Coronavirus news highlights: India's Covid-19 tally crosses 74 lakh; death toll stands at 1.12 lakh

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. Jharkhand reports 473 new Covid-19 cases, 818 discharges and 4 deaths today. Total cases at 95,425 including 88,058 discharges, 824 deaths, and 6,543 active cases:

. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government has taken a host of initiatives, including a stimulus package totalling 10 per cent of the country's GDP and major reforms in the labour sector, to combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

. Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the government instead of building "false narratives" should get down to doing the right things that will increase consumption, investment and jobs.

. In a jolt to doctors managing Covid-19 patients, a WHO-supported international trial on Friday reported that none of the four repurposed medicines to treat Covid-19 including Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine actually helps reduce the 28-day mortality rate in hospital.

. Men and women belonging Indian ethnicity communities in England and Wales are roughly 50-75 per cent more likely to die with Covid-19 than white men and women, according to a latest statistical analysis released in London on Friday.

. Hong Kong has banned Air India and Vistara flights from October 17 to 30 after a few passengers on their flights tested positive for Covid-19 post-arrival, a senior government official said on Friday.

. You probably want to buy something.

For many households, there is more money at the end of the month. Spending is way down on restaurant meals and entertainment. Excess income over spending is about 14% — up from a 25-year average of 7-8%.

. Next two-and-a-half months very crucial in fight against coronavirus because of winter season and festivals. It becomes the responsibility of every citizen to not let our guard down and follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

. Total cases in the state rise to 1,57,936 including 2,735 deaths and 1,41,273 recoveries so far. Active cases stand at 13,928.

. Uttarakhand records 549 new Covid-19 cases, 15 more fatalities. Infection tally rises to 57,042, death toll reaches 829. There are 5,692 active cases of the disease in the state.

. Total cases rise to 2,38,548 including 2,05,111 discharges and 9,635 deaths. Active cases stand at 19,608.

. Total cases at 1,47,933 including 10,441 active cases, 1,35,858 discharges and 1,634 deaths.

. The state of Maine has the nation’s oldest population, with an average age of 45.1 versus 38.5 for the US overall. It is also among the country’s poorest.

. The UN health agency says the world's largest randomised trial of Covid-19 treatments found “conclusive evidence” that Remdesivir, a drug used to treat US President Donald Trump when he fell ill, has little or no effect on severe cases.

. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised the Modi government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic saying “even Pakistan and Afghanistan handled Covid-19 better than India”.

. State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on October 16

. US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer expects to file for emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine in late November, around two weeks after the November 3 US presidential election, it said Friday.

. The total positive cases in the UT rises to 86,754 including 8,909 active cases, 76,479 recoveries and 1,366 deaths: Government of Jammu and Kashmir

. The UK government came under increasing pressure on Friday as its three-tier Covid-19 lockdown faced backlash from some regions, even as Londoners prepared to move into Tier 2 high-risk category from Tier 1 medium level from midnight as part of efforts to control infection rates.

. 6,27,703 people have been discharged in the State so far including 5,245 people discharges today.

. England saw an average of 27,900 new cases per day and infections are 50% higher on the previous week, a weekly survey showed on Friday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson bids to contain a resurgent pandemic with local restrictions.

. Globally, at least 38,965,020 cases have been registered. Of these, at least 26,884,800 are now considered recovered.

. At least 162 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Tripura on Friday, pushing the tally in the state to 29,193 a health department official said.

The death toll rose to 320 with four more persons succumbing to the infection, he said.

. The British government is sticking to its strategy of tiered, regional restrictions to combat Covid-19 amid mounting political and scientific pressure for stronger nationwide measures to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from spiralling out of control.

. The Delhi Government Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the policy decision directing 33 big private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients was taken as a stop-gap and temporary measure with an intent to mitigate the surge of coronavirus cases in the national capital.

. India has one of the lowest 81 Covid-19 deaths per million population in the world with less than 1,000 fatalities registered daily since October 4, while the fatality rate of 1.52 per cent on Friday was the lowest since March 22, the Union Health Ministry said.

. High-level central teams have been deputed to Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, which have been reporting a surge in Covid-19 cases, to support them in management of the disease.

. The Calcutta High Court directed the community Durga Puja organisers in the state on Friday to spend 75 per cent of the Rs 50,000 grant given by the West Bengal government on the procurement of Covid protection equipment and the rest on strengthening public-police bonding.

. Families in Delhi with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma are stocking up on oxygen cylinders and pulse oximeters, fearing that the city's worsening air quality will make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

. The Delhi government Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the policy decision directing 33 big private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients was taken as a stop-gap and temporary measure with an intent to mitigate the surge of coronavirus cases in the national capital.

. The number of new coronavirus infections reported in Switzerland has risen by 3,105 cases in a new daily record, data from Switzerland's public health agency showed on Friday.

. Malaysia reported 629 new coronavirus cases on Friday, raising its cumulative tally of infections to 18,758, the health ministry said.

The Southeast Asian country, which has imposed targeted lockdowns this month to rein in a new surge in infections, also recorded six deaths, bringing total fatalities to 176.

. With 2,610 fresh coronavirus cases, the active caseload in Uttar Pradesh stood at 35,263 on Friday while the death toll rose to 6,589 with 46 more deaths, a senior official said.

"The number of active cases reported in the state in the past 24 hours were 2,610 while 3,538 patients were treated and discharged. There are 35,263 active cases in the state and 4,08,083 people have been treated and discharged," he added.

