India on Friday briefed 190 heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations and their representatives on the COVID-19 pandemic containment in the country.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
RBI Governor recovers from COVID-19
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on November 7 said he has turned coronavirus negative and will join office next week.
Mr. Das was tested COVID-19 positive on October 25.
“I have tested COVID-19 negative. Will be back in office next week. Thank you everyone for your good wishes for my early recovery,” the central bank governor said in a tweet. — PTI
Domestic air passenger traffic reaches over half of pre-COVID levels: MOCA secy
India’s domestic passenger traffic has reached more than half of pre-coronavirus pandemic level operations with the number of daily air travellers crossing over two lakh in November, a top official of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) said on Saturday.
MOCA Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said when flights resumed after a hiatus of two months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there were only 30,000 air passengers on the first day but the number reached over two lakh on November 2.
He also said almost 100 per cent of bookings and check-ins are now happening through the web and hailed the country’s aviation fraternity for adapting very well to the new normal .
"When we opened domestic aviation about five-six months back, in the month of May, on the first day, in a big country like ours, only 30,000 people travelled. And look at the figures last week, we have crossed two lakh passengers per day. In normal times, it is about three-and-a-half lakh to four lakh passengers a day," Kharola said.
"So we have crossed more than half of the normal operations and at a very fast rate we are approaching the normal," he added.
India’s domestic air passenger traffic reaches over half of pre-COVID levels: MOCA secy
Delhi reeling under third wave of COVID-19; cases should drop soon: Health Minister Jain
The national capital is currently reeling under the “third wave” of the COVID-19 infection, but cases should begin to come down soon, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday.
Interacting with reporters, he also said that the Delhi government has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court after the high court did not allow reserving 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients at several private hospitals here.
Delhi’s COVID-19 tally increased to 4,23,831 on Friday after the national capital for the first time recorded over 7,000 coronavirus cases.
The 7,178 fresh cases came out of the 58,860 tests conducted on Thursday, while the positivity rate on Friday stood at 12.19 per cent amid the festive season and rising pollution in the city, according to a bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
The previous highest single-day spike till date here — 6,842 cases — was recorded on Wednesday.
Delhi overtakes Kerala, Maharashtra as highest contributor to new cases in 24 hrs
Delhi overtook Maharashtra and Kerala by reporting 7,178 COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, becoming the largest contributor to the new 50,356 single day infections, according to Union Health Ministry on Saturday.
Seventy-seven percent of these new cases of COVID-19 are from 10 states and union territories -- - Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Kerala recorded 7,002 new cases followed by Maharashtra at 6,870 new cases on Friday, the ministry said.
A total of 50,356 new coronavirus infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, while 53,920 recoveries were being recorded during the same period, it said.
The trend of India’s daily new COVID-19 recoveries exceeding the single-day cases for the last five weeks played a pivotal role in pushing down the active caseload which is presently pegged at 5.16 lakh cases and comprises 6.11 percent of total cases, the ministry said.
“This trend has been observed for the last five weeks. This also played a pivotal role in pushing down the active caseload which is presently pegged at 5.16 lakh,” the ministry said.
Coronavirus | 577 COVID-19 fatalities in last 24 hours, Delhi reports max new cases
COVID-19 negative report must for Haj pilgrims next year
Haj pilgrims will have to submit COVID-19 negative report 72 hours prior to their journey to Saudi Arabia in 2021, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.
After holding a meeting with the Haj Committee and other stake-holders, the Minister for Minority Affairs told reporters that December 10 is the last date for submitting applications for Haj pilgrimage 2021.
“The applicants can apply online, off-line or through Haj mobile application as well. In view of the coronavirus pandemic, we are making it mandatory for all the pilgrims to submit their COVID-19 negative report of RT-PCR test. The date of testing should be 72 hours prior to boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Mr. Naqvi also said embarking points for Haj 2021 have been reduced to ten in view of the COVID-19 situation and the feedback received from Air India and other agencies.
Previously, there were 21 such embarking locations across the country.
He said the ten boarding spots are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Srinagar.
COVID-19 negative report must for Haj pilgrims next year
Kerala Governor tests positive
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus.
The Governor, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, after he felt uneasiness and discomfort on Saturday morning. The Governor, who was in New Delhi since October 30, had returned to Raj Bhavan here on Friday morning.
"I have tested positive for COVID-19. But, there is no cause for concern. However, I request all those who had contact with me in New Delhi last week to test for Covid, or be under observation to be on the safe side", the Governor said in a tweet.
The medical team from the Government Medical College examined the Governor. The Governor is under treatment at the Raj Bhavan. -- Anil Radhakrishnan
MEA, NITI Aayog brief foreign mission heads on COVID-19
The outreach is significant in view of the growing number of positive cases in the country and vaccine development efforts.
MEA, NITI Aayog officials brief foreign mission heads on COVID-19
West Bengal’s COVID-19 recovery rate nears 90%
West Bengal on Friday reported 3,942 new COVID-19 cases taking the total cases to 3,97,466. The discharge rate is inching closer to 90%, with the State registering the highest ever discharge of 4,283 people in the last 24 hours pushing the recovery rate to 89.25%.
West Bengal’s COVID-19 recovery rate nears 90%
75 volunteers given Covishield in Chennai
A total of 75 volunteers have received the first dose of Covishield, one of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates, as part of the ongoing trial and will receive the second dose a month later, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Friday.
“We have successfully completed the first round of the Oxford University’s Covishield vaccine trial involving 75 volunteers. They have to receive two doses. We have completed the first dose, and will administer the second dose after a month. Following this, they will be under observation for six months,” he told mediapersons during the sidelines of the inauguration of a gym for health department staff on the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) campus, Teynampet..
Cotonavirus | ‘75 volunteers received first dose of Covishield vaccine’
Teacher’s death due to COVID sparks tension in Chittoor
The death of a teacher in a government school due to COVID-19 on Thursday led to an uneasy mood among teachers, parents and students in Chittoor district.
At a time when the schools reopened after seven months, the news has only led to affecting the smooth functioning of schools. Though the official figure of the number of teachers getting affected by COVID-19 stood at over 150 and the number of students scaling up gradually, the figure is believed to be slightly higher.
Teacher’s death due to COVID-19 sparks tension in Chittoor
Postal ballots for COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 patients and people in quarantine will cast their votes through postal ballots in the three-phase elections to local bodies in the State.
Postal ballots for COVID-19 patients
