Indian companies have sought technical details on the trials of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for possible production in India, an Indian Embassy source in Moscow said.
Separately, in an interview to Russian state media Sputnik, Indian Envoy in Moscow D.B. Venkatesh Varma said, “I had a productive discussion with CEO of RDIF, Mr. Kirill Dmitriev, and we are hopeful of positive outcome.”
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
2:45 p.m. | Rajasthan
COVID-19: Work at Rajasthan High Court suspended for 3 days
Work at the Rajasthan High Court here will remain suspended for the next three days, after its Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.
The registrar general of the high court, in a notice, said all the persons concerned are requested to get themselves tested for COVID-19.
— PTI
2:40 p.m. | Los Angeles
Scientists invent low-cost emergency ventilator
Using standard parts that cost less than USD 400, scientists have developed an emergency ventilator which could be an affordable option when more sophisticated technology is not available, or in short supply, an invention that may help save the lives of those suffering from COVID-19.
While in the simplest ventilators, doctors squeeze a self-inflating bag by hand to pump air into the lungs, and high-end automated versions use complex electronics to control multiple parameters, the current innovation, described in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study in medRxiv, is a cost-effective device with a mechanism that automatically squeezes the self-inflating bag.
— PTI
2:30 p.m. | New Delhi
98-year-old war veteran defeats COVID-19
Sepoy Ramu Laxman Sakpal (Retd.), a 98-year-old war veteran who contracted COVID-19, was discharged from the Navy hospital in Mumbai on August 15 after being fully cured, the Navy said on Sunday.
“Sepoy Sakpal, a resident of Nerul, was admitted to Indian Naval Hospital Ship Asvini in a critical state and diagnosed with pneumonia due to COVID-19 a few weeks ago. The veteran’s condition was successfully managed at the Naval Hospital, leading to freedom from COVID-19 on August 15, India’s Independence Day,” the Navy said in a statement.
— PTI
2:20 p.m. | Maharashtra
97 caught for obscenity, flouting COVID-19 norms at restaurant
Mumbai Police nabbed 97 people, including 28 women, from a restaurant here in the wee hours of Sunday for allegedly disobeying COVID-19 prevention protocols and indulging in obscene acts, officials said.
The women were later let-off while others, including the restaurant’s manager and three waiters, were arrested, they said.
— PTI
2:15 p.m. | Arunachal Pradesh
51 more COVID-19 cases in Arunachal take tally to 2,658
At least 51 more people, including 28 security personnel, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, raising the state’s tally to 2,658, a senior health department official said on Sunday.
Barring two, all of them are asymptomatic, he said.
Twenty-three people were discharged from various hospitals in the state, pushing the number of recoveries to 1,771, the official said.
— PTI
2:05 p.m. | Houston
USFDA clears simple saliva test for faster detection of COVID-19
The US health watchdog has authorised the emergency use of a new and expensive saliva based laboratory diagnostic test for COVID-19 that could be a game changer in the diagnosis of the infection as it will enable rapid testing amongst more people easily.
Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drugs Administration Commissioner, said the new saliva test would increase efficiency and avoid shortage of crucial test components like reagents.
— PTI
1:55 p.m. | Gujarat
23 prisoners of Rajkot Central jail test coronavirus positive
As many as 23 prisoners of the Rajkot Central Jail in Gujarat have tested positive for coronavirus, a senior official said on Sunday.
Rapid antigen tests were conducted on 94 inmates and results of 23 of them, including undertrials and convicts, came out positive on Saturday night, jail superintendent Banno Joshi said.
— PTI
1:45 p.m.
India’s case fatality rate drops to 1.93%, recovery rate nearly 72%: Health Ministry
According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India’s case fatality rate stands at 1.93% as of today. “India’s Recovery Rate has reached nearly 72% ensuring more and more patients are recovering. 53,322 have recovered and been discharged in the past 24 hours. With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have increased to more than 18.6 lakh (18,62,258,” the ministry stated in a press release.
1:30 p.m. | New Delhi
Pranab Mukherjee continues to be on ventilator support: Hospital
The condition of former president Pranab Mukherjee remained unchanged on Sunday and he continued to be on ventilator support, doctors attending to him said.
They said his vital and clinical parameters are stable.
— PTI
1:10 p.m. | Pakistan
Pakistan’s coronavirus tally jumps to 288,717, death toll at 6,168
Pakistan’s coronavirus tally reached 288,717 on Sunday after 670 new cases were detected in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.
Six more fatalities were reported overnight, pushing the death toll to 6,168, it said.
While 266,301 patients were recovered so far, 769 are in critical condition at various hospitals across the country.
— PTI
1:05 p.m. | Puducherry
4 more deaths take COVID-19 toll to 110, 384 cases reported
Four more people, including a 75-year-old-woman woman succumbed to COVID-19 in Puducherry, taking the total number of fatalities to 110, while 384 fresh cases took the tally to 7,732 in the Union territory.
The four deceased were aged between 43 to 75 years.
