Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi may see 15K new cases per day in winters, says NCDC

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,480,489 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 734,427, Karnataka 668,652, Tamil Nadu 635,855 and UP 420,937. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE update

Maharashtra reported 13,395 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 14,93,884 on Thursday, while the toll rose to 39,430 after 58 more patients succumbed to the infection, said a state health department official.

A total of 15,575 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered people to 12,12,016, he said.

With this, the state now has 2,41,986 active cases, the official said.

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's Covid-19 tally crossed the 300,000-mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, 53,322 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Coronavirus update: India on Wednesday registered over 75,000 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 6,835,655and the death toll reached 105,526. According to a World Bank report, more than 150 million people may fall into extreme poverty throughout the world by 2021 as a result of the economic contraction caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

Coronavirus vaccine update: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given its permission for conducting Phase-I human clinical trial for an "antisera" that was developed by injecting inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in horses and can be a potential coronavirus treatment.
 

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 36,381,183. While 27,402,045 have recovered, 1,059,996 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 7,776,224 cases. It is followed by India, which has 6,832,988 cases, Brazil (5,002,357) and Russia (1,248,619).
 

Stay tuned for coronavirus LIVE updates

11:55 PM

Delhi needs to be prepared for around 15K new Covid cases per day in winter months: NCDC report

Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of Covid-19 per day taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, large influx of patients from outside and festive gatherings, a report drafted by the NCDC has warned.
 

The report drafted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the guidance of the expert group under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul has recommended the Delhi government to make arrangements for hospitalisation of about one-fifth of these patients with moderate and severe disease.

11:08 PM

WHO reports record one-day rise in global coronavirus cases, up over 338,000

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours.

Deaths rose by 5,514 to a total of 1.05 million.
 

India reported 78,524 new cases, followed by Brazil at 41,906 and the United States with 38,904 new infections.
 

The previous WHO record for new cases was 330,340 on Oct. 2.

9:09 PM

Doctors warn Mamata of massive Covid-19 spike in Bengal post Durga puja

Expressing concern over the unrelenting surge in Covid-19 cases in Bengal, doctors here have written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to take stricter measures to restrict public gathering during Durga puja, as it might "lead to a tsunami" of infections.

BR Satpati, an advisor at the health department and member of the state's Covid-19 expert committee, however, asserted that the government was taking requisite measures to ensure people's safety.

Members of Joint Platform of Doctors, in their letter to Banerjee, referred to the steep rise in coronavirus cases in Kerala after the recent Onam festival, and a similar situation in Spain following International Women's Day celebrations and a football match to make their point.

8:37 PM

1,715 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, 29 deaths, 2,420 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Thursday recorded 1,715 new coronavirus cases which pushed its caseload to 1,42,022, a health official said.

With 29 fatalities, the death toll reached 2,547, he added.

8:25 PM

Maharashtra reports 13,395 Covid-19 cases, 15,575 recoveries

Maharashtra reported 13,395 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 14,93,884 on Thursday, while the toll rose to 39,430 after 58 more patients succumbed to the infection, said a state health department official.

A total of 15,575 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered people to 12,12,016, he said.

With this, the state now has 2,41,986 active cases, the official said.

8:02 PM

Shutting down schools increases Covid-19 deaths: UK study

Shutting down schools during the coronavirus pandemic could result in more overall deaths in the long term than keeping them open, according to a new analysis released on Thursday of the data that informed the UK government's decision on lockdown back in March.

The study, led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, also revealed that social distancing is a more effective tool at reducing deaths when only employed by people over 70, compared with being used for the general population.

In the short term, closing schools contributed to reducing the severity of the first wave, to the extent that (emergency) Nightingale hospitals were not needed, but the decision has left us more vulnerable to subsequent waves of infection, said Professor Graeme Ackland, the lead author from Edinburgh University's School of Physics and Astronomy.

7:53 PM

Nagpur records 746 new Covid-19 cases; 20 casualties

With the detection of 746 new Covid-19 cases, the count of infections in Maharashtra's Nagpur district rose to 84,827 on Thursday, an official said.

At least 20 patients died of the disease, taking the toll to 2,724, of which Nagpur city alone accounted for 1,971 casualties, the official said.

The number of recoveries in the district rose to 72,614, after 1,012 patients were discharged from various hospitals, he said.

7:19 PM

Covid-19 testing camps set up for staff of Aurangabad hotels

The civic body in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city has set up testing camps to detect coronavirus infection among staff of hotels, bars and restaurants in the city.

RT-PCR tests will be conducted at the camps, which will continue for the next three days, said Dr Neeta Padalkar, health officer of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation.

7:09 PM

President urges citizens to stand united to defeat Covid-19 through collective determination, discipline

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urged citizens to stand united to defeat coronavirus through collective determination and discipline.

He also asked them to wear masks, wash hands and practice social distancing.

"The nation stands united to defeat Covid-19 through collective determination and discipline. I urge fellow citizens to #Unite2FightCorona! Let us all - Wear a mask, Wash hands, Practice social distancing. Together we will fight, we will win!," Kovind tweeted.

6:46 PM

3,376 fresh Covid-19 cases in UP; 45 more die

Uttar Pradesh recorded 3,376 new Covid-19 cases taking the infection tally to 4,27,459 on Thursday, while 45 coronavirus fatalities pushed the state's death toll to 6,245, a health bulletin said.

Lucknow reported the maximum fresh cases at 403, followed by 189 each in Prayagraj and Ghaziabad and 180 in Gorakhpur, among other districts, it said.

According to Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal, 3,690 more Covid-19 patients were discharged from different hospitals after they recovered from the infection, and the total number recoveries in the state now stands at 3,78,662.

The recovery rate of Uttar Pradesh is now over 88 per cent, he added.

6:37 PM

Arunachal CM discusses Covid-19 strategy with health dept

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged the health department to make best use of the available manpower and ensure optimal utilisation of funds to fight against Covid-19.

Addressing officials of the department to discuss a strategy for containing the spread of COVID-19, the chief minister said that health of people is the top priority of the government and all manpower and resources would be mobilised accordingly, an official communiqu said.

6:33 PM

Delhi's COVID-19 case tally goes past 3 lakh; death toll climbs to 5,653

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's Covid-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, 53,322 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

The case tally stands at 3,00,833 in the national capital, including 2,72,948 patients who have either been discharged, or have migrated or recovered.

The number of active cases is 22,232, of which 12,890 are in home isolation.

6:18 PM

Mumbai's slum area Dharavi records 8 new Covid-19 cases

Mumbai's slum locality Dharavi reported eight new Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily count in nearly two weeks, taking its tally to 3,300 on Thursday, the city civic body said.

According to a senior BMC official, 2,820 Covid-19 patients from Dharavi have already recovered and discharged from hospitals.

The densely populated slum-dominated area has only 187 active Covid-19 patients at present, the official said.

6:04 PM

5:58 PM

Odisha govt initiates process to open temples, religious places for public

The Odisha government has initiated the process to open temples and other religious places for the public across the State.

According to the state officials, state Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy has asked all the Collectors and concerned authorities to submit a plan of action to the government within 10 days.

"District Collectors asked to consider the possibility of opening up places of worship for the public of all religious faiths, where compliance to extant Covid-19 guidelines and report to Government. They may prefer graded opening in the interest of containing the disease," said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.