CORONA UPDATE on 20th October : New case fall below 50,000 for the first time after 3 months

India has leaped across several significant milestones in its fight against COVID.The new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours have fallen below 50,000 (46,790) for the first time in nearly three months. The new cases were 47,703 on 28th July.In another achievement, the percentage active cases have fallen below 10%. The total positive cases of the country today are less than 7.5 lakh (7,48,538) and comprise merely 9.85% of the total cases.The slide in active cases is supplemented by an exponential rise in recoveries. The total recovered cases have crossed 67 lakhs (67,33,328). The difference between active cases and recovered cases is consistently increasing and stands at 59,84,790 today.69,720 patients have recovered and discharged in the last 24 hours. The national Recovery Rate has further grown to 88.63%.78% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 States/UTs .Maharashtra continues to lead with more than 15,000 single day recoveries followed by Karnataka with more than 8,000 recoveries.75% of the new confirmed cases are from 10 States and UTs. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala contribute more than 5,000 to the new confirmed cases.587 case fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours. Of these, nearly 81% are concentrated in ten States/UTs. The deaths are below 600 for second consecutive day.Maharashtra has reported the maximum single day deaths (125 deaths). India is the only country with the highest recoveries and continues to have one of the lowest fatality rates globally. Today it stands at 1.52%.

Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases (STH), also known as parasitic intestinal worm infection, is a significant public health concern mostly in low resource settings. These are known to have detrimental effects on children’s physical growth and well being and can cause anemia and under-nutrition. Regular deworming as advised by the World Health Organization eliminates worm infestation among children and adolescents living in areas with high STH burden, thereby contributing to achieve better nutrition and health.Since its launch in 2015, the National Deworming Day (NDD), a flagship program of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,is implemented as a biannual single day programme implemented through the platforms of schools and anganwadis. Albendazole tablet, approved by World Health Organization (WHO), is used for treatment of intestinal worms in children and adolescents as part of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programmes globally. In the last round of deworming earlier this year in the country (which was halted due to the COVID pandemic), 11 crore children and adolescents were administered Albendazole tablet across 25 States/UTs.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare interacted with Sh. Nitinbhai Patel, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Medical Education, Gujarat in the presence of district collectors of all the districts and senior health officials of the State and the Union yesterday. Reminding everyone that the country is currently in the tenth month of the pandemic, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “Active cases are currently around 7,72,000 which has been less than 10 lakhs for close to a month. 55,722 cases were reported in the last 24 hours while 66,399 cases were discharged from care. Doubling time has been diluted to 86.3 days and the country will soon cross the figure of 10 crore cumulative tests.” On the management of COVID in Gujarat, he noted, “From being one of the top affected states earlier, the state has shown remarkable stride to have a recovery rate of 90.57% comparable to the recovery rate of India (88.26%).” He congratulated the State for conducting 77,785 tests per million against the country’s figure of 68,901. Reiterating his statement that the coming winter and the long festive season pose a significant risk that could threaten the gains made against COVID-19, he said, “We should all be vigilant for the next three months. Prime Minister’s message of wearing a mask/face cover, maintaining a physical distance and frequent handwashing should reach the last citizen. Steps should be taken to monitor their non-compliance. Following COVID appropriate behaviour is simple.”

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation. He said the benefits of science and innovation can be reaped at the right time by investing in it well in advance, instead of having a short sighted approach. He said the journey to these innovations must be shaped by collaboration and public participation. He added science will never prosper in silos and the Grand Challenges Programme has understood this ethos well. The Prime Minister said the global pandemic has made us realise the importance of teamwork. He said the diseases do not have geographic boundaries and do not discriminate on the grounds of faith, race, gender or colour. He added these diseases also include several communicable and non-communicable diseases that are impacting people. He said a strong & vibrant scientific community and good scientific institutions in India have been India’s greatest assets, especially during the last few months, while fighting COVID-19. He added they have achieved wonders from containment to capacity building. The Prime Minister said COVID-19 death rate in India is very low in spite of the large population due to the people powered and people driven approach. He added today, there is a decline in the number of cases per day, decline in the growth rate of cases and has one of the highest recovery rates of 88 percent. The Prime Minister remarked India is now at the forefront of vaccine development for COVID. He announced more than 30 indigenous vaccines are being developed in our country and three of them are in an advanced stage. He said India is already working on putting a well-established Vaccine delivery system in place and this digitised network along with digital health ID will be used to ensure immunisation of our citizens.

