India’s Recovery Rate leaps past 83% : COVID UPDATE of 29th September 2020

India continues to report high number of recoveries. The recovered cases have exceeded the new confirmed cases again during the past 24 hours. With this, India’s Recovery Rate has leaped past 83% today. 84,877 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country while the number of new confirmed cases stands at 70,589. The total number of recoveries has touched 51,01,397. 73% of the new recovered cases are being reported from ten States, viz. Maharashtra, Karnataka Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha, Kerala, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra is topping the list with nearly 20,000 recoveries while Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh both contribute more than 7,000 to the single day recoveries. The sustained high level of recoveries have led to further widening of the gap between active and recovered cases. Recovered cases exceed the active cases (9,47,576 ) by more than 41.5 lakh (41,53,831). The recovered cases are 5.38 times the active cases ensuring that the recoveries are consistently rising. The active caseload of the country presently is merely 15.42% of the total positive cases and is consistently declining. A total of 70,589 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country. 10 States/UTs account for 73% of the new confirmed cases. Maharashtra continues to lead this tally. It has contributed more than 11,000 followed by Karnataka with more than 6,000 cases. There have been 776 deaths in the past 24 hours. 10 states/UTs account for 78% of the deaths in the last 24 hours due to COVID. Of the new deaths, Maharashtra reported more than 23% of deaths with 180 deaths followed by Tamil Nadu with 70 deaths.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State (I/C), Labour & Employment released a booklet on ‘COVID-19- Safe Workplace Guidelines for Industry’ through virtual platform today, in the presence of Dr. V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.On the occasion, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “These guidelines are commendable and timely. This will help in welfare of the industrial workers. The guidelines act as a comprehensive planning guidance for employers and workers to use it to help identify risk levels of Covid-19 at individual workplace settings in their premises and to determine appropriate control measures”. These guidelines consolidate all important measures into a ready reckoner of action points to make the workplace safe based on the bulwark of infection control measures like respiratory hygiene, frequent hand washing, social distancing and frequent sanitization of the workplace.Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, “These guidelines for safety of industrial workers will encourage people. It is important to prepare ourselves mentally for the present situation and spread awareness about the COVID appropriate behaviour.”

National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune under Ministry of AYUSH will be organizing a series of webinars on Gandhian philosophy of Self Reliance through Self Health Reliance on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations from 2nd Oct 2020 and which will go on till National Naturopathy Day, i.e., 18th Nov 2020. The series of webinars would try to convey the message of Self health responsibility to people through simple Naturopathy modalities which are available easily to all of us. The aim of the program is to create awareness on Naturopathy practices with demonstrations. Feedback sessions will be strengthened through live chats and discussions with practitioners. The virtual programs will open up the physical boundaries, and participation in these programs is expected from across the country, and even beyond. There will be a special effort to spread the thoughts of Gandhiji on health and wellbeing, which are of special significance in the current COVID-19 crisis. Gandhi ji was convinced that self-health is an individual responsibility.

Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi inaugurated 6 mega development projects in Uttarakhand under the NamamiGange Mission today through video conference. Shri Modi also inaugurated the Ganga Avalokan Museum, the first of its kind on the River Ganga at Haridwar. He released a book “Rowing Down the Ganges” and the new logo for the JalJeevan Mission. The Prime Minister also unveiled the ‘Margadarshika for Gram Panchayats and PaaniSamitis under JalJeevan Mission’ (Guidelines for the Village Panchayats and Water Committees) on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said the JalJeevan Mission aims at providing every rural household in the country with piped-water connection. Shri Modi said that the new logo of the Mission shall continue to inspire the need to save every drop of water. Referring to the Margadarshika, the Prime Minister said that they are equally important for the Gram Panchayats, people living in rural areas as well as for the Government machinery. Shri Modi highlighted the importance of keeping the River Ganga clean as it plays a significant role in sustaining the lives of about 50 percent of the country’s population from its origin in Uttarakhand till West Bengal. He termed the NamamiGange Mission as the largest integrated river conservation mission which not only aims at the cleanliness of River Ganga but also focuses on comprehensive upkeep of the River.

Her Excellency Ms. MetteFrederiksen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark and His Excellency, Mr. NarendraModi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, co-chaired a Virtual Summit between India and Denmark yesterday.Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Frederiksen held an in-depth exchange of views in a warm and friendly atmosphere on bilateral relations, discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and global matters of interest to both sides, including climate change and green transition and reached common understanding with a view to accelerating sustainable economies and societies. Both sides emphasized the potential and their common desire to strengthen the dialogue and cooperation in the health sector. They confirmed their interest in expanding dialogue and sharing best practices on health policy issues, including on epidemics and vaccines, especially to combat Covid-19 and future pandemics. They agreed to work on expanding commercial opportunities for businesses by creating more favorable environments for the life science sector, including research collaborations.

