Coronavirus LIVE: India's tally hits 8.8 mn, Shah reviews Delhi situation

Coronavirus LIVE: updates: Maharashtra has 1,740,461 coronavirus cases, Karnataka 857,928, Andhra Pradesh 851,000, Tamil Nadu 752,521 and UP has 514,060

4:36 PM

Delhi tests over 21,000 samples, only one third of its earlier figures

Delhi witnessed significantly low numbers of coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours on Sunday, with latest government figures recording 3,235 new cases and pushing the national capital's total tally to 4,85,405.

 

While the lesser number of cases reported in the last 24 hours may bring a sigh of relief, the fact remains that the figures came after mere 21,098 tests in the last 24 hours amid Diwali celebrations in Delhi.

 

The infection rate in Delhi remained as high as 15.33 -- every 7th sample tested positive. The statistics are worrying.

 

Besides, the total tests done was only one third of the highest number of tests done so far in the national capital -- more than 60,000 sample tests on many days in the past. If this figure is taken into the account, the new cases could be between 9,000 and 10,000.

3:38 PM

Senior Cong leader Ahmed Patel in ICU weeks after contracting Covid-19

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who tested positive for Covid-19 a few weeks ago, has now been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon for further treatment, his family said on Sunday.

 

Patel, 71, had announced on Twitter on October 1 that he had contracted coronavirus.

 

In a tweet on Sunday, Ahmed Patel's son Faisal said, "On behalf of his family, we would like to share that Shri Ahmed Patel had tested positive for Covid19 a few weeks ago. He has now been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon for further treatment."

 

"His condition is stable and he continues to be under medical observation...We request you to pray for his speedy recovery," he said.

2:50 PM

Amit Shah calls meeting to take stock of Delhi's Covid-19 situation

As the national capital continues to report a surge in Covid-19 cases, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has called a meeting at North Block to take stock of the coronavirus situation in Delhi.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal will be present in the meeting.

Shah and Kejriwal have met at least twice in the last few months to discuss the coronavirus situation in the national capital and the home minister had also intervened when Delhi witnessed its first spike.

In June, Shah and Kejriwal had visited Covid-19 Care Centre at Radha Soami Beas in Chhatarpur after the Chief Minister had written to the former inviting him to inspect the campus.

2:48 PM

No decision so far on reopening monuments in Maharashtra: Minister

The Maharashtra government has not taken a decision so far on reopening monuments for tourists, Minister of State for Tourism Aditi Tatkare said on Sunday.

 

An association of tourist guides in Aurangabad on Friday wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, demanding that monuments, like the world famous Ajanta and Ellora caves and others, here be reopened for visitors as the shutdown due to COVID-19 has brought many to the brink of "starvation".

 

When contacted, Aditi Tatkare told PTI, "I will not be able to say anything about this as this is a decision of the chief minister. A decision on opening tourist sites is yet not taken."

 

Aurangabad Collector Sunil Chavan said he has met several people who are dependent on tourism for their bread and butter.

 

"They are facing problems trouble and even the hotel industry here has demanded that monuments be reopened. The district administration is preparing a proposal for this and it will be sent to the state government," he said.

2:47 PM

Covid dampens Himachal's 'rain of stones' spirit

There was no 'rain of stones' ritual on Sunday in a century-old festival that falls a day after Diwali and observed in the former princely state of Dhami, some 33 km from state capital Shimla.

 

Owing to Covid restrains, this unique practice was done away with amid the pandemic.

 

Old-timers say as far as their memory and knowledge goes this is for the first time that the ritual of pelting stones associated with the 'pattharon ka mela' (festival of stones) was cancelled.

 

"As per my memory and memory of my parents, this is for the first time the ritual of pelting one another with small stones was not exercised," said local resident S.R. Verma.

1:23 PM

Mizoram reports 25 new Covid-19 cases; tally mounts to 3,393

Mizoram's COVID-19 tally mounted to 3,393 with 25 more people testing positive for the virus, an official said on Sunday. The COVID-19 death toll in the state rose to four with one more person succumbing to the disease, the official said.

 

State Nodal officer of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, who is also Health department spokesperson on COVID-19, said a 34-year-old man succumbed to the disease at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) on Saturday night.

