Coronavirus India Updates: Total Cases Near 2 Lakh; Nearly 5,600 Dead

India’s drug regulator has granted U.S. pharma giant Gilead Sciences marketing authorisation for its anti-viral drug remdesivir for “restricted emergency use” on hospitalised Covid-19 patients in view of the crisis posed by the pandemic.

The approval process for remdesivir was accelerated in view of the emergency situation and the unmet need for medicines in light of the coronavirus outbreak, a source in the know of the developments told PTI.

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To prevent unwanted pregnancy, the Bihar Health department is distributing condoms among migrant labourers who are going to their homes after completing 14-day institutional quarantine and those in home quarantine, an official said.

Of the 28 to 29 lakh migrants who have returned to the state, 8.77 lakh people have been discharged as they have completed their 14 day quarantine period. Besides, 5.30 lakh migrants, till date, are living at block and district level quarantine centres across the state.

"Migrant labourers are going to their homes after completing the 14-day institutional quarantine. Since there are chances of unwanted pregnancies, so we properly counsel them (migrant labourers) and give them tools (such as condoms) to avoid unwanted pregnancy," a senior Health department official told PTI.

The official, who is entrusted with Family Planning in State Health Society, however, made it clear that "it is purely a family planning measure and has nothing to do with Covid-19. As a health professional, it is our responsibility to control the population. We have been taking the support of our health partner Care India to implement the initiative."

It has been reported from the world over about unwanted pregnancies and it is in this backdrop, the Health department has initiated the step to check unwanted pregnancy, the official said, adding that it is in addition to what the department has been doing on a regular basis.

Source: PTI

Twelve people who recently returned from Delhi and Kolkata have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Mizoram, an official said on Tuesday.

The state had earlier reported only one Covid-19 case on March 24. The first patient was discharged from hospital on May 9 after he recovered.

Ten out of the 12 new cases were Delhi returnees, while two have returned from Kolkata recently. Their sample results came on Monday night, Health Department spokesperson Pachuau Lalmalsawma told PTI.

All the new Covid-19 patients were asymptomatic. Eleven of them were inmates of a quarantine facility in Kolasib district and one was an patient of Zoram Medical College, Lalmalsawma said.

The 11 Covid-19 patients from Kolasib were admitted at the ZMC early on Tuesday, he said.

Lalmalsawma urged people not to panic as all the patients were placed under quarantine since their arrival to the state.

Source: PTI

Odisha registered its highest single-day spike of Covid-19 cases on Monday with 156 new infections, taking the state's tally to 2,104, a Health Department official said.

As many as 119 patients also recovered from the disease during the day, the highest in a single day in the state. Of the total 2,104 cases, 1,245 patients have recovered so far.

With fresh cases and recoveries, the number of active cases dipped to 850 from 969, the official said.

Of the 156 fresh cases, 153 were reported from quarantine centres while three others were found positive during Covid-19 contact tracing. The new cases were reported from 19 of the state's 30 districts.

Most of the new cases were reported from Kendrapara (50), followed by Cuttack (20), Ganjam (17), Jagatsinghpur (14), Jajpur (11), Kandhamal (9), Bhadrak (7). Two cases each were reported from Bolangir and Sambalpur, while one case each was reported from Boudh, Kenojhar and Malkangiri districts.

Of the 119 recovered people, the highest of 60 are from Jajpur, followed by 13 from Cuttack, 12 from Kendrapara, nine from Gajapati, six from Nayagarh, five from Sundargarh, three each from Balasore, Puri and Khurda, two each from Ganjam and Bolangir, and one from Sambalpur, the official said.

The state Health Department has so far tested 1,55,690 samples, he said, adding that COVID-19 testing has also started at state-run medical colleges in Balasore and Baripada.

Global Update

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that mass protests against police violence risked accelerating the spread of coronavirus and could undo weeks of social-distancing efforts.

Singapore, starting its cautious return to work, said the number of new daily cases outside of migrant-worker dormitories dropped to zero. Small health-care businesses were the top recipient of U.S. virus relief loans. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing a major speech to prepare the U.K. for a post-virus reality.

Track all the news updates on the new coronavirus situation in India here.