LIVE: Maharashtra to appoint fresh medical graduates at Covid-19 hospitals

Coronavirus latest update: Worldwide there are 30,024,106 cases of coronavirus. India's total number of corona cases has surged to 5,118,253 . Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

3:40 AM

Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 30 million, death toll at 941,452

More than 30 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 941,452 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
 

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

3:38 AM

Despite challenging economic environment, Bharat to drive Maruti's sales

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India expects the volume recovery seen in the past few months to continue on the back of a strong growth momentum in rural India and a growing preference for personal transportation in urban markets.

 

“Good sowing of kharif crops (up 8 per cent year-on-year), better minimum support prices, and fewer Covid-19 cases (in villages) will help the rural growth story to continue,” said Shashank Srivastava, executive director (sales and marketing), Maruti Suzuki India. Read more

9:09 PM

Nagpur district records 1,717 new Covid-19 cases

Nagpur district on Thursday registered 1,717 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 58,890, the location administration said. A District Information Office release said 64 more patients died due to the infection, taking the toll to 1,879.

 

Besides,1,445 patients were discharged, taking the number of recovered cases to 45,372, it said.

 

The number of active coronavirus cases in the district stood at 11,639.Nagpur district on Thursday

9:01 PM

Gujarat records highest one-day spike of 1,379 Covid-19 cases

Gujarat registered the highest single-day spike of 1,379 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 1,19,088 on Thursday, said the state health department. Also, 14 persons with Covid-19 infection died across the state during this period, taking the toll to 3,273, the health department said in a release.

 

The release said as many as 1,652 persons recovered from the infection and discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of such cases to 99,808.

8:57 PM

Covid-19: Haryana reports 2,457 new cases, 24 deaths

8:54 PM

Govt monitoring Covid-19 situation, adequate beds, ventilators available: Haryana CM

As novel coronavirus cases crossed the one lakh mark and fatalities went past 1,050 in Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said the situation was under control with adequate beds, ventilators and oxygen supply available and that his government was regularly monitoring it. Asked about the pandemic situation, Khattar replied, "The situation is under control."

 

With active cases in the state currently over 21,000, he said an adequate number of beds, ventilators and oxygen supply was available.

 

"We keep reviewing the situation every 15 days and accordingly make our preparations and plans, he told a digital press conference.

8:47 PM

Uttarakhand: 1,192 new Covid-19 cases reported, tally at 37,139

8:44 PM

MP records 2,391 new Covid-19 cases; 2,863 discharged

Madhya Pradesh on Thursday recorded 2,391 fresh coronavirus cases, taking its count to 97,906, a health official said. The death of 33 more patients took the statewide Covid-19 toll to 1,877, the official said.

 

Of these fatalities, Indore recorded six, followed by five each in Bhopal and Gwalior, two each in Jabalpur, Sagar, Neemuch, Betul, Rewa and Balaghat and one each in Dhar, Damoh, Datia, Chhatarpur and Singrauli, he said. A total of 2,863 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries in the state to 74,398, the official said.

 

Among the fresh cases, Indore alone accounted for 381, the highest in the state, followed by 213 in Bhopal, 201 in Gwalior and 184 in Jabalpur, he said.

8:40 PM

AP's Covid-19 tally crosses 600,000; Recoveries over 500,000

Andhra Pradesh on Thursday achieved a double, crossing the 600,000 mark in total coronavirus cases and 500,000 mark in recoveries. As 8,702 fresh cases were added in 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, the states Covid-19 positive tally touched 6,01,462.

8:30 PM

Aiming to bring down Covid mortality rate to less than 1%: Health minister

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government is aiming to bring down India's Covid-19 mortality rate to less than 1 per cent from the current 1.64 per cent, which is still the lowest in the world.

 

Replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha, he said the country's recovery rate of 78-79 per cent is one of the highest in the world, adding though the total cases may have crossed 50 million, active cases are less than 20 per cent.

8:27 PM

Covid-19: 9,366 new cases in Karnataka, tally inching towards 500,000

Karnataka on Thursday reported 9,366 new cases of Covid-19 and 93 related fatalities, taking the infection count to 4,94,356 and the death toll to 7,629, the health department said. The day also saw 7,268 patients getting discharged after recovery.

 

Of the fresh infections reported today, 3,799 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of September 17 evening, cumulatively 4,94,356 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 7,629 deaths and 3,83,077 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

 

It said of 1,03,631 active cases, 1,02,826 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 805 are in ICU.

8:18 PM

Nepal's coronavirus tally nears 60,000

Nepal's number of coronavirus cases neared 60,000 on Thursday after 1,246 new infections were detected in a single day, the health ministry said. Jageshwar Gautam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that 1,246 new Covid-19 cases were reported while conducting 10,641 tests across the country in the past 24 hours.

 

With this, the total number of people infected with Covid-19 has reached 59,573, he said.

8:10 PM

Uttarakhand records 1,192 new Covid-19 cases

8:06 PM

Fresh medical graduates of Maharashtra to be appointed at Covid-19 hospitals

Over 1,000 medical students who would pass out from college this year would be posted in hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra, Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh said on Thursday.

 

The decision was taken as the number of Covid-19 patients is rising in the state and there is a need for doctors, he said in a release.

 

"The state government will get 1,204 bonded candidates from various disciplines of medical education and they will be posted as per their specialization and requirement at the institutes treating Covid-19 patients," he said.

7:56 PM

Manipur reports 110 new Covid-19 cases

7:37 PM

Public non-cooperation major reason for high Covid-19 fatality in Puducherry

Non-disclosure of Covid-19 symptoms by the public to visiting medical teams was the major reason for high fatality rate in Puducherry, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on Thursday said. As Bedi flagged concern amid rising infections and deaths, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao also said it was "regrettable" that those having symptoms of Covid-19 did not approach the hospitals in time.

