COVID-19 UPDATE of 24th November: Daily Positivity Rate dips below 4%

India has registered less than 40,000 daily new cases after six days. The number of daily new cases in the last 24 hours is 37,975. For the last 17 days in a row, daily new cases have been sustained below the 50,000 mark, since 8th November. India’s testing infrastructure has seen a significant boost with 2,134 labs across the country. Keeping in line with its commitment to conduct more than one million tests every day, 10,99,545 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. India’s total cumulative tests cross 13.3 cr (13,36,82,275). An average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels and is presently following a downward trajectory. The cumulative national Positivity Rate stands at 6.87% today, less than the 7% mark. The daily positivity rate is just 3.45%. Higher volumes of testing eventually lead to low Positivity Rate. The tests per million (TPM) has increased to 96,871 tests. There has been a sustained decrease in the number of active cases over the past few weeks. 42,314 cases recovered and discharged in the last 24 hours. The Active Caseload has fallen to 4,38,667. Present contribution of Active Caseload to India’s total positive cases stands at 4.78%, following a declining curve. The Recovery Rate has also increased to 93.76%. Total Recoveries as of today are 86,04,955. 75.71% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 States/UTs. Delhi has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 7,216 newly recovered cases. 5,425 people recovered in Kerala followed by 3,729 in Maharashtra. 77.04% of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs. Delhi continues to report the highest daily new cases at 4,454.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  todaychaired a high-level meeting with Chief Ministers of all States and UTs via video conferencing, to review the status and preparedness of COVID-19 response and management, with special emphasis on eight high focus States. These States were Haryana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal. The modalities of Covid-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were also discussed during the meeting.Prime Minister remarked that the country has faced the pandemic through concerted efforts and in terms of both recovery rate and fatality rate, the situation in India is better than most other countries. He talked about the expansion of the testing and treatment network, and noted that special emphasis of the PM CARES fund has been to make available oxygen. He said that efforts are on to make medical colleges and district hospitals self-sufficient in terms of oxygen generation, and informed that the process for establishing more than 160 new oxygen plants is underway. Stating that it is important to understand how the people have reacted to the pandemic, the Prime Minister noted that it can be broken down to four stages. The first was of fear, when people reacted in panic. The second stage saw cropping up of doubts about the virus, when several people tried to hide that they had been afflicted by it. The third stage was of acceptance, when people became more serious about the virus and displayed greater alertness. In the fourth stage, with increasing recovery rate, people have developed a false notion of security from the virus, thus leading to rise in instances of negligence. Prime Minister emphasized that it is of utmost importance to increase awareness about the seriousness of the virus in this fourth stage. He noted that the trend of increase in spread of the pandemic in countries where its impact was earlier lessening, is being seen in some States as well, which necessitates greater alacrity and caution by the administration.

In the present pandemic times when the headwinds to growth have exacerbated, the reforms momentum has continued, and will continue in the future as well, said Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing the National MNCs Conference 2020 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) yesterday. Several measures are being taken up to keep the reforms impetus intact such as professionalisation of the financial sector and thrust on disinvestments. “All enterprises, MNCs and India Inc., big, medium and small enterprises, are facing a reset exercise in doing business. We will have to make sure that policies are right to make India an attractive investment destination,” Smt Sitharaman underlined. The reforms announced by the government under the ambit of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package have opened up many sectors including niche sectors such as Nuclear Energy and Space for the foreign investors to partake in. The Government has been working assiduously towards ensuring a facilitative environment for the MNCs operating out of India, Smt. Sitharaman stated. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself has been interacting with MNCs regarding their concerns. Enthused by the Government’s thrust on reforms and reduced taxation rates, several Sovereign Funds have expressed interest in partnering with the Government on its National Infrastructure Pipeline. In furtherance of its reforms agenda, the Government is ensuring the setting up of dedicated Special Manufacturing Zones for the production of Pharma, Medical Devices and APIs in 6 States.

