Coronavirus India Updates: Death Toll Nears 50,000 As Cases Rise Unabated

Coronavirus Global Update

Australia said it’s close to reaching a deal to produce a coronavirus vaccine, as the country struggles to contain spiraling infections in Victoria, a state that has seen renewed lockdown measures. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government is in advanced negotiations with different companies. Victoria state reported 279 new infections in the past 24 hours and 16 deaths.

In the U.S., virus deaths in California rose at an above-average pace and Florida reported more than 200 fatalities for the fourth day this week, with daily U.S. cases increasing by more than 60,000 for the first time this month, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. China reported 19 new cases for Saturday, and South Korea confirmed 279 more.

The SARS-CoV-2 has now infected nearly 21.4 million people globally with the death toll at 7,68,900.

Thirteen more people died due to Covid-19 in Rajasthan on Sunday, taking the state's death toll to 875, while 687 fresh coronavirus cases pushed the tally to 60,666, said a health department official on Sunday.

Of the latest fatalities, three each were reported from Bikaner and Jaipur, two each from Ajmer, Bhilwara and Sikar, and one from Udaipur, the official said.

Out of the total deaths in the state, Jaipur has reported 232, followed by 87 in Jodhpur, 65 in Bharatpur, 59 in Ajmer, 57 in Bikaner, 53 in Kota, 37 each in Nagaur and Pali, 23 in Alwar and 19 in Dholpur.

Of the 687 fresh cases reported in the state, 66 were from Jaipur, 57 from Jodhpur, 49 from Bikaner, 48 from Kota, 47 from Ajmer, 40 from Barmer, 39 from Sikar and 38 from Udaipur.

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam is praying for the speedy recovery of singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who is on life support after being hospitalised for Covid-19. The voice of his "dear brother" should once again echo on the silver screen, he said in Chennai on Sunday. Admitted to the city-based MGM Healthcare on Aug. 5 after testing positive for the coronavirus, the singer-actor continues to be on life support and stable.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee continues to be on ventilator support but his vitals and clinical parameters are stable, doctors attending to him said on Sunday.

The doctors at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi Cantonment said the health of the former president is being closely monitored by a team of specialists.

His son Abhijit Mukherjee said he visited the hospital on Saturday and his father "is much better and stable than the preceding days".

"Yesterday, I had visited my father in hospital. With God's grace and all your good wishes, he is much better and stable than the preceeding days! All his vital parameters are stable and he is responding to treatment. We firmly believe that He will be back among us soon. Thank You (sic)," he said on Twitter.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has authorised the emergency use of a new and expensive saliva-based laboratory diagnostic test for Covid-19.

U.S. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that the new saliva test would increase efficiency and avoid shortage of crucial test components like reagents. Providing this type of flexibility for processing saliva samples to test for Covid-19 is groundbreaking in terms of efficiency and avoiding shortages of crucial test components like reagents, he said in a statement.

The agency had previously authorised four other tests that use saliva for sampling but these yielded varying results. Authorisation of the new test occurs amid ongoing disarray over Covid-19 testing in the U.S.