(Contains Press releases concerning Covid-19, issued in last 24 hours, inputs from PIB Field Offices and Fact checks undertaken by PIB)

On a steep rise, India conducts more than 4.23 cr tests, 43% of Total Cases recorded in just 3 States-Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka

Starting from a single test in one lab in Pune in January 20202, the daily testing capacity has been scaled up to more than 10 lakh in August 2020. The cumulative tests have crossed 4.23 cr today. 8,46,278 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours. India has registered 78,512 cases in the last 24 hours (Sunday, 30^th August 2020). Hence the report by certain Media Entities of about 80,000 cases in the last 24 hours is without any basis. Seven States have contributed to 70% of these new cases in the last 24 hours. Of these, Maharashtra has contributed the maximum case load amounting to almost 21%, followed by Andhra Pradesh (13.5%), Karnataka (11.27%) and Tamil Nadu which stands at 8.27%. Uttar Pradesh with 8.27%, West Bengal with 3.85%, and Odisha with 3.84% are the remaining States contributing to the increased caseload. Of the total cumulative number of cases, 43% are recorded in just three states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. While Tamil Nadu has contributed 11.66% of the total cases. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka account for about 50% of the deaths added in the last 24 hours due to COVID-19, with Maharashtra leading with 30.48%.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1649953

Health Ministry to rush Central teams to UP, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to deploy high level Central teams to four States of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. These States are seeing a sudden surge in the number of COVID cases and some of them are also reporting high mortality.  The teams will support the State efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. They shall also guide the States in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up. As an ongoing effort, the Central Government has been deputing Central teams from time to time to visit various States to interact with the authorities and get a first hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them so as to strengthen their ongoing activities and remove bottlenecks, if any.For details:

English rendering of PM’s address in the 15th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat 2.0’ on 30.08.2020

“……….My dear countrymen, the country is on the path of progress on which it has embarked upon and this journey will only be comfortable if each and every citizen is a stakeholder in this process and traveller in this journey. For this to happen, it is imperative that each citizen remains hale & hearty and is part of our collective efforts to overcome Corona. Safeguarding our health by observing, “Do Gaj Ki Doori, Mask Zaroori” following social distancing norms and ensuring to wear masks will help us defeat corona. I urge you to follow these guidelines and I pray for your good health. ”

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Vice President calls for special care and support to the elderly during the pandemic

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for providing special care and support to the elderly in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting the higher degree of risk faced by the older people in health emergencies like this, he also advised the youngsters and other family members to take extra precautions related to COVID-19 if there are elderly members at home. In a facebook post yesterday on the ‘issues pertaining to the elderly population in India’, the Vice President said that seldom, one finds a separate geriatric department in District Hospitals to look after the old age health issues. In view of the frequent health related problems faced by the elderly, he emphasised the need to reorient our health system to address the specific needs of the geriatric population, including insurance coverage. The Vice President also called for providing the elderly an easy and barrier- free access to public places.

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MHA issues new Guidelines, Unlock 4 opens up more activities outside Containment Zones

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued new guidelines on 29^th August, 2020 for opening up of more activities in areas outside the Containment Zones. In Unlock 4, which will come into effect from September 1, 2020, the process of phased re-opening of activities has been extended further. The new guidelines, issued are based on feedback received from States and UTs, and extensive consultations held with related Central Ministries and Departments. According to the new guidelines Metro rail will be allowed to operate with effect from 7^th September 2020 in a graded manner, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs/ Ministry of Railways, in consultation with MHA. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure will be issued by MOHUA. Social/ academic/ sports/ entertainment/ cultural/ religious/ political functions and other congregations will be permitted with a ceiling of 100 persons, with effect from 21st September 2020. However, such limited gatherings can be held with mandatory wearing of face masks, social distancing, provision for thermal scanning and hand wash or sanitizer. Open air theatres will be permitted to open with effect from 21^st September 2020. It has been decided that Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions will continue to remain closed for students and regular class activity up to 30^th September 2020.  State/ UT Governments shall not impose any local lockdown (State/ District/ sub-division/City/ village level), outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the Central Government. There shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements. MHA will monitor the effective implementation of National Directives.

