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

India’s Case Fatality Rate (CFR) further improves and drops to 2.25%; Total Recoveries continue on an upward trend, cross 9.5 lakh today; More than 35,000 Recoveries registered yesterday

India’s Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is progressively falling and currently, it is 2.25%. India continues its march as a country with one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. The CFR has reduced from around 3.33% in mid-June to 2.25% today. For the fifth day in a row, India has seen more than 30,000 recoveries per day.

The Recovery Rate has seen a sharp increase from around 53% in mid-June to more than 64% as on today. With 35,176 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries stand at 9,52,743. With improving daily recovery number, the gap between the recovered cases & the active cases is also persistently increasing. Presently, it is 4,55,755. This means the actual active case load is presently 4,96,988 and all are under medical supervision.

For details:

India tests more than 5 lakh per day for the 2^nd day in a row; More than 1.73 crore samples tested as on today

Pursuant to “Test, Track, Treat” strategy, India has created and maintained a new high of testing more than 5 lakh COVID-19 in a single day over two consecutive days. On 26th July, India tested a total of 5,15,000 samples and on 27th July, a total of 5,28,000 samples were tested. The graded and evolving response resulted in a testing strategy that steadily widened the testing network in the country, and the cumulative testing as on date has crossed 1.73 crore. The Tests Per Million has further improved to 12,562. The testing lab network in the country is continuously strengthened with 1310 labs in the country; 905 labs in the government sector and 405 private labs.

For details:

PM launches High Throughput COVID testing facilities at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched three high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities via video conferencing yesterday. These facilities are located at the National Institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research, at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida. Prime Minister said that these hi-tech state-of-the-art testing facilities will boost the testing capacity by almost 10,000 daily tests. More number of tests will assist early detection and treatment, thereby helping fight the spread of the virus. He added that these labs will not be limited to testing for COVID, but in future, will also be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Dengue and several other diseases.

For details:

English rendering of PM's address at the launch of High Throughput COVID-19 testing facilities at 3 ICMR Labs

For details:

Dr. Harsh Vardhan participates in 2nd Empathy e-Conclave on “World Hepatitis Day” for creating awareness among parliamentarians

On the occasion of “World Hepatitis Day”, 2nd Empathy e-Conclave was organised today with Sh. Om Birla, Speaker of Lok Sabha as the Chief Guest and Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law and Justice along with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare as the guests of honour. Inaugurating the Conclave, Sh. Om Birla said that we are committed to the WHO goals of elimination of Hepatitis C and of reducing the burden of Hepatitis B by 2030. Welcoming everyone to the Conclave, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “The theme of this year’s conclave is “Keep your Liver Safe in COVID times”, which is very apt and important especially in these testing times”. He said under the guidance of Hon. Prime Minister, the pre-emptive and proactive measures taken have helped us control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that while the mortality due to COVID-19 is approximately 2 to 3 % and most cases are largely asymptomatic, it is important to create awareness about the higher risk of both morbidity and mortality faced by people with co-morbidities like diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, chronic liver diseases.

For details:

On mission mode, Railways pulls Freight traffic ahead of last year's level inspite of COVID 19 related challenges

Indian Railways achieved a significant milestone of pulling freight traffic ahead of last year's level inspite of COVID 19 related challenges. On 27 July 2020 the freight loading was 3.13 MT which is higher than last year for the same date. Railways has completed nearly 200 infrastructure works in this period. The average speed of Freight Trains on 27 July 2020 was 46.16 kmph which is more than double as compared to last year for the same date (22.52 kmph). In the month of July the average speed of freight trains is 45.03 kmph which is around double as compared to last year for the same month (23.22 kmph). On 27 July 2020 the total freight loading was 3.13 million tonnes which is higher than last year for the same date. On 27 July 2020 total 1039 no. of rakes loaded with freight in Indian Railways which includes 76 rakes of foodgrain, 67 rakes of fertilizer, 49 rakes of steel, 113 rakes of cement, 113 rakes of iron ore and 363 rakes of coal.

For details:

Bangalore based startup brings out mobile app for detection & risk assessment of COVID 19 infected individuals

Novel methods to supplement the early detection of disease and risk assessment of infected population to prioritise the conventional testing queue through mass screening is a crucial challenge the COVID 19 pandemic has thrown up. The Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH), an initiative by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has selected Bangalore based startup Acculi Labs to develop a COVID risk assessment profile called Lyfas COVID score, a clinical-grade, non-invasive, digital functional biomarker smartphone tool for screening, early detection, root cause analysis, acute event risk assessment, prognosis, and home monitoring of chronic diseases which they have repurposed to Lyfas COVID score.