Union Minister Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today said that the clarion call given by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ will drive our efforts in evolving a comprehensive energy security architecture in the country. In his keynote address to ‘GCTC Energy Security Conference 2020’, he said that it will be marked by continuity of robust energy policies put in place over the last six years, and a change to address the Covid- 19 unleashed challenges. He said “We are determined to build back better after COVID-19 to ensure that the energy system is secure, clean, resilient and responsive to our citizens’ needs. I am confident that, energy companies in India have powered through COVID-19 relatively intact, and look forward to a revival by embracing Atmanirbhar Bharat through innovation.” Shri Pradhan said that there is an all-of-the Government approach in implementing Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in energy sector, and in realizing Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Energy Vision of energy access, efficiency, sustainability, security and affordability.

The arrival of Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21 has just begun and the Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes as done in previous seasons.Based on the proposal from the States, approvalhas been accorded for procurement of 13.77 LMT of Pulse and oilseeds for KMS 2020-21for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana. For the other States/UT, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposal for Kharif Pulses and oilseeds and procurement will be made as per Price Support Scheme(PSS), if the market rates goes below its MSP.Upto 24.09.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 34.20 MT of Moong having MSP value of Rs.25 lakhs benefitting 40 farmers in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, 5089 MT of copra(the perennial crop) having MSP value of Rs. 52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against the sanctioned quantity of 95.75 LMT for the Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

An amount of Rs. 2.11 crore was contributed to PM Cares Fund through Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, DrJitendra Singh by Bharat VikasParishad (BVP), a non-profit making social organization. While acknowledging the contribution, DrJitendra  Singh said, Prime Minister NarendraModi enjoys a very high degree of faith, trust and credibility among the people and that is why whenever he gives a call for any cause, it spontaneously transforms into a mass movement. We saw this when he gave a call for Swachh Bharat Mission and building of toilets or for surrendering the gas subsidy or observing early lockdown and other guidelines in view of COVID pandemic. Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the Prime Minister’s vision and foresight which inspired the setting up of an exclusive fund under the name “PM CARES Fund”. Within a short span of time, he said, the response has been so overwhelming that on the one hand, philanthropists and big Business Houses come forward to make contributions, on the other hand small children have contributed whatever savings they had from their pocket money.

 

