Coronavirus live: India logs 41,831 new cases, doc warns about 'R-value'

Coronavirus live updates: Karnataka makes negative RTPCR result mandatory for those entering from Kerala and Maharashtra

2:26 AM

New Covid cases outnumber recoveries in Karnataka again

Reversing the declining trend, 1,875 new Covid cases outnumbered 1,502 recoveries in Karnataka, with Dakshina Kannada district surpassing Bengaluru in more cases, said the state health bulletin on Sunday.

 

"With 1,875 new cases registered on Saturday, the state's Covid tally rose to 29,06,999, including 24,144 active cases, while 28,46,244 recovered, with 1,502 patients discharged during the day," said the bulletin.

 

As epi-centre of the pandemic in the state, Bengaluru reported 409 fresh cases on Saturday, taking the city's Covid tally to 12,27,748, including 8,553 active cases, while 12,03,314 recovered so far, with 377 patients discharged in the last 24 hours.

 

With 410 positive cases registered on Saturday, Dakshina Kannada, bordering Covid-hit Kerala on the state's west coast, surpassed Bengaluru for the first time in new cases, followed by 162 in Udupi, 146 in Mysuru and 108 in Hassan across the state.

1:51 AM

Vietnam reports 8,620 new Covid-19 cases, 154,306 in total

Vietnam recorded 8,620 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, including 8,597 locally transmitted and 23 imported, according to its Ministry of Health. The new infections brought the total tally to 154,306, with at least 1,306 deaths, the ministry said.

 

Among the community cases, 4,052 were reported in the southern epicenter Ho Chi Minh City, 2,179 in the nearby southern Binh Duong province, and 569 in the southern Long An province, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

As many as 43,157 Covid-19 patients have so far recovered, up 4,423 from Saturday, while 6.2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered nationwide, according to the ministry.

 

As of Sunday, Vietnam has registered a total of 152,044 domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases, including 150,474 detected since the start of the latest outbreak in late April, the ministry said.

12:45 AM

Florida breaks record for COVID-19 hospitalisations

A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalisations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of COVID-19 once again broke through the 1,000-person threshold. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalised with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

 

The previous record was from more than a year ago, July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations started becoming widespread, when Florida had 10,170 hospitalizations, according to the Florida Hospital Association.

 

Florida is now leading the nation in per capita hospitalisations for COVID-19, as hospitals around the state report having to put emergency room visitors in beds in hallways and others document a noticeable drop in the age of patients.

12:27 AM

Assam reports 15 more COVID-19 deaths, 784 new cases

Assam reported 15 deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday, while 784 more persons tested positive for the infection, pushing the caseload 5,66,982, the National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said.

 

Jorhat, Kamrup, and Nagaon reported three COVID-19 deaths each, and Chirang, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, and Tinsukia districts reported one death each.

 

With the fresh fatalities, the total number of COVID-19 deaths rose to 5,275. The NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments too.

11:17 PM

Spin legend Shane Warne tests positive for Covid, in self-isolation: report

Spin legend Shane Warne has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in self-isolation, according to a report.

 

Warne, who is the head coach of 'The Hundred' team London Spirits, and another unnamed member of management team have gone into self-isolation, a report in ESPNcricinfo said.

 

According to the report, Warne reported feeling unwell on Sunday morning, ahead of Spirit's game against Southern Brave at Lord's. A lateral flow test returned positive and he is now awaiting the result of a PCR test, the report said. None of the Spirit playing squad has been affected as of now.

10:31 PM

Delhi govt reserves 20% doses of Covishield, 40% doses of Covaxin for 1st shot

The Delhi health department on Sunday issued fresh orders asking district authorities to restrict 20 per cent doses of Covishield and 40 per cent doses of Covaxin for the first shot, officials said. The remaining doses will be reserved for the second shot till the supply situation improves, an official said.

 

"We have issued fresh orders today (Sunday). The first and second dose of Covishield and Covaxin will now be administered in 20:80 and 40:60 ratio, respectively, at government centres" the official said.

 

The Delhi government had on July 22 ordered that only the second dose of Covishield vaccine will be administered at government inoculation centres till July 31 due to limited supply. Also, only 20 per cent of the Covaxin stock was being used for the first dose due to its "irregular delivery cycles''.

