COVID-19 UPDATE of 23rd November: Less than 50,000 Daily New Cases since the last 16 days

India’s present active caseload (4,43,486) is 4.85% of the total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark. The Recovery Rate continues to be above 93% as 93.68% of all cases have recovered as of date. In the last 24 hours, the country registered 41,024 new recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total recovered cases to 85,62,641.The gap between Recovered cases and Active cases is steadily increasing and presently stands at 81,19,155.In the last 24 hours, 44,059 persons were found infected with COVID. India has been registering less than 50,000 cases for the last 16 days, since 8th November. This assumes significance as several countries of the Western Hemisphere are witnessing a huge surge of new cases at the onset of winter.77.44% of the new recoveries are contributed by ten States/UTs.Kerala saw 6,227 persons recovering from COVID. Delhi reported 6,154 recoveries. Maharashtra reported another 4,060 new recoveries in the last 24 hours.Ten States/UTs have contributed 78.74%of the new cases. Delhi reported 6,746 cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra recorded 5,753 new cases while Kerala reported 5,254 daily cases yesterday.15 States and UTs are reporting less than the national average of cases per million population(6,623).74.95% of the 511 case fatalities reported in the past 24 hours are concentrated in Ten States/UTs.Delhi with 121 reported deaths occupy 23.68% of new fatalities. Maharashtra saw a fatality count of 50 while West Bengal followed closely with 49 new fatalities.21 States and UTs are reporting lower than the national average of deaths per million (97).

The Union Government has decided to depute high level Central Teams to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to support the States in COVID response and management. These States have been either reporting a rise in the number of active cases i.e. those who are hospitalized or are in home isolation under medical supervision, or demonstrating a rise in the daily new cases. These three-member teams will visit the districts reporting high number of COVID cases and support the State efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. The Central teams shall also guide in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up. Earlier the Union Government has sent the high level teams to Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur, and Chhattisgarh.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare digitally addressed the Boston Center of Excellence for Health and Human Development yesterday through Video Conference. Congratulating the Boston Center of Excellence (BoCE) for Health and Human Development for bringing together experts to research a better cure and better healthcare for all, Dr. Harsh Vardhan compared the ongoing Pandemic to a transitory state of our civilization. He said, “We have not seen the Spanish Flu, World War I, and World war II. But we are living in a phase of a silent war. Over 100 million people perished. And in many cases, they could not be visited by their dear ones during the last moments of life. Their last-rites and funerals were also had to be done very humbly. And those millions who survived also have many complications, besides the financial burden put on them.” Dr. Harsh Vardhan observed in this regard, “It is not the first one and definitely not the last one. But this COVID 19 will soon be a past episode of the 21st century. Our treatment protocol for COVID patients is well defined now. Fewer and fewer people infected are dying. We will have vaccines available very soon, and the cases will significantly go down in the next few months.” While COVID 19 has brought great miseries to millions of people, businesses, and trades, Dr. Harsh Vardhan pointed out the silver lining in this episode along with India’s zeal to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Multi Storeyed flats for Members of Parliament through video conference, today. These flats are located at Dr. B D Marg in New Delhi. Eight old bungalows, which were more than 80 years old, have been redeveloped to construct 76 flats.Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said Green Building norms have been incorporated in this Multi Storeyed flats for the Members of Parliament. He hoped that these new flats will keep all the residents and the MPs safe and sound. He said accommodation for the Members of Parliament has been a long standing problem but it is now solved. He said decades old problems don’t end by avoiding them, but by finding solutions. He listed many such projects in Delhi which were incomplete for many years were taken up by this government and finished before the scheduled time. He said during the time of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the discussion of Ambedkar National Memorial started, it was built by this government after a long wait of 23 years. He said, the new building of the Central Information Commission, the War Memorial near India Gate and the National Police Memorial were built by this government which were pending for a long time.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday via video conference. The Prime Minister also interacted with Village Water and Sanitation Committee/ Paani Samiti Members during the event. Union Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Governor Uttar Pradesh, SmtAnandiben Patel and Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath were present on the occasion. The projects, for which the foundation stones were laid by the Prime Minister will provide household tap water connections in all rural households of 2,995 villages and will benefit about 42 lakh population of these districts. Village Water and Sanitation Committees/ Paani Samiti have been constituted in all these villages, who will shoulder the responsibility of operation and maintenance. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 5,555.38 Crore. The projects are planned to be completed in 24 months. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said during the last one and half years from the start of Jal Jeevan Mission more than 2 crore 60 lakh families have been provided piped drinking water connection to their homes including lakhs of families in Uttar Pradesh as well. He added under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the life of our mothers and sisters is getting easier due to easy water access at the comfort of their homes.

