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PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19

Highest single day recovery for the third consecutive day - 34,602 COVID patients discharged in last 24 hours; Cumulative COVID Recoveries cross 8 Lakh; Case Fatality Rate is 2.38% and progressively falling
The trend of highest ever single day recoveries of COVID-19 patients continues unabated. For the third day in a row, the last 24 hours have recorded another high with 34,602 patients recovering. This has significantly bolstered the total number of recovered patients to cross 8 lakh and currently stands at 8,17,208. This has strongly boosted the recovery rate to reach a new high of 63.45% among COVID-19 patients.As a result of these constantly growing number of recoveries, the recovered patients outnumber the active cases  by 3,77,073. This difference is showing a progressively growing upward trend.the recoveries are improving and case fatality is continuously falling, which currently stands at 2.38%.
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Accelerated increase in lab infrastructure continues to drive the ‘Test Track and Treat’ strategy; More than 1.5 Cr COVID-19 samples tested so far
More than 1.5 crore COVID samples  have been tested, till now. In the last 24 hours 3,52,801 samples have been tested for COVID-19 identification.This translates to 11179.83 tests per million  for India, which has seen a steady increase since the adoption of this strategy.
The number of labs in the public and private sectors are seeing a progressive enhancement. There are 897 labs in the government sector and 393 private labs.
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Dr. Harsh Vardhan speaks on India’s novel COVID containment strategy at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization  Health Minister's Meet
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare digitally participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization  Health Minister's Digital Meet today. Explaining the steps taken by the government, he said a series of actions were initiated in a graded way that included issuing of travel advisories, point-of-entry surveillance, community-based surveillance, enhancement of laboratory and hospital surge capacities, wide dissemination of technical guidelines on managing different aspects of disease outbreak and communicating risk to the public.The Union Health Minister spoke on the increase in testing capacity and health infrastructure during the lockdown and after.Dr Harsh Vardhan emphasized how the Indian traditional system of medicine has also contributed substantially in boosting the immunity of general population during COVID-19.He proposed the setting up of a new Sub Group on Traditional Medicine under the existing institutional meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Health Ministers.
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Shri PiyushGoyal calls for removing multiple hurdles in access to medicines at affordable prices
Commerce and Industry Minister Shri PiyushGoyal has called for all nations to enhance transparency in their trade and build trust to prevent losing their role as a preeminent trade partner. Addressing the 10th BRICS Trade Ministers virtual Meeting yesterday, he said that for trade to play its part in the recovery process, all the partners must be trustworthy and transparent. The Minister said that the ongoing crisis has exposed the world to vulnerabilities, forcing us to explore ways to support each other. He said that Trade can be an engine of reviving growth in such a scenario and this is premised on strengthening of the WTO based on its principles of openness, fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and non-discrimination. The Minister called for removing multiple hurdles in access to medicines at affordable prices created by the lopsided WTO rules for protecting intellectual property. He said that IPRs should not block access to critical medicines and other devices required for the treatment of the disease. Shri Goyal said that the pandemic has quite paradoxically provided us with a window of opportunity - to strengthen ourselves by building capacities, expanding manufacturing as well as plugging into the global value chains.
Restrictions on Public Procurement from certain countries
The Government has amended the General Financial Rules 2017 to enable imposition of restrictions on bidders from countries which share a land border with India on grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto including national security. Department of Expenditure has issued a detailed Order on public procurement. As per the Order, any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services  or works  only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority. The Competent Authority for registration will be the Registration Committee constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Political and security clearance from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs respectively will be mandatory. The Order takes into its ambit public sector banks and financial institutions, Autonomous Bodies, Central Public Sector Enterprises and Public Private Partnership projects receiving financial support from the Government or its undertakings. Relaxation has been provided in certain limited cases, including for procurement of medical supplies for containment of COVID-19 global pandemic till 31st December 2020.
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Commonwealth Secretary General hails Fit India Movement; Shri KirenRijiju says fitness awareness has helped Indians build immunity during pandemic
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri.KirenRijiju virtually attended the Ministerial Forum of Commonwealth countries to share India’s road on resumption of sporting events, post-Covid 19, and also to contribute to the creation of a collaborative sports policy in the post pandemic era. Speaking at the global forum Shri Rijiju said that as members of Commonwealth nations we need to stand in solidarity on all issues, especially at a time like this. Pointing to the importance of citizens staying fit during the pandemic, the Sports Minister said that a very important program, the Fit India Movement, was launched by our Prime Minister last year, and it has been very useful in fighting the pandemic since building fitness and immunity is crucial during these Covid times. Shri Rijiju saidthat India has successfully created awareness about the importance of staying fit through a series of dedicated online programs for citizens on fitness and well-being, all through the pandemic. Experts have shared their advice on health, nutrition, exercises that citizens of all age groups have used successfully.