9:38 PM

Telangana records 455 new Covid cases, three more deaths

Telangana on Sunday recorded 455 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total caseload to 6,45,406, while the toll rose to 3,805 with three more deaths. Recoveries outnumbered fresh cases, with 648 people recuperating from the infectious disease, taking the total number to 6,32,728. The number of active cases stood at 8,873.

 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported the highest number of 77 cases, followed by Khammam (41) and Karimnagar (35). Two of the 33 districts, Jogulamba-Gadwal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad, recorded zero number of cases while four districts recorded one case each.

9:14 PM

West Bengal reports 701 new Covid cases, 13 fresh fatalities

West Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 15,28,720 on Sunday as 701 more people tested positive for the infection, while 13 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 18,149, a health bulletin said. North 24 Parganas district registered the highest number of new cases at 93, followed by Darjeeling (64) and Kolkata (60). North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts recorded the highest number of fresh fatalities at three each, followed by two in Howrah.

 

The total number of active cases came down by 139 to 10,974, while 827 more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 14,99,597, it said.

 

The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state has improved to 98.09 per cent. The state has thus far tested over 1.57 crore samples for COVID-19, including 43,617 in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said, adding that the positivity rate stands at 1.61 per cent. West Bengal has vaccinated over 2.93 crore people so far, including 3.71 lakh during the day.

8:44 PM

Nashik sees 83 COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths, 78 recoveries

The number of COVID-19 cases in Nashik reached 4,02,670 on Sunday after 83 people were detected with the infection, an official said.

 

The day also saw four deaths, which took the toll to 8,517, and the discharge of 78 people raised the recovery count to 3,93,047, he informed.

 

With 10,920 samples being examined on Sunday, the number of tests in Nashik went up to 22,73,944, he said.

8:13 PM

Maha sees 6,479 new COVID-19 cases, 157 deaths, 4,110 recoveries

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 6,479 fresh COVID-19 cases and 157 fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 63,10,194 and the toll to 1,32,948 while 4,110 patients recovered, the state health department said.

 

With the new additions, the tally of recoveries in Maharashtra now stands at 60,94,896, leaving the state with 78,962 active cases with a recovery rate of 96.59 per cent. The case fatality rate is 2.1 per cent, it said.

 

Mumbai reported 328 new cases and 10 deaths, which raised the overall case-load to 7,35,107 and the count of fatalities to 15,899, the department said in a statement.

7:36 PM

China sounds COVID-19 alarm as Delta variant spreads to 18 provinces

The highly contagious Delta variant of the COVID-19 has raised major concerns in China as it spread to 18 provinces with fresh cases emerging in capital Beijing on Sunday.

 

At least 18 provinces in China have sounded alarm about COVID-19 as more than 300 domestic cases were detected in 10 days, posing great challenges to the country as it deals with the worst epidemic in months, official media reported.

 

At least 27 cities in 18 provinces reported more than 300 confirmed cases in recent days, including Beijing, Jiangsu and Sichuan, state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.

6:01 PM

Sikkim reports 206 new cases, one more fatality

Sikkim's COVID-19 caseload rose to 26,754 on Sunday as 206 more people tested positive for the infection, while one more fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 345, a health department bulletin said.

 

West Sikkim registered the highest number of new cases at 100, followed by East Sikkim (65), South Sikkim (37), and North Sikkim (4).

4:57 PM

UK offers shopping vouchers, pizza discounts to boost youth vaccinations

From shopping vouchers and pizza discounts to Uber reminders, the UK is planning a so-called vouchers for vaccines scheme to encourage greater uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among the younger age groups of the country.

 

A number of ride-hailing and food delivery apps will be offering discounted travel and meals to people who get vaccinated, with offers including free lifts to vaccine centres and cheap meals for those already inoculated. Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims are among the brands in the UK that are part of the government-backed scheme.

4:43 PM

TN makes RT-PCR report or vaccine certificate mandatory for travellers from Kerala

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday said it was mandatory for people coming from Kerala, to the state to carry a negative RT-PCR test report or vaccination certificate of two COVID doses from August 5, in the wake of aspike in infections in the neighbouring state.

 

Addressing reporters, Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian said, "From August 5, concerned district administrations have been directed to intensify surveillance and allow people from Kerala to enter the state if they possess an RT-PCR negativity certificate."

