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

FICCI Survey Finds Start Ups Badly Affected By COVID-19

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) surveyed 250 start-ups in the country to find that 12 of then have shut down while around 70% of them have been adversely affected by COVID-19.  

Karnataka Sets Up Helpline For Complaints Against Hospitals Denying COVID-19 Treatment

Karnataka government has set up a helpline for patients to lodge complaints against hospitals who deny treatment to COVID-19 patients, reports PTI. "If denied admission, the patient can call 1912. It is a 24x7 helpline number. Whoever calls the number will get immediate relief," Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.

Triple Lockdown Implemented In Thiruvananthapuram After Surge In Cases

The Kerala government has placed the state capital Thiruvananthapuram in triple lockdown for a week after a rise in COVID-19 cases. According to the order, all public transport systems and non essential shops and services will be prohibited for the week. The state secretariat will also be shut.

The lock-1 will restrict movement of people, lock-2 will enforce mandatory stay-at-home order for people in hotspots while lock-3 will see primary and secondary contacts of positive patients to be mandatorily quarantined in a single room.

India Surpasses Russia As Third-worst Affected Country

India has become the third-worst hit country after surpassing Russia in the total number of COVID-19 cases reported. An increase of 24,248 cases has taken India's case count to 6,97,413. Russia has reported 6,81,251 cases. Only the US and Brazil have reported more cases than India.

425 patients succumbed to the disease as the death toll rose to 19,693. There are 2,53,287 active cases while 4,24,432 patients have been cured or discharged so far.

India Reports Record Spike Of COVID-19 Cases; 24850 New Cases In 24 Hours

On Sunday, India reported its biggest spike in number of COVID-19 cases, with 24,850 new cases being reported in 24 hours, bringing the overall number of cases to 6,73,165.

The death toll stands at 19,268, while the number of active cases is currently at 2,44,815.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state, with 2,00,064 cases, reporting a single-day spike of 7,074 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Delhi - which is also one of the worst affected regions - saw a decline of 10.58% on cases turning out positive.

WHO Discontinues Hydroxychloroquine And HIV Drug Trials For COVID-19 Patients

On Saturday, the World Health Organisation announced the discontinuation of hydroxychloroquine and lopanavir/ritonavir trials for treatment of COVID-19 patients, on recommendation from the Solidarity Trial’s International Steering Committee.

"The International Steering Committee formulated the recommendation in light of the evidence for hydroxychloroquine vs standard-of-care and for lopinavir/ritonavir vs standard-of-care from the Solidarity trial interim results, and from a review of the evidence from all trials presented at the 1-2 July WHO Summit on COVID-19 research and innovation", WHO stated in a press release.

As per WHO, the interim trials results from the above drugs produced "little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients" as compared to standard of care. These results are currently being prepared for peer-reviewed publication.

Maharashtra Reports Highest One-Day Rise In COVID-19 Cases

Maharashtra recorded 7,074 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest one-day rise so far, to take the total case count to 2,00,064. There are 83,295 active COVID-19 cases while 1,08,082 patients have recovered from the disease. The death toll rose to 8,671 after 295 patients succumbed to the disease. Mumbai has reported 83,237 total cases so far with the death toll at 4,830.

Delhi's Case Count Up To 97k; Kerala Reports Highest One-Day Spike

Delhi has reported 2,505 new COVID-19 cases to take the total case count to 97,200. 55 patients succumbed to the disease as the death toll rose to 3,004. There are 25,940 active cases while 68,256 patients have been discharged.

Kerala Health Minister K. K. Shailaja said that the state reported it's highest one-day spike in cases after 240 patients tested positive taking the total case count to 5,204.

Tamil Nadu Reports 4,280 New COVID-19 Cases

Tamil Nadu has reported 4,280 new COVID-19 cases taking the total case count to 1,07,001. The active case count stands at 44,956 while 60,952 patients have been discharged so far. The death toll rose by 65 to reach 1,450.

ICMR Justifies Fast Tracking Letter

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released a statement justifying its fast tracking of Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN.The research body said its following globally accepted norms of fast tracking. It also mentions that the expedition process is as per what other companies and governments have followed across the world. The statement however does not mention the August 15 deadline. 

The statement says that the DCGI has granted permission only after studying the available pre-clinical data but this data has not been disclosed in the clinical trial registration.