The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah yesterday inaugurated a mobile COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi, jointly launched by Spice Health and the ICMR. The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan also participated in the inauguration function. The Secretary DHR and Director General of the ICMR, Dr.Balram Bhargava, the Chairman and Managing Director of Spice Jet, Shri Ajay Singh and the CEO of Spice Health, Ms. Avani Singh also took part in the inauguration ceremony. This testing lab and more such labs which are planned to be set up, shall help in adding more capacity to COVID-19 testing. The lab is accredited by NABL and approved by the ICMR. RT-PCR tests are most decisive and crucial for COVID-19 testing. These tests will cost Rs. 499/- and the cost of testing will be borne by the ICMR. The people of Delhi will not have to bear any cost. This initiative is a step in making COVID-19 testing affordable and more accessible to the common person. The test report would be available within 6 to 8 hours from the time of sample collection compared to the average 24 to 48 hours taken by similar test reports.

Goa Police has done a commendable job during the Corona pandemic. So, to repay in CSR way, Goa Shipyard has donated an Advanced Life Support Ambulance worth Rs 23.80 lakh to the police force. Bangalore-based Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) will also provide Rs 2.50 crore cancer- detection machine fitted in a bus, said Union Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik yesterday. The Minister was speaking at the handing over of Advanced Life Support Ambulance to Goa Police at Panaji Police Headquarters. On this occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, Director General of Police Mukesh Kumar Mina, Chairman and Managing Director of Goa Shipyard CMDE B.B. Nagpal were present.

Tribes India is continuing with making its product offerings more attractive to its customers, and at the same time helping millions of tribal enterprises get larger markets. Keeping this as the objective, over the last month, Tribes India has included many new products (mainly immunity boosting products and produce in the Forest Fresh and Organics range). This week, Tribes India has now added more new products to their offering.The highlight is Saheli, the eco-friendly sanitary pads made by the Vasavatribals under the Gram SangathanKambodiya in Gujarat. Tribes India is partnering with them to distribute these sanitary pads across the country.The new products fall under the Forest Fresh Naturals and organics range and also some of these will make excellent gifting and decoration options as well.All the new products introduced in the past few weeksare available inTribes India outlets, Tribes India mobile vans and also on online platforms such as the Tribes India E-marketplace (tribesindia.com) and e-tailers.The recently launched Tribes India e-marketplace, India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace which connects 5 lakh tribal enterprises to national and international markets, showcases tribal produce and handicrafts, making them accessible to customers across the country.The TribesIndia E-marketplace is an effort to empower lakhs of tribal enterprises. With a variety of natural and sustainable produce and products, it offers a glimpse into the age-old traditions of our tribal brethren.

“Our premier institution – the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – is involved in the trial of COVID-19 vaccines’ executions. India is also hosting clinical trials for all the major vaccine contenders. About 30 vaccines are in different stages of development in India. Two of them are in the most advanced stage of development – COVAXIN developed through ICMR-Bharat Biotech collaboration and COVISHIELD from the Serum Institute of India. The

Institute, world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, is conducting trials for the vaccine developed by Oxford University. Both are in Phase-III clinical trial stage. One of our pharma giants, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, will distribute the Russian vaccine in India after conducting final-stage human trials and receiving regulatory approval”. Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences said this in his inaugural Speech at the First Virtual SCO Young Scientist Conclave, held virtually here today.

