Covid-19 LIVE: Daily testing capacity has crossed 1.17 mn, says Health Min

Coronavirus India highlights: India's total number of coronavirus cases stand at 4,208,645. Maharashtra's tally has crossed the 900,000 mark. Stay tuned for coronavirus LIVE updates

5:44 PM

Tripura reports 399 new Covid-19 cases, five fatalities

At least 399 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Tripura on Monday, raising the tally in the state to 15,529, a health department official said. The death toll rose to 149 after five more people succumbed to the infection, he said.

 

West Tripura district, of which state capital Agartala is a part, has accounted for 80 of the 149 Covid-19 deaths.

 

The state currently has 6,310 active cases, while 9,048 people have recovered from the disease. Twenty-two patients have migrated to other states. A total of 2,97,103 samples have been tested for Covid-19 in Tripura so far, the official added.

5:33 PM

Presence of Covid-19 antibodies may not guarantee protection: Scientists

The presence of antibodies indicates previous exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus but may not always translate into protection against the disease, say scientists, citing imponderables such as what kind of antibodies, how many and how long they last.

 

As worries over India's Covid-19 spike mount the country added 90,062 cases on Monday to take its tally past the 42-lakh mark scientists are grappling with the pivotal issue of antibodies and trying to understand how they impact on the progression of the disease.

 

But the jury is still out there with several studies and hypotheses but no consensus yet. The only thing that can be said with any degree of uncertainty is that antibodies is a sign that the person has already been infected with the novel coronavirus, the scientists said.

5:24 PM

Andhra Pradesh logs 8,368 new Covid-19 cases, tally crosses 500,000

5:13 PM

Over 100 OIL employees including chairman, directors recover from Covid

More than 100 employees of state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL), including its chairman and two directors, were infected with coronavirus but have since recovered, sources said.

 

The employees, as well as senior executives of the company, had contracted the virus last month when they were in Tinsukia district of Assam to contain a massive fire at the Baghjan gas field.

 

OIL Chairman and Managing Director Sushil Chandra Mishra, two directors on the company board, the head of the local unit of the company at Baghjan, local HR head and the entire blowout prevention team contracted Covid-19, sources in the know of the development said.

5:03 PM

PM must answer on govt strategy to control spread of Covid-19: Congress

With India recording the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world, the Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of failing to control the spread of the virus and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi answer the nation on the way forward.

 

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala attacked the Centre, alleging that it has left the people to fend for themselves and its "indifference, ineptitude and a failed leadership" were responsible for the current situation. He said despite warnings by experts and the Congress party, the pandemic was not controlled by adhering to the policy of 'Test-Trace-Isolate-Treat'.

 

When there was a need to increase testing, it was "ignored" and adequate steps were not taken to ensure contact tracing even during lockdowns, he alleged.

4:49 PM

UP records 5,649 fresh Covid-19 cases, 56 more deaths

Uttar Pradesh recorded 56 more deaths due to Covid-19 on Monday, taking the state's toll to 3,976, while 5,649 fresh cases pushed the tally to 2,71,851.

 

Briefing reporters here, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said 3,976 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the state so far and the case fatality rate stands at 1.46 per cent.

 

A total of 5,649 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported, he said. There are 62,144 active Covid-19 cases in the state.

 

Till now, as many as 2,05,731 Covid-19 patients have recovered from the disease and been discharged. The recovery rate in the state stands at 75.67 per cent.

4:40 PM

Andaman & Nicobar's Covid-19 tally rises to 3,332

The Covid-19 caseload in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,332, with 40 new coronavirus cases detected in the union territory, an official said on Monday.

 

Of the 40 new cases, 38 were detected during local contact tracing and two were airport arrivals, the official said.

 

All passengers coming from the mainland have to mandatorily undergo rapid antigen test for Covid-19 at the airport here on arrival, he said.

4:29 PM

Covid-19: JNU to hold its fourth convocation virtually in November

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will hold its fourth convocation virtually in November, a statement from the varsity said on Monday.

 

Noting that a convocation is a special moment in the life of a student, JNU Vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said despite the coronavirus pandemic, the varsity has decided to hold the convocation to make it a memorable event for the students.