For details:

Government employees retiring during COVID pandemic will be receiving “provisional" pension till their regular Pension Payment Order is issued: Dr. Jitendra Singh

Government employees retiring during COVID pandemic will be receiving “provisional" pension till their regular Pension Payment Order (PPO) is issued and other official formalities completed. As per the Office Memorandum issued by Department of Pensions, the payment of “Provisional Pension” will initially continue for a period of six months from the date of retirement and the period of “Provisional Pension” may be further extended up to one year in exceptional cases. These instructions shall also be applicable in cases where a government servant retires otherwise than on superannuation i.e. voluntary retirement, retirement under FR 56, etc. Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said that this decision has been taken considering that because of the constraints of pandemic and lockdown, a government servant may find difficulty in submitting his Pension Forms to the Head of Office or may not be able to forward the Claim Form in hard copy along with Service Book to the concerned Pay & Accounts Office in time, particularly when both the offices are located in different cities.

For details:

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan launches BIS Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’ and Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Training Portals of e-BIS
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan yesterday launched the Bureau of Indian Standard’s Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’ and three portals – the Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Training Portals of e-BIS for consumers. This app is operational in Hindi and English language and can be downloaded free from Google play store. Consumers can check the authenticity of the ISI-marked and hallmarked products and lodge complaints using this app. The Minister also informed that BIS is developing a portal on Consumer Engagement, which will facilitate the online registration of Consumer Groups, submission of proposals and approval thereof, and complaint management. Shri Paswan also reiterated upon the need for helping MSMEs and touched upon the relaxations given to the MSMEs to cope with COVID-19. He said that not only the Minimum Marking Fee was reduced by 40%, but they were given the option to deposit the fee in two instalments. During the present Covid-19 Pandemic, BIS also developed COVID standards for Cover-all and Ventilators and issued norms for grant of licence for N95 Masks, surgical masks, and eye protectors. This has resulted in increase in the production of ISI-marked PPE items

For details:

Single window system to be set up soon for industrial clearances and approvals

The Government is soon going to set up a single window system for clearances and approvals of industry in the country. Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal yesterday said that this would be a genuine single window and all the concerned State Governments and Central Ministries are being taken on board for the system. The Minister also said that the Government is working on creating a land bank, for which six States have already given their consent. He said that the potential investors would then be able to locate and identify the land banks from their distant offices and finalise the location of industries, without frequently visiting the offices of land owning agencies. Shri Piyush Goyal said that the Government rightly focused on life and implemented one of the strictest lockdown in the world. This proved important in the long run, in better managing the corona pandemic. Now the country is focusing on lives along with the livelihoods and we are into the unlock phase. The economic activity has already reached the respectable level as can be seen in the several indicators. He said India was able to create health infrastructure during the lockdown, as could be seen in self-sufficiency in the indigenous production of large number of PPEs and Ventilators, and such a large number of Covid tests being undertaken on daily basis.

For details: 

