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

Highest ever single day recoveries of 66,550 in last 24 hours, India scales another peak: Total recoveries cross 24 lakh, More than 100% increase in Recovered Cases in last 25 days

India has registered the highest recoveries in a single day. 66,550 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged in the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries has crossed 24 lakh (24,04,585).With this, India's Recovery Rate amongst the COVID-19 patients has reached 76% (75.92%). The number of recovered patients has outpaced the active cases (7,04,348) by more than 17 lakh. The recovered patients are 3.41 times the active cases, as on date.There has been more than 100% hike in the recoveries in the last 25 days. The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country viz. the active cases, has reduced and currently comprises only 22.24% of the total positive cases.The steadily falling Case Fatality Rates stands at 1.84% today.

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Following “TEST, TRACK, TREAT” strategy, India tests nearly 3.7 crore; Rising Tests Per Million (TPM) touch 26,685

Keeping the focus on “Test, Track and Treat” strategy, India has tested nearly 3.7 crore cumulative COVID-19 samples so far. With India’s strong resolve to rapidly increase the number of daily tests, the cumulative testing as on date has reached 3,68,27,520.With 9,25,383 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, the Tests Per Million have seen a sharp rise to 26,685.Starting from a single lab at Pune, India’s testing lab network has seen a substantial widening with total of 1524 labs today. The 986 labs in the government sector and 538 private labs

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Inauguration of DRDO’s 500 Bed COVID Hospital in Patna

A 500 bed Covid Hospital with 125 ICU beds, set up by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Patna was inaugurated yesterday by Shri NityanandRai, Minister of State for Home Affairs. The hospital located in the newly constructed ESIC Hospital at Bihta, has been built on the lines of the 1000 Bed SardarVallabhbhai Patel Hospital at Delhi Cantt by DRDO. Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Trust has allocated funds for the hospital. Another such hospital will be set up in Muzaffarpur. The infrastructure facilities for the hospital include the already existing seven storied ESIC hospital with Power, air conditioning, Water supply, Fire Fighting and Diesel Generator Backup, Oxygen piping to each bed, Lifts and Morgue. Doctors, nurses, and other supporting medical staff etc for the hospital have been provided by the Directorate General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).

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Ministry of Shipping has facilitated more than 1 lakh crew change in Indian ports and charted flights

Ministry of Shipping has facilitated more than 1,00,000 crew change on Indian ports and through charter flights. It is the highest number of crew changes in the world. Crew change consists of replacing one of the ship’s crew members with another one and involves sign-on the ships and sign-off the ships procedures. Maritime sector is among the worst hit sectors due to Corona pandemic. Despite that, all the Indian Ports were operational and providing essential services throughout the pandemic and main pillar for the smooth supply chain for India and world were the seafarers. Seafarers had to suffer due to closing of Sign on & Sign-off and lockdowns and movement restrictions imposed by the various countries worldwide.

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Structural Reforms are a Key Priority of the Government: Finance Minister

Addressing the captains of the Indian Industry, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. NirmalaSitharamanhas stressed that structural reforms are a key priority of the government, as has been reflected in the slew of measures & policies announced since outbreak of COVID-19. Every policy which was introduced had a structural component. Consequently, thereforms are having significant impact on the recovery process which we are currently witnessing.Regarding the privateinvestment cycle which got a fillip from the corporate tax cut in September 2019, investments however couldn’t take off due to outbreak of COVID-19.SmtSitharaman was of the view that in a post-COVID world, these should fructify.“With post-COVID reset happening, emphasis has to be on adoption of data-driven manufacturing models through ploughing greater investments in these models”, she added.

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To meet the increasing demand due to COVID -19, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceutical Ltd creates a record of producing 51,960 pheneol bottles on a single day

Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceutical Ltd (BCPL), a public sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has scaled up its production activities to cater to the demand increasing many fold since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. It has created an all-time record by producing 51,960 pheneol bottles on a single day. This achievement goes to the BCPL Panihati, North 24-Parganas Unit situated in West Bengal. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri D.V SadanandaGowda has congratulated the management and employees of the company for brilliant work in recording all-time high production.

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Union Tourism Minister visits Hotel Ashok to review preparedness on the first day of its opening since lockdown

Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Shri Prahalad Singh Patel visited Hotel Ashok , run by ITDC , under Ministry of Tourism to take stock of preparedness of ITDC Hotels subsequent to the order issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority, permitting hotels to operate in Delhi on 24th August. India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) announced the re-opening of its hotels in the state capital from 24th of August 2020. While talking about re-opening of hotels, the Minister said “Opening of the two biggest segments of the tourism industry viz hotels and restaurants in the country's capital is a positive move that will help push domestic travel and give much relief to the industry.” Shri Patel stated that ITDC has provided rigorous training around the health and safety protocols pertaining to COVID-19 to its entire staff and has developed a detailed SOP for each and every division. ITDC has also signed an MOU with AIIMS to form an advisory body to monitor the situation of COVID-19 on real time basis and take necessary steps as and when needed.”

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Union Education Minister reviews various activities of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' reviewed various activities of NIOS in New Delhi yesterday. Shri Pokhriyal reviewed the courses offered by NIOS for their students. The Minister suggested that we should make NIOS syllabus on the line of NCERT so that students can get better understanding of the subject. The Minister also examined the work of NIOS during COVID-19 crisis. NIOS briefed him that they are running four channels for their students out of which two are dedicated for secondary and higher secondary level.It was informed that NIOS are now providing 6 hours fresh content daily to their students including weekends which were only for two hours before the COVID-19 crisis. Under PM E-Vidyaprogramme videos of these classes are provided on Diksha platforms as well. NIOS officials also told that they are planning to add 6 new courses at secondary and higher secondary level in near future.

