Latest News Update of COVID-19 of 21st September 2020

India has crossed the significant landmark of more than 80% national Recovery Rate. On a continuous stretch of high recoveries, India has also reported more than 90,000 recoveries for the third day in succession. 93,356 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours. 12 States and UTs have registered Recovery Rate more than the national average. 79% of the new recovered cases are from 10 states/UTs. The total recovered cases are close 44 lakh (43,96,399) today. India tops the global figure of total recoveries. It accounts for more than 19% of the world total.

A total of 86,961 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country. 76% of the new confirmed cases are concentrated in 10 States/UTs. Maharashtra has alone contributed more than 20,000 and Andhra Pradesh has contributed more than 8,000. As many as 1,130 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours. 10 States/UTs account for 86% of the deaths in the last 24 hours due to COVID. Maharashtra reported 455 deaths followed by Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh with 101 and 94 deaths, respectively.

Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects in Bihar today. He also laid foundation of ‘HarGaon Optical Fibre Cable’ for Internet Services to connect all villages of Bihar. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, today is an important day for expediting the infrastructure development and economic activities in Bihar. He said, history has witnessed that only that nation progresses, which invests heavily on infrastructure. Today, Highways are being constructed at double the earlier speed. Investment on road construction has also been increased five times. He said, Bihar is one of the biggest beneficiary of this infrastructure development. The projects in today’s programme will also connect all major cities in the State.

As part of Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Package, a scheme for providing free of cost LPG refills to PMUY beneficiaries for the next three months w.e.f. 01.04.2020 was implemented. The Scheme has now been extended till September 30, 2020 for those beneficiaries who have been credited with the advance for buying refills, but not able to buy the refills till 30th June 2020. on 16.09.2020, 13.57 crore refills have been delivered to PMUY beneficiaries under this Scheme. LPG cylinders purchased by OMCs are manufactured in India and no imports are done. Further, Indigenous production of LPG is less than demand, hence OMCs import LPG to meet the deficit to maintain smooth supply of LPG in the country. This information was given by the Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in the RajyaSabha today in a written reply.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has, on June 01, 2020, launched Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AmtaNirbharNidhi Scheme (PM SVANidhi). It aims at facilitating collateral free working capital loans upto Rs 10,000 of 1 year tenure, to about 50 lakh street vendors across the country. It also provides for incentives in the form of interest subsidy @ 7% per annum on regular repayment of loan and cash-back upto Rs. 100 per month on undertaking prescribed digital transactions. Further, on timely or early repayment, the vendors will be eligible for the next cycle of working capital loan with an enhanced limit.The approved outlay for PM SVANidhi scheme is Rs.600.00 crores. This was informed by Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri in a written reply in the RajyaSabhatod

Prime Minister, Shri NarendraModi has wished farmers on the passage of farm bills in Parliament and called it a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture. In a series of tweets yesterday, the Prime Minister said, “A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower crores of farmers. For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities. These bills will add impetus to the efforts to double income of farmers and ensure greater prosperity for them. Our agriculture sector is in desperate need of latest technology that assists the industrious farmers. Now, with the passage of the bills, our farmers will have easier access to futuristic technology that will boost production and yield better results. This is a welcome step. I said it earlier and I say it once again: System of MSP will remain. Government procurement will continue. We are here to serve our farmers. We will do everything possible to support them and ensure a better life for their coming generations.”

For appropriate management of COVID-19 cases, Government of India has advised State governments to setup a three-tier arrangement of health facilities exclusively for COVID.These are: COVID Care Center with isolation beds for mild or pre-symptomatic cases; Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC) with oxygen supported isolation beds for moderate cases and Dedicated COVID Hospital (DCH) with ICU beds for severe cases. In order to prevent cross infection from COVID cases to those being admitted for non-COVID illness, these beds shall not be put to use for treatment of patients other than COVID. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare followed a graded approach and has guided states for accordingly expanding COVID-19 dedicated hospital infrastructure. The states were advised to plan for the requisite number of isolation, oxygen supported and ICU beds, based on the prevalent and expected case growth rate. However, as the situation is dynamic, the bed utilization position changes day-to-day. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabha yesterday.

