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

India Approves 2nd COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate For Human Trial

The Indian drug manufacturer Zydus has been approved to conduct human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, the company announced. Zydus will initiate trials with 1,000 volunteers across India from July and plans to ramp up production of the potential vaccine to cater to the Indian and global demand.

Scientists Discover More Infectious Variant Of Coronavirus

A study published in the journal Cell states that scientists have discovered a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 which is more infectious and is the dominant variety of the virus in COVID-19 patients across the world. The study states that SARS-CoV-2 containing the G614 variant though easily transmissible, is not more severe than other strains of the virus.

India Reports Record 20k Spike In New COVID-19 Cases

India reported a record one-day spike of 20,903 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours to take the total case count to 6,25,544. The number of active cases stands at 2,27,439 while 3,79,891 patients have been cured or discharged so far. 379 patients died due to the disease as the death toll rose to 18,213.

Historical Monuments To Be Reopened For Public From July 6

Historical sites and monuments under ASI's management will be reopened for the public from July 6 Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel announced in a tweet. Close to 3,700 ASI-protected sites and monuments have been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipal Corporations Around Mumbai Including Thane, Navi Mumbai Announce Lockdown

Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the municipal bodies of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan-Dombivli and Mira-Bhayandar have announced a lockdown for 10 days. The Vasai-Virar corporation has announced has declared lockdown in only 18 areas which comes under it's jurisdiction. The APMC market in Vashi and the Thane-Badlapur industrial corridor have been exempted from the lockdown.

India's Total Case Count Crosses 6 Lakh Mark

India reported 19,148 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours to take the total case count to 6,04,641. 434 patients died due to the disease as the death toll rose to 17,834. The number of active cases stands at 2,26,947 while 3,59,859 patients have been discharged so far.

MoHFW Pushes For 'Test-Track-Treat' System For States

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked states to ramp up testing for COVID-19 and adopt a 'test-track-treat' methodology to combat the pandemic. It has urged states and Union Territories to utilize private testing labs and practitioners to facilitate testing at the earliest. 

The ICMR has approved the use of Rapid Antigen Test for early detection of COVID-19 and has approved 1,056 labs across the country. The Ministry has also advised states and UTs to set up testing camps and mobile units in high-incidence areas to collect samples of all symptomatic patients and their contacts.

Maharashtra Reports More Than 5,000 New COVID-19 Cases

After a drop in number of new cases, Maharashtra reported 5,537 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the total case count to 1,80,298. 198 deaths were recorded as the toll rose to 8,053. The case fatality in the state stands at 4.47% while the recovery rate is at 51.67%.

Mumbai, with 79,145 COVID-19 cases and 4,631 deaths, is the worst-hit district followed by Thane with 39,316 cases and 1,019 deaths.

RECOVERY Trial Finds No Clinical Benefit Of Lopinavir-Ritonavir Usage For COVID-19 Patients

The RECOVERY Trial has found that the HIV antiviral lopinavir-ritonavir has no clinical benefits when used for treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients. 1,596 randomised patients were treated with lopinavir-ritonavir while 3,376 randomised patients were given the usual care. Researchers found that the antiviral had no effect on use of ventilators or length of hospital stay in test subjects.

Section 144 Imposed In Mumbai Till July 15

The Mumbai Police had imposed Section 144 in the city till July 15 restricting the movement and gathering of one or more people in a bid to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Only people providing essential services as well as those who have been exempted from restrictions under Mission Begin Again will be allowed to travel. Those caught violating the order will be charged under Section 188 of the IPC which carries a six-month prison term or a Rs 1000 fine or both.

As of June 30, Mumbai has reported 77,197 total cases and has recorded 4,554 deaths.