National Coronavirus news updates Sep 13, 2020

Chandigarh: The Administrator, UT Chandigarh, directed all three medical institutions to ramp-up testing, enhance beds and take personal care of critical patients. He also appealed to the public representatives to collect information about symptomatic and suspected cases in their areas and inform the health authorities, so that early detection and treatment will be feasible and fatalities could be reduced. The onus also lies on the citizens to join the battle against Covid. They should join hands with the Administration and co-operate.
Punjab: Making an emotional appeal to the people of Punjab, Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu urged the people to come forward and undergo Covid testing as delayed reporting by the patients to the hospitals is the cause of concern in this battle against the pandemic. He said that everyone has to play a significant role in this war by remaining vigilant about the precautions which would help them to protect from Covid-19 pandemic as only awareness is vital for keeping the Covid-19 pandemic at bay.
Maharashtra: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that in view of the WHO’s warning that COVID-19 cases will be on the rise in the coming days, the state government has decided to provide 80 per cent oxygen cylinders to hospitals and 20 per cent to industries. Maharashtra on Thursday recorded its second-highest spike in coronavirus cases at 23,446, which took the case tally to 9,90,795. There are 2.61 lakh active patients, 69,456 of them in Pune district, followed by Thane with 28,460 and Mumbai with 26,629 active patients.
Gujarat: Over 150 doctors in the state have tested positive for Covid-19. While over a hundred doctors in Rajkot were struck by the Coronavirus, more than 50 doctors working in AMC-run hospitals in Ahmedabad have been affected by it. There are a total of 1,800 doctors on Covid duty right now. Doctors are the frontline warriors right now and their role is most critical in helping citizens fight the pandemic situation. Gujarat added 1,332 new Covid cases on Thursday and the number of active case load at present is 16,198.
Rajasthan: The Covid-19 positivity rate in the state has risen from 5% in August to over 6% in September. According to health department figures, out of every 100 tests done, five tested positive in August and it is six in September. In August, the average number of tests done daily was 25,407. It is 25,336 in September. The state reported 740 new Covid cases during the last 24 hours taking the total tally to 98,116. Out of this, 16,427 are active cases.
Madhya Pradesh: Staring at a shortage of oxygen supply as the Covid-19 graph climbs higher, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced setting up a new plant for manufacturing oxygen at Hoshangabad and other short-term measures to increase its import and in-house industrial production. The move comes days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray directed all oxygen production units to curtail export of oxygen and store about 80 per cent of its production for the state’s requirements. The active case load of Covid 19 patients in the state is 18,433.
Kerala: An all-party meeting, convened by CM PinarayiVijayan has decided to ask the Election Commission to defer the by-elections to two assembly seats. The leaders pointed out that there will be just three months for the elected legislators to work effectively as the present Assembly’s term ends in May 2021. They also cited the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic spread in the state as well as the financial burden. The all-party meet also decided to request the state election commission to postpone the local has-self-government polls in November, in the wake of rising Covid cases. Industries Minister E P Jayarajan has tested positive for Covid-19. Kochi based PNB Vesper Life science has received approval from the DCGI for second stage of drug trials of Covid vaccine. 3349 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the state yesterday. At present, 26,229 patients are undergoing and a total of 2.04 lakh people under quarantine across the state. The death toll is 396.
Tamil Nadu: In Puducherry, 504 more people tested positive for Covid-19 and 12 died in the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Friday. There are 4878 active cases in the UT now with the total Covid count reaching 19026 and deaths touching 365. TN Health Minister C.Vijayabaskar said the test positivity rate in the State is less than 10 per cent, except in Krishnagiri and Cuddalore districts where the positivity rate is 11.7 percent. He added that in districts where cases are high, the govt is conducting fever camps, and doing aggressive testing and also tracing for Influenza-Like-Illness cases. As the State plans to partially reopen schools, Tamil Nadu schools are considering classes on rotation basis to ensure social distance.
Karnataka: Six months after State reported first Covid case, the number of active cases crossed one lakh yesterday and touched 1,01,537. HC stays Karnataka govt’s order to defer payment of Variable Dearness Allowance under the Minimum Wages Act by employers to employees from April 01, 2020 to March 31, 2021. To address the issue of Covid test samples piling up in some districts and reports of government hospitals running out of oxygen supply, CM BS Yediyurappa has called for an inter-district coordination effort. Karnataka’s health experts have stated that they will continue with plasma therapy as it has been found effective in the state despite the ICMR study suggesting to the contrary.
Andhra Pradesh: Close to 20 percent of the 5.34 crore population in Andhra Pradesh has acquired immunity to Covid-19, a Sero prevalence study has revealed. The survey findings reveal that 22.5 percent population in urban areas and 18.2 per cent in rural acquired immunity for Covid-19. Interestingly, the survey revealed that 90 to 100 per cent of the positives were asymptomatic. Chittoor district authorities appointed an expert committee to probe into the causes of increasing Covid-19 deaths and to conduct an audit into pandemic death toll in the district. While almost 510 deaths occurred in the district so far, Tirupati accounts for 174 which is a cause of concern. District Collector directed the officials not to allow those above 50 years of age for home isolation.
Telangana:2426 new cases, 2324 recoveries & 13 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; out of 2426 cases, 338 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,52,602; Active cases: 32,195; Deaths: 940; Discharges: 1,19,467. International air travel between Hyderabad and Dubai resumes; this gives a big boost to the air travel, which is now showing signs of recovery amidst Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. Telangana High Court asks State government if it can hold PG exams online.
Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh has recorded 127 new positive cases of Covid-19. 99 people recovered from Covid-19 yesterday. Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court directed the Itanagar Capital Region district administration to take steps for providing psychosocial support to the inmates at Covid Care Centre in Lekhi.
Assam: In Assam during the last 24 hours 2197 COVID-19 patients discharged. Total 105701 COVID-19 patients discharged after recovery till date. The total active cases reached 29687 in the state.
Manipur: In Manipur 108 more persons test COVID-19 positive. There were 245 recoveries with 77 percent recovery rate. There are 1633 active cases in the state. 4 patients have expired during the last 24 hours. Government has started eSanjeevaniOPD app downloadable from Google Play store for online consultations on Covid19 related medical needs.
Meghalaya: In Meghalaya the total COVID-19 active cases reached to 1434. Out of them 272 are from BSF and Armed Forces. 1842 COVID-19 patients have been recovered so far.
Mizoram: Mizoram government announces partial lockdown in Aizawl municipal area till 17th September 2020.20 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Mizoram yesterday. Total COVID-19 cases reached to 1353 in the state. Out of them 603 are active cases.
Nagaland: In the state of Nagaland more areas sealed in Kohima following detection of new COVID 19 positive cases. Houses at Zeinoubadze colony, P Khel, Lower Naga Bazar, Officers Hill & Jail Colony are sealed.