Coronavirus India news summary for Monday 15 June
Coronavirus live India: latest Covid-19 news - 15 June
India Covid-19 update: 03:00 IST on Tuesday 16 June (23:30 CEST Monday 15 June)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,973,302 cases have been detected worldwide, with 434,793 deaths and 3,816,360.
In India, there have been 332,424 cases confirmed, 9,520 people have died and 169,798 people have recovered from the virus.
Get rid of Covid-19
Good thread from Devi Sridhar, who is Professor and Chair of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University Medical School. But how easy would it be for India to achieve full national elimination?
Death rates in patients with chronic illnesses
According to a report released by the US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rates for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses are 12 times higher than for other Covid-19 sufferers.
About 20 per cent of Covid-19 patients with chronic disease died compared to 2% for other people infected with the new coronavirus.
The report was based on 1.3 million lab-confirmed cases of the disease in the US. It will be interesting to see if this extrapolates directly to other locations.
Beware of gangs peddling fake Covid-19 medical supplies
Interpol's National Central Bureau in India has warned people to be on the lookout for gangs who are selling fake hand sanitisers and other Covid-19 related medical supplies, including personal protective equipment.
The gangs have been selling methanol hand sanitisers, which can be highly toxic, while others have been approaching hospitals pretending to be representatives of companies selling PPE.
Indian government asks for private sector resources to be pooled
The Centre has asked States to proactively engage with the private sector and consider pooling public and private healthcare facilities. States have also been asked to negotiate with PPE providers to ensure equipment and material can be accessed at reasonable prices.
Pakistan seals major cities to stem escalating Covid-19 spread
Pakistani authorities said they will re-impose strict lockdowns in selected areas of several cities from Monday night, a day after the federal government said Covid-19 cases could multiply eightfold by the end of July and hit 1.2 million.
Pakistan lifted its countrywide lockdown on 9 May, citing economic stress, and has since seen infection rates rise from 1-in-10 tests to more than 1-in-5. "A total of 20 cities across Pakistan have been identified as having likely increase in ratio/speed of infection which needs restrictive measures for containment," a statement by the body that coordinates the national response to the virus said on Monday.
Pakistan has reported 144,477 cases of the respiratory illness and 2,729 deaths so far. However, the rate of daily cases has been rising fast in the country of 207 million, a point noted by the World Health Organisation in a letter to Pakistani authorities last week.
One of the cities that will see fresh restrictions is Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's largest province Punjab, which could be sealed for two weeks, with entry or exit barred, and government-issued safety guidelines would be enforced in markets using paramilitary forces. Parts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, as well as Peshawar, will see similar measures, provincial and national officials said, with more cities expected to follow suit.
Criticism mounts as New Delhi hospital beds run out amid Covid-19 surge
(Reuters) India's capital is fast running out of hospital beds amid a surge in coronavirus cases and is struggling to contain the pandemic, after critics said it did too little to prepare and reopened shopping malls and temples too soon.
Some families of people infected with Covid-19 have complained about having to hunt for beds for their relatives after hospitals turned them away.
Others said patients had been left unattended in corridors of government-run hospitals, while local media reports of dead bodies in a hospital lobby prompted the Supreme Court to order the state administration to get its act together.
"I don't think we expected that cases would rise this much," said a lawmaker of the Aam Aadmi party that runs the capital, who asked not to be named. "We were so over-confident."
Kolkata residents in favour of extended lockdown
Nearly 52 per cent of over 2,500 people surveyed in the city have favoured a complete lockdown for one more month, amid the unrelenting rise in Covid-19 cases,reports the Hindustan Times.
A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) using a computer in the emergency ward of Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi. Even though India's lockdown has been eased, the pandemic is still raging, with almost 10,000 new cases every day and infections now over 275,000 -- the fifth highest in the world -- and almost 8,000 deaths. In New Delhi, the situation is particularly dire with the city government predicting the caseload will balloon 20 fold to over half a million by the end of July, a situation the health care system appears woefully ill-prepared for. (Photo by Atish PATEL / AFP)
India cases spike
Indian officials have stated that the country recorded 11,500 new cases of coronavirus over the last 24 hours, taking the country's overall total to more than 332,000.
Delhi to ramp up testing
As cases continue to rise in the capital, plans are afoot to carry out 18,000 tests per day.
A pedestrian walks past a wall mural painted to thank frontline workers fighting against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Mumbai. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP)
Delhi has tested tested thousands of its citizens. The positive rate has been over 30%. An all-party meeting is called by Home Minister Amit Shah to review the management of COVID-19 situation in Delhi which is scheduled to be held today.
"The news reports attributing this study to ICMR are misleading," said the ICMR. "This refers to a non-peer-reviewed modelling, not carried out by ICMR and does not reflect the official position of ICMR."
India's government and PM have come under increasing scrutiny. They failed to prepare and are now forced to ease restrictions so as not to hurt the economy any longer. That increases the spread of the virus and brings them back to square one again.
Passengers walk in a platform as they arrive with a train scheduled for essential service workers after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, at the Churchgate railway station in Mumbai on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)
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A helpful guide with handy tips from the FT on how to avoid catching coronavirus
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Covid-19 recovery rates improving
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Indian and Chinese officials to meet
The foreign ministers of both nations will meet on 22 June and best practice management for handling Covid-19 undoubtedly to be discussed.
Delhi to use 500 railway coaches as hospital facilities to fight coronavirus
India's federal government said on Sunday it will provide New Delhi's city authorities with 500 railway coaches that will be equipped to care for coronavirus patients, after a surge in the number of cases led to a shortage of hospital beds.
The coaches will increase Delhi's capacity by 8,000 beds, home minister Amit Shah said on Twitter after a meeting with the capital's chief minister.
The government will also ramp up testing in the city, especially in containment zones, conduct a door-to-door health survey of residents and provide sufficient supplies of oxygen cylinders and ventilators, he said.
India is the fourth-worst affected country in the world, with cases steadily increasing. It reported a record single-day jump in cases on Sunday, adding nearly 12,000 confirmed infections and taking the total to more than 320,000, according to health ministry data.
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput found dead in his Mumbai home
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who won acclaim for his role in the 2016 biopic of then Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was found dead at his home in Mumbai on Sunday, police said. He was 34 years old.
"It pains us to share that Sushant Singh Rajput is no longer with us," a spokesperson for the actor said in a statement.
Rajput was found dead at his residence on Sunday morning and an investigation is ongoing, a spokesperson for the Mumbai police said, declining to give further details.
Local media reported that the actor had been found hanging from the ceiling of his home.
Rajput's death sent shockwaves through Bollywood and Indian sport, with tributes and condolences pouring in on social media.
"This is just so shocking. A wonderful talent. RIP Sushant," actor Abhishek Bachchan said on Twitter.
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
3,000 health workers to be tested in Srinagar
Following the surge in Covid-19 cases in J&K, especially Kashmir, the Government Medical College (GMC) here will be conducting seroprevalence study of healthcare providers for SARS CoV-2 infection and test their IgG levels, the Hindustan Times reports.
J&K has over 4,878 Covid-19 cases and 58 deaths so far, most of these being from the ten districts of Kashmir. From Monday, healthcare providers of Srinagar district will undergo a seroprevalence study with immunoglobulin-G (IgG) levels in their blood measured.
Coronavirus India live updates - welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the developing coronavirus situation in India. Throughout the day we aim to keep you informed of the situation and breaking news across the country.