COVID-19 news from across the nation

India’s cumulative Covid-19 positivity rate has remained below 8 per cent for four days, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry said this has been brought about by a high level of comprehensive countrywide testing. The country’s cumulative positivity rate stands at 7.94 per cent and is on a continuous decline. Meanwhile, Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal to be no-entry zones for revellers. Mumbai Metro services are set to resume from today. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol has said eight members of his family have contracted coronavirus.

Hyderabad:The number of new coronavirus infections reported daily in India dropped below 60,000 for the second time this month, while the number of fresh fatalities registered across the country dipped below 600 almost after three months, the Union Health Ministry data stated on Monday.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 9,50,83,976 samples have been tested up to October 18 with 8,59,786 samples being tested on Sunday. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

The Union Health Ministry Monday said that the national recovery rate has improved to 88.26 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.52 per cent. There are 7,72,055 active Covid-19 cases at present, comprising 10.23 per cent of the total caseload, data from the health ministry stated.

COVID-19 news from across the nation

Maharashtra

Mumbai:Mumbai Metro services are set to resume from today, October 19, with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place. The Maharashtra government on October 14 permitted the resumption of metro services in the state from October 15. Mumbai Metro, however, took a few days extra to accomplish all the safety runs. Metro train services will be only half of the pre-COVID levels and will operate at a third of the passenger capacity.

Karnataka

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol has said eight members of his family have contracted coronavirus including his son Dr Gopal Karjol, who is on a ventilator for the past 23 days. In a long Twitter post, Karjol explained his inability to take up a long journey to physically monitor the flood situation in Bagalkote and Kalaburagi.

"My son Dr Gopal Karjol is on the ventilator for the past 23 days (due to coronavirus). My wife recently came out of the hospital after recovering from the coronavirus infection. I too recovered from COVID after staying in the hospital for 19 days. In all, eight members of my family had contracted coronavirus," Karjol said in his post.

Gujarat

Gandhinagar:Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today reviewed the COVID-19 situation of Gujarat ahead of the onset of winter and the beginning of the festive season. The Union Minister was briefed about the state's COVID situation in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and district collectors through video conferencing.

Gujarat reported 996 new coronavirus cases today, taking the caseload in the state to 1,60,722, the health department said. With eight deaths, the COVID-19 death count rose to 3,646, it said. 1,147 patients were discharged from various hospitals, increasing the number of recovered cases in the state to 1,42,799, the department said in its release. With this, Gujarat's recovery rate further improved to 88.85 per cent.

Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, "State govt never tried to protect M Sivasankar. He was removed as Principal Secretary soon after links with gold smuggling accused came out. Now, the individual has no connection with CMO. Probe agencies can take appropriate action based on their probe. It is not true that during the Onam festival, Kerala Govt gave many relaxations. When Kerala govt was focusing on COVID19 activities, the opposition parties sent the wrong message to society by organising large scale protests violating all COVID-19 protocol."

West Bengal

Kolkata: Calcutta high court orders all Durga Puja pandals in Bengal be declared no-entry zones. The court also ordered that only 15 to 25 people belonging to the organising committees will be allowed to enter the pandals.

Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A Resto-Bar located at Patia in Bhubaneswar has been sealed by the Twin City Commissionerate Police for violation of COVID-19 guidelines. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also sealed a coaching institute here over flouting of COVID-19 norms.

Assam

Guwahati: Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is set to open for tourists from October 21 amid the COVID-19 outbreak. However, due to inclement weather and road conditions, only jeep safari would be open for tourists at Kaziranga Range, Kohora and Western Range, Bagori.