As informed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), disposal of bio-medical waste including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit worn by healthcare professionals as well as general public became a challenge during the on-going Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. CPCB has also prepared guidelines, which gives guidance on Handling, Treatment & Disposal of bio-medical waste in line with provisions under BMWM Rules, 2016. Further, CPCB issued separate guidelines for ‘Handling, Treatment & Disposal of bio-medical waste generated during Treatment/Diagnosis/Quarantine of COVID-19 patients’ which gives guidance on management of COVID-19 related bio-medical waste including used masks and gloves.Additional measures taken by CPCB for improvement of management of bio-medical waste during COVID-19 pandemic includes: CPCB developed COVID-19 waste tracking App named “COVID19BWM”. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabhayesterday.

The utilization of immunization services slowed down at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, but coverage has improved subsequently because of series of measures been taken.States/ UTs have been provided with a series of guidelines for delivering immunization services as well as Reproductive, Maternal, New born, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services in the midst of COVID 19 pandemic.As per Health Management Information System (HMIS) 37,49,939 children were fully immunized in rural areas from April- June 2020 whereas 46,75,437 children have been fully immunized in rural areas during same period last year.After each immunization session, due list of beneficiaries is prepared to track and trace individuals who have missed their regular vaccine including individual, who have missed vaccination due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabhayesterday.

All the States/ UTs are provided with necessary financial support under India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package, with flexibility to use the resources based on their context and priorities. During FY 2020-21, funds of Rs 4256.81 crore have been released to the States/ UTs as on 10.09.2020.“Public health and hospitals” being a State subject, the primary responsibility of ensuring the availability of doctors at public health facilities lies with the respective State governments.To address the healthcare challenges, particularly in rural areas, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 to supplement the efforts of the State/UT governments to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to all those who access public health facilities. Currently, NRHM is a sub-mission of National Health Mission (NHM).The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabhayesterday.

The Government has taken a number of initiatives to provide psychosocial support during COVID-19.These initiatives include:Setting up of a 24/7 helpline to provide psychosocial support, by mental health professionals, to the entire affected population, divided into different target groups viz children, adult, elderly, women and healthcare workers, Issuance of guidelines/ advisories on management of mental health issues, catering to different segments of the society, Advocacy through various media platforms in the form of creative and audio-visual materials on managing stress and anxiety, and promoting an environment of support and care for all, Issuance of detailed guidelines by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru- “Mental Health in the times of COVID-19 Pandemic – Guidance for General Medical and Specialized Mental Health Care Settings” etc. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabhayesterday.

Dr.Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare answered questions posed by his social media interactors on the Sunday Samvaad platform for a second time yesterday. These questions covered a multitude of queries concerning not only the current situation of COVID but also the government’s approach to it and related topics like India’s growth in the field of Science.Speaking on the concrete measures that have been planned to handle such public health emergencies in the future, he said ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ will strengthen the nation to an extent where we will be able to overcome any eventuality including another pandemic. He added that a Major proposal under consideration at the Expenditure Finance Committee level includes:· Strengthening surveillance of infectious diseases and outbreak response including that for points of entry, Establishment of dedicated infectious disease management hospital blocks in district hospitals and· Establishment of Integrated Public Health Laboratories, etc.He stated that India’s handling of outbreaks in the past such as SARS, Ebola and Plague will play a major role in containing COVID.The Union Minister assured another follower that no significant or drastic mutations havebeen found in strains ofSARS-CoV-2 in India (available in GISAID, global database), till now. He informed thatICMR has been conducting large-scale sequencingof nationally representative strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus collectedover the past severalmonths over differenttime-points and detailed results on mutations andevolutionof the viruswill be available in early October.