• Maharashtra: The Maharashtra government has issued a new set of SOPs for persons travelling to the state by air, trains or road with effect from 25th November. According to the latest order, domestic travellers whether by air or train coming from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa to Maharashtra will require a Covid negative report.While there are reports of reopening of schools of class 9 to 12 in Sangli, Satara and Washim districts, several major municipal corporations led by Mumbai civic body, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur have decided not to reopen schools in their respective areas in the wake of rise in Covid-19 cases.Maharashtra CM has appealed to people to not crowd Chaityabhoomi in Mumbai on MahaparinirvanDiwas, the death anniversary of Dr.Balasaheb Ambedkar on December 6.
• Gujarat: In Gujarat, the Surat Municipal Corporation has decided to increase the Covid beds in the city by four-fold. Gujarat government has also decided to increase the testing centers in four major cities of the state to check the infection. After recent spurt in Covid19 cases in Gujarat, the state Government has increased the testing facilities in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has also increased testing centers after spike in fresh cases post Diwali. AMC has also declared 35 new micro- containment zones in the city. Door to door screening has been launched in these new containment zones. Meanwhile, tourist destinations in Dang and Valsad districts have been closed by the district authorities.
• Rajasthan: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that the COVID infection in the state is moving towards a dangerous situation.  He said that the state government has taken tough decisions in public interest to prevent the spread of infection. The Chief Minister reviewed the COVID situation in the state through video conference on Monday evening. For the first time, the number of active cases of COVID 19 in the state has exceeded 24 thousand. More than 3,000 cases are being reported daily for the last three days. In Jaipur, the number of active patients has reached above eight thousand whereas the number of active cases in Jodhpur is more than 5 thousand.COVID cases are being reported in large number in Alwar, Bikaner, Ajmer and Kota districts also.With the death of 18 people on Monday, the death toll has increased to 2,181.
• Madhya Pradesh: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan distributed masks in Bhopal and has exhorted the public to wear them to raise awareness about COVID-19. The numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed up to more than 1.94 lakh after 1,701 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours.With 10 patients succumbing to the infection, the death toll rose to 3,172. Maximum 586 people have been infected in Indore, while 349 new infections have been reported in Bhopal on Monday. There are now 12, 336 active cases in Madhya Pradesh.
• Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh on Monday reported 2,061 fresh COVID-19 cases and 14 fatalities, taking the tally to 2,25,497 and the toll to 2,746.  The number of recoveries crossed the two lakh-mark and rose to 2,00,825 after 105 patients were discharged from hospitals, while 1,182 others completed their home isolation period during the day. The state now has 21,926 active cases.
• Goa: On Monday, Goa reported 75 new infections of Covid-19 and 104 recoveries that placed active cases at 1,140. There were no Covid-19 mortalities during the day. The state’s case positivity rate was at 5% with 1,460 samples tested during the day and recovery rate touched 96%. Goa’s mortality has dropped to an average of two to three deaths a day since earlier this month. This month, the state’s daily average of new cases has been 100 to 150 cases.
• Kerala:In tune with Covid-19 Unlock, the State Government has given permission for private tuition centers, computer training centers and dance schools to open after complying certain conditions. The occupancy of halls should be less than fifty per cent and a maximum of 100 trainees will be permitted. Meanwhile, the State Health department is making efforts with the help of the Election Commission and respective district administrations to ensure strict adherence to Covid protocol during the ensuing civic elections. The department continues to receive reports from the ground that the candidates and those who accompany them are flouting the Covid protocol. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 recovery tally in the state crossed five lakh-mark yesterday. The test positivity rate is 10.54%.  The state recorded 3,757 new cases and 22 deaths. Covid death toll in the State is now 2,071.
• Tamil Nadu: TN braces up to tackle a “severe cyclonic storm” that is likely to cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram on Wednesday, CM Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to assess its impending impact. Cyclone Nivar: Karaikal fishermen in 30 boats stranded at sea, Puducherry to come under Section 144; Puducherry administration has set up a total of 196 relief camps in Puducherry region and 50 in Karaikal region to provide shelter to people residing in vulnerable and low-lying areas. TN Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami today launched ‘Thee’, a mobile phone-based application for the benefit of the general public to reach out to the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services when in need.
• Karnataka:  Today Chief Minister and Health Minister participated in the video conference by Prime Minister on Covid management. As per directions of Union Government, preparations are under way for vaccine distribution in the state. 29,451 vaccine distribution centres and more than 10,000 vaccinators have been identified. There are about 2,855 cold chain centres in the state and cold storage facilities of Veterinary Department and private hospitals will also be utilised, said Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.
• Andhra Pradesh:Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to come up with an action plan on vaccine distribution and readiness.  He participated in a videoconference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The CM held a review meeting with officials after video conference and suggested to focus on methods to follow in vaccine distribution. Storing the vaccine at a specific temperature and moving it to remote areas at the same temperature which he said is crucial. Andhra Pradesh which has 1.46 lakh litres of storage capacity has been asked to ramp up its capacity to another 1,69,500 litres. 
• Telangana: 921 new cases, 1097 recoveries & 4 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in Telangana. Total cases: 2,65,049; Active cases: 11,047; Deaths: 1437; Discharges: 2,52,565 with a recovery rate of 95.28 per cent, while the countrywide recovery rate is 93.7 per cent.
• Assam: In Assam during the last 24 hours 169 cases of COVID-19 detected out of 25225 tests conducted.
• Sikkim: In Sikkim 41 new cases of COVID-19 detected. The total active cases stands at 238 while 4351 cases are cured and discharged.