Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi past 2nd wave peak, situation mostly controlled: CM

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,453,653 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 723,512, Karnataka 647,712, Tamil Nadu 625,391 and UP 417,437. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE update

7:05 PM

Gurugram Covid-19 recovery rate improves to 88%: Officials

The recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in Gurugram is steadily improving and now the district's recovery rate has increased to 88.23 per cent as compared to 86.71 per cent last week.

Health officials said due to increased awareness among residents and several awareness campaigns organised by the district administration and health department, the recovery rate of corona-infected patients is constantly improving.

They further said that while the recovery rate has increased in Gurugram district, the threat of the coronavirus pandemic has not been completely eradicated.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 tally in Gurugram rose to 22,204 as 266 more people tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, according to the daily health bulletin.

6:53 PM

270 new Covid-19 cases take tally to 7,037 in Meghalaya

Meghalaya's Covid-19 death toll reached 60 with one more person succumbing to the disease on Tuesday, while 270 new infections took the tally to 7,037, a senior official said.

Health Services Director Aman War said that 115 patients were also cured of the disease, pushing the number of recoveries to 4,606.

The Northeastern state now has 2,371 active cases, he said.

East Khasi Hills district, of which state capital Shillong is a part, reported 195 of the fresh cases. The remaining 75 cases were registered in nine other districts.

6:39 PM

Delhi past peak of 2nd Covid wave; situation largely controlled: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the national capital is past the peak of the second wave of coronavirus and the situation has been controlled to a large extent.

He said the city government increased the testing exponentially to detect the infection.

"Delhi hit the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 on September 17 when 4,500 cases were reported across the city. The situation has been controlled to a large extent," the chief minister said.

"I hope the second wave will slowly pass," Kejriwal told reporters here.

Testing in Delhi hit the 60,000 a day-mark in September compared to around 20,000 tests per day in August.

6:27 PM

Politicians have greater onus to follow Covid-19 norms: Gujarat CM

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday said political leaders have a "greater responsibility" to follow Covid-19 guidelines of social distancing and wearing masks, so that they don't send a wrong message to the public.

Rupani's statement came even as several instances have emerged of senior leaders from the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress participating in functions, rallies and addressing large gatherings without following safety norms.

"Everybody should follow rules related to social distancing and wearing masks, and they should do so of their own accord in their fight against coronavirus. It is not that we are arresting common man and not politicians (for flouting these rules)," the chief minister said.

"Political leaders have a bigger responsibility. They should follow the rules properly so that no wrong message is conveyed to the public," Rupani said, and urged the public to support the administration's efforts to contain the viral spread.

6:26 PM

White House nixes updated FDA guidelines on vaccine approval

The White House has blocked new Food and Drug Administration guidelines on bringing potential vaccines for COVID-19 to market that would almost certainly have prevented their introduction before the Nov. 3 election.

At issue was the FDA's planned instruction that vaccine developers follow patients enrolled in their trials for at least two months to rule out safety issues before seeking emergency approval from the agency. A senior administration confirmed the move Monday evening, saying the White House believed there was no clinical or medical reason for the additional requirement.

The White House action was first reported by The New York Times.

The intervention by Trump officials is the latest example of the administration undercutting its own medical experts working to combat the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has been attempting to shore up public confidence in the FDA's vaccine review for weeks, vowing that career scientists, not politicians, will decide if the shots are safe and effective for mass vaccination.

5:54 PM

5:47 PM

Punjab health minister tests positive for Covid-19, shared stage with Rahul Gandhi

Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu who recently shared the stage with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, a health officer said.

 

He has mild fever and a sore throat, Mohali civil surgeon Manjit Singh said.

 

The minister is stable and in isolation at home. People who have come in contact with him will also be tested, the doctor said.

 

Sidhu was in Sangrur on Monday for Kheti Bachao Yatra, taking part in a protest against the new farm laws.

 

The event was also attended by Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and other senior Congress leaders.

5:44 PM

Uttar Pradesh reports 61 more Covid-19 deaths, 3,500 fresh cases

Uttar Pradesh reported 61 more COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, taking their number to 6,153, while 3,500 new cases pushed the infection tally in the state to 4,20,937.