The Government has established COVID-19 Hospitals, Covid Care Centres& Dedicated COVID Health Centres (DCHC) for treatment and to support the recovery of CAPF personnel, who are found positive for COVID-19. In addition to normal benefits available to a CAPF personnel on death, it has been decided to provide Rs. 15 Lakh to Next of Kins through “Bharat Ke Veer” funds, in cases CAPF personnel dies due to COVID-19 infection contracted while deployed on Covid-19 related duties. Immediate grant for funeral expenses and support for expeditious processing of family pension and other dues is provided. This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri NityanandRai in a written reply to question in the LokSabha yesterday.

To promote the education of Indian System of Medicines and Ayurveda globally, AyushMinistry has signed 13 MoUs for setting up AYUSH Academic Chairs with foreign Universities/ institutes under which AYUSH experts are deputed in reputed Universities/ institutes to undertake teaching/ training / research activities. Country to Country MoUs have been signed with 23 countries for cooperation in field of Traditional Medicine and Homoeopathy in which, amongst others, research, education, training, etc. are some of the areas of cooperation. Under Fellowship/ Scholarship Scheme of Ministry of AYUSH, 104 scholarships are offered every year to the eligible foreign nationals from 99 countries for pursuing undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph. D courses in AYUSH systems in premier Institutes in India. This information was given by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan in a written reply in the LokSabhayesterday.

A total of 247 proposals of Ayurveda interventions have been received under modified Extra Mural research (EMR) Scheme for SARS CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. 21 research proposals recommended by competent authority on Ayurveda for SARS/COVID cases have been approved for funding.Ministry of AYUSH has formed an Inter-disciplinary AYUSH R&D Task Force. Task Force has formulated and designed clinical research protocols for prophylactic studies and add-on interventions in COVID-19 positive cases through thorough review and consultative process of experts of high repute from different organizations across the country for studying four different interventions viz. Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi + Pippali and a poly herbal formulation (AYUSH-64). AyushSanjivani mobile app developed by Ministry of AYUSH has also been launched to generate data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of COVID-19 targeting 05 million population. All these studies are at various stages of conduction.This information was given by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan in a written reply in the LokSabhaon Friday.

During the lockdown situation, the agriculture sector is functioning smoothly. Government of India has taken all necessary measures to ensure smooth sowing operation during pre-monsoon and monsoon period. All the necessary exemptions were allowed for agricultural activities during lockdown period. As per the Provisional Estimates of National Income 2019-20 released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 31st August, 2020 the growth rate of real Gross Value Added (GVA) of Agriculture & Allied sectors is 3.4 % in the First Quarter (April-June), 2020-21. Assistance under MGNREGA and PMGKAY is being provided to agricultural labourers etc. Under the Pradhan Mantri KisanSammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme since inception and as on 15/09/2020 about 10.19 crore farmer families have been benefitted and an amount of Rs.94,1305 crore was released. During the period of lock down, an amount of around Rs. 410,86 crores (as on 15-09-2020) has been disbursed to various beneficiaries under the Scheme covering various instalments. This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in LokSabha yesterday.

As part of Union Government’s coordinated strategy for effective containment and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high level review meeting was chaired by Cabinet Secretary on Saturday. Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Union Health Secretary, Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, senior officials of the Health Ministry, Ministry of Home Affairs and Chief Secretaries of the 12 State/UTs participated in the review meeting. About 80% of the COVID caseload in the country is concentrated in these States/UTs.Minister of Commerce & Industry also addressed the States and reviewed the oxygen availability in these states. He specifically requested them to focus on analysing district level and health facility level status and effectively plan and manage logistical issues related with Oxygen availability. He also urged them to share their best practices which in turn can be emulated by other States/UTs in the country.The Cabinet Secretary while complementing the States for significantly ramping up testing, expressed concern that the case fatality rates of several States are still higher than that of the national average. He urged the States to analyse mortalities district and hospital wise for identification of critical areas of intervention. He also exhorted the states to ensure optimal utilization of RT-PCR capacity.

