COVID-19 news from across the nation

So far, India has recorded 82,29,313 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1,22,607 deaths. A total of 75,44,798 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 5,61,908 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date, which comprises 6.83 per cent of the total caseload. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reported the highest number of cases. Research suggests that depression (present in about 30 per cent of diagnosed patients) and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (almost everybody diagnosed with COVID-19 --96 per cent) could be extremely high.

Hyderabad: The Union health ministry on Monday informed that the active coronavirus cases comprise only 6.83 per cent of the total positive cases of the country and added that the overall recoveries have crossed 75 lakhs.

With 45,230 new infections in the last 24 hours, India’s total Covid-19 tally reached 82,29,313 on Monday.

The Union Health Ministry on Sunday issued ''Guidelines on Managing Mental Illness in Hospital Settings during COVID-19'' stating there are at least three groups affected by mental health concerns during the pandemic.

Research suggests that depression (present in about 30 per cent of diagnosed patients) and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (almost everybody diagnosed with COVID-19 --96 per cent) could be extremely high.

COVID-19 news from across the nation

Delhi

New Delhi: ICU beds with ventilators at most top private hospitals in Delhi have been fully occupied amid a massive surge in COVID-19 cases in the last few days. The strategy to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Delhi, especially keeping in view the festival season and decreasing temperatures accompanied by rising pollution was discussed at length with representatives of MoHFW and the health experts who were present in the meeting: MHA

The government Monday attributed the surge in active Covid-19 cases in Delhi to the festive season, greater movement of people and laxity in adhering to safe Covid behaviour and said efforts will be made to increase testing in critical zones. It also emphasised that Metro travel should be carefully regulated as per the SOPs.

At a high-level meeting, chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the COVID-19 situation in Delhi was discussed threadbare.

Andhra Pradesh/Telangana

Hyderabad: Schools reopened for students of classes 9th and 10th Andhra Pradesh on Monday, after months of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Below are some pictures from Bishop Azariah government school. A headmistress said there would be 15-minute breaks between periods for students to sanitise their hands.

After a gap of over seven months, inter-state bus services between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh resumed on Monday as officials of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation and its AP counterpart came to an understanding and signed an MoU, a senior TSRTC official said.

The bus services between the states were suspended in March due to the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

Though passenger transport by the TSRTC to other states began in September, it was not resumed with Andhra Pradesh owing to deadlock on some contentious issues such as the number of kilometres to be plied by each corporation in the other state. "Bus services began as both the corporations (TSRTC and APSRTC) signed MoU," the official said.

Maharashtra

Mumbai:Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was admitted to a city-based hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 last month, was discharged from the medical facility on Monday.

The Maharashtra education department on Monday started free online classes for 11th standard students to prevent loss of the academic session due to the COVID-19 outbreak, an official said.

Rajasthan

Jaipur: Rajasthan will be the first state in the country to enact a law making it compulsory to wear masks in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday.

The law will be enacted on Monday, he said in a tweet, describing mask as a "vaccine" to protect against coronavirus.

"Rajasthan will be the first state in the country to enact a law to make it compulsory to wear masks for protection against corona because the mask is the vaccine to protect against corona and it will protect," Gehlot said.

Haryana

Chandigarh: Haryana has found antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among 14.8 per cent of the state’s population in the second round of seroprevalence survey released on Monday. Urban areas have observed a high positivity rate of 19.8 per cent, while it was 11.4 per cent in rural areas. In the first round of survey conducted in August, seroprevalence was 8 per cent across the state.

Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal on Monday announced that he and his wife have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The news was shared on his official Twitter handle which mentioned: “Hon’ble Governor and first lady have tested corona positive.” He has also advised all those who have come in close contact with him recently to get themselves tested.