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

10:40 AM

COVID-19 highlights importance of our relationship with nature: UNEP

10:33 AM

78,000 new cases take India's tally past 6.8 million

With a fresh spike of 78,524 coronavirus cases and 971 deaths in 24 hours, India's tally on Thursday went past the 68-lakh-mark with a total of 68,35,655 cases. Out of these, 9,02,425 are currently active; 58,27,704 have been discharged, while 1,05,526 have lost the battle against the pandemic. The recovery rate stands at 85.02 per cent and the fatality rate at 1.55 per cent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. On Tuesday, India recorded a spike of 61,267, which was the lowest since August. But on Wednesday it again recorded 72,049 cases.

10:15 AM

Need to maintain momentum of Covid battle to save lives: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday emphasised on people driven fight against the Coronavirus and hailed the role played by the Covid warriors in saving lives. "India's Covid-19 fight is people driven and gets great strength from our COVID warriors. Our collective efforts have helped saved many lives. We have to continue the momentum and protect our citizens from the virus," Modi tweeted. "Let us Unite to fight Corona! Let us always remember: Wear a mask, wash hands, follow social distancing, practice aDo Gaj Ki Doori'. Together, we will succeed and together, we will win against COVID-19," he once again emphasised.

 

9:37 AM

56 new Covid cases in Agra, tally reaches 6,110

Fifty six fresh coronavirus cases were reported in Agra in the last 24 hours taking the total number to 6,110, the state authorities said on Thursday. District Magistrate P.N. Singh said so far 5,436 had recovered, while the number of active cases now was 545. The number of samples in the district has gone up to 2,07,022. Though the daily Covid-19 sample tests continue to remain around 2,500, there has been some respite in the numbers of new cases which in September had gone up abnormally high. With the rising graph of seasonal viral fever, dengue, and flu, doctors in Agra have advised patients not to rush for Covid tests, but consult family doctors or go to government clinics first.

9:26 AM

Urban air pollution may make COVID-19 more deadly, says study

Researchers have found long-term exposure to urban air pollution may have made COVID-19 virus more deadly. "Both long-term and short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with direct and indirect systemic impact on the human body by enhancing oxidative stress, acute inflammation, and respiratory infection risk," says Donghai Liang of Emory University, first co-author on the recent paper along with Liuhua Shi. In a recent study conducted by researchers analyzed key urban air pollutants, including fine particle matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3), across 3,122 counties in the United States from January to July.

 

9:17 AM

Health Minister praises PM for awareness campaign

9:09 AM

Covid-19 testing update: October 08

8:55 AM

82 new cases, two deaths reported in Ladakh today

82 new cases, two deaths and 47 recoveries/discharges reported in Ladakh today. Active cases in the Union Territory has gone up to 1228; 953 in Leh district and 275 in Kargil district: Department of Information & Public relations, Ladakh

8:45 AM

India declines proposal to test Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine in large study

India's drug regulator has knocked back a proposal from Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd to conduct a large study in the country to evaluate Russia's Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine and has asked it to first test the vaccine in a smaller trial. The recommendations by an expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) noted that safety and immunogenicity data from early-stage studies being conducted overseas is small, with no inputs available on Indian participants. India’s move comes as a setback for Russia’s plan to roll-out the vaccine even before full trials show how well it works, while pushing back its efforts to win approval for the vaccine in the country that leads the world on average number of new infections. India is expected to overtake the United States over the next several weeks as the country with the world’s largest number of cases.

 

8:07 AM

PM Modi calls to unite against Covid-19

7:56 AM

US: Marine general has Covid-19 after Pentagon meeting

The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after he and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in a Pentagon meeting with a Coast Guard leader who was infected with the virus. The Marine Corps said Wednesday that Gen Gary L Thomas tested positive for COVID-19. He attended a meeting of the Joint Chiefs on Friday, when the commandant was not able to be there. US officials said none of the other top military leaders in the meeting including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have so far tested positive.

 

7:45 AM

Coronavirus cases in Brazil pass 5 million

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Brazil have passed five million, with deaths in the country approaching 150,000, officials said. Brazil's health ministry reported 31,553 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total infections to 5,000,694, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The country is the third worst hit for infections, after the US and India. President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of downplaying the risks of the virus throughout the pandemic, ignoring expert advice on restrictive measures.

7:25 AM

Getting coronavirus a blessing in disguise: Trump

7:14 AM

Recoveries are 6.3 times the active cases: Health Ministry

India's COVID-19 recoveries have witnessed a steep exponential rise - from 50,000 in May to over 57 lakh in October. A high level of more than 75,000 recoveries reported every day. Recoveries are 6.3 times the active cases (currently 13.4% of total cases): Union Health Ministry

6:42 AM

China will pay big price for coronavirus pandemic, says Trump