 

Expressing concern over Jammu having earned the dubious distinction of recording one of the lowest COVID recovery rate of 43% in the country, Union minister DrJitendra Singh announced on Saturday that Centre will monitor Jammu COVID situation on daily basis and the Central team of experts will remain in touch with medical professionals in Jammu on day-to-day basis, apart from providing regular tele-consultation facility from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, till such time as the pandemic situation improves in the region.During a meeting convened to review the alarming COVID situation in Jammu region, DrJitendra Singh received inputs from the Central team which is currently on a visit to Jammu. DrJitendra Singh assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the rising cases of COVID-19 in the UT would be tackled effectively through better hospital management and containment strategy. He said that issues like shortage of oxygen cylinders, medical staff in hospitals would be resolved at the earliest.

In a big support to help fight Covid-19, National miner Coal India arm Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) has donated Rs. Five crores to the state of Uttar Pradesh for procurement of 50 Ambulances.  NCL CMD Shri Prabhat Kumar Sinha and Director (Personnel) Shri Bimlendu Kumar handed over a cheque of the said amount to the UP Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on 18th September.

The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test, powered by CSIR-IGIB(Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) FELUDA, received regulatory approvals on Saturday  from the Drug Controller General of India for commercial launch, as per ICMR guidelines, meeting high quality benchmarks with 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity for detecting the novel coronavirus. This test uses an indigenously developed, cutting-edge CRISPR technology for detection of the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 virus.CRISPR is a genome editing technology to diagnosing diseases.The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a speciallyadapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing Covid-19. This marks a significant achievement for the Indian scientific community, moving from R&D to a high-accuracy, scalable and reliable test in less than 100 days.

Due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, all the conventional training programmes being conducted in all Sports Authority of India (SAI)centres across the country, under various SAI Sports Promotional Schemes were temporarily suspended and the foreign training of Indian athletes were also curtailed. However, the training has since resumed in accordance with the guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, several  measures were taken to ensure safety of athletes during training at SAI centres:Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was laid down to resume sports activities in the training centres under the name of “Khelo India-Firr Se”. The SOP covers all stakeholders at the training centres including athletes, technical and non-technical support staff, administrative staff, hostel and facility management staff and visitors to the centre,COVID Task Force Committee has been set-up to ensure that the guidelines are strictly implemented at all the training centre.This information was given by Union Minister of State (IC) for Youth Affairs and Sports, ShriKirenRijiju in a written reply in RajyaSabhaon Saturday.

The Government has implemented a judicious mix of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy. On May 12 2020, Government announced the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package, a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crores – equivalent to 10 per cent of India’s GDP with an aim to encourage business, attract investments and strengthen the resolve for ‘Make in India’. The Minister stated that on the monetary front, the Reserve Bank of India responded with a mix of conventional and unconventional monetary and liquidity measures to mitigate the negative economic fallout of COVID19. The policy rates have been significantly reduced and around Rs. 9.57 lakh crore or 4.7 per cent of GDP have been injected since February 2020 to enhance the credit flow in the economy.The implementation of the package is reviewed and monitored regularly. Some of the salient achievements include:Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Package (PMGKP), under which around 42 crore poor people have received financial assistance of Rs 68,820 crore as on 7th September, 2020, Rs 3 lakh crore Collateral-free Automatic Loans for Businesses, including MSMEs and Rs 45,000 crore Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0 for NBFCs are being provided, Rs 30,000 crore Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs has been sanctioned,  Rs 30,000 crore Additional Emergency Working Capital Funding for farmers through NABARD is being provided. The phased relaxation of the lockdown, supported by the enabling policies of the Government, has resulted in much higher level of activity in the months of July, August and September. This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in RajyaSabha yesterday.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) withthe Ministry of AYUSH to work together to control the menace of malnutrition through integration of AYUSH systems with the ongoing nutrition interventions under the Umbrella ICDS program yesterday. Describing the MoU between the two Ministries as a milestone in the efforts to eradicate malnutrition, SmtSmritiZubinIrani said that along with the target of having a Nutrigarden in each Anganwadi, medicinal gardens will also be developed in identified Anganwadi centres. Women and children will get the benefit of Yoga classes in AWCs. She expressed optimism that together science and ayurveda will help in achieving optimum nutritional standards among the target groups. Shri ShripadYessoNaik said that AYUSH practices are deep-rooted in Indian tradition. He expressed appreciation that the Ministry of Women & Child Development and the Ministry of AYUSH have come together with the common objective to eliminate malnutrition and improve the health of people, especially women and children.