 

The number of active cases in the state stands at 44,031, of which 20,647 are in home-isolation, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

 

As many as 3,70,753 patients have fully recovered from the disease and were discharged from hospitals, he said, adding that the recovery rate of the state is at 88.07 per cent.

5:26 PM

Puducherry coronavirus update: Three die of Covid-19, 407 cases added

Three people died of coronavirus in Puducherry on Tuesday, raising the toll in the union territory to 546.

 

Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar told PTI that 53-year-old Antony Dasanwas the first patient who succumbed to the pandemic in Mahe region ever since the outbreak of the disease.

 

In all, three died of the illness in the union territory during the last 24 hours.

5:16 PM

Health Ministry guidelines: No festive events in containment zones

The Health Ministry on Tuesday issued the standard operating procedures (SOP) on preventive measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus during ensuing festivities and urged people in containment zones, and vulnerable populations to celebrate festivals at their homes.

 

"Festive events shall be permitted only outside the Containment Zones. Organisers, staff and visitors from Containment Zones shall not be permitted. People residing inside Containment Zones may be encouraged to observe all festivals inside their homes and not move out," the ministry added. Read more...

4:59 PM

India to overtake China as largest LPG residential market by 2030: Report

India is expected to overtake China as the world's largest cooking gas LPG residential sector market by 2030, Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday.

"Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand in the residential sector will continue to see sustainable growth at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3 per cent, reaching 34 million tonnes (MT) in 2030 as households' dependence on solid biomass diminishes in the long run supported by rising average household incomes and urban population," it said in a report.

Driven by environmental and health concerns, the government has also been implementing schemes to help lower-income families cope with the cost of switching from dirtier biomass to LPG. Read on...

4:53 PM

Health Minister releases Covid-19 management protocol based on Ayurveda, Yoga

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday released a protocol for the clinical management of Covid-19, that lists dietarymeasures,yoga andAyurvedicherbs and formulations such as Ashwagandha and AYUSH-64 for prevention of coronavirus infection and treatment of mild and asymptomatic cases.

The 'National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for Management of Covid-19' was released byVardhanin the virtual presence of Shripad Naik, Minister of State for AYUSH.

"This protocol dealing with preventive and prophylactic measures is a significant step not only in management of Covid-19 but also in making traditional knowledge relevant to solving problems of the modern time," Vardhan was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Unfortunately, Ayurveda did not receive much attention after independence until Prime Minister Narendra Modi took up this cause with the importance it deserves," he said while stressing that Ayurveda had a significant impact in the foundations of modern medicine.

4:40 PM

Govt removes export curbs on N-95 masks

The government on Tuesday removed export curbs on N-95 masks, to promote outbound shipments of the product.

"The export policy of N-95/FFP-2 masks or its equivalent is amended from restricted to free category, making all types of masks freely exportable," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

In August, a monthly export quota of 50 lakh units was fixed for N-95/FFP2 masks or its equivalent for issuance of export licences to eligible applicants.

4:29 PM

Revamping infra to meet Covid-19 norms to scheduling classes, schools prepare to reopen

From revamping infrastructure to meet Covid-19 guidelines to preparing an "effective" time-line for completing syllabus, schools in Delhi-NCR are taking several steps to resume formal classes in a safe environment when they reopen after nearly six months.

While the Centre has allowed graded reopening of schools from October 15, the Delhi government has extended the closure of schools till October 31 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), a few schools have reopened for students from classes 9 to 12 to come on a voluntary basis to seek academic guidance. NCR covers the whole of Delhi and certain districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

4:19 PM

India continues to report declining trend of active Covid-19 cases: Health Ministry

India's active cases comprise merely 13.75 per cent of the total positive cases of the country standing at 9,19,023 and the country continues to report a trend of steadily declining active cases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Tuesday.

"The declining trend of the percentage active cases is commensurately supported by rising percentage of recovered cases," it stated.

So far, 56,62,490 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus in the country.

According to the statement, a higher number of recoveries has aided the national recovery rate to further improve to 84.70 per cent. 75,787 have recovered and discharged in the last 24 hours whereas the new confirmed cases stand at 61,267.