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HRD Minister holds a brainstorming session regarding “Stay in India and Study in India”
Union Minister for HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ held a brainstorming session regarding “Stay in India and Study in India” with senior officials and Heads of Autonomous/Technical Organisations concerned of MHRD in New Delhi today. Shri Pokhriyal said that because of COVID-19 situation many students who wanted to pursue studies abroad have decided to stay back in India and pursue their studies within India. He said that there are also rising number of Indian students returning to India with concern about completion of their studies. He emphasized that Ministry of HRD should make all efforts to look into the needs of both these categories of students.Chairman UGC to head the committee for preparing guidelines and measures to ensure more and more students stay in India and study in India.
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Department of Biotechnology provides seed funding for GennovaBiopharmaceuticals’s novel mRNA based COVID 19 Vaccine candidate-HGCO19
DBT-BIRAC has facilitated the establishment of ‘first-of-its-kind’ mRNA-based vaccine manufacturing platform in India. DBT has provided seed funding for the development of Gennova’s novel self-amplifying mRNA-based vaccine candidate for COVID19.In collaboration with HDT Biotech Corporation, Seattle, USA, Gennova has developed an mRNA vaccine candidate , with demonstrated safety, immunogenicity, neutralization antibody activity in the rodent and non-human primate models.
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Cost Effective Process Technology of Favipiravir Developed by CSIR Used by M/s Cipla Ltd., for Scale up & the Repurposed Drug Expected to be Launched Soon
An off patent anti-viral drug Favipiravir, originally discovered by Fuji, Japan has shown promise in clinical trials for treatment of Covid-19 patients, especially the mild and the moderate patients.CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology  has developed a cost effective process using locally available chemicalsto synthesize this Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient  and transferred the technology to leading pharmaceutical industry M/s Cipla Limited.Cipla has scaled up the process in their manufacturing facility and approachedDCGI for permission to launch the product in India. Given that DCGI has given restricted emergency use for Favipiravir in the country, Cipla is now all set to launch the product to help patients suffering from Covid-19.
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Raksha Mantri and Israeli Defence Minister telephonically discuss further strengthening defence ties
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with Defence Minister of Israel Lt Gen Benjamin Gantz today. Both the Ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of strategic cooperation between the two countries and discussed possibilities of further strengthening the defence engagements.They also expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration in research and development in fighting pandemic COVID-19 which will not only benefit the two countries but also aid the larger humanitarian cause.
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President flags off Red Cross relief supply for flood affected people in Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
The President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind, flagged off nine trucks of Red Cross relief supplies from RashtrapatiBhavan today in the presence of Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The President of India is the President of Indian Red Cross Society . The relief material included items such as tarpaulins, tents, saris, dhotis, cotton blankets, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, bed sheets, buckets and two water purification units. In addition, COVID-19 protection items such as surgical masks, PPE kits, gloves and face shields are also part of the relief material flagged off by President Kovind. These items are meant to safeguard and protect health workers associated with IRCS medical services in these states as well as the volunteers of IRCS who are at the forefront of flood relief and rehabilitation efforts.
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INPUTS FROM FIELD OFFICES
- Chandigarh: The Administrator, UT Chandigarh, appealed to Press to create awareness among the people about safety precautions to be taken by them to prevent covid infection. He mentioned that only messages through government advertisements will not suffice. The media must play a positive and pro-active role to create awareness among people for mask wearing and social distancing in tri-city.
- Punjab: COVID-19 patients violating home isolation instructions in Punjab will have to shell out Rs 5000 as fine, as per the new guidelines announced by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Currently there are 951 patients in home isolation across the state. The Chief Minister also announced imposition of Rs 5000 as fine for owners of restaurants and commercial eating places violating social distancing norms, as a deterrent against defiance of the restrictions put in place to heck the spread of the pandemic in the state.
- Haryana: In view of the adverse conditions arising due to COVID-19 Pandemic, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board has initiated a drive to create awareness about the safe disposal of face masks, face covers, and gloves as they are part of new normal life, and the public should know how to dispose of them safely.
- Kerala: Three more Covid fatalities have been reported in the state today, pushing the death toll to 53. Meanwhile, health authorities have evaluated that Chekkiadpanchayat in Kozhikode is on the verge of Covid community spread; 23 people who attended a doctor’s wedding, including the groom have been tested positive. Two PG doctors at Kottayam Medical College have contracted the disease through contact leaving several people to go under observation. The CPI has stated ahead of today’s all party meeting that it is against another total lockdown to contain the pandemic, but is for more stringent curbs at local level if required. Kerala confirmed the highest single-day spike of 1078 corona cases yesterday of which 798 cases were through contact, along with 65 cases with unknown source. Currently, 9,458 patients are undergoing treatment and 1,58,117 people under observation across the state.