• Punjab:Punjab Chief Secretary has directed all the Deputy Commissioners to make more frequent visits to hospitals in their respective districts to review the arrangements and to ensure the best possible care to COVID-19 patients. She said that the state government has already appointed COVID Patient Tracking Officers (CPTOs) to ensure coordination and expeditious response at the district level by tracking of patients.
• Himachal Pradesh: Chief Minister has directed Medical Superintendents of all the Medical Colleges and major Zonal Hospitals in the State to ensure atleast two rounds in a day to monitor all the facilities such as ward cleanliness, treatment to the patients, quality of food, and condition of toilets in their hospitals. He said that patients must be provided Oxygen cylinders if required so that they do no face any problem. He said that hot water, Kada and nutritious food must be made available to the patients besides developing a mechanism for communication between the Covid-19 patients and their family members.
• Arunachal Pradesh: The Arunachal Pradesh recorded the highest single day spike with 329 covid 19 positive cases yesterday. The Itanagar Capital Region detected 117 positive cases. The Arunachal government has decided that all those who test negative but are symptomatic will be subjected to RT-PCR test. Cost will be borne by the state government.
• Assam:  In Assam during the last 24 hours, 2320 COVID-19 patients discharged after recovery. The total COVID-19 tally reached to 173629 in the state. Out of them 30662 are active cases and 142297 are discharged.
• Manipur: In Manipur 178 new Covid19 positive cases detected. Which takes the total COVID-19 cases to 10,477. With 76 percent recovery rate, there are 2431 active cases.
• Meghalaya:  In Meghalaya 89 individuals have recovered from coronavirus  today. Total active cases in the state reached to 1448. Out of them 92 are from BSF and Armed Forces.
• Mizoram:  50 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Mizoram yesterday. Total COVID-19 tally reached to 1958 with 499 active cases.
• Nagaland: Among the Nagaland’s 5957 confirmed COVID-19 cases, armed forces account for 2801 cases, returnees 1482, traced contacts 1334 and frontline workers 340.
• Kerala: Indian Medical Association has demanded to declare a health emergency in the state in the wake of the recent huge surge in Covid-19 cases. Pointing out that one lakh Covid cases were reported in the state in the past 28 days, the IMA said spread of the disease is witnessed among health workers and also among the commoners. The state committee of ruling LDF which met today decided to take a final call on re-imposing lockdown after two weeks. The by-elections to Chavara and Kuttanad Assembly constituencies have been cancelled by Election Commission amid Covid pandemic. 4,538 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Kerala yesterday. At present, 57,879 patients are under treatment and 2.32 people under quarantine. With five more fatalities today the Covid death toll has reached 702.
• Tamil Nadu:Both private and government school managements in TN are awaiting the government’s nod to reopen schools for Classes 10,11 and 12 from October 1. AIADMK urges Centre to disburse Rs 23,763 crore GST dues and also allocate sufficient funds for Covid pandemic preventive and relief works. A final decision in this regard is expected today after a high-level committee holds a meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan. The health condition of Founder President of DMDK, A Vijayakant who tested positive for Covid-19 recently, remains stable, a medical bulletin issued by the MIOT hospital said.
• Karnataka:State government has not taken any decision regarding reopening of schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, says State Education Minister S Suresh Kumar. Mysuru’s JSS Hospital is likely to start phase 2 and 3 trials of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate, Novavax. High Court asks State to submit a report on availability of oxygen for covid patients in rural and urban hospitals.
• Andhra Pradesh:State government has postponed its earlier decision of reopening schools across the state from October 5. Chief Minister during a review meeting with all district collectors reportedly took the decision to postpone it till November 2 keeping in view the prevailing Covid-19 situation.  The number Covid-19 deaths, new cases and active cases being reported has reduced significantly in the past few days, according to Special Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Dr KS Jawahar Reddy. He said the positivity rate was 12.07 per cent in July which has now come down to 8.3 per cent.  However, he said Covid-19 reproduction rate of the State is quite high at 0.94 percent whereas the ideal rate, is 0.5 or 0.6.
• Telangana:2072 new cases, 2259 recoveries & 9 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; out of 2072 cases, 283 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,89,283; Active cases: 29,477; Deaths:1116; Discharges :1,58,690. A Covid-19 test is a must for voters to exercise their franchise in the upcoming Nizamabad local authorities constituency (MLC) election. Dubbaka by-election scheduled on November 3; as per the schedule, the bypoll notification will be issued on October 9 inviting the nominations from the contestants.
• Maharashtra: The active coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Maharashtra have been consistently going down in the past few days. The active viral caseload has come down to 2,65,033 cases until Monday. Over the past 11 days, there was a reduction of 36,719 Covid-19 cases, a record since the viral outbreak was reported in the country’s worst-affected state around seven months ago. State Health and Family Welfare Department officials attributed the discernible trend to an appreciable dip in fresh infections in the past few days.  Meanwhile, Maharashtra Government has formulated an SOP for reopening restaurants and bars as part of Unlocking phase and also issued guidelines over use of medical oxygen as stipulated by the Centre.
• Gujarat: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has ordered night curfew in 27 areas of the city. AMC has ordered closure of all shops after 10 pm on 27 busy roads in the city in view of a steady rise in new Covid-19 cases and violation of norms by residents of certain localities.  In another development, former Chief Minister of Keshubhai Patel (92)  was discharged from hospital, after his recovery from Covid 19.
• Rajasthan: In Rajasthan 2,112 new Covid cases were reported during the last 24 hours taking the state Covid tally over 1.30 lakhs. The maximum cases on Monday were reported from Jaipur (444 new cases), followed by Jodhpur (361 cases) and then Pali (127 cases).    Meanwhile, 1.08 lakh patients have already recovered and the number of active cases is 20,043.
• Madhya Pradesh:  Every third person dying with Covid-19 in Indore belongs to the ‘productive age-group’, shows an age-wise analysis of deaths. As many as 34.83% patients, who died with the infection in district till September 24, belonged to the age group of 41-60. Around 185 persons with Covid-19 in age group of 41-60 died in district. Meanwhile, Religious places have reopened in the district after nearly six months, and devotees have been asked to strictly follow all guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Madhya Pradesh added 1,957 new Covid cases on Monday taking the overall tally past 1.24 lakhs.  The number of actives cases is 21,912.
• Chhattisgharh:  Lockdown in Raipur, Bilaspur, Sargujaand  Jashpur districts of Chhattisgarh ended on Monday night. Shops and business establishments can now remain open till 8 p.m.  However, the lifting of the lockdown came on a day when the state reported 3,725 new COVID-19 cases and 13 fatalities, taking the total tally to 1,08,458 and the toll to 877. Active cases in the state have crossed 33,000. It has been reported that 65% of all cases reported have come in September.