The 9th Session of the India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held yesterday through the virtual platform. It was co-chaired by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and H.E. Mr. Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman. The meeting was attended by representatives of various government departments/ministries from both sides. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the recent developments in trade and investment ties and reaffirmed their commitment to expand the bilateral trade and encourage businesses to invest in each other’s country in order to realize the untapped potential in the commercial and economic relationship. The two sides also exchanged views on the unprecedented global health and economic situation arising due the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

• Arunachal Pradesh: Arunachal COVID-19active cases stand at 2833; 238 new positive cases reported yesterday, total recovered 10,780.
• Assam: 698 cases detected out of 34,956 tests conducted, with a positivity rate of 2 %, while 1,530 patients discharged in Assam. Total cases- 2,01,407.  Recovered 85.99%, active cases 13.56%, tweeted State Health Minister.
• Meghalaya: COVID-19 total active cases now stand at 2,069, total BSF and Armed Forces 100, total others 1,969 & total recovered 6,392 in Meghalaya.
• Mizoram: 1. 27 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Mizoram yesterday. Total cases 2,280, active cases 129.
• Nagaland: Amid fear that COVID-19 transmission is shifting from local to community, Nagaland’s tally inches towards 8000 mark. Total 7,953 cases on Monday.
• Sikkim: With two more deathsreported during last 24 hours,COVID -19 death toll inSikkim has risen to 62.
• Maharashtra: The Maharashtra Health Minister Shri Rajesh Tope has said that all the private doctors have been given instructions to participate in the COVID Prevention Mission and visit the COVID Centres for at least two to three hours in a day.  He has urged the private doctors to spare some time in COVID centres in Rural Areas, especially those that have witnessed high mortality rate in recent weeks. He has emphasized on the guidance of specialist doctors to reduce the mortality rate in the state.  Maharashtra on Monday reported 5,984 cases and 15,069 recoveries, bringing down the number of active cases to 1.73 lakhs.
• Gujarat: The new cases of Covid19 in Gujarat dropped below 1 thousand mark for the first time in 90 days. Meanwhile, the Centre has appreciated the Covid19 management by the Gujarat government. In a meeting through video conferencing, the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that from being one of the worst affected states earlier, Gujarat has shown remarkable improvement in recoveries and testing.  The number of active cases in Gujarat is 14,277.
• Rajasthan: Rajasthan on Monday reported 12 more deaths due to Covid-19, taking the state’s death toll to 1,760, while 1,960 fresh cases pushed the infection count to 1,75,266.  According to a health bulletin, 1,52,573 people have so far been discharged after treatment, while the number of active cases stands at 20,893. 
• Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh’s COVID-19 count rose to 1.62 lakhs on Monday after 2,376 people were detected with the infection.  Raipur district reported 196 new cases, taking its total count to 39,285, including 523 deaths, while Janjgir- Champa recorded 200 new cases, Bilaspur 195, Durg 191 and  Raigarh 172, among others.
• Kerala: Covid fatality is on the rise in Ernakulam district. Today four more people succumbed to the virus, taking the state’s total Covid death toll to 1186. Seventy police men in a camp in the district turned Covid positive today. A total of 5,022 new cases were reported in the state yesterday. Currently 92,731 patients are undergoing treatment and 2.77 lakh people under observation in various districts
• Tamil Nadu: After a gap of nearly six months, the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) across the State resumed its functions on Monday; in the wake of the on-going pandemic, the Centre had extended validity of all transport documents, expired between February 1 and September 30, till December 31. IIT-Madras has announced flexibility in its course work and said that its students can choose half the courses and even study a semester in a foreign university. Manufacturers and exporters in Tirupur- the knitwear hub of the country- which was in a revival path after covid lock down, are now worried about exportds because of a second wave of Covid-19 with Europe and other countries.
• Karnataka: After gap of seven months, first passenger train between Karnataka and TN to run on October 23. To mark the ongoing Navratri and Diwali festivals, the South Western Railway (SWR) will run five pairs of festival special trains from October 23 to December 2. Health Minister K Sudhakar Sudhakar held a meeting and took stock of disease spread in flood-hit districts; he interacted with Deputy Commissioners, ZP CEOs and health officers of Kalaburagi, Bagalakot, Koppal, Yadgir, Belagavi and Vijayapura, which have been hit by heavy rain and floods.
• Andhra Pradesh: The State is contemplating to reopen schools from November 2. It remains to be seen whether the schools would be opened on the scheduled date with the students being affected with coronavirus. DEO, Kurnool issued key directives of conducting tests to the students in all schools across the district  in the backdrop of as many as 29 students of a school in Srisailam Sunnipenta in Kurnool district were infected with Covid.  There has been a sharp drop in coronavirus cases in the state with less than 3,000 cases reported on Monday.  As ICMR has warned of a possible second wave of the coronavirus, Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas has asked the state health department to be extra vigilant and create awareness among the public about the three precautionary steps that need to be taken to stop the virus’ spread.
• Telangana: 1486 new cases, 1891 recoveries & 7 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in Telangana ; out of 1486 cases, 235 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 2,24,545; Active cases: 21,098; Deaths: 1282; Discharges: 2,02,577. State Health Minister has directed health officials to ensure all walk-in patients with flu-like symptoms at Government healthcare facilities mandatorily undergo Covid-19 tests.