 

The Executive Council, which met here, approved holding of the varsity's fourth convocation, JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar said.

 

"Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the convocation this year will be a virtual convocation. Soon a notification will be issued inviting the students to register themselves for participating in the virtual convocation," he said.

4:11 PM

Lucknow Metro resumes services with precautionary measures

The Metro train services in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow resumed on Monday with Covid-19 guidelines and protocols in place, after a gap of over five months. The Metro services were halted across the country in view of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

 

The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) had already made necessary preparations for the service resumption.

 

The responsibility of monitoring the Metro services has been entrusted to all officials to ensure that passengers do not face any problem as well as follow the health guidelines strictly.

4:03 PM

Malaika Arora confirms testing Covid-19 positive

Malaika Arora finally confirmed on Monday that she has tested positive for Covid-19, after speculative reports did the rounds that she has contracted the coronavirus.

 

"Today I have tested positive for coronavirus but I want to inform you all that I am feeling fine. I am asymptomatic and following all the required protocols and will be quarantined at home as instructed by my doctors and authorities. I request all of you stay calm and safe. Thank you for all your support. Much love Malaika Arora," Malaika wrote.

 

News of Malaika being infected started doing the rounds shortly after her good friend Arjun Kapoor announced on Sunday that he had tested Covid-19 positive.

3:54 PM

Sikkim's Covid-19 death toll rises to 6, state tally reaches 1,910

Sikkim on Monday reported its sixth Covid-19 fatality as a 27-year-old man succumbed to the infection in East Sikkim district, a senior Health department official said.

 

The patient had co-morbidities like multidrug- resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), Director General (DG)-cum- Secretary, Health, Dr Pempa Tshering Bhutia said.

 

The Himalayan state till Sunday had reported 1,910 Covid-19 cases of which 534 are actives cases.

3:45 PM

Odisha reports record 3,861 new Covid-19 cases, 10 fresh fatalities

Odisha's Covid-19 tally rose to 1,27,892 on Monday with the state registering its highest single-day spike of 3,861 new cases, while 10 fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll to 556, a health official said.

 

As many as 2,278 new cases were detected in quarantine centres, while 1,583 people tested positive for the infection during contact tracing, he said.

 

Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, registered the highest number of fresh infections at 767, followed by Cuttack (386), Jajpur (285) and Puri (200), the official said.

3:28 PM

Australia reports nine Covid-related deaths, daily infection count drops

Australia on Monday recorded nine new cororavirus deaths and 47 fresh cases, the lowest single-day spike in new infections in the last two months, health officials said.

 

All the fatalities and 41 of the new cases were reported from Victoria, which is in a stage four lockdown since August 2. Monday's tally of new cases is the lowest since June 26 in Australia.

 

On Sunday, Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews announced a five-step strategy to lift the current restrictions.

3:15 PM

Covid-19: Religious places reopen in Rajasthan, with health protocols

After a gap of over five months, religious places were allowed to reopen in both urban and rural areas of Rajasthan from Monday onwards, subject to strict following of Covid-19 guidelines and protocols issued by the state government.

 

As per the Home Department guidelines, there is a complete ban on ringing of temple bells, offerings of flowers and petals, garlands, 'prasad' and other material of worship at the religious places.

 

There will be only one queue of devotees each at entry and exit points to the holy premises. Only 50 devotees will be allowed in the temple periphery at a given point in time while observing the social distance norm.

3:03 PM

Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Madan Kaushik tests positive for Covid-19

Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Madan Kaushik has tested positive for Covid-19, an official said on Monday.

 

Kaushik was admitted to AIIMS, Rishikesh on Sunday night after his antigen report came positive,its PRO Harish Thapliyal said.

 

Though he was in complete isolation since Saturday after coming in contact with an infected person he decided to admit himself at AIIMS, Rishikeshon the advice of doctors after hisreport arrived. His sample has also been sent for an RT-PCR test for dual confirmation.

 

The minister, who is also the state government's official spokesman, has appealed to party leaders and journalists who came in contact with him to get themselves tested for Covid.