— PTI
12:55 p.m. | Odisha
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally climbs to 60,050 with record 2,924 fresh cases
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally jumped to 60,050 on Sunday with a record 2,924 new cases, while 10 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 343, a health department official said.
Four deaths were reported from Khurda and Ganjam districts and one each from Bhadrak, Bolagir, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kandhamal and Sonepur, he said.
— PTI
12:45 p.m. | South Korea
South Korea reports largest virus jump since March
South Korea has reported 279 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus, it’s highest daily jump since early March, as fears grow about a massive outbreak in the greater capital region.
The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sunday brought the national caseload to 15,318, including 305 deaths.
— AP
12:25 p.m. | New Zealand
New Zealand counts 13 new cases, most linked
Health authorities reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus in New Zealand on Sunday, including 12 linked to an outbreak in the city of Auckland and one returning traveler who was already in quarantine.
The outbreak in Auckland, discovered Tuesday, has prompted officials to put the nation’s largest city back into a two-week lockdown.
— AP
12:15 p.m. | Kerala
Prisoner succumbs to COVID-19 at Kerala’s Poojappura Central Prison
The Poojappura Central Prison, which has been ravaged by COVID-19, reported its first casualty after an aged prisoner succumbed to the illness late Saturday.
The 72-year old Kilimanoor native was the first inmate to be diagnosed with the disease. Suffering from various other co-morbidities including asthma, he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after collapsing and falling unconscious on August 11.
— Sarath Babu George
12:05 p.m. | Assam
Assam’s COVID-19 tally tops 75,000 with 1,057 fresh cases, death toll climbs to 182
Assam’s COVID-19 tally surpassed the 75,000-mark with 1,057 fresh cases, while the death toll mounted to 182 as eight more people succumbed to the virus, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The state’s coronavirus caseload stood at 75,558, while 53,286 people have so far recovered from the disease, he said.
— PTI
12:00 p.m.| Telangana
Telangana records 1,102 new COVID-19 cases, nine deaths
As many as 1,102 fresh COVID-19 cases and nine deaths were reported in Telangana, taking the tally to 91,361 and the toll to 693, the state government said on Sunday.
Out of the freshcases, 234 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by districts of Karimnagar 101, Ranga Reddy 81, Warangal Urban 70, Medchal 63,a state government bulletin said on Sunday, providing data as of 8 PM on August 15.
— PTI
11:45 p.m.
COVID-19: Over 63,000 fresh cases, India’s virus tally climbs to 25,89,682
India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 25,89,682 with a single-day spike of 63,490 infections, while the total number of recoveries rose to 18,62,258 pushing the recovery rate to 71.91 per cent on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The death toll due to coronavirus infection climbed to 49,980 with 944 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 a.m. showed.
— PTI
11:30 p.m. | New York
India must pay homage to COVID-19 warriors, frontline workers on its 74th I-Day: Muraleedharan
As India celebrates its 74th Independence Day, the country must pay its regards to the multitude of COVID-19 warriors and frontlines workers who have been working tirelessly to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Union Minister V Muraleedharan said on Sunday.
The Minister of State for External Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs was the chief guest at a ‘Virtual Kavi Sammelan’ organised by Jaipur Foot USA to celebrate India’s Independence Day.
— PTI
11.15 am | Jammu and Kashmir
Devotees start thronging Vaishno Devi Shrine
Khushvinder Singh is part of a 12-member group from Jammu who reached Katra before dawn to pay obeisance at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The shrine along with other religious places across the Union Territory reopened for devotees on Sunday morning after remaining closed for almost five months due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
11.00 am | New Delhi
‘No idol immersion during Ganeshotsav’
Immersion of idols will not be allowed in public places in the city during Ganeshotsav due to COVID-19, and the government will not set up any artificial ponds for the same as it did in previous years, said officials.
10.00 am
Manipur extends lockdown
The Manipur government has extended the COVID-19 lockdown till August 31, Rajesh Kumar, chief secretary and chairman of the State Executive Committee, announced on Saturday. He said that there were reports of new COVID-19 cases involving persons who had no history of travel outside the State.
9.00 am | Tamil Nadu
32 doctors died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu: IMA
A total of 32 doctors have died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu so far and another 15 doctors who died had symptoms of COVID-19 but tested negative for the infection, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu State branch, has stated.
8.00 am
Not all COVID survivors can donate plasma
Everyday, family members and friends of COVID patients are tapping into all their contacts earnestly hoping to find a recovered person who is willing to donate plasma. Convalescent plasma therapy is one of the options explored to save some patients.
Transfusion medicine specialist Dr. Hitesh Kumar, also head of the blood bank at KIMS, explained about who all can donate plasma, how many times a person can donate plasma, and if there will be any changes to one’s health after the donation.
Also read: Plasma therapy may look promising in treating COVID-19, but it is no magic bullet
7.00 am | Kerala
COVID-19 cases mount in central prison in Thiruvananthapuram
COVID-19 cases continued to emerge in large numbers in the Poojappura Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram where 53 prisoners more tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday, taking the number of inmates diagnosed with the infection within five days to 217.