PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19

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

As Recoveries in India grow, difference with Active Cases widens, Recovered Patients are 3.5 times the Active Cases

The number of recoveries in India today exceeds the active cases by 3.5 times.The single day recovery figure has been more than 60,000 since many days. Recovery of 63,173 COVID-19 patients in the last 24 hours has resulted in the cumulative recoveries of 24,67,758 people. This has contributed to the rapidly widening chasm between the number of percentage recovered and percentage active cases further. 17,60,489 people have recovered more than the active cases (7,07,267). With this, India's Recovery Rate amongst the COVID-19 patients has crossed 76% (76.30%) today.The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country viz. the active cases, has further lowered. It currently comprises only 21.87%of the total positive cases. The steadily declining Case Fatality Rates stands at 1.84% today.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648672

With more than 8 lakh average tests every day, India scales up COVID-19 testing, Tests Per Million (TPM) now more than 27,000

Early identification of the COVID-19 infections through timely and aggressive TESTING has played a pivotal role in India’s strategy to fight the pandemic. The 7-day average rolling numbers of tests/day indicate the determined, focussed, consistent and coordinated efforts of the Centre and the State/UT governments in this direction. The cumulative testing as on date has reached 3,76,51,512. In the last 24 hours 8,23,992 tests were conducted. Such high level of testing on a sustained basis leads to early diagnosis. Expanded diagnostic lab network and facilitation for easy testing across the country have given a substantial boost. Building on this achievement, the Tests Per Million (TPM) have seen a sharp increase to 27,284. It continues to maintain the constant upward trend.The growing network of testing labs offer expanded opportunities to strengthen the testing facilities across the country. There are total 1540 labs today, including 992 labs in the government sector and 548 private labs.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648683

CGHS starts tele-consultation services through e-Sanjeevani in Delhi/NCR
In order to facilitate consultations with specialists by CGHS beneficiaries through virtual mode without physically visiting a healthcare facility, CGHS has started tele-consultation services w.e.f. 25.8.2020. Initially, these services will be available to beneficiaries in Delhi/NCR. The e-services are available between 9.00 am and 12 noon on all working days. CGHS tele-consultation services are using the existing e-Sanjeevani platform of the Health Ministry. For ease of use, this platform has been linked with the ID of the beneficiaries. For availing of specialist OPD services, the beneficiaries are required to register on the platform using their mobile number after which an OTP will be generated for verification purposes. After verification, the beneficiaries can log on to the system, fill patient registration form, request for a token and upload health records (if required). After the tele-consultation, an e-prescription will be generated. Using this, the patients can get medicines issued from their CGHS Wellness Centre. The new tele-consultation services of CGHS will prove to be a boon for those CGHS beneficiaries who are in need of consultation with specialists, but in the times of COVID-19 are not able to move out. To begin with specialist consultation under the services will be available for the Medicine, Orthopaedics, Eye and ENT specialties.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648664

Dr. Harsh Vardhan dedicates two new Medical Colleges and three Super-Speciality Blocks in Rajasthan to the Nation

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare along with Sh. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan digitally inaugurated two new medical colleges and three Super Speciality Blocks in Rajasthan. The RajmataVijayaRajeScindia (RVRS) Medical College, Bhilwara and the Bharatpur Medical College have been upgraded from District Hospitals into Medical Colleges while Super Speciality Blocks (SSB) are added to the Government Medical College, Kota; Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner; and RavindraNath Tagore Medical College, Udaipur. These projects have a combined investment of Rs. 828 crores out of which Rs. 150 crores is invested in each of the medical colleges. The colleges have a capacity of 150 undergraduate students. The Bharatpur Medical College will have 525 beds including 34 ICU beds while RVRS Medical College will have 458 beds including 12 ICU beds.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648708

8,363 projects, with an anticipated cost of Rs 5.88 lakh crore, have been kick-started in the Oil and Gas sector since 20th April this year, Around 33.8 crore man-days of employment expected to be generated from these projects