On completion of one year of Chairmanship of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), Election Commission of India today hosted an International Webinar on the Theme ‘‘Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting Elections during COVID-19 : Sharing Country Experiences’. It was an occasion for democracies world over to come together to share experiences of conducting elections during Covid19.Over 120 delegates from 45 countries across the world and 4 international organizations participated in the Webinar today.

• Punjab: In partial modification of Unlock 4.0 guidelines in compliance with the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Punjab Government has allowed the students of class 9 to 12 to visit their schools in areas outside the containment zones only, on voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers. However, this permission would be subject to the written consent of their parents/guardians from September 21, 2020 as per Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on September 8, 2020.
• Haryana: In order to strengthen the home isolation care of COVID-19 patients across the state, the Haryana Health Department has issued new guidelines, wherein emphasis has been laid on in-person visits by ‘District Home Isolation Monitoring Team’ on every alternate day. Laying emphasis on the significance of improvement of home isolation of COVID-19 patients, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department said that around 60 to 70 per cent of the corona infected persons are in home isolation thus we need to augment the home isolation policy so that the patients are provided appropriate care and treatment.
• Himachal Pradesh: Students of classes 9th to 12th may be permitted to visit their schools in areas outside the containment zones only, on voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers. This will be subject written consent of their parents/guardians and will be permitted w.e.f. 21st September, 2020 as per SOP issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 8th September, 2020.
• Arunachal Pradesh: 135 new positive cases detected in Arunachal Pradesh during last twenty four hours.
• Assam: In Assam, 1,795 patients discharged yesterday while 1,227 COVID-19 cases detected out of 19,318 tests; positivity rate is 6.35%. Total discharged patients 1,27,335& active patients 28,780.
• Manipur: 170 new COVID-19 positive cases in Manipur takes the total to 8,894. With 76 percent recovery rate, there are 2070 active cases.Two patient expired due to COVID-19 complications taking the toll in Manipur to 57.
• Meghalaya: Meghalaya COVID-19 cases rise to total active cases 2,111, total BSF and Armed Forces 345, total others 1,766 & total recovered 2,513.
• Mizoram: Seven new cases of COVID-19 detected in Mizoram yesterday. Total cases 1,585, active cases 583.
• Nagaland: Schools in Nagaland to reopen from today on voluntary basis. Authorities to keenly monitor situation and response after reopening.               Out of 59 COVID-19 positive cases detected on Sunday, 45 are from Dimapur and 14 from Kohima.
• Sikkim: Sikkim is gearing up for reopening Border after 6 months, International Tourists allowed from October 10.Sikkim registered 49 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday taking the State’s active case tally to 469. Sikkim has registered 2,391 confirmed cases and 1,894 of them have recovered.
• Kerala: Covid-19 situation continues to be grim in the state capital which has been witnessing over 800 daily cases. A total of 20 police personnel including ACP in cantonment division tested positive today. The ACP had led the police force during the protests staged by opposition parties at the secretariat and had also attended a function today in which CM participated. City Police Commissioner has entered self-quarantine after his security officer tested Covid positive. The state death toll has risen to 536 with one more Covid fatality in Thiruvananthapuram. Continuing its upward trend, 4,696 more people in Kerala were tested Covid positive yesterday. A total of 39,415 patients are undergoing treatment and 2,22,179 people under observation in various districts.                               
