Coronavirus India Updates: Infections Top 31 Lakh; Over 57,000 Dead

Covid-19 cases in India rushed past the 31-lakh mark today even as fresh cases slowed to the lowest in six days.

India added over 61,000 new cases in a matter of 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 31 lakh in the Asia's third-largest economy, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8:00 am on Aug. 24. This includes over 57,000 deaths and over 23 lakh patients who have recovered.

Key Numbers

• Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 31,06,348
• Active cases: 7,10,771
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 23,38,035
• Deaths: 57,542
• Fresh cases in 24 hours: 61,408
• One-day recoveries: 57,469
• One-day deaths: 836

Fresh cases reported in a 24- hour span fell to 61,408 - the lowest in six days - after hovering near the 70,000 cases mark for a few days.

India is now the hotbed of new infections in the world. On an average, India is now adding much more cases than any other country. Over the last one week, India added 65,000 new cases daily on an average, way ahead of U.S. that added roughly 47,000 cases everyday.

Deaths reported in a day fell to the lowest in 12 days.

Global Update

U.S. President Donald Trump said a treatment based on blood plasma donated by people who’ve recovered from Covid-19 will be expanded, even before researchers fully understand how well it works. Coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. fell below 1,000 for the first time in five days, while fatalities in Mexico surpassed 60,000. Europe is seeing a resurgence of cases and South Korea is considering raising social-distancing restrictions to the highest level as officials warned of the risk of a “massive nationwide outbreak.”

Globally, cases crossed 23.3 million leaving over 8,07,000 dead, as of Monday morning.

Track all Covid-19 related news and updates in India, here.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said that he has tested positive for Covid-19.

The Ahmedabad civic body on Monday said it has decided to denotify some designated Covid-19 hospitals in view of the number of coronavirus cases coming down in the city.

In the first phase, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has denotified nine private hospitals so that beds reserved there for Covid-19 cases are released for the treatment of non-coronavirus patients, the civic body said in a release.

These nine private hospitals were among 70-odd facilities which were roped in by the AMC since May to accommodate Covid-19 patients. The civic body has also decided to significantly reduce the beds reserved for Covid-19 patients in two other hospitals, the release said.

The AMC said effective measures have "resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of positive cases and deaths" in the city. The positivity rate has also come down from 35% to around 2.5%, the release said.

"Consequently, as against the reserved bed capacity in these designated hospitals, bed occupancy has come down to around 40%," it said. As per the state government data, nearly 150 new cases are being reported in Ahmedabad city daily since the last couple of weeks, and as many patients are also recovering every day. As per the agreement, each hospital can utilise 50 per cent of their beds for private quota patients, while the remaining 50 per cent beds should be reserved for patients sent by the civic body.

Source: PTI

India's Covid-19 recoveries have crossed 23 lakh and are more than three times the number of active cases of the infection in the country, while the case fatality rate, maintaining a steady downward trajectory, has further dropped to 1.85%, the Union health ministry said on Monday.

With 57,469 patients having recuperated in a day, total recoveries have surged to 23,38,035, pushing the recovery rate to 75.27% as on date. They exceeded the active cases by 16,27,264.

This has been made possible because of effective implementation of the policy of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively through surveillance and contact-tracing and treating efficiently, the ministry underlined.

Focus on standard of care protocol, including use of non-invasive oxygen, better skilled doctors in the ICUs and hospitals, and improved ambulance services have led to improved recovery rate among the severe and critical Covid patients.

"Those in home isolation, being medically supervised and monitored, are also recovering at a fast pace," the ministry said. The record high recoveries have ensured that 7,10,771 active cases, which is the "actual caseload" currently, comprise only 22.88% of the total cases.

"Effective clinical management of the patients in the ICUs has been instrumental in keeping the case fatality rate low and on a steady downward trajectory. It has further dipped to 1.85% today," the ministry said.

Source: PTI

The handlooms in West Bengal's Nadia district have fallen silent at a time when their activity should have been at the peak owing to the upcoming Durga Puja.

A handloom machine, locally called 'tant', could be found in every household in Shantipur, Phulia and Samudragarh areas where weaving is the traditional occupation.

The weavers of the region once employed around 20,000 workers from north Bengal. However, the Covid-19 outbreak has hit them so hard that many are now migrating to other parts of the country for jobs.

"During this season, weavers used to be very busy and worked for long hours. But the situation is so grim this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak that many are migrating to other states for jobs.

"Only last week, three busloads of young men from the region went to south India to look for jobs," Dilip Basak of Phulia Byabshayee Samity, one of oldest cooperatives in the region with 665 weavers as its members, told PTI on Monday.

Free ration and 100-day work under MGNREGA has prevented starvation among the weavers and their families, both of them said. The number of handlooms has been gradually decreasing due to the rise of machine looms. However, a section of customers still prefer handloom products over those of the machine looms even though they are more expensive, they said.

But the pandemic has broken the backbone of the sector. The entire ecosystem has collapsed and even the government is not procuring, they added. "There is no demand from Tantuja, a state government handloom undertaking. Aggregators are absent as the wholesale market is shut and retail sales have collapsed. Neither are large stores procuring as they don't foresee any major demand," Basak said.

Source: PTI

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced emergency authorisation to treat Covid-19 patients with convalescent plasma a move he called a breakthrough, one of his top health officials called promising and other health experts said needs more study before it's celebrated.

The announcement came after White House officials complained there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump's reelection chances.

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Trump put himself at the center of the FDA's announcement of the authorisation at a news conference Sunday evening. The authorisation makes it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment but is not the same as full FDA approval.

The blood plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies, may provide benefits to those battling the disease. But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether it works, when to administer it and what dose is needed.

In a letter describing the emergency authorisation, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, said: Covid-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with Covid-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months.

AP Via PTI