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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)

Updates on Covid-19 from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Recovery rate crosses 60%; Sharp rise in daily recoveries: 20,033 recovered in the last 24 hours; Recoveries exceed active cases by more than 1.5 lakh; More than 2.4 lakh tested in 24 hours

A high-level review meeting on preparedness for COVID-19 was held today by the Cabinet Secretary with the States/UTs. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients stands at 60.73% today. Early detection and timely clinical management of COVID-19 cases have resulted in increasing daily recoveries. During the last 24 hours, a sharp rise of recoveries was observed, with 20,033 COVID-19 patients having been cured, taking the cumulative figure to 3,79,891. Presently, there are 2,27,439 active cases and all are under medical supervision. As on date, there are 1,52,452 recovered cases more than the active COVID-19 cases.

There has been a steady rise in the samples tested every day with close to 93 lakh samples being tested till date. During the last 24 hours 2,41,576 samples have been tested. The cumulative number of samples tested, as on date, is 92,97,749. This has also been possible due to the very expanding network of testing labs in the country. With 775 labs in the government sector and 299 private labs, there are as many as 1074 labs today.

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More than 2 Crore N95 Masks & more than 1 Crore PPEs distributed Free of Cost by Central Government to States

Union Government’s central role has been in strengthening health infrastructure to fight the pandemic. Since 1^st April 2020, Centre has distributed more than 2.02 crore N95 masks and more than 1.18 crore PPE kits to States / UTs / Central Institutions, free of cost. Also, more than 6.12 crore HCQ tablets have been distributed to them. In addition, so far, 11,300 ‘Make in India’ ventilators have been dispatched to various States / UTs / Central Institutions, out of which 6154 ventilators stand already delivered to various hospitals. This will help to bridge the massive gap in availability of ventilators in COVID ICU facilities. MoHFW is also supplying 1.02 lakh oxygen cylinders to States/UTs, out of which 72,293 have been delivered to strengthen oxygen beds. Till now, 7.81 lakh PPEs and 12.76 lakh N95 masks have been supplied in Delhi, 11.78 lakh PPEs and 20.64 N95 masks in Maharashtra, and 5.39 lakh PPEs and 9.81 lakh N95 masks in Tamil Nadu by MoHFW.

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Income Tax Department refunded Rs. 62,361 crore to more than 20 lakh taxpayers amid COVID-19 pandemic

In pursuance to the Government’s to issue pending income tax refunds in order to help taxpayers in a COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Income Tax Department has issued tax refunds at a speed of 76 cases per minute from 8th April to 30th June, 2020. During this period of just 56 weekdays, the Central Board of Direct taxes issued refunds in more than 20.44 lakh cases, amounting to more than Rs. 62,361 crore. Taxpayers are experiencing this facet of the I-T Department which is not only taxpayer-friendly, but also that of a facilitator providing liquidity in this hard time of COVID-19 pandemic. Income tax refunds amounting to Rs. 23,453.57 crore have been issued in 19,07,853 cases to taxpayers and corporate tax refunds amounting to Rs. 38,908.37 crore have been issued in 1,36,744 cases to taxpayers during this period.

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Union Home Minister held a meeting with Chief Ministers of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for a unified Covid19 strategy for National Capital Region

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Ministers of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for a unified strategy for COVID19 in the National Capital Region(NCR) yesterday. He emphasised on the need to focus on more testing of those suspected of Covid19 so that the infection rate in the NCR region can be reduced. Shri Amit Shah said that adoption of more testing via Rapid Antigen Test Kits will help in reducing infection transmission rate below 10% as suggested by World Health Organization. He emphasised on the importance of the humanitarian perspective to save lives of the poor and the needy, said the focus should be on early hospitalisation of patients, so that the mortality rate can also be reduced. Shri Amit Shah also stressed on the wide use of Arogya Setu and Itihas Apps to help COVID19 mapping in the NCR. The Minister added that the AIIMS Delhi Telemedicine consultation model being used in Delhi for COVID patients should be replicated in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana also. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh  Vardhan and senior officials of the Government of India, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi governments were also present at the meeting.