• Tamil Nadu:Puducherry administration to use socio-economic profiling data from the District Rural Development Agency to target vulnerable sections for Covid-19 prevention efforts. The High-level panel headed by former Reserve Bank of India Governor C. Rangarajan, which assessed the immediate and medium-term impact of the Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu, is to submit its report to State govt. today. With 5,516 more persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, the TN’s tally rose to 5,41,993. At the same time, 5,206 persons were discharged taking the total number of discharged persons to 4,86,479. Total deaths in TN reached 8811.
• Karnataka:State to form a special technical committee of medical experts to research the long-term effects of Covid-19 on recovered patients. Courts in Karnataka to reopen substantially in a phased manner from September 28. A study reveals that symptomatic patients were the prime drivers of infection in Karnataka during lockdown.
• Andhra Pradesh: In a positive sign, Andhra Pradesh has recorded higher number of recoveries for the last two weeks than fresh Covid-19 cases. Active Covid-19 cases further drastically fell down to 78,836 as number of recoveries stood at 5,41,319 on Sunday.  Andhra Pradesh has stood fifth in the country by conducting over 50 lakh Covid-19 tests.  State’s positivity rate at 12.27 per cent is the third highest in the country after Maharashtra and Chandigarh.  The stage is set for schools to partially reopen on today for students of Classes 9 and 10, after six months and lapsing of almost half the academic year. The students will be allowed to visit their teachers in school if they have consent from their parents or guardians.
• Telangana:1302 new cases, 2230 recoveries & 09 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; out of 1302 cases, 266 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,72,608; Active cases: 29,636; Deaths: 1042; Discharges :1,41,930. Flights resume from Hyderabad to Qatar and UAE. 2000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced by CCMB; the findings made it clear that no clade at present has been conclusively shown to be associated with a more severe form of Covid-19, or an increased risk of death.
• Maharashtra: Teachers’ bodies in Maharashtra have requested the education department to provide insurance cover for the treatment of Covid 19, after several teachers were found to have contracted the infection.  Around 3.5 lakh teachers across Maharashtra were engaged in Covid-related duties between April and August. Meanwhile, in a heartening development, 106 year old resident of Dombivili near Mumbai, defeated the Corona virus and was discharged from the hospital on Sunday upon her recovery.  Although, total number of recoveries in Maharashtra stand at 8.84 lakhs, the state still has 2.91 lakh active Covid 19 cases.
• Gujarat:  Four Gujarat MLAs- three from the Congress and one from the ruling BJP- tested coronavirus positive on Sunday, a day before the five-day monsoon session of the state Assembly begins. As part of the safety arrangements amid the COVID-19 outbreak, all Assembly staffers have been tested and legislators would also be checked for the infection. 56 Congress and 80 BJP MLAs have already undergone the testing procedure.
• Rajasthan: In view of the increasing number of COVID infections, Rajasthan Government has imposed section 144 in 11 district headquarters of the state including Capital Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Kota. Now, more than 5 persons will not be allowed to assemble at a place. Government has also banned any type of social and religious programmes till October 31st.  Government has also decided to start 24 x 7 state helpline 181 from tomorrow to deal with grievances of COVID patients and their family members.
• Chhattisgarh:  Amidst a rapid surge of CoVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh, local administration in about ten districts have decided to impose lock-down in their respective areas.  In Durg district, lockdown has become effective since yesterday while the state capital Raipur and Surguja districts, lockdown will be imposed from today. Apart from this, in Bilaspur, Balodabazar, Jashpur, Balod, Surajpur and Dhamtari districts lockdown will be effective from 22nd September.  In Raigarh district, lockdown will be imposed from 24th September to 30th September.
• Goa: The South Goa District Hospital has been commissioned as a COVID-19 treatment facility with an initial capacity of 150 beds. Till now, COVID-19 patients in the state were being treated at the ESI Hospital in Margao (South Goa), the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near Panaji (North Goa) and the Sub-District Hospital in Ponda (South Goa).