 

They voiced concern as the coronavirus case fatality rate in the union territory touched 2.01 per cent as against 1.63 per cent at national level.

7:29 PM

Tamil Nadu records 5,560 new coronavirus cases, 59 deaths

7:20 PM

Kerala records highest single day spike of 4,351 Covid cases

In the highest single day surge so far, Kerala on Thursday reported 4,351 Covid-19 cases, taking the total infection count to 1,22,214, while the toll touched489 with 10 more deaths. Seventytwo health workers are among those who tested positive and a total of 45,730 sampleswere tested, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

 

Of the fresh cases, a lion's share of 4,081 people were infected through contactwhile the source of infection of 351 was not yet known. As many as 57 had come from abroad, 141 people from other states, he said.

 

This is the first time that the daily cases in the state crossed the 4,000 mark.

7:09 PM

Pak closes 22 educational institutes in 2 days over non-compliance with Covid-19 SOPs

At least 22 educational institutions in Pakistan have been closed down during the last 48 hours for failing to comply with the government-issued standard operating procedures for curbing the spread of Covid-19, the country's coronavirus control body said on Thursday.

 

In a statement, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said that action was taken after random checks. "During the last 48 hours, 22 educational institutions across Pakistan have been closed due to non compliance of health SOPs/protocols and disease prevalence, it said.

7:00 PM

Painting stations, carrom board part of new child-friendly Covid ward at LNJP

Television sets playing cartoons, a painting station and carrom boards will be the features of a child-friendly Covid-19 ward at the state-run LNJP Hospital.

 

The new ward based on the theme -- From Suffering to Happiness -- was inaugurated on Wednesday.

 

The ward has six to seven television sets which play cartoons, carrom board and a painting station so that the children can also enjoy while getting treated for the infection, officials said.

6:51 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah discharged from AIIMS, after post-Covid care

6:41 PM

Jammu and Kashmir: 1,467 new Covid cases reported, tally nears 60,000

6:32 PM

Wearing glasses may offer protection from Covid-19, but more studies needed: Scientists

Daily wearers of eyeglasses might be less likely to be infected with the novel coronavirus, say scientists who call for further, large-scale studies to assess the relationship between eye protection and the risk of contracting Covid-19.

The single-centre study, published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, assessed 276 hospitalised Covid-19 patients at Suizhou Zengdu Hospital in China, and observed that those who wore eyeglasses for an extended period of time were relatively uncommon among the study participants.

Based on this observation, the researchers, including those from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in China, speculated that wearing eyeglasses for more than eight hours per day may be protective against the novel coronavirus infection.

6:23 PM

Kerala govt to modify order allowing asymptomatic Covid-19 migrants to work

The Kerala government has decided to modify an order that allowed asymptomatic Covid-19 guest workers in the state to work in places exclusively marked for them by taking all health precautions.

The September 14 order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) has been withdrawn and will be issued after modifications, a senior official said on Thursday.

The order was issued after the Industries sector raised concerns over the current quarantine norms allegedly causing delay in completion of infrastructure projects in the state.

6:14 PM

Boris Johnson warns of tougher measures in Covid-19 fight

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Thursday that authorities will have to impose tougher measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 and protect'' the Christmas holidays as the government prepared to introduce stricter measures in northeast England.

 

Johnson's comments came amid reports that the government plans to impose a 10 p.m. curfew on pubs and restaurants in response to a recent jump in confirmed coronavirus cases. Local officials asked for more restrictions now to prevent a tighter lockdown later.

 

Johnson wrote in a piece published in The Sun newspaper that the only way to be certain the country can enjoy the winter holidays is to be tough now.'' 

6:05 PM

Russia's Covid-19 cases up 5,762 to over 1.08 million

Russia registered 5,762 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total number of cases to 1,085,281, the country's coronavirus response centre said in a statement on Thursday. Meanwhile, 144 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 19,061, Xinhua reported citing the statement.

 

Moscow reported 730 new cases, bringing its tally of infections to 274,003, the centre said.

5:45 PM

Maharashtra: 1,796 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Thane district

Thane district of Maharashtra added 1,796 new Covid-19 cases, taking it tally above the 150,000-mark, an official said on Thursday. With these new cases, the district's Covid-19 tally stood at 1,51,236, he said.

The death toll in the district rose to 4,009 with the addition of 26 fatalities, the official said. Kalyan recorded 537 new cases followed by Navi Mumbai (375) and Thane city (364), among other areas, he said.

5:36 PM

43 new Covid-19 cases reported in Nagaland

As many as 43 new Covid-19 cases have been reported from Nagaland in the last 24 hours, S Pangnyu Phom, the state's minister for Health and Family Welfare informed on Thursday.

The highest number of new cases was reported from Dimapur with 24 cases, followed by 18 in Kohima and one from Mon.

Phom also informed that 111 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, including 80 from Dimapur, 30 from Kohima, and one from Zunheboto.

5:26 PM

UP: Covid-19 death toll climbs to 4,771; cases over 336,000

The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,771 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with 81 more fatalities, while 6,029 fresh cases pushed the infection tally in the state to 3,36,294, officials said. The state now has 68,235 active Covid-19 cases and 2,63,288 people have recovered from the disease till date, Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said.

 

The death toll due to the virus has climbed to 4,771 and the total number of cases has risen to 3,36,294, he added. On Wednesday, the infection tally was 3,30,265 and taking it into cognisance the fresh cases are 6,029 in the last 24 hours.

 

Prasad said that the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in the state is 78.29 per cent and in September the positivity rate till now is 4.7 per cent in the state.

5:17 PM

Mizoram's Covid tally at 1,506, active cases 557