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, participated in the 15th G20 Summit convened by Saudi Arabia, on 21-22 November, 2020. The Summit, was conducted in virtual format in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. PM congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership for its successful Presidency of the G20 this year and for organizing the second G20 Summit in 2020 through a virtual format despite the challenges and obstacles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.The Summit under Saudi Presidency centered on the theme “Realizing Opportunities of 21st Century for All” which has assumed greater importance in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The agenda of the Summit is focused on overcoming the pandemic, economic recovery and restoring jobs, and building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future. There are also side events planned on the two days on pandemic preparedness and on safeguarding the planet.

PM termed the COVID-19 pandemic as an important turning point in history of humanity and the biggest challenge the world is facing since the World War II. He called for decisive action by G20, not limited to economic recovery, jobs and trade, but to focus on preserving Planet Earth noting that all of us are trustees of humanity’s future.PM called for a new Global Index for the Post-Corona World that comprises four key elements – creation of a vast Talent Pool; ensuring that Technology reaches all segments of the society; Transparency in systems of governance; and dealing with Mother Earth with a spirit of Trusteeship. Based on this, the G20 can lay the foundation of a new world.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi graced the 8th Convocation of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Saturday. He laid the foundation stone of ‘45 MW Production Plant of Monocrystalline Solar PhotoVoltaic Panel’ and ‘Centre of Excellence on Water Technology’. He also inaugurated ‘Innovation and Incubation Centre – Technology Business Incubation’, ‘Translational Research Centre’ and ‘Sports Complex’ at the University. Addressing the students, the Prime Minister said it is not an easy thing to graduate at a time when the World is facing such a big crisis, but your abilities are much bigger than these challenges. He added that students are entering the industry at a time when due to pandemic, major changes are taking place in the energy sector across the world.

In the period of turbulence caused by the pandemic, Legal Services Authorities creatively adapted to the new normal and moved Lok Adalat to the virtual platform. From June, 2020 to October 2020, 27 E-Lok Adalats have been organized in 15 States wherein 4.83 lakh cases were taken up and 2.51 lakh cases disposed of resulting in settlement of Rs 1409 cr. Further, during November 2020, E-Lok Adalats have been organized in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana so far wherein 16,651 cases were taken up and 12,686 disposed of resulting in settlement of Rs 107.4 cr. To facilitate access to justice amidst the constraints placed by Covid-19 and various public health guidelines, the Legal Services Authorities have ingeniously integrated technology into its conventional methods of justice delivery. Online Lok Adalat popularly known as E -Lok Adalat is one such innovation of Legal Services Institutions where technology has been used to its maximum advantage and has become a platform to deliver justice at the doorstep of people. E- Lok Adalats are also cost effective as it eliminates the need for organisational expenses.

57 Officer Trainees have tested Covid positive at the Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy of Administration, since 20/11/2020. A total of 428 Officer Trainees are on campus for the 95th Foundation Course which is conducted for new entrants to the Civil Services.The Academy is taking every measure to break the chain of Covid-19 spread in consonance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the District Administration,Dehradun. All Officer Trainees, who have tested positive, have been quarantined in a dedicated Covid Care Centre. Since 20.11.2020, the Academy has conducted more than162 RT-PCRtests in coordination with District Authorities.The Academy has decided to conduct all activities, including training, online till the midnight of 03.12.2020.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry facilitates export of its scheduled products through several export promotional activities, such as organizing International Buyer Seller Meets, participation of exporters in leading trade events in the potential importing countries, and product promotion programmes in specific markets. These initiatives have popularized the Indian agri products globally and facilitated exporters to reach the global market. During the COVID 19 pandemic period, physical meetings and market promotion programmes were not possible. In its endeavour to promote export of Agri products, APEDA explored the virtual medium and continued its initiative of export market promotion by organizing several Virtual Buyer Seller Meets (VBSM), in collaboration with the Indian Missions abroad. During April to October 2020, APEDA organised Virtual Buyer Seller Meetswith potential importing Countries such as UAE, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Kuwait and Iran, for product promotion of all APEDA Products.

 

