Hyderabad: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday appreciated the "super-human efforts" in containing the magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and said these are "worth emulating" by the wider world.
In his address to the nation on the eve of the 74th Independence Day, the president complimented the COVID warriors and said the nation is indebted to doctors, nurses and other health workers who have been continuously on the forefront of the country's fight against this virus.
"All corona warriors deserve high praise," Kovind said in his televised address.
He said that it is very reassuring to note that the central government while anticipating the tremendous challenge, responded effectively and well in time.
Delhi
New Delhi: Delhi has reported 1,192 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday to go past the 150,000-mark for the total number of coronavirus cases registered in the national capital since the outbreak of the disease in February this year. However, only 11,366 of these are currently infected by the disease and under medical supervision.
According to the health bulletin released by the state government, 11 deaths have been reported in the past 24-hour cycle taking the death toll to 4178.
As many as 790 people have been discharged in the same period, leading to the number of recoveries reaching 135,108 in the city.
The city is also placed comfortably in terms of the number of beds available in COVID care facilities such as COVID hospitals, COVID care centres and COVID health centres with more than 16500 beds vacant.
Bihar
Patna: Former MLC of JDU, Ravindra Tanti died of the coronavirus in Patna on Friday. He was admitted to the AIIMS in Patna for the last 10 days. In the last 24 hours, 10 more corona patients, including a former bureaucrat, died in the state. The death toll in the state reached 484.
Jharkhand
Ranchi: Amid growing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, the state administration initiated a special drive as per which persons seen in public places without wearing masks would be slapped a fine of Rupees 500. The Transport Secretary has also sought a weekly report of action from each district. Meanwhile, the state has, so far, reported 20,950 positive cases and the death toll stands at 209.
Rajasthan
Jaipur: The coronavirus pandemic, which has brought the world to a standstill, has triggered a massive quest for a vaccine. While on one hand, scientists and researchers work round the clock, on the other, unusual and bizarre remedies have been suggested by many, including politicians and leaders, to fight the deadly virus.
In the latest incident, Rajasthan BJP MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria has claimed that a mud pack and blowing a conch shell can help fight the novel coronavirus.
The BJP MP from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency claimed that sitting in the mud along with blowing conch shell boosts immunity, which helps the body to fight COVID-19.
Earlier this year, the BJP MP had claimed that applying mud on the body and performing yoga could cure all diseases.
Meanwhile, as many as 10 police constables have tested positive at Baltora city in Barmer district on Friday.
Odisha
Bhubaneswar: With COVID-19 cases surging, Odisha government now plans to bring an ordinance to amend the epidemics act for increasing the punishment for non-compliance of the guidelines laid down for containing the spread of the pandemic.
Chief secretary Asit Tripathy said that Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 would be amended to increase the imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or fine which may extend up to Rs 1 lakh or with both.
As the state Assembly is not in session, the amendment to the act would be done through ordinance route, the chief secretary said.
The move to make the punishment for violation of COVID-19 guidelines tougher was significant as the number of coronavirus disease cases in the state has reached 54,630 and death toll stands at 324.
Uttarakhand
Dehradun: With 4 deaths reported on Friday, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 147 in the state and the number of coronavirus cases climbed to 11,615. Meanwhile, 488 patients were cured or discharged from the different hospitals in the state on Friday which took the tally of discharged patients to 7,544. Currently, 3,924 patients are undergoing treatment in the state.
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