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About 1.59 crore households covered in a Vulnerability Mapping Survey by 42000 ASHAs in Karnataka

Karnataka’s 42,000 ASHAs have emerged as a crucial pillar in the State’s success in combating COVID-19. They have been actively participating in the COVID-19 household surveys and screening inter-state passengers, migrant workers, and others in the community for symptoms of COVID-19. Recognizing the increased vulnerability of certain population groups to COVID-19, in a one-time survey to identify households with the elderly, persons with co-morbidities, and immuno-compromised individuals, about 1.59 crore households were covered. ASHAs regularly monitor such high-risk groups in their area with periodicity of follow-up visits varying from once a day in the Containment Zones to once every 15 days in other areas. They also visit the houses of persons expressing complaints of ILI/SARI symptoms, and high-risk individuals who have called the State Health Department helpline numbers.

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Jal Jeevan Mission: during lockdown, 19 lakh households provided tap connections

When the whole country is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Central Government is making all efforts for ‘provision of safe drinking water in rural areas’ by providing tap connections in rural households, so that people can get water in their premises underJal Jeevan Mission (JJM).  It would avoid gathering at public stand-posts to fetch water as well as provide employment to locals along with the returnees, which in turn will boost rural economy. In the first quarter of 2020-21, 19 lakh tap connections have been provided in villages across the country. This has happened because of concerted efforts of the States despite adverse working conditions due to Covid-19 pandemic. The mission is under implementation in partnership with States.

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Union HRD Minister releases 8 weeks' alternative academic calendar for Primary stage

In order to engage students meaningfully during their stay at home due to COVID-19 through educational activities at home with the help of their parents and teachers, the alternative academic calendars for students, parents and teachers at primary and upper primary stage have been developed by the NCERT under the guidance of the MHRD. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank released Alternative Academic Calendar for 8 weeks for primary stage yesterday. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that this Calendar provides guidelines to teachers on the use of various technological tools and social media tools available for imparting education in fun-filled, interesting ways, which can be used by learner, parents and teachers even while at home.

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COVID-19 serves as a clarion call to achieve Atmanirbhar Bharat, says Dr Raghunath Mashelkar

COVID-19 has brought into the country a clarion call for everyone to rebuild, recover, and re-imagine ourselves in order to achieve Aatmanirbhar Bharat, said Padma Vibhushan, Dr Raghunath Anant Mashelkar. Delivering a talk on “Building Aatmanirbhar Bharat with Aatmabishwas”, Dr Mashelkar said that in our endeavour to attain self-reliance or Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we cannot isolate ourselves from the world but integrate with global supply chain. He emphasized on five pillars of ‘aatmanirbharata’ – Buy, Make, Buy to make better, Make to buy better, and Make it together (building public-private partnerships).

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All Centrally protected monuments of ASI to open from 6th July 2020: Shri Prahlad Singh Patel

Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/c),Shri Prahlad Singh Patel has announced that Ministry of Culture & Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to open all the centrally protected monuments by completely abiding safety protocols from 6^th July 2020. He said that only those monuments/ Museums which are in the non-containment zone will be open for visitors. All Centrally protected monuments and Sites shall be bound by the protocols like sanitization, social distancing and other health protocols issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Any specific orders of the State and/or District administration shall also be strictly implemented, he added.