• Arunachal: 24 new positive cases detected in Arunachal Pradesh in the last twenty four hours. Total 1,040 active positive cases in the state.
• Assam: In Assam, 86 cases detected out of 9,994 tests conducted today, with positivity rate of 0.86% while 2,07,394 patients are discharged. Total cases are 2,11,513, State Health Minister tweeted.
• Nagaland: With 103 new cases, Nagaland’s COVID-19 total reaches 10,777. Active cases are 1,406.
• Sikkim: Sikkim’s tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 4,722 with the detection of 31 fresh cases of novel Coronavirus.
• Maharashtra: Comparing the second wave of Covid-19 to Tsunami, Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray has made a solemn appeal to the people of the state not to be complacent in the fight against the global pandemic. He said that people should not show any kind of laxity and continue to wear mask, maintain physical distance and wash hands. After witnessing a steady decline, a reverse trend is being seen as cases are once again on the rise.
• Gujarat: In Gujarat, Ahmedabad city witnessed 8 Covid deaths during the last 24 hours, the highest during the last five months. State reported 13 deaths on Sunday which is also the highest in a single day during the last 2 months. After the spurt in fresh Covid19 cases in Ahmedabad city, the rise in the death is also the matter of concern for the state health authorities.Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani has announced that only night curfew will remain in force in four major cities of the state from today. In a statement, he said that Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot will have daily night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am from today. He appealed to the people to strictly follow the compulsory mask and social distancing norms. Meanwhile, three-member central team held a meeting with Chief Minister at Gandhinagar last evening.
• Rajasthan: Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot held a review meeting on the coronavirus situation in the state and directed officials to ensure compliance of all guidelines and orders to contain the spread of the virus. He directed the officials to increase the penalty amount from Rs. 10,000 to Rs 25,000 if more than 100 people were found to have gathered at any event such as weddings. The state cabinet on Saturday night decided to impose a night curfew in eight districts where the caseload is high, starting from Sunday. Markets, restaurants, shopping malls and other commercial establishments in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ajmer, Alwar and Bhilwara headquarters closed at 7 pm. The night curfew in these district headquarters will remain in force from 8 pm to 6 am.
• Madhya Pradesh: 85 percent of the new corona cases in the state are coming from urban areas and 15 percent from rural areas. The reason for this is high density of population in urban areas. Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan has appealed to the youth not to be negligent in COVID 19 guidelines. He said that all preventive measures should be adopted as the percentage of young people in Corona infection is higher while just 10 per cent of elderly people have been infected so far in the state. Meanwhile, the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed up to around 1.93 lakh after 1,798 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours. There are now 11, 765 active cases in Madhya Pradesh.
• Chhattisgarh: In Chhattisgarh, random Covid test of employees and customers of hotels will be conducted in the state capital Raipur as a part of efforts to check spread of Corona virus infection. Besides, Covid test of fruits and vegetable venders will also be done. District Collector has also instructed the Health Department to conduct tests by setting up camps in the thickly populated slums of Raipur. Meanwhile, the Collector has rejected the proposal of the Chief Medical and Health Officer of the district, in which it was asked to establish centers at the entry points of Raipur city for the Covid testing of people coming from outside. Collector has rejected this proposal in view of the possibility of traffic jam.
• Goa: Goa’s coronavirus caseload reached 46,826 on Sunday with the addition of 78 cases. The death toll mounted to 677 as two patients succumbed to the infection during the day. The number of recovered patients in the state rose to 44,979 after 167 of them got discharged on Sunday. The number of active cases in the coastal state is now 1,170. A total of 1,139 samples were tested on Sunday.
• Kerala: The state government has constituted a five-member committee to explore the possibility of setting up vaccine manufacturing units. The units will operate with the drug manufacturing licence of pharmaceutical companies. HLL Life care Limited, a Government of India undertaking, has introduced a mobile kiosk facility in the state capital to make Covid testing easier. The facility will be helpful for those who can’t go outside such as senior citizens and those who have other health issues. Meanwhile, the Covid recovery tally is set to touch 5 lakh mark in the state as the current tally stands at 4,94,664. The state on Sunday reported 5,254 fresh cases. The Covid death toll has touched 2,049.
• Tamil Nadu: Pointing out that cyclone Nivar may not be as severe as cyclone Gaja which hit Tamil Nadu during the northeast monsoon in 2018, Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar today said all arrangements are in place to face cyclone Nivar while special attention would be paid to those who would be given shelter in relief camps for preventing the spread of coronavirus. 1655 new cases, 2010 discharges & 19 deaths today were reported in TN yesterday. Total cases in the State till now is 7,69,995 with  12,542 active cases and 11,605 casualties.
• Karnataka:  State government decided not to open schools and pre-university colleges till Dec 31, 2020; the decision was taken today in a meeting headed by Chief Minister. It was also decided to meet in last week of December to review the Covid situation and take final decision on school reopening for the present academic year.
• Andhra Pradesh: Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the WHO, believes that India has the potential to develop a vaccine for corona, soon. On Sunday she virtually addressed the 39th Graduation Ceremony of Satyasai Institute of Higher Learning at PuttaparthiPrasanthi Nilayam, Anantapur district. Schools in Andhra Pradesh which were reopened from November 2 for the students of class 9 and 10, has started classes for 8th standard students from today.  The classes will be held on alternate days for classes 8 and 9 while for class 10 it will be daily following Covid protocols.
• Telangana:  602 new cases, 1015 recoveries & 3 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in Telangana; Total cases: 2,64,128; Active cases: 11,227; Deaths: 1433; Discharges: 2,51,468 with a recovery rate of 95.20 per cent, while the countrywide recovery rate is 93.7 per cent.