Shelly 
The battle against COVID-19 was still far from over, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament on Monday.
“We are in the stage of unlock to revive the economy and it’s important that sustained community support is ensured consistently to control the spread of COVID-19 infection and break its chain of transmission,’’ he stated on the first day of the 18-day Monsoon Session.
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:
| 12.30 pm | Mizoram |
Health secretary, 10-year-old girl among 40 new COVID-19 cases in Mizoram
Mizoram’s COVID-19 tally increased to 1,468 as 40 more people, including state health secretary and a 10-year-old girl, have tested positive for the disease, an official said on Tuesday.
Of the fresh cases, 35 were reported from Aizawl, two from Hnahthial and one each from Lunglei, Khawzawl and Lawngtlai districts, he said.
“State Health Secretary H Lalengmawia, a 10-year-old girl from Aizawl and an employee of the Border Security Force from Lunglei are among new patients. Twenty-three fresh cases were detected during contact tracing,” the official said.
The COVID-19 patient from Lawngtlai district has been referred to the Zoram Medical College (ZMC) as he is also suffering from diabetes, he said.
The number of active cases now stands at 549 in Mizoram, while 919 people have recovered from the disease.
According to the health department official, 51,316 samples have been tested for COVID-19, including 1,306 on Monday. - PTI
| 12 pm | Odisha |
Odisha reports 3,645 new COVID-19 cases, 8 more deaths
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally on Tuesday mounted to 1,58,650 with 3,645 people, including a ruling BJD MLA, testing positive for the infection, a health department official said.
The death toll rose to 645 with eight more people succumbing to the infection - three in Cuttack and one each in Boudh, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Subarnapur, he said.
Of the 3,645 new cases, 2,151 were reported from various quarantine centres, and 1,494 were detected during contact tracing.
Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of fresh cases at 517, followed by Cuttack at 357 and Puri at 246, the health department official said. - PTI
| 11.30 pm | Telangana |
Ten more deaths, 2,058 fresh COVID-19 cases in Telangana
Telangana recorded 2,058 new COVID-19 cases and ten related fatalities, pushing the tally of infections to 1.60 lakh in the state.
Out of the fresh cases, 277 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Rangareddy 143, Karimnagar 135, Warangal Urban 108, Siddipet 106, and Khammam 103 districts, a state government bulletin said on Tuesday, providing data as of 8 PM on September 14.
As 10 more people succumbed to the disease, the toll rose to 984.
The cumulative recovered cases stood at 1.29 lakh, while 30,400 were under treatment.
The bulletin said 51,247 samples were tested on September 14.
Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 22.20 lakh. - PTI
| 11.15 pm | Dubai |
COVID-19 will likely become seasonal, but not yet, say scientists
Once herd immunity is attained, the novel coronavirus may follow suit and become a seasonal virus in countries with temperate climates, but until that time, COVID-19 will continue to spread across the seasons, a new study says.
According to the review research, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, when a significant section of the population becomes immune to the novel coronavirus and achieves herd immunity, the effective transmission of the virus may drop substantially making it more prone to seasonal fluctuations.
“COVID-19 is here to stay and it will continue to cause outbreaks year-round until herd immunity is achieved,” warned study senior author Hassan Zaraket from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.
“Therefore, the public will need to learn to live with it, and continue practising the best prevention measures, including wearing of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and avoidance of gatherings,” Mr. Zaraket added.
According to the scientists, there could be multiple waves of COVID-19 before herd immunity is achieved.
Citing earlier research, they said other respiratory viruses similar to the novel coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - follow seasonal patterns, especially in temperate regions.
They said influenza and several types of coronaviruses that cause common cold are known to peak in winter in temperate regions but circulate year-round in tropical regions. - PTI
| 10.15 am | New Delhi |
India’s tally nears grim 50-lakh mark
India’s novel coronavirus tally crossed 49 lakh on Tuesday with 83,809 new cases, while 38.59 lakh people have recuperated so far, taking the recovery rate to 78.28 per cent, the Health Ministry said.
The death toll rose to 80,776 with 1,054 more people succumbing to the infection. The case fatality rate stands at 1.64 per cent, according to the ministry data.
There are 9,90,061 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), comprising 20.08 per cent of the total 49,30,236 cases, it said.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 5.83 crore tests have been conducted so far and 10.73 lakh samples were tested on Monday.
| 9.30 am | Delhi |
30% recovered COVID-19 patients have no antibodies: govt. survey
Seventy-nine of 257 people who had COVID-19, recovered, and later tested for antibodies against the virus, did not have the antibodies, according to a report of the second serological survey done in August by the Delhi government.
Experts, however, said that there was no need to “panic”, as the neutralising antibodies (IgG) tend to vanish after three months, but in most cases the memory cells will remember the virus and trigger an immune response if the person who recovered from COVID-19 is again attacked by the virus.
| 9.00 am | Mumbai |
Why deny insurance to private doctors?: Raj
Raj Thackeray
As complaints by families of private doctors, who lost their lives while treating COVID-19 patients, being denied ₹50 lakh insurance cover rise, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday questioned the sensitivity of the State government led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
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| 8.00 am | Telangana |
At least 50 employees test positive,rail Nilayam shut for sanitisation
South Central Railway (SCR) has decided to shut the Rail Nilayam headquarters for two days (Monday and Tuesday) to take up intensive sanitisation after at least 50 employees tested positive for COVID-19 during a mass RT-PCR testing drive last week.
All office blocks, staircases, toilets, lifts, concourses, etc., are being sanitised thoroughly and all the employees have been asked to disclose their test results so that proper medical treatment can be given to them.
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7.00 am
‘IICT is now working on a new antiviral drug for COVID-19’
CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has been one of the first indigenous labs to gear up to combat COVID-19 by scouring existing anti-virals to treat the infection and has been successful in providing the vital Active Pharma Ingredient (API) to Indian companies for making affordable drugs. The institute is working on a few more APIs to tackle the novel coronavirus and other diseases. In this interview, IICT Director S. Chandrashekar explains what goes into drug discovery and other related issues.
AYUSH practices inducted into management protocol for patients who recovered from virus