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INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Kerala: State to begin Antigen test in the Capital Thiruvananthapuram district soon, in view of the Covid-19 positive cases without evident sources. 18 wards in the city have been declared containment zones. More tests will be conducted at VSSC where two staff members were tested positive for the virus. Six Keralites, including a nun, succumbed to the coronavirus outside the state- three each in various states and in the Gulf region. Yesterday the number of Covid recoveries exceeded new cases in the state with 202 recoveries and 160 new cases. 2,088 patients are still undergoing treatment for the disease in various districts.
• Tamil Nadu: 93-year-old woman succumbs to Covid-19 in Puducherry, 24 new cases take tally to 824; among the new cases, 23 are in Puducherry and one is in Karaikal. In Madurai, with the surge in Covid-19 cases, patients with mild symptoms are now being treated in home isolation. Highest single-day spike in Tamil Nadu with 4,343 cases and 57 deaths reported yesterday with 2027 new cases from Chennai. New cases State’s tally of Covid cases is now 98,392 with 41047 of them active. Total of 1321 have succumbed to the pandemic so far.
• Karnataka: As per new guidelines of the State government, asymptomatic Covid-19 patients who are below 50 and having oxygen saturation equal or above 95 per cent shall be considered for home isolation. With contractual doctors in the Health and Family Welfare Department threatening to go on strike from July 8 over the delay in fulfilling their demand of regularisation of service, the State Government on Thursday issued an order increasing their salaries from Rs 45,000 to Rs 60,000 per month. 1502 new covid cases, 271 discharges & 19 deaths reported yesterday. Total positive cases: 18,016, Active cases: 9406, Deaths: 272.
• Andhra Pradesh: ICMR has selected King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam among the 12 centers across the country which have been identified for clinical trials of the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID Vaccine) developed jointly by ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited. The vaccine is envisaged for launch for public health use latest by August 15, 2020 after completion of all clinical trials. Diesel Loco Shed, Visakhapatnam, has come up with ultraviolet radiation-based disinfectant to sanitise currency notes, papers and tools. The equipment works on the principal of UV radiation emitted from a germicidal ultraviolet light that kills up to 99.9 per cent of viruses, airborne bacteria and mold spores. 837 new cases, 258 discharged and five deaths reported during last 24 hours after testing 38,898 samples.  Of the 837 cases, 46 are inter-state cases and two from abroad. Total cases: 16,934, Active cases: 9096, Discharges: 7632, Deaths: 206.
• Telangana: State government informed High Court that it has no plans to introduce mobile testing labs in the state and added that it would continue to stick with RT-PCR tests which are more accurate. First vaccine against Covid19, developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech, is envisioned to be launched by ICMR by August 15. Human clinical trials for the vaccine named COVAXIN put on fast-track. NIMS, Punjagutta is one of the testing sites. Total cases reported till yesterday: 18570, Active cases: 9226, Deaths: 275, Discharges: 9069.
• Maharashtra: The state on Thursday witnessed crossing than one lakh cured patients of Covid 19, even as with the addition of 6,330 new reported cases the total cases tally stood at 1,86,626. Total active cases in the state are 77260. Mumbai added 1554 new cases taking the total number of reported cases to 80,262.
• Gujarat: In Gujarat, the number of Covid-19 cases has reached 33,999 with 681 new cases reported during the last 24 hours. 19 patients have lost their lives taking the total death due to Covid-19 in the state up to 1,888. Maximum of 202 new cases have been reported from Ahmedabad city, while Surat recorded 191 new cases. There are 7,510 active cases in the state. The state has carried out 3.88 lakh tests so far.
• Rajasthan: 123 new COVID-19 positive cases and 5 deaths have been reported in Rajasthan till this morning. On Thursday, 350 new cases and 9 deaths were reported in all. Total number of cases stands at 18,785 while number of active cases is only 3,307.
• Madhya Pradesh: 245 new cases have been reported, which takes the total number of cases to 14,106. There are 2,702 active cases in the state. Death toll stands at 589.
• Chhattisgarh: 72 new cases have been identified in Chhattisgarh taking the COVID-19 tally to 3,013. There are 637 active cases, as per latest report.
• Goa: 95 samples tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Thursday, which takes the COVID-19 tally up in the state to 1,482. The number of active patients is 744.
• Assam: Plasma Bank started at GMCH, Guwahati, first convalescent donor Dr. Lithikesh is a doctor.
• Manipur: Boxing Icon and Asian Games Gold Medallist Dingko Singh from Manipur has recovered and is now COVID19 negative.
• Meghalaya: Three more persons tested positive for COVID19 in Meghalaya, two from East Khasi Hills (BSF) and one high risk contact from Ri Bhoi. The total active cases stands at 18 in the state and 43 have recovered so far.
• Mizoram: One recovered Covid-19 patient discharged in Mizoram today. Now active cases stands at 35 while 127 discharged till date. The COVID-19 tally in state reached 162.
• Nagaland: Fresh cases of COVID-19 positive have been detected in Nagaland taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 539 with 342 active cases while 197 have recovered.
• Punjab: Punjab Chief Minister released an easy-to-understand Punjab COVID-19 Clinical Management Manual as a single reference point for all healthcare providers, with the overall aim of reducing the mortality rate through a cohesive and coordinated approach dealing with all facets of the pandemic. Describing the Manual as a force multiplier for his government’s `Mission Fateh’, the Chief Minister said it will serve as a bridge between the national protocol and the State’s requirements on COVID management. It will give healthcare providers dealing with the care and management of Coronavirus positive patients easy access to the tools needed for better handling of the pandemic, he added.

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