. US President Donald Trump has extended his best wishes to Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris as two of her staffers tested positive for Covid-19, following which she suspended her campaign travel.

. Defending holding public events during the coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump, who tested positive for Covid-19 early this month, has said that as a president he cannot remain locked in a basement and he has to meet people despite the risks.

. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin left an EU summit on Friday to self-isolate as a precaution after attending a meeting this week with a Finnish MP who has since tested positive for Covid-19, the government said.

. The Trump White House has installed two political operatives at the nation's top public health agency to try to control the information it releases about the coronavirus pandemic as the administration seeks to paint a positive outlook, sometimes at odds with the scientific evidence.

. Hundreds of New Zealand plane passengers started arriving in Sydney on Friday as part of a new trans-Tasman travel bubble amid a rapidly falling growth rate in cases at the epicentre of Australia's coronavirus outbreak.

. Apart from EVMs, indelible ink and other election-related materials, the polling personnel this time will also carry Covidkit for conducting by-elections in two assembly segments of Odisha on November 3.

. Up until March this year, the only people one spotted wearingmasksapart from surgeons were transplant patients and monks of a certain sect. Covid-19 has changed all that and masksare now a standard fixture in our wardrobes.

. India has the ability to aggressively ramp up coronavirus testing capacity, a move that will help it check a wave of new active cases hitting hospitals and skirt an economically unviable lockdown, according to the head of one of the country’s largest drug makers.

. After facing severe backlash over lack of data on job loss and death of migrant workers during the coronavirus lockdown, the government has come up with a plan to start an official survey on the migration patterns of labourers in the country.

. Covid-19 has built a fresh appreciation for clean water & soap in those of us fortunate enough to have access to them,but 3 billion people lack access, tweeted UN's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus .

. A $60 double-dose experimental coronavirus vaccine is being made available to some residents in an eastern Chinese city, health officials have said, the first details of a mass rollout for an as-yet unproven vaccine.

. The health condition of legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee improved a lot on Friday morning following which doctors have removed him from the BiPAP and put on nasal mask.

. The National Health Service (NHS) is in talks with the British Medical Association (BMA) and others around mobilising the rollout of a potential Covid-19 vaccine from December, Pulse website for health professionals reported on Thursday.

. Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Friday it had applied for approval in Japan of its anti-influenza drug Avigan as a treatment for Covid-19.

. A $5 rapid test for the coronavirus may be nearly as effective as the slower, more complex polymerase chain reaction test for identifying people who may spread the coronavirus, a novel experiment has found.

. The risk of being infected with the coronavirus on an airliner is very low if passengers wear masks, according to a study carried out aboard Boeing long-haul jets by the US military and published Thursday.

. There were two soccer games played over the weekend at Hayes Lane, a neat, compact stadium in a quiet corner of southeast London. The first, on Saturday afternoon, played out in the pin-drop silence that characterizes sports amid the pandemic.

. President Donald Trump was evasive Thursday night when pressed if he took a Covid-19 test before his first debate with Democrat Joe Biden as the two men squared off again, in a way, after their scuttled second showdown was replaced by duelling televised town halls several channels apart.

. Total case tally stands at 73,70,469 including 8,04,528 active cases, 64,53,780 recovered/discharged/migrated cases & 1,12,161 deaths: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

. Strong international cooperation on Covid-19 vaccines could speed up the world economic recovery and add $9 trillion to global income by 2025, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday.

. Rio Tinto said on Friday that fresh lockdowns sparked by a resurgence in coronavirus cases threaten the global economic recovery and posted a 4.6 per centdrop in third-quarter iron ore shipments due to planned maintenance in Pilbara.

. President Donald Trump says, without evidence, that people who wear face masks are getting infected with the coronavirus “all the time."

. Many retail workers will receive a new sort of preparation for this year’s holiday season: training on how to manage conflicts with customers who resist mask-wearing, social distancing and store capacity limits.

. Remdesivir, the only antiviral drug authorized for treatment of Covid-19 in the United States, fails to prevent deaths among patients, according to a study of more than 11,000 people in 30 countries sponsored by the World Health Organization.

. Most cinema theatres in the city remained closed on Thursday, the day they were supposed to reopen after over seven months of Covid-induced shutdown. The handful that did reopen ended up playing films for fewerthan 10 patrons.

. Nine new Covid-19cases reported in Mizoram, taking the total tally to 2,229. The number of active cases is at 108 while 2,121 people have been discharged so far. No death reported in the State till date: Government of Mizoram

. Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden said Thursday that Donald Trump has refused to boost efforts to combat Covid-19 even after he tested positive, accusing the US president of doing "nothing" to improve conditions for Americans.

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. Karnataka on Thursday officially recognised a new category of patientswith "Covid-19 Like Syndrome", who test negative for Covid-19 in RT-PCR but are later found to have serious Covid-like illness through high-resolution CT (HRCT) scan.

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Coronavirus news highlights: India's Covid-19 tally crosses 74 lakh; death toll stands at 1.12 lakh

Assam reported 767 new Covid-19 cases today. Total number of cases now at 1,99,749, including 1,70,263 discharges and 853 deaths. Active cases stand at 28,630.

Andaman and Nicobar reported 10 new Covid-19 cases and 14 recoveries today, taking total cases to 4,072 including 185 active cases, 56 deaths and 3,831 recoveries.

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