 

His body will be buried as per the existing COVID-19 protocol on Sunday, Pachuau said.

1:12 PM

Mexico's Covid-19 tally surpasses 1 million, death toll nears 100,000

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mexico has topped 1 million, while the death toll is close to 100,000 people, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Sunday.

 

"As of November 14, 2020, there were 1,003,253 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 1,222,753 negative [test] results, 98,259 confirmed deaths and 745,361 recovered people," the official tweeted.

 

Over the past 24 hours, Mexico registered 5,860 new cases and 635 related deaths.

12:59 PM

India's active Covid-19 caseload stands at 479,216: Health Ministry

12:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE:250 register for Covid-19 vaccine trial at Aligarh Muslim University

More than 250 applications have been received for the trial of Covid-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital of the Aligarh Muslim University. According to Prof Mohd Shameem, principal investigator, all applications will be screened as per the protocol and procedure laid down by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before inclusion in the study/trial.

 

The resource persons from Bharat Biotech will visit AMU in the coming days for training of staff for the vaccine trials.

 

Shameem informed that the registration is moving satisfactory but there is an exclusion, as well as inclusion criteria, and other detailed procedural/protocol formalities for the COVAXIN trial. He said that written consent and other related formalities will be completed in due course of time.

12:40 PM

Puducherry reports 25 new coronavirus cases, active tally at 984

As many as 25 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Puducherry in the last 24 hours, the health department said on Sunday. According to the Puducherry administration, while 95 people suffering from the virus have recovered and discharged, no fatalities due to the pathogen have been recorded since Saturday.

 

With this, the Union Territory has reported 36,324 COVID-19 cases which include 984 active cases, 34,732 recovered cases and 608 deaths.

 

The case fatality rate in Puducherry stands at 1.67 per cent while the recovery rate is at 95.62 per cent. A total of 3,61,101 samples have been tested for the disease till now, out of which, 475 samples were tested yesterday.

12:34 PM

Odisha reports 753 new coronavirus cases, 17 more fatalities

Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Sunday mounted to 3,08,659 with 753 more people testing positive for infection, while 17 fresh fatalities pushed the state's toll to 1,527, a health department official said.

 

Of the 753 cases, 434 were reported from quarantine centres, and the remaining detected during contact tracing.

 

All 30 districts in the coastal state reported less than 100 cases each, the official said. Sundargarh recorded the maximum number of cases at 75, followed by Khurda at 74 and Nuapada at 65.

12:26 PM

China finds Covid-19 virus on imported frozen beef samples

Authorities in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, found that three frozen beef samples tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, local health authorities have said.

 

The batch of products dispersed in 1,006 boxes, weighing 27 tonne, were imported from Brazil to customs in the east Chinese city of Qingdao on August 7.

 

They arrived in a warehouse in Wuhan on August 17 and have not entered the market.

12:16 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Amit Shah to review Covid-19 situation in Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday will review the situation arising in Delhi in the wake of a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, officials said.

 

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendra Jain are expected to attend a meeting with Shah in the evening.

 

The home minister will take stock of the situation arising due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi and how to deal with it, a home ministry official said.

12:03 PM

Donald Trump calls on Congress to pass Covid-19 relief bill

US President Donald Trump has called for Congress to pass a "big and focused" Covid-19 relief bill as the number of confirmed cases continued to surge across the country.

 

"Congress must now do a Covid Relief Bill. Needs Democrats support. Make it big and focused. Get it done," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on Saturday.

 

Trump's comments came after the US reported an all-time high of nearly 200,000 new cases November 12, setting a new record for the fifth time in a week. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on on November 13 also called the resurgence a "red alert" that requires "all hands on deck" in Congress.

11:56 AM

South Korea reports 208 more Covid-19 cases, 28,546 in total

South Korea reported 208 more cases of the COVID-19 as of midnight Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 28,546.

 

The daily caseload hovered above 200 for two straight days, growing in triple digits for the 8th day due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

 

Of the new cases, 81 were Seoul residents and 41 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.Thirty-two were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 4,136. One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 493. The total fatality rate stood at 1.73 per cent.