INPUTS FROM FIELD OFFICES

• Punjab: Continuing the campaign being carried out to combat COVID-19 under Mission Fateh, the Punjab Government has decided to provide plasma to Private Hospitals from government’s Plasma Bank at reasonable cost.
• Haryana: Haryana Health Minister, Mr. Anil Vij has urged the people who have recovered from the COVID-19 infection to come forward to donate their plasma so that those who are undergoing treatment for this infection can also recover from it quickly.
• Maharashtra: After adding a record number of cases and deaths last week, the state and the city recorded a dip in Covid-19 cases and deaths on Monday. Also, in a rare occurrence, daily discharges on Monday were more than the new cases.  The state added 7,924 new cases on Monday, the lowest in 13 days, out of which 1,033 cases were reported from Mumbai.  8,706 patients were discharged, including 1,706 from Mumbai. The total number of active cases in the state is now 1.47 lakhs out of total 3.83 lakh reported cases. Covid 19 testing got a fillip with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurating a high through-put testing facility at the ICMR’s National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health in Mumbai through virtual mode.
• Gujarat:  Gujarat reported 1,052 Covid cases and 22 deaths, raising the fatality numbers to 2,348 and the reported cases to 56,874.  The state tested a record number of 25,474 sampled during the day, while the cumulative samples tested so far have exceeded 6.67 lakhs.  Meanwhile, the share of 8 big cities in the number of Covid cases has declined to 51% from 80% approximately a month ago.
• Rajasthan:  For the first time, active cases in Rajasthan breached 10,000 mark as for the third consecutive day, state set a record of biggest single-day spike. The state reported 1,134 new cases taking the state overall tally to 37,564 and number of active cases to 10,097.  The state government has announced a 7 day lockdown in Bundi district in view spike in Covid cases.
• Madhya Pradesh: With 789 new people testing positive for Covid-19 in Madhya  Pradesh on Monday, the tally of positive patients crossed the 28,000 mark to touch 28,589.  The number of active cases in the state is 7,978 even as 659 recoveries were reported on Monday.
• Chhattisgarh: 362 new positive cases have been reported on Monday in Chhattisgarh. Now the state tally of COVID-19 stands at 7,980 and  the total number of active cases is 2,763.
• Kerala:  The increase in virus transmission in the coastal areas of the capital district continues unabated with limited community clusters likely to be turned into big community clusters.  A final decision regarding the continuation of lockdown in Thiruvananthapuram will be known by this evening. High alert has been sounded in Kottayam with 46 people getting confirmed of the virus in the antigen test conducted at the vegetable market in Ettumanoor. Meanwhile, three Covid deaths were reported in the state today. The fatalities occurred in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Kasaragod. The official death toll is 63. State’s daily count was more than 6,000 cases for the fifth day, yesterday with 745 recoveries against 702 new cases. Currently, 9,609 patients are being treated and 1.55 lakh people are under observation in various districts.
• Tamil Nadu: Former Puducherry MLA and NR Congress leader V Bhalan dies of Covid-19. Puducherry CM, Speaker, ministers, MLAs test negative, six others found positive; tests were done after N R Congress legislator N S Jayabal tested positive for the virus.  TN CM launched the distribution of face masks free of cost to 6.74 crore members of 2.08 crore family cardholders through the public distribution system. Madurai's Covid cases tally crosses 10,000; it is the fourth district in the State, after Chennai, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur, to report more than 10,000 positive cases of Covid. 6993 new cases & 77 deaths reported yesterday in TN. Total cases: 2,20,716; Active cases: 54,896; Deaths: 3571; Active cases in Chennai: 13,064.
• Karnataka: Karnataka HC asks state government to reconsider decision to hold CET on July 30-31 considering the Covid situation. With 61,819 active cases and counting, Karnataka now only second to Maharashtra in terms of Covid active cases. 5324 new cases, 1847 discharges & 75 deaths in the reported yesterday; 1470 cases in  Bangalore city. Total cases: 1,01,465; Active cases: 61,819;  Deaths: 1953; Discharges: 37,685.
• Andhra Pradesh: State identified 128 district hospitals with 32 thousand beds available in them. CM instructs officials to ensure that the entire admission process of Covid-19 patients should be completed in not more than 30 minutes. The CM also insisted on display of information of availability of beds across various district hospitals and 10 state-level Covid hospitals. He said the state tops in daily corona tests being done, with 90 per cent in Covid hotspot clusters. TDP demands the government to release white paper on central funding for the containment of coronavirus in the state. 6051 new cases, 3234 discharges and 49 deaths reported yesterday. Total cases: 1,02,349 ; Active cases: 51,701; Deaths: 1090.
• Telangana: Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar appears before Telangana HC. He informed the HC about a new app -- home isolation & telemedicine (HITAM) -- through which doctors will prescribe medicines for Covid positive persons, patients can call ambulance & if critical, be shifted to a hospital. State government notifies data on private beds availability for Covid-19 treatment; around 1465 beds are available in private and 6204 beds in government facilities. 1610 new cases, 803 recoveries & 09 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in the State; out of 1610 cases, 531 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases 57,142; Active cases: 13,753; Deaths 480.
• Arunachal Pradesh: 3126 antigen tests have been conducted in the Itanagar capital region in Arunachal Pradesh in the last two days and 52 positive cases have been detected.
• Assam: Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that under Assam Targeted Surveillance Programme, total 8 lacs test of COVID19 have been done in all over the State until today.
• Manipur: A new 300 bedded COVID Care Centre at Manipur Trade and Expo Center Lamboikhongnangkhong will be ready within 3 days.
• Mizoram: Total COVID19 active cases in Mizoram stands at 186. Total cases 384 and recovered 198.
• Nagaland:  75 new cases of COVID19 n Nagaland. 51 in Kohima, 10 in Phek, 7 in Wokha, 3 each in Mon & Dimapur & 1 in Tuensang district. Total positive cases stands at 1459 with 885 active cases and 569 recoveries.

****

YB