Oil & Gas industry has kick-started economic activities/projects, numbering 8,363 with an anticipated cost of Rs 5.88 lakh crore which resumed progressively since 20.04.2020, following all pandemic related SOP. These projects of Oil & Gas CPSEs & JV/Subsidiaries, inter-alia, include Refinery projects, Bio Refineries, E&P Projects, Marketing infrastructure projects, Pipelines, CGD projects, drilling/survey activities. The major 25 on-going projects of Oil & Gas CPSEs / JVs having an anticipated cost of Rs 1,67,248 crore and having incurred Rs 7861 crore worth of Capex leading to generation of 76,56,825 mandays.Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has been holding in-depth reviews of all on-going projects of Oil & Gas Companies, the recent one being on 24.08.2020. Under the Minister’s vision, Petroleum Industry has turned 'crisis into opportunity' and is striving to work on mission mode to generate employment and revive growth.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648544

About 24 crore mandays employment has been provided and Rs.18,862 crore spent by the 9th week of the GaribKalyanRojgar Abhiyaan

GaribKalyanRojgarAbhiyaan (GKRA) has been launched to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers returning to villages and similarly affected citizens in rural areas, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. By the 9^th week, a total of about 24 crore mandays employment has been provided and Rs.18,862 crore has been spent so far in the pursuit of objectives of the Abhiyaan. A large number of structures have been created so far including 85,786 water conservation structures, 2,63,846 rural houses, 19,397 cattle shed, 12,798 farm ponds, and 4,260 Community Sanitary Complexes. 6342 works have been taken up through District Mineral Funds, 1002 Gram Panchayats have been provided internet connectivity, a total of 13,022 works related to solid and liquid waste management taken up, and 31,658 candidates have been provided skill training through KrishiVigyan Kendras during the Abhiyaan.

