COVID-19 news from across the nation

India has reported 63,509 new Covid-19 cases and 730 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total case tally stands at 72,39,390 including 8,26,876 active cases, 63,01,928 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 1,10,586 deaths. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has removed the North MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital from the list of designated Covid-19 hospitals in the capital. The Maharashtra government Wednesday allowed resumption of metro rail services in the state from October 15.

Hyderabad: The nearly month-long declining trend in the detection of new infections has ensured that, for the first time since the epidemic started in India, the growth rate of coronavirus cases has dropped below one per cent a day. The seven-day compounded daily growth rate, for the country as a whole, fell to 0.99 per cent on Tuesday.

At its height, the growth rate of coronavirus cases had exceeded 7 per cent per day in the first week of May, but there has been a steady decline after that. This process has been expedited in the last month which has seen a considerable decline in the daily numbers, from a high of about 98,000 cases to less than 70,000 cases right now.

COVID-19 news from across the nation

Delhi

New Delhi: The Delhi government has removed the North MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital from the list of designated Covid-19 hospitals in the capital. Over the past few months, the hospital has witnessed protests over salary delay by resident doctors and nurses.

In an order issued Tuesday, the health department said Hindu Rao Hospital was declared a designated Covid hospital on June 14 in view of a surge in cases at the time.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government Wednesday allowed resumption of metro rail services in the state from October 15 in a graded manner as part of its “Mission Begin Again”. According to new guidelines, government and private libraries will also be allowed to resume from October 15 in adherence to strict Covid-19 protocols.

COVID-19 patients and voters above the age of 80 will be given a postal ballot facility for the Maharashtra legislative council's graduates constituency election in Marathwada.

While the date of the election is yet to be announced, the district administration has come up with guidelines for voting.

Starting Wednesday, Mumbai Police along with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will penalise people violating face mask norms in public areas.

In a review meeting Tuesday, Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal asked civic officials to initiate a joint action with the Mumbai Police and intensify the campaign in the 24 wards, against those not wearing masks.

Officials from the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department were given the additional task of penalising those violating mandatory mask rule, but now all 24 administrative wards in the city have appointed agencies to work with the police in taking action.

West Bengal

Kolkata:With rising footfalls in the run-up to the Durga Puja festival, the authorities of shopping malls in the city are taking all health safety measures, including the use of ultraviolet rays to sanitise elevators and handrails, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said on Wednesday.

Leading shopping malls such as Acropolis, South City and Quest are currently experiencing a surge in footfalls ahead of Durga puja and expecting that number of visitors will further rise with multiplexes reopening from Thursday.

Himachal Pradesh

Shimla:Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. In a Facebook post, Parmar said he had developed coronavirus symptoms two days ago.

Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: To strengthen the efforts of the civil administration in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army's Northern Command has conducted 34,396 tests for the civilian population till date, with a positivity rate of 2.55 per cent.