 31.

Uttarakhand

One more COVID-19 patient died in Uttarakhand that saw the state's pandemic tally rise to 3,048 with the detection of 64 new cases, as per the state government's bulletin.

Odisha

The state reported its highest single-day spike of 561 COVID-19 cases, taking the state''s tally to 8,106, while the death climbed to 29 with two more fatalities.

Of the 29 deaths in the state, Ganjam, the worst-hit district, accounts for 17, followed by five in Khurda, four in Cuttack, and one each in Bargarh, Puri and Angul. Odisha now has active 2,567 cases, while 5,502 patients have recovered from the disease so far.