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INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• • Chandigarh: The Administrator, UT Chandigarh, instructed Director Health Services to keep in readiness mobile teams, which can be utilized for Serology Testing, as and when a final decision is taken in consultation with Health Ministry.
  • Punjab: The Punjab Government has issued new guidelines regarding medical fitness for home isolation of asymptomatic/mild symptomatic patients and patients aged more than 60 or with co-morbidities and pregnant women. All such patients will be offered the opportunity to give undertaking at the time of sampling regarding availability of home isolation facility at their residence in case they turn out to be positive for COVID-19.
  • Haryana: Haryana Health Minister, Mr. Anil Vij inaugurated two RT-PCR Testing laboratories in Sirsa and Rewari for testing of COVID-19 through video-conferencing. This has augmented the number of laboratories in the state to 23. Sharing details of the testing laboratories, Additional Chief Secretary Health said that the government has focused on basics i.e. Tracing, Tracking, Testing and Treatment of which testing is an essential ingredient. He further added that four more RT-PCR laboratories will be set up at Jind, Bhiwani, Panipat and Yamunanagar.
  • Kerala:The Kerala High Court has directed the state government that the Call Details Records of Covid-19 patients collected by the Police should not be used for any other purpose. The first batch of the Covid Brigade, a novel initiative of the Health Department for intensifying its fight against the pandemic, today boarded for their first assignment at the northernmost district, Kasaragod. Meanwhile three more Covid-19 deaths were reported in the state till noon, taking the death toll to 237.  The daily Covid count recorded a slight dip with 1242 cases yesterday. 20,323 patients are currently undergoing treatment and 1,83,448 people are under observation in various districts.
  • Tamil Nadu:Puducherry registered the highest-ever spike in Covid-19 positive cases with 571 people testing positive for the infection in the 24 hours ending at 10am on Tuesday, taking the total number of active cases to 3,981; 5 more patients died taking the death toll in the UT to 164. Tamil Nadu is reluctant to do away with e-pass; CM to take final call. TN recorded another 5,967 cases of Covid-19 and 97 deaths on Monday. Chennai accounted for 1,278 of the fresh cases, while four other districts reported 300-plus infection.
  • Karnataka:Inter-state travellers to Karnataka now do not have to undergo 14 days home quarantine. State government on Monday issued revised circular, as per that there will also be no medical check-up at the state border, bus stations and railway station and airports. K R market in Bangalore city will likely open from Sept 1, as it was closed since March 24 owing to pandemic. State government permitted sports complex and stadium's and social clubs to open by following guidelines, but restrictions continue for bars, theatres, public meeting and other gatherings.
  • Andhra Pradesh:Kurnool district outperforms all in plasma collection drive. At a time when the Kurnool authorities here have collected 60 plasma samples, the combined figure in the remaining 12 districts is less than 20 only.  Covid-19 recoveries cross 25,000-mark in Visakhapatnam. 8601 new cases, 8741 discharges and 86 deaths were reported yesterday in the State. Total Covid cases in the State till yesterday: 3,61,712; Active cases: 89,516; Discharges: 2,68,828; Deaths: 3368.
  • Telangana:2579 new cases, 1752 recoveries & 09 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in the State; out of 2579 cases, 295 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,08,670; Active cases: 23,737; Deaths: 770; Discharges :84,163. So far, a total of 10,21,054 swab samples have been tested in the State. There are 18,016 vacant beds available for Covid-19 patients in Government hospitals and private teaching hospitals combined, according to the State health bulletin, as on Monday night.
  • Assam: Assam completes 20 lakhs COVID-19 tests, tweeted Health Minister of Assam Shri HimantaBiswaSarma.
  • Manipur: In Manipur, 116 more persons have tested Covid19 positive while 97 persons have recovered.  Total active cases are now 1627 in state and recovery rate is 69%.
  • Meghalaya: Total active COVID-19 cases in Meghalaya stands at 1179. Out of them 459 are from BSF and armed forces. 789 cases have been recovered so far in the state.
  • Mizoram: Three recovered Covid-19 patients discharged today in Mizoram. Total cases stands at  953 in the state out of them 489 are active cases.
  • Nagaland: In Nagaland the COVID-19 recovery rate touches 64.51%. In Nagaland, the Nathan Hostel quarantine center in Mokokchungwas declared containment Zone after a security personnel tested positive on Aug 23.
  • Maharashtra: The chorus for postponing NEET / JEE exams is growing louder by the day. Maharashtra Minister AadityaThackerey has written a letter to PM to reconsider the Centre’s decision to hold the NEET / JEE examinations next month. He has suggested that Government may consider starting the academic year from January, as is the practice in several countries. 
  • Gujarat: Ahmedabad Railway Division has successfully introduced a Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping machine at Ahmedabad Railway Station. It is a first of its kind across the Indian Railways. Considering the momentum in transport and travel services after Unlock-1, the Division has come up with baggage sanitization and wrapping machine to ensure safe travel amid the Covid pandemic. The recovery rate in the state  stands at 80 per cent.
  • Madhya Pradesh: MP reports record high cases for the 5th consecutive day.  With 1,292 new Covid cases reported on Monday, Madhya Pradesh has reported a new high of for the fifth consecutive day.  40% of Madhya Pradesh’s over 54,000 reported cases have come in the month of August itself.  The number of actives cases is 10,068. The death toll is 1,246.  However, at approximately 14,000 tests per million, the testing rate in MP remains low, even behind, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. 
  • Chhattisgarh: The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly monsoon session started today with new seating arrangements in the house and all precautions in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. The seating arrangements for members of the assembly have been altered to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols. Glass partitions have been erected to separate the seats of MLAs to minimize contact between two lawmakers while they attend the proceedings of the house.

FACT CHECK

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