For details: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1648709

INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Punjab: As Punjab gears up to further strengthen its fight against the worsening Covid crisis, the state cabinet has approved filling up of 428 regular vacancies of Medical Officers (Specialists) on urgent basis. It also gave ex-post facto approval to 107 posts already filled up for six specialities.
• Himachal Pradesh: The Chief Minister said that under Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojna, direct financial assistance of Rs. 500 per month was provided to 5.90 lakh women through their bank accounts and Rs. 2000 per month to the 8.74 lakh farmers under Pradhan Mantri KisanSammanNidhiYojna. He said that the State Government also provided three month advance social security pension to the eligible persons. He said that additional Rs 1000 each were deposited into the accounts of ASHA workers for the month of March to June. He also informed that the Government has decided to provide Rs2000 each for the month of July and August for these workers keeping in view their yeoman service during Covid-19 pandemic.
• Maharashtra: Doses of the potential coronavirus vaccine developed by researchers at Oxford University have arrived at the BhartiVidyapeeth's Medical College in Pune  for phase-2 clinical human trials. The trials are scheduled  to begin today.  There are 1,65,921 active cases in Maharashtra now, while 12,300 people were discharged from hospitals in the state on Tuesday, taking the number of recovered cases to 5,14,790. Maharashtra has carried out 37,24,911 tests so far.
• Gujarat: Gujarat's COVID-19 tally rose to 88,942 on Tuesday with the addition of 1,096 new cases, while 20 more patients succumbed to the infection. Surat reported the highest number of 250 new cases followed by Ahmedabad where 157 persons tested positive. A total of 72,577 tests were conducted in the state in the last 24 hours.  The active cases in the state number 14,751.
• Chhattisgarh: The state witnessed the biggest spike in COVID-19 cases in a single day with 1,145 people testing positive on Tuesday, taking the states tally to 23,199, while 12 more deaths pushed up the toll to 218. Health Minister T S Singhdev inaugurated Interactive Voice Response System for follow up of discharged patients in Raipur, Durg, Rajnandan and Bilaspur districts of Chhatisgarh.
• Goa: A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi visited Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Tuesday to review the COVID-19 treatment facility set up for critical patients. The AIIMS team had arrived in Goa on Monday to monitor the health of Union AYUSH Minister ShripadNaik. AIIMS doctors, inspected three wards tailor-made to treat critical patients. 3,149 Covid patients are undergoing treatment in the state
• Kerala:  Five Covid-19 fatalities have been reported in the state taking the toll to 249. The SreePadmanabhaSwamy temple in the capital opened for devotees today morning adhering to strict Covid-19 protocols. Only 35 devotees would be allowed inside the shrine at a certain point of time with a maximum of 665 visitors a day. The state recorded a new high of 2,375 positive cases yesterday. The number of recoveries has crossed the 40,000 mark. A total of 1,83,794 persons are under observation across the state.
• Tamil Nadu: In two weeks, all government medical college hospitals in the State will communicate Covid-19 test results through SMS in 24 to 36 hours. Work for uploading the software to facilitate this system is on in full swing, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said. State Health department predicts that the daily number of cases would rise alarmingly in the next 15 days in Coimbatore. The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by Class X students, challenging the methodology adopted by the School Education Department to award marks to them, this year, for public examinations that stood cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
• Karnataka:With more than 2 lakh discharges, recovery rate of 70%, less than 1% of active cases being treated in ICU, mortality rate of 1.69%, Karnataka's Covid situation is steadily improving. KSRTC has sought the state government permission to fill all the seats in its buses by relaxing social distance norms. Karnataka Pradesh Congress president DK Shivakumar, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday night, has been admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru. After two days of respite when the state reported Covid-positive cases of around 5,000 a day, there was a sudden spurt on Tuesday with 8,161 positive cases, taking the total to 2,91,826 cases. Bengaluru accounted for 2,294 of these cases.
• Andhra Pradesh:Fire broke out shortly after midnight in Anantapur Government Hospital on Tuesday which created panic among the patients. Twenty-four Covid-19 patients in the hospital were shifted to safety to another ward. Stating that the spread of Covid-19 was no longer limited to urban areas, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister PeddireddyRamachandra Reddy has underscored the need for strict enforcement of preventive measures suggested by the Centre and state governments. State has cancelled permissions granted to five private Covid Care Centres in Vijayawada for charging exorbitant fees from patients. An inquiry has also been ordered in the wake of complaints received from patients.
• Telangana:3018 new cases, 1060 recoveries & 10 deaths reported in the last 24 hours in Telangana. Out of 3018 cases, 475 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,11,688; Active cases: 25,685; Deaths: 780; Discharges :85,223. The Covid-19 pandemic in areas under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is showing signs of gradually coming under control while in districts, the curve is expected to drop by September, senior health officials said. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, Telangana State, especially Hyderabad, continues to show resilience and attract investments. In less than a month, investments totalling Rs 5,950 crore have poured into the State since July 25.
• Arunachal Pradesh:  In Arunachal Pradesh, 100 new positive cases detected during last four hours. However, recovery rate improves and is currently at 73.50 percent. Total 2,508 people have been discharged from Covid hospitals so far.
• Assam: 1,734 patients discharged yesterday in Assam, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his gratitude to doctors, nurses & medical staff for all their efforts. Total discharged patients 74,814 & active patients 19,515 in the State.
• Manipur: State govt. issues Unlock 3 guidelines. It continues ban on congregations of all kinds and imposes enhanced penalties on violations.
• Meghalaya: In Meghalaya, 42 individuals have recovered from Coronavirus today. Total active cases 1,179, total BSF and Armed Forces 442, total others 737 & total recovered 831.
• Mizoram: Four recovered COVID-19 patients discharged today in Mizoram. Total cases 967, active cases 499.
• Nagaland: A total of 57,799 samples sent for testing through RT-PCR and TrueNat machines so far in Nagaland. Around 1,113 persons are staying in Govt. quarantine currently.Kohima district administration orders sealing of 8 more locations following detection of COVID-19 positive cases. Another 9 locations sealed in Tuensang district.

FACT CHECK

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