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Union Home Secretary and Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare review measures for containing spread of COVID-19 infection in UTs

Union Home Secretary and Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) jointly reviewed the measures for containing spread of COVID-19 infection in the Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, in a meeting held on 29.08.2020 through Video Conferencing. The senior officers of UTs, briefed the Union Home Secretary about steps taken by them for testing, management of COVID positive cases, isolation of COVID positive cases, availability of health infrastructure/medical personnel, para-medical staff, etc. Both the Secretaries asked senior officers to ensure that the administrative officers, medical professionals, para-medical staff and other people associated with containing spread of COVID-19 infection and management of COVID-19 situation work in close tandem. The Union Territories were advised to ramp up COVID testing facilities; maintain effective surveillance for early identification of COVID positive cases; effective contact tracing; augmenting house to house surveillance by medical/para-medical teams; better monitoring of home isolation cases; clear demarcation and enforcement of containment measures in the Containment Zones; augment health infrastructure. The UTs were also advised to ensure enforcement of precautionary measures like maintaining social distancing, sanitization, wearing of masks, etc

For details:

PM inaugurates College and Administration Buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi through video conferencing

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the College and Administration Buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, UP through video conferencing on Saturday,29^th August,2020.  He interacted with the students of the University.PM congratulated everyone and expressed hope that students after graduating from this university will actively contribute in empowering the country’s agriculture sector. He hoped that new facilities provided due to the new building would encourage and motivate students to work harder. Invoking Rani Lakshmi Bai’s Quote that “I will not give my Jhansi”, the Prime Minister urged the people of Jhansi and Bundelkhand to make Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan a success.  The Prime Minister noted that Agriculture has a major role to contribute in Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.  Talking about the steps taken to minimize the problems faced by the people during the coronavirus pandemic, the Prime Minister said free rations are being provided to crores of poor and rural families in Uttar Pradesh. Around 10 lakh poor women in Bundelkhand have been given free gas cylinders during this period. Under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, over 7 hundred crore rupees have been spent in UP so far, under which employment was provided to lakhs of workers.

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurates Super Speciality Trauma Centre of Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari in Karnataka

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare along with Sh. B.S. Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka digitally dedicated the Super Speciality Trauma Centre (SSTC) in Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari to the nation. The SSTC is built with an investment of Rs 150 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). It has departments of Emergency and Trauma, Neurosurgery and Orthopaedics. This new Block has 8 Operation Theaters including 6 Modular ones, 200 Super Specialty Beds, 72 ICU Beds, 20 Ventilators and the aforementioned state-of-the-art CT Scan and Digital x-ray machine. This facility will have a training capacity of 27 PG students.

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Khadi Masks’ Popularity soars; KVIC Receives Repeat Order for 10.5 lakh Face Masks from Red Cross Society

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has received a repeat order and the biggest order so far for supply of 10.5 lakh high quality face masks to the Indian Red Cross Society. The new purchase order comes less than a month after its previous order for 1.80 lakh face masks out of which KVIC has already supplied 1.60 lakh face masks to the Society.

For details:.

INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Arunachal Pradesh: 157 new COVID-19 positive cases were detected during last twenty four hours in Arunachal Pradesh. 68 patients were discharged after successfully recovering from COVID-19. As of now, there are 1,205 active positive COVID-19 cases in the state and recovery rate is now 69.95%.
• Assam: In Assam, 1,417 patients discharged yesterday. Total discharged patients 83,927, active patients 21,548, Assam Health Minister tweeted.
• Manipur: 152 more persons test COVID-19 positive in Manipur. There were 53 recoveries with 69% recovery rate. There are 1,845 active cases.
• Meghalaya: In Meghalaya, total active cases are 1,284, total BSF and Armed Forces 368 & total others 916; total recovered 1,049.
• Mizoram: Three more COVID-19 cases confirmed in Mizoram yesterday. Total cases 1,011, active cases 422.
• Nagaland: Residents of New Market Colony, Kohima light candles to welcome home recovered patients. 10 out of 11 persons from the colony had returned home after recovery. 48 hrs lockdown imposed in Shamator town in Tuensang district on Aug 30 & 31 following detection of 5 new COVID-19 cases.
• Sikkim: With 25 new cases and 25 recoveries, Sikkim’s active COVID-19 count holds at 404.
• Kerala: State Government has decided to widely conduct antigen tests to determine Covid cases. More Antigen tests will be conducted under panchayats across the state instead of other tests and RTPCR tests to avoid the present delay in getting results. Authorities also feel that a reduction in the price will influence more people to undergo the test as Rs 625 is charged for antigen test and Rs 2750 charged for RTPCR test. Meanwhile, Onam is being celebrated today by abiding Covid-19 protocols. A total of 2,154 new active cases of Covid-19 were detected in the State yesterday. At present, there are 23,658 patients undergoing treatment and 1,99,468 people under quarantine across the State. The death toll has reached 287. 
• Tamil Nadu: After recording over 550 cases for past three days, Puducherry added only 291 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the UT increased to 14,411 and active cases to 4849 and death toll at 228. The 'Madurai Model' of Covid management has earned the praise of TN Chief Secretary K Shanmugam. According to health officials, micromanagement, fortnight analysis and intensive testing and establishment of triage centres have helped in bringing down the Covid cases. Tamil Nadu announces major relaxations, extends current phase of lockdown. E-pass mandatory only for inter-state travel; e-pass is not required for travelling between the districts from now on.
• Karnataka: Unlock 4: Metro to run from September 7, decision on opening pubs and bars to be taken soon.  Metro commuters remain wary as only smart card holders may get to avoid queues. Symptomatic swab samples to be given preference in testing in Bangalore city.  Random testing shows that Bangalore positivity rate has dropped. As the state recorded 8,852 Covid cases on Sunday, those without contact or travel history, crossed the 1-lakh mark and stood at 1,00,941 patients.
• Andhra Pradesh: State reported over 10,000 cases for the fifth straight day, as on Sunday as its tally of 4.24 lakh saw it go past Tamil Nadu to the second spot behind Maharashtra in the overall infection count. State government decided to distribute three masks to each student studying from classes 1 to 10 in government schools free-of-cost as a precautionary measure, after reopening of schools. Plasma therapy yields good results in Nellore as 130 people who recuperated from the infection have donated plasma helping 75 people survive from severe conditions. 
• Telangana:  1873 new cases, 1849 recoveries & 09 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; out of 1873 cases, 360 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,24,963; Active cases: 31,299; Deaths: 827; Discharges: 92,837. Hyderabad Metro Rail is ready to resume services, but awaiting the green signal from the state government. If it gets the nod, metro services in the city may resume from September 7 as per the Centre’s Unlock 4.0 guidelines.
• Maharashtra: A committee comprising Vice Chancellors and education experts in Maharashtra has been tasked to prepare timetable for conducting the final semester / year examinations as directed by the University Grants Commission.   Maharashtra Minister for Higher and Technical Education Uday Samant has said that the state would ensure that the health issues of the students, teaching and non-teaching staff members are not compromised.
• Gujarat: In Gujarat, 1272 new cases of Covid-19 recorded during the last 24 hours. Out of 1272 new cases, the maximum 174 new cases reported from Surat. Ahmedabad city recorded 146 cases, while Vadodara city recorded 93 cases.  Meanwhile, the recovery rate has further improved to 80.67%. More than 22.65 lakh tests have been carried out in the state till date, out of which approximately 70,000 tests were carried out on Sunday.
• Rajasthan: Three MLAs in Rajasthan tested positive for Coronavirus Today. Congress MLA Ramesh Meena and two BJP MLAs Hameer Singh Bhayal and Chandrabhan Singh Aakya have contracted the virus. On Sunday, state Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas had tested positive for the virus.
• Madhya Pradesh: The state Government has decided to provide free transportation to the students who are appearing in the JEE-Main and NEET-2020 examinations. The purpose is to protect students from the problem of coming to the examination centres due to the Corona epidemic.  The concerned district administration will provide this facility to the candidates.
• Chhattisgarh: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has gone into self-isolation after two of his staff members – his OSD and his Personal Security Officer, tested positive for CoVID on Sunday. However, the Chief Minister himself has tested  negative. The state capital Raipur, which is the worst-hit by the pandemic in the state, reported 518 of the fresh cases, which took the case tally to 10,825. The district has witnessed 144 deaths so far.

FACT CHECK

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