Coronavirus LIVE Updates: From July 25, Complete Lockdown in Bhopal for 10 Days as Cases Rise

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that the Delhi government has decided to conduct Covid-19 sero- surveillance every month. He added that it would be done from the 1st to 5th of every month. Meanwhile, a total lockdown will be imposed in all red zone districts of Kashmir Division, excluding Bandipora, from today evening till 6 am on 27 July.

India on Wednesday recorded a spike of 37,724 Covid-19 cases and 648 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total Covid-19 cases have risen to 11,92,915 and there are 4,11,133 active cases in the country. The number of cured/discharged/migrated stands at 7,53,050 while the death toll has climbed to 28,732, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

HERE ARE LIVE UPDATES ON CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

◕ Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has announced a complete lockdown in Bhopal for ten days from July 25 following rise in Covid-19 cases.

◕ A total lockdown will be imposed in all red zone districts (excluding Bandipora) of Kashmir Division from today evening till 6 am on 27 July. Agriculture, horticulture and construction activities to continue, the department of Information and Public Relations Govt of Jammu & Kashmir said.

New Academic Session in Goa Likely from September | The Goa education department is planning to start the new academic session from September this year, state education director Santosh Amonkar has said. The annual academic session in Goa begins in the first week of June, but it has been delayed this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19, PTI reported. The state education department was earlier hoping to start the 2020-21 academic year by August 15.

◕ Amid Covid-19, the Sports Authority of India has extended the contract of 32 foreign coaches in 11 disciplines till Sept 30, 2021. The decision was taken to ensure that athletes bound for Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed by a year, can retain continuity in training with the same coaches.

◕ Arunachal Pradesh Reports 68 New Covid-19 Cases| Arunachal Pradesh reported 68 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the virus count in the northeastern state to 858, a senior Health department official said here on Wednesday. Of the 68 new infections, 57 were reported from the Capital complex, while six were from Lower Subansiri, three from Namsai and one each from Papum Pare and Lower Dibang Valley districts, he told PTI.

◕ India reported a spike of 37,724 Covid-19 cases and 648 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total Covid-19 cases have risen to 11,92,915 and there are 4,11,133 active cases in the country. The number of cured/discharged/migrated stands at 7,53,050 while the death toll has climbed to 28,732, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

◕ The coronavirus situation "is in control" in Mumbai with the number of cases being reported daily being less than 1,500, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said. Every day, 6,000 to 7,000 tests are being done and most of the citizens are following the safety protocols, additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI.

◕ Today's Covid-19 Highlights

- World total cases is now over 15 million, 9.1 million have recovered

-India's mortality rate improves from 2.43% to 2.41%

-India's recoveries now more than 7.5 lakh. Recovery rate 63.1%

-Total cases: 11.93 lakh; Active cases: 4.11 lakh; Recovered: 7.53 lakh; Deaths: 28.7k

- Delhi's new cases more than new recoveries for the first time in two weeks (1349 vs 1200)

- Gujarat crosses 50 total cases; Karnataka now over 70k

◕ US Leading World in COVID-19 Testing, India Second: Trump | US President Donald Trump said that the United States is leading the world in terms of COVID-19 testing and India is at the second position. Trump made these remarks while giving an update on his administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis. Replying to a question, Trump said the US is “leading the world" in terms of COVID-19 testing. "We're going to be over 50 million tests," he said, adding that "second country is India with 12 million (tests)...," Trump said.

◕ Scientists have known for many months that the novel coronavirus can become suspended in microdroplets expelled by patients when they talk and breathe, but so far there was no proof that these tiny particles are infectious. However, a new study by scientists at the University of Nebraska that was uploaded to a medical preprint site this week has revealed for the first time that SARS-CoV-2 taken from microdroplets, defined as under five microns, can duplicate in lab conditions, news agency AFP reported.

◕ US Reports More Than 68,000 New Virus Cases in 24 Hours | The United States on Tuesday reported 68,524 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University said in its real-time tally. The country, which is reeling hard under the onslaught of the pandemic, has now registered a total of 3,891,893 infections, the Baltimore-based university said on Wednesday.

◕ Residents of Australia's second-most populous city Melbourne have been directed to wear masks when leaving home from Wednesday. This development comes even as tighter border restrictions were imposed with neighbouring New South Wales state to check the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, cross-border travel between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) will now only be allowed for work, education or medical care, after the border was closed earlier in July for the first time in 100 years, Reuters reported.

Japan's health ministry included dexamethasone as an option for treatment along with Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir.

◕ Over 2 lakh cases of violation of prohibitory orders have been registered in Maharashtra till

date since the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed in March, an official said on Wednesday.

At least 2,01,158 cases of lockdown violations have been registered, in which 31,424 people have been arrested since March 22, the official said.

◕ Tripura's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,346 on Wednesday as the state reported its highest single-day spike of 254 fresh cases, officials said. One more patient succumbed to the infection, taking the death toll due to the coronavirus to eight in the northeastern state, they said.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted late on Tuesday: "Alert! 254 people found COVID-19 positive out of 5,185 samples tested. Unfortunately, 1 COVID-19 positive patient died today."

◕ Former Madhya Pradesh CM & state Congress president Kamal Nath writes to the Election Commission, suggesting that the upcoming Assembly by-elections should be conducted using ballot papers in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

◕ As India's coronavirus cases exceeded one million last week, spikes in infections in reopened factories are putting workers at risk - accusing companies of skimping on health and safety as they rush to get business back on track, a report in Reuters says. Manufacturers are implementing measures such as temperature checks, mandatory wearing of masks, smaller shift groups and social distancing, industrial associations said. State officials have also stepped up contact-tracing programmes around industrial hubs where cases have been reported, setting up special teams to work with factories on compliance and training workers on the new mandatory safeguards.

India is responding with utmost urgency to Covid-19 from start. It's been continually strengthening preparedness&response measures, says Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director, South-East Asia.

Singh adds, "We're aware of varying capacities at sub-national levels. Not unusual in country as big as India &its population size,that measures taken may often not be uniformly sufficient across all areas. Scaling up capacities and response remains constant need in India."