- Tamil Nadu: 84 Raj Bhavan staff in Tamil Nadu including security personnel and fire service staff have tested positive for Corona infection on Thursday. Patanjali moves Madras HC to vacate injunction on ‘Coronil’; a Chennai-based industrial equipment cleaning firm has filed a civil suit for alleged trademark infringement. With cases of Covid-19 increasing in the southern districts, government doctors who were sent on deputation to Chennai are being asked return to their parent districts after cancellation of deputation. TN’s Covid tally has gone up to 1,92,964 with 6472 new cases reported yesterday; 88 deaths take the toll to 3,232; Chennai breaches 90,000-mark.
- Karnataka: SwasthVayu, the first Indian-made non-invasive ventilator, will begin clinical trials at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru. State will soon provide financial aid to the people from the SC & ST – who have lost jobs or are facing financial crunch due to lockdown- to take up self-employment. Karnataka HC asked the state government to issue direction to all hospitals to supply data on beds available regularly so that it can be updated on the online portal for status on Covid beds. 5030 new cases & 97 deaths reported yesterday; 2207 cases in Bangalore city. Total positive cases: 80,863; Active cases: 49,931; Deaths: 1616.
- Andhra Pradesh: Krishna district collector denies news of lockdown from July 26 in the wake of increasing corona cases and deaths. He said the news circulating on social media was baseless. Meanwhile, lockdown has been imposed in Nellore from today and commercial establishments will be open till 1 o’clock. With the number of positive cases rising day by day in Tirupati, people queue up for Covid testing at Ruia hospital. 7998 new cases and 61 deaths reported yesterday. Total Covid cases reported: 72,711; Active cases: 34,272; Deaths: 884.
- Telangana: Private hospitals, labs in Hyderabad warned-Health officials said they would not hesitate to seize erring private healthcare facilities and laboratories in Hyderabad that are involved in providing Covid-19 facilities to patients. 1567 new cases, 1661 recoveries & 09 deaths reported yesterday; out of 1567 cases, 662 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 50,826; Active cases: 11,052; Deaths: 447; Discharges: 39,327.
- Maharashtra: Mumbai is adopting innovative ideas to contain the pandemic, like Contactless ticket checking system introduced by the Central Railways. The Mumbai Division has launched an App called CheckIn Master for the ticket checking staff at ChhatrapatiShivajiMaharaj Terminus in Mumbai. The App has OCR and QR code scanning features to check Passenger Reserve System and Unreserved Ticketing System tickets from a safe distance. In the next phase which will be implemented soon, flap-based gates are being planned to be installed at entry/exit with automatic QR-code based ticket checking. Mumbai has 22,800 active cases out of total 1.05 lakh reported cases till date. The number of active cases in Maharashtra is 1.40 lakhs.
- Gujarat: In Gujarat, the total number of Covid 19 cases crossed 52,000 mark after a total of 1,078 cases were reported on Thursday. The state tally of coronavirus infections now stand at 52,477. This is the highest single-day spike reported in the state so far. However, with 12,348 active cases, Gujarat is in the eighth spot in terms of active cases in the country. The state also reported 28 deaths on Thursday, taking the death toll to the pandemic to 2,257.
- Rajasthan: 375 new positive cases and 4 deaths have been reported this morning taking the state tally of COVID-19 to 33,595 death toll is 598. Today Alwar district reported a record high of 224 cases in a single day from the state.
- Madhya Pradesh: In Madhya Pradesh, the festivals of Rakshabandhan and Eid-ul-Juha will not be celebrated in public this year due to the increasing transition of Corona. This apart, 10 days complete lockdown will be imposed from 8.00 p.m. today which will be enforced in Bhopal Municipal limit only. The supply of most essential commodities like medicines, vegetables, fruits, milk etc. will be ensured. Madhya Pradesh reported 632 new Covid 19 cases during the last 24 hours, taking the state tally to 25,474. However, the number of active cases are 7,355.
- Chhattisgarh: A record high 371 new positive cases have been reported on Thursday in Chhattisgarh. Now the state tally of COVID-19 stands at 6,370. Raipur alone reported 205 new positive cases, followed by 34 cases from Kabirdham and then 23 cases from Rajnandgaon.
- Arunachal Pradesh
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- In Arunachal Pradesh, rapid response teams conducting antigen test across capital region Itanagar. Twenty teams organised test camps and conducted 2672 test. Out of these 30 people detected positive and being treated as per protocol. With 42 recoveries, the total active cases in Arunachal Pradesh stands at 654.
- Manipur: Manipur Information Commission has notified that all 'Appeal' and 'Complaint' proceedings of the Commission is adjourned until lockdown is lifted, in view of prevailing COVID-19 situation and State-wide lockdown imposed by State Government.Churachandpur in Manipur mounts a massive contact tracing exercise to avert chances of Covid-19 spread at community level after a private laboratory staff tests positive.
- Mizoram: Chief Minister of Mizoram Shri Zoramthanga sanctioned over Rs. 3.85 crore rupees for quarantine facilities in 8 districts.
- Nagaland: In Nagaland, 63 positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. 41 in Dimapur, 21 in Kohima& 1 in Peren. Total Covid-19 positive cases in Nagaland stands at 1237 with 707 active cases and 530 recoveries.
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