Coronavirus LIVE Update: India's Cases Rise To 59,92,532; 94,503 Dead

Indoor Gyms To Stay Shut In Maharashtra

Malls and market complexes will be opened in Maharashtra from August 5, but without theatres, food courts, and restaurants. They will be permitted to operate from 9 am to 7 pm.

Indoor gyms will continue to remain shut according to the new unlock guidelines released by the government. The lockdown in the state and the containment areas has been extended to August 31. 

Tamil Nadu Extends Lockdown

Tamil Nadu has decided to extend its lockdown in the state till August 31 with a few relaxations. The state will see a complete lockdown on Sundays.

Face Coverings Mandatory In Australian State Of Victoria After Surge In COVID-19 Cases

Face coverings have been made mandatory when in public in the Australian state of Victoria from August 2 after a rise in COVID-19 cases. The announcement was made a week after face coverings were made mandatory in Melbourne. Victoria has reported 9,304 COVID-19 cases so far with 92 fatalities recorded.

Horseshoe Bats Likely Origin Of SARS-CoV-2: Study

A study conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics has claimed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has most likely orginated in horseshoe bats. The study, published in Nature Microbiology, found that the virus has been circulating unnoticed among bats for decades. Researchers believe that the SARS-CoV-2's receptor-binding motif, important for specificity to human ACE2 receptors, is an ancestral trait shared by bat viruses and not acquired recently through recombination.

India Adds Record 52,123 New COVID-19 Cases

India reported a record one-day spike in new COVID-19 cases after 52,123 people tested positive for the coronavirus. The total case count stands at 15,83,792 with 5,28,242 being active cases while 10,20,582 patients have been cured or discharged so far. 775 patients succumbed to the disease increasing the death toll to 34,968.

Roche's Bid To Reprogram Arthritis For COVID-19 Treatment Fails

The Swiss drug manufacturer Roche today announced that it has not succeeded in its bid to retool its arthritis drug RoActemrato, also known as tocilizumab, to treat severely hospitalised COVID-19 patients with pneumonia. The company said that the COVACTA trial failed to meet its primary endpoint of "improved clinical status in patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia, or the key secondary endpoint of reduced patient mortality. Reuters reports that Roche is testing if RoActemrato combined with Gilead's remdesivir can treat COVID-19 patients with pneumonia.

Andhra Pradesh Reports Record One-day Spike Of 10k New COVID-19 Cases

Andhra Pradesh has reported 10,093 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest one-day rise in cases. The total case count stands at 1,17,495 of which 63,753 are active cases while 52,529 patients have been cured or discharged so far. The death toll stand at 1,213.

India's Total Case Count Crosses 15 Lakhs

India's total case count crossed 15 lakhs after 48,513 people tested positive for COVID-19. Out of the 15,31,669 total cases, 5,09,447 are active cases while 9,88,029 patients have been cured or discharged so far. The death toll rose to 34,193 after 768 patients died due to the disease.

Mumbai's Sero-Surveys Preliminary Findings Out

Around 57% of the samples collected from the slums and 17% of the samples collected from the non-slums in M-west, R-north and F-north of Mumbai have developed antibodies against COVID-19 show the preliminary findings shared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Around 6936 samples were collected from the areas. 

The civic body has interpreted these findings as a measure of good social distancing and containment measures conducted in the city. The higher prevalence in the slums has been attributed to the population density in the slums. 

The BMC plans to further study these results to understand prevalence of herd immunity. The infection rate of the virus is only around 0.05-0.1% according to these findings. 

Mumbai Reports Lowest One-day Rise In 100 Days

Mumbai reported 700 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest one-day rise in 100 days as the total case count in the city rose to 1,10,882. The death toll rose to 6,187 after 55 patients died due to the disease.

Maharashtra reported 7,717 new COVID-19 cases with the total case count at 3,91,440. The death toll stands at 14,165 after 282 patients died due to the disease.