COVID-19 news from across the nation

Today is the 161st day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown, to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. So far, India has recorded 36,21,245 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 64,469 deaths. Meanwhile, Metro train services in Bengaluru will resume in a graded manner from 7 September while political, social and religious congregations of up to 100 people will be permitted as part of Unlock-4 guidelines issued by the Karnataka government on Monday. Congress' Karnataka unit president DK Shivakumar who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 infection has been discharged after recovery.

Hyderabad: After a sudden surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and high mortality, the Union Health Ministry has decided to send high-level teams to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. India reported 78,512 new coronavirus infections on Monday, slightly fewer than the previous day when it posted the biggest, single-day tally of infections of any country in the pandemic. With the record surge, the total cases in the country now stand at 36,21,245, according to the data released by the Union Health Ministry this morning.

Delhi

New Delhi: Amid the sudden spike in novel coronavirus infections in Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Monday that the Kejriwal government was doing "aggressive testing" and the aim was to ensure no case was left untraced. Jain said the government had sufficient stock of COVID-19 testing kits for 10-15 days, but it was procuring more from the market to meet the target of 40,000 tests per day.

The government has already increased the duration of testing hours at hospitals and dispensaries to five hours (9 am-2 am) from the earlier three-hour duration, he told reporters. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said taht doubling rate of Covid-19 cases in Delhi is 85 days, so it's at 'comfort level' as of today.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Maharashtra Govt extends lockdown in the state till 30th September. Interdistrict transport of goods and persons are allowed. Private bus and minibus are also allowed to operate; SOPs for the same will issued by State Transport Commissioner.

Hotels in Maharashtra allowed to operate with 100% capacity with strict compliance of safety SOP. Private offices allowed to operate with 30% capacity in Maharashtra.

Malls, theatres, metro rail, schools, colleges to remain shut. No international flights, no social, politic, sports, religious functions.

Five districts of Maharashtra have recorded over a 400 per cent rise in Covid-19 cases since last month. Officials said they are struggling to create adequate critical care treatment facility in these districts – Beed, Sangli, Kolhapur, Osmanabad and Nagpur – which have also shown a massive rise in the toll.

Mumbai, Thane and Pune continue to account for 57 per cent of the total burden of cases in the state but their growth has somewhat steadied.

Karnataka

Bengaluru: Congress' Karnataka unit president D K Shivakumar, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, has been discharged after recovery.

West Bengal

Kolkata: West Bengal on Monday extended lockdown in containment zones till September 30. Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha said Bengal will have comoplete lockdown on September 7, 11, and 12.

Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab govt issues revised guidelines for international arrivals. Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that before planning for travel, all travellers should submit self-declaration form on the online portal at least 72 hours before scheduled travel.

Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has extended its coronavirus lockdown to September 30 but has also announced major relaxations, including resuming intra-state bus services from September 1 and Chennai metro services from September 7.

The southern state has over 4.16 lakh confirmed cases. Of these over 7,100 are deaths linked to the virus and around 1.85 lakh are active cases.

Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Higher Education Minister Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo has tested positive for COVID-19. This was informed by the minister on Twitter on Monday.

BJD MLA Byomakesh Ray on Monday tested positive for COVID-19, raising the number of lawmakers infected with coronavirus in Odisha to 13. Taking to Facebook, the Chandbali MLA expressed regret for not being able to serve the flood-hit people of his constituency.