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

India tests more than 9 lakh samples each day, two days in a row, Total tests near a new peak of 4 crore, More than 1 crore tested in past 2 weeks

India has tested more than 9 lakh COVID-19 samples each day for the second consecutive day, keeping a sharp focus on “TEST, TRACK AND TREAT” strategy of the Union Government. India has already created a capacity of doing 10 lakh tests per day. 9,01,338 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. With this steady rise, the cumulative tests are nearing 4 crore. The total tests as on date have reached 3,94,77,848. More than 1 crore samples have been tested for COVID in the past two weeks. The Tests per Million too have seen a sharp surge to 28,607. The graded and evolving response has resulted in a testing strategy that steadily widened the testing net in the country. To keep up with this strategy, the testing lab network in the country is continuously strengthened which as on today consists of 1564 labs in the country; 998 labs in the government sector and 566 private labs.

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Active cases only 22% of total COVID cases, Recoveries are now 26 lakh. Exceed Active cases by more than 18 lakh

In the past five months, more than 3/4 of COVID-19 cases have recovered and less than 1/4 is active now. With more patients recovering and being discharged from home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases) and hospitals (severe and critical cases), India's COVID-19 recoveries is nearing 26 lakh. 60,177 have recovered in the last 24 hours. With these national figures, the Recovery Rate amongst the COVID-19 has touched 76.28%. The number of recoveries is nearly 3.5 times the active cases, which comprise 21.90% of the total cases. Higher number of recoveries has led to a constantly growing difference between recoveries and active cases. Crossing 18 lakhs, the difference stands at 18, 41,925 today.  As on date, the country has 1723 Dedicated COVID Hospitals (DCHs), 3883 Dedicated COVID Health Centres (DCHCs)  and 11,689 COVID Care Centres (CCCs)  with a total of 15,89,105 isolation beds, 2,17,128 oxygen supported beds and 57,380 ICU beds. Effective treatment of the positive cases has resulted in a progressively dipping Case Fatality Rate, which is pegged at 1.82% today.

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurates Super Speciality Block of MGM Medical College, Indore

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare along with Sh. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh digitally inaugurated the Super Speciality Block (SSB) in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, Indore in the presence of Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare. The Medical College was also the nodal agency for a NCDC sero-survey. The SSB is built with an investment of Rs 237 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Health Minister stated that the Centre has provided 13.99 lakh N95 masks, 7.97 lakh PPEs, 54 lakh HCQ and 679 ventilators to Madhya Pradesh to strengthen it efforts to fight COVID-19. This is supplemented by 2,32,620 RNA extraction kits,  5,87,140 RT-PCR kits, and 2,55,850 VTM kits provided by the Central Government.

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PM expresses happiness over successful completion of 6 Years of PM-JDY

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi expressed happiness over the successful completion of 6 Years of Jan Dhan Yojana. The Prime Minister said, "Today, six years ago, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked. This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people. Thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the future of several families has become secure. A high proportion of beneficiaries are from rural areas and are women. I also applaud all those who have worked tirelessly to make PM-JDY a success."

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PM Modi addresses seminar on Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence manufacturing

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the seminar on Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence Manufacturing via Video Conferencing yesterday. Stressing on the need to become Atmanirbhar in Defence Manufacturing, the Prime Minister said our aim is to boost defence production, develop new technology and give significant roles to private players in the defence sector. Complimenting Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and his entire team for working on a mission mode and taking relentless efforts, the Prime Minister said that the objective of achieving self-reliance in defense production will definitely gain momentum from this seminar. He enumerated several concrete steps undertaken in this direction such as improvement in licensing process, creating level playing field, simplification of export process. PM remarked that a sense of confidence in the defense sector is essential for building a modern and self-reliant India. Decisions such as appointment of CDS, which were pending for decades have been taken now, which reflects confidence of New India. Appointment of Chief of Defence Staff has resulted in better synergy and coordination among the three forces, and has helped in the scaling up of defence procurement. Similarly, he highlighted that opening of defence sector by permitting 74% FDI via automatic route reflects the confidence of new India.

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Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) - National Mission for Financial Inclusion, completes six years of successful implementation,

Financial Inclusion is a national priority of the Government as it is an enabler for inclusive growth. A key initiative towards this commitment is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), which is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world. On the 6^th Anniversary of PMJDY, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs , Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated the importance of this Scheme. She said “The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been the foundation stone for the Modi government’s people-centric economic initiatives. Whether it is direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover, the first step was to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed.” Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Anurag thakur said, “In today’s COVID19 times, we have witnessed the remarkable swiftness and seamlessness with which DBTs have empowered and provided financial security to the vulnerable sections of society. An important aspect is that DBTs via PM Jan Dhan accounts have ensured every rupee reaches its intended beneficiary and prevented systemic leakage.” As on 19^th August 2020, number of Total PMJDY Accounts are 40.35 Crore, Rural PMJDY accounts: 63.6%, Women PMJDY accounts: 55.2%

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Central Institutes of Hotel Management & Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management organise various Activities on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ministry of Tourism has been regularly working to promote the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat through various activities. Even during the COVID-19 Pandemic Central Institutes of Hotel Management affiliated to NCHMCT & Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management organised various Activities on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat since 8^th May 2020 to 24th August 2020. The activities witnessed an enthusiastic participation in the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. In May 2020, 20 central Institute of Hotel management organised 27 activities covering 32 paired States wherein 6141 persons participated.

