Coronavirus India Updates: Cases Inch Higher With Total Tally Near 2.9 Lakh

Mumbai will add 500 ICU beds in a week as the city had almost run out of capacity.

500 ICU beds will be made available within a week, health ministry Rajesh Tope said according to state health department. BMC data showed that Mumbai had 1,158 ICU beds of which 99% were occupied as of June 9.

Asia’s most crowded slum added 20 new cases today, according to a municipal official.

Total cases in Dharavi have now risen to 1,984, the official said. The death toll is now at 75 in the region.

Even with confirmed Covid-19 cases in India nearing the 3 lakh mark, authorities continued to assert that there is no community transmission in the country.

"India is not in community transmission. We have to continue with our strategy of testing, tracing, tracking, quarantine and containment measures; we should not give up our guard on these," Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava said at a media briefing.

Bhargava said that a sero-survey conducted in the country had shown that lockdown and containment measures were successful in preventing a rapid rise in infections, but a large proportion of the population still remains susceptible.

Since, a large proportion of the population is susceptible and infection can spread, non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face mask or cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette must be followed strictly, Bhargava said.

Urban slums are highly vulnerable for the spread of the infection and local lockdown measures need to continue as already advised by the government, he said.

Source: PTI

A coronavirus positive person died in Assam on Wednesday, taking the death toll due to the disease to six while 235 fresh cases were reported in the state as the tally climbed to 3,285, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Of the 235 new cases, 193 cases were reported late in the night and 42 during the day, the minister said.

Meanwhile, 152 patients were discharged from various civil, district and model hospitals in the state on Wednesday, taking the total number of patients cured and released to 1,249, Sarma said.

Of the total 3,285 cases, there are 2,027 active cases, and six deaths. A total of 1,249 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals and three persons migrated out of the state.

Assam has witnessed a surge in Covid-19 positive cases since inter-state movement of people began with more than 3,000 cases added since May 4. The figures increased rapidly since the last week of May.

Source: PTI

Global Update

A jump in virus cases and hospitalisations in some U.S. states has sparked concern of a second wave, as America’s total infections neared 2 million. The World Health Organization warned that a persistent increase in cases in Latin America is of deep concern.

Tokyo is considering easing restrictions on Thursday, according to a local media report, while a person who attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Australia at the weekend has tested positive. China is offering employees of some large state-run companies the option of being inoculated with two vaccines currently in development if they intend to travel overseas.

Cases pass 7.3 million; deaths exceed 413,000.

Track news and developments about the Covid-19 outbreak here.