 

Officials in the bordering districts have also been asked to allow people if they have necessary documents to show that they have received two doses of the COVID vaccines.

4:01 PM

Odisha logs 1,437 new cases, 64 fatalities

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload on Sunday surged to 9,78,705 after 1,437 more people tested positive for the infection while 64 fresh fatalities took the coastal state's toll to 5,966, a health department official said.

 

Of the 1,437 cases, 832 were from quarantine centres and the rest detected during contact tracing.

1:44 PM

Pondy logs 90 new cases

Puducherry reported 90 fresh cases of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total caseload to 1,21,005. No new fatality was reported from any of the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam during last twenty-four hours. The fatalities thus remained 1,795.

12:38 PM

Kolkata civic agency to visit elderly for vaccination

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will visit old and ailing residents to vaccinate them, its chief Firhad Hakim told PTI. Residents older than 80 and those who are above 60 and have serious illness would be considered for vaccination for the vaccination campaign.

 

12:22 PM

CBSE gets more time to respond to court plea on exams

The Delhi High Court has given the Central Board of Secondary Education more time to respond to a plea asking the board to explain the method it used to assess Class 10 students of private schools after cancelling exams due to Covid-19. The court will hear the matter on August 23, PTI reported.

12:05 PM

Arunachal logs 266 new cases

Arunachal Pradesh logged 266 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 48,122. Deaths from the disease amounted to 229 after three more persons succumbed to the infection on Saturday, PTI reported.

10:39 AM

India's cases rise to 410,952

India's active Covid-19 cases—infections being treated—have climbed to 410,952 and comprises 1.30 per cent of the total infections, PTI reported quoting health ministry data. The national recovery rate is 97.36 per cent.

10:01 AM

Sri Lanka gets 728,460 doses of AstraZeneca

 Sri Lanka received 728,460 doses of AstraZeneca from the COVAX programme on Saturday, the AP reported. The consignment was flown as part of the total contribution of more than 1.4 million doses provided by Japan through the COVAX's dose sharing, said UNICEF in a statement.

9:37 AM

India reports 41,831 new cases

India reports 41,831 new cases and 541 deaths in 24 hours, says the health ministry on Sunday. The country’s recovery rate is 97.36 per cent

9:26 AM

India's 'R-Value' rising, matter of concern: AIIMS chief

India's 'R-Value' is inching up and that should be a matter of concern, a top government doctor has said, referring to a measure tracking the number of people infected by any single case. "Starting from .96, and going all the way up to 1, the rise in R-Value is a cause of concern. Simply put, this means that the chances of infection spreading from a person, who has Covid, to others have gone up. The areas which are witnessing this surge should bring in restrictions and employ 'test, track, and treat' strategy to break the chain of transmission," said Randeep Guleria, chief of AIIMS in Delhi, in an interview to NDTV channel.

9:08 AM

Govt health data go offline: Report

Government data that pointed to excess mortality and disrupted health services during the Covid-19 pandemic have suddenly gone offline, an IndiaSpend investigation shows. The National Health Mission's Health Management Information System (HMIS) is a public portal where data from over 200,000 public health facilities--most of them government-run and rural--across India are uploaded every month. More here

8:39 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 197.7 million

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 197.7 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.21 million and vaccinations soared to over 4.07 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

8:12 AM

Germany cases increase by 2,097

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 2,097 to 3,771,262, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 1 to 91,659, the tally showed, according to Reuters.

7:23 AM

Centre warns 10 states about positivity rate

Districts reporting a Covid-19 positivity rate of more than 10 per cent need to consider strict restrictions, the Centre told 10 states on Saturday. As many as 46 districts have recorded more than 10 per cent positivity rate and another 53 between five and 10 per cent, it said. More here

 

6:30 AM

English deaths undercounted: Report

The death toll from Covid in care homes in England was probably about 4,000 higher than reported, the Sunday Telegraph said citing unidentified care providers. The official count of 39,017 covered elderly people who died between April 10, 2020, and March 31 this year.

 

 

 

6:12 AM

Maharashtra finds Zika case

Maharashtra, the state with the most number of coronavirus cases, on Saturday said it had found Zika virus infection in from Pune district. The woman who was diagnosed with the infection has recovered completely, the state health department said.