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Union Education Minister virtually inaugurates Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) Exam Centre of Aligarh Muslim University

 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' inaugurated Examination Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University through a video conferencing platform yesterday. The examination centre has been built on a government grant of rupees two cores. Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said that even as the world is facing unprecedented disruption due to Covid-19, especially in the fields of education and learning; the Government is committed that our centres of learning and students do not suffer. He said that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) played a pivotal role in the Freedom Struggle and still it denotes a strong sense of patriotism. Its academic excellence makes it an invaluable national asset. Its Medical College beacons a new ray of hope at a time when the Country is plagued by Covid19 pandemic. He congratulated the AMU Vice Chancellor for ensuring the all-round development with continuous positive transformation despite adverse circumstances due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

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INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Arunachal Pradesh: In Arunachal Pradesh the active cases crosses one thousand figure. 78 new positive cases detected during last twenty four hours. Currently 1007 active positive cases in the state. Recovery rate is over 72 percent and 2621 recovered and discharged from hospitals so far.
• Assam: In Assam during last 24 hours 2345 COVID-19 patients were discharged. Till Thursday 79307 patients were discharged and the active cases stands at 19219 in the state.
• Manipur: In Manipur  during the last 24 hours,  140 more persons tested positive for Covid19. Out of these, 119 were without travel history. 128 persons recovered and were discharged from Covid care centres. The recovery rate of the state is 69%.
• Meghalaya: The total active COVID-19 cases reached 1222 in Meghalaya. Out of them 414 are from BSF and Armed Forces and 808 are others. Total 899 patients recovered so far in the state.
• Mizoram: In Mizoram the COVID-19 tally crosses 1000 mark today.
• Nagaland: In Nagaland the Deputy CM Y Patton who is also COVID-19 in-charge of Wokha district reviews situation in the district. Expresses concern over entry restrictions in some villages & colonies.  5 more locations in Kohima sealed by district administration following detection of COVID-19 positive cases.
• Maharashtra: With Maharashtra reporting 14,718 cases and 355 deaths on Thursday, the total number of coronavirus infections in the state has now reached 7,33,568 and toll has soared to 23,444.  Even as Pune grapples with over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus infection every day, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has a sliver of good news in its fight against the pandemic.  The recovery rate has reached 80.48 per cent in PMC areas, inching closer to the 81.32 per cent recovery rate in Mumbai, though Pune has a higher rate of active cases than the state capital.
• Gujarat: The State reported 1,190 new cases of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours,  taking the tally so far to 91,329.   With 258 new cases, Surat district crossed the mark of 20,000.   Ahmedabad reported 163 new cases while 123 cases were reported from Vadodara. Meanwhile, the overall testing figure crossed the mark of 20 lakhs with 76,227 tests conducted on Thursday.  
• Rajasthan: In Rajasthan, 9  people working at the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and one staff member working at the Chief Minister's Residence (CMR) have tested positive for Coronavirus. Following this CM Ashok Gehlot has cancelled all the scheduled appointments and meetings.  Rajasthan's COVID-19 tally has reached 75,303 with the addition of 633 new cases on Thursday.
• Madhya Pradesh: The State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed the Health Department and other authorities to pay special attention to 10 districts in the state to control Covid-19 pandemic.  The districts include Indore, Gwalior, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Jhabua, Shivpuri, Dhar, Khargone, Ujjain and Sagar.  Madhya Pradesh is at the 16th position in the country as far as the number of active cases is concerned. On Thursday, the number of active cases stood at 12,422.
• Kerala: In view of the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the state, the Health Department has come up with a revised sentinel surveillance plan for testing in more sectors. The local self-government bodies are directed to collect samples and conduct Covid tests every week. One of the major changes is replacing the RT-PCR tests for sentinel surveillance with rapid antigen assay. Through this, it is expected to get results faster. Most of the districts report more than 100 Covid cases per day. One more Covid death was reported in the state today taking the toll to 268. Kerala yesterday registered 2,406 new positive cases. Currently, there are 22,673 patients are undergoing treatment and 1.93 lakh people under observation in various districts.
• Tamil Nadu:  The Union territory of Puducherry saw its highest single-day Covid-19 spike with 604 cases and nine deaths in the last 24 hours. This has taken the total cases to 13,024, active cases to 4745 and deaths to 199. The Tiruchy division of Southern Railways incurred loss of over Rs 100 crore in passenger earnings from April to July due to suspension of train services. TN Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami says Tamil Nadu has topped all States in having attracted maximum investments even during the pandemic, which will create job opportunities.
• Karnataka: Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said that we still do not know when to open schools or how classes will take place once they open. The state on Thursday saw the highest single-day spike in Covid positives so far, with 9,386 cases, bringing the tally to 3,09,792. Bengaluru accounted for most of the cases with 3,357 people contracting the virus.
• Andhra Pradesh: State has decided to support the families of doctors in government hospitals who sacrificed their lives in the service of treating covid patients. AP Medical Health Department has issued orders to this effect that steps will be taken to give one of the family members a government job within a month. According to State DGP (Prisons), 1,375 prisoners, 241 staff across jails in Andhra Pradesh test positive for Covid-19. Only one prisoner succumbed to the virus.  Majority of the cases are asymptomatic and facilities have been created for the treatment. State inches towards 4 lakh mark with total positive cases at 3.93 lakh as on Thursday.
• Telangana:  2932 new cases, 1580 recoveries &  11 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; out of 2932 cases, 520 cases reported from GHMC. Total cases: 1,17,415; Active cases: 28,941; Deaths: 799; Discharges: 87,675. Ramping up the Covid-19 testing capacity in the State, the Department of Health and Family Welfare is conducting 50,000 to 60,000 tests every day for the last one week, Health Minister Etela Rajender said.

FACT CHECK

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