Covid-19 Factoid: India reports 10,000+ daily recoveries for a second time

The pace of growth for new cases globally isn't showing any signs of ebbing.

The cout of confirmed coronavirus cases globally stands at over 8 million, of which roughly half have now recovered. The global death toll is at 439,760 at present. The US is still at the top of the ladder, with over 2 million cases, followed by Brazil and Russia.

In India, there are 153,178 active cases of coronavirus now, while the confirmed case count is more than 300,000. Over 9,900 patients have lost their lives so far, while 180,012 people have been cured.

Here are some graphs on the current spread:

#1. The last 1 million cases were added to world tally in just a week

The pace of growth for new cases globally isn’t showing any signs of ebbing. As the global tally crossed 8 million, every new million cases have been registered in a shorter period. The initial million took 95 days to get registered, but subsequent millions took 8 to 13 days. The latest one million took the fastest to register, at just 7 days.

#2. More than 10,000 recoveries were reported in India for a second time

In a positive trend, daily recoveries crossed 10,000 for the second time since the infection spread. In fact, for all the days in June, the number of recoveries in a day has been firmly above 3,500 throughout. India’s recovery rate is roughly at 52 per cent at present.

#3. Telangana has the worst testing penetration among the worst affected states

Telangana has a testing rate of 628 tests per million population, lowest among the worst affected states (more than 5,000 cases). Telangana has 5,193 confirmed cases at present, but this number could be higher if testing is ramped up. In comparison, Delhi, with over 40,000 confirmed cases, has very high testing penetration, at 14,947. Maharashtra, with over 100,000 cases, conducts 5,620 tests per million. Among these states, J&K has the highest testing penetration with 20,557 tests per million population.

How states have planned for easing restrictions on inter-state travel

The Maharashtra government says that inter-state travel by road, air and trains from Maharashtra will remain prohibited in the latest phase of the lockdown until June 30.

After Centre allowed lifting of restrictions on inter-state movement of people, states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which have reported the highest number of coronavirus cases, and those in the Northeast on Sunday decided to continue with the curbs even after the end of the fourth phase of the lockdown.

Several others like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Telangana announced they are allowing inter-state movement as part of easing of restrictions under the 'Unlock-1'.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday decided to extend the coronavirus-induced lockdown till June 30 in the containment zones, while in the areas outside containment zones, lockdown will be in force till June 7.

According to an official statement from the CMO, Rao held discussions with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy and other senior officials in the backdrop of new guidelines issued by the Centre.

"It was decided to implement the relaxations in all the areas except in the Containment Zones as per the guidelines issued by the Centre. The CM has instructed the officials concerned to implement lockdown in the containment zones strictly," reads the statement.

The Karnataka government, while allowing inter-state movement, said separate orders will be issued by Health and Family Welfare Department for people coming to the state.

The UP government said there is no ban on interstate travel but left it to the district administrations of Ghaziabad and Noida to take a call on the movement of people from adjoining Delhi. The state has not restarted its inter-state bus service.

Plasma therapy worked on my body in 3 days, says recovered Covid-19 patient

I had received plasma from a doctor named Dr Izhar Munshi who had recovered from coronavirus, said the patient.

As plasma therapy is still in experimental stage and several states continue the trial of it for Covid-19, a doctor who donated his plasma after recovering from coronavirus and a plasma recipient who has recovered now have shared their experiences.

Kapil Dev Bhalla, a plasma therapy recipient, said, "I was admitted in Aurobindo Hospital wherein during my treatment for coronavirus the congestion in my chest was not getting cured despite several efforts. On April 26, I was told by Dr Ravi Dhosi that they are planning to administer plasma therapy on me. I gave them a thumbs up and within three days it worked on my body. I had received plasma from a doctor named Dr Izhar Munshi who had recovered from coronavirus."

He further said, "The congestion which earlier was getting cured in the extremely slow process got cleared within three days of getting plasma. I was taken off oxygen and then got discharged on May 6."

"I have already told the doctors at Aurobindo Hospital that I am ready to donate plasma whenever they want," he added.

Dr Iqbal Qureshi, a plasma donor, told ANI: "I was admitted in Aurobindo after I was tested Covid-19 positive. After I was discharged and completed 14 days of home quarantine, I received a call from Aurobindo Medical College, Indore asking me to donate plasma therapy. I immediately agreed."

"From my body, about 400 ml plasma was taken and it benefitted two patients. Hence, I urge people who have recovered from coronavirus to donate plasma," he added.

Meanwhile, Dr PS Thakur, Superintendent of Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar Hospital, has warned people of getting excited over the plasma therapy. "Everyone should keep in mind that plasma therapy is still under trial. However, if the trial is successful then it will definitely give us a new medicine to treat coronavirus patients.

Will coronavirus lockdown be extended? CMs' take after meeting with PM Modi

PM Modi held a video conference to discuss the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak and measures to deal with it.

Will the coronavirus lockdown be extended in the national capital? The Delhi government will follow the Centre's guidelines, officials said on Monday.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference with chief ministers to discuss the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak and measures to deal with it.

"We are preparing our submission which will be sent to the Centre soon," a senior government official said.

The official said nine chief ministers spoke during the meeting with the prime minister in which they discussed a range of issues, including the possibility of extending of the lockdown, amid the rising number of coronavirus cases.

In West Bengal, restrictions enforced to fight Covid-19 will continue till May 21 with curbs on normal life varying in intensity based on the extent of spread of the viral infection in a particular area, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

"We want the restrictions to continue till May 21. We have to be careful till that time," Banerjee told media persons at the state secretariat Nabanna.

The Chief Minister, however, clarified that she was not announcing any extension on lockdown, as that decision will be taken by the central government.

"I am talking of restrictions, which is different from the lockdown," she added.

Banerjee said while the restrictions would be strictly implemented in every red zone (areas with large number of corona positive cases), the impact will be less severe in orange zones (areas with a limited number of cases in the past and with no surge in positive cases recently, where restricted activities would be allowed).

Total coronavirus cases in India mount to 18,601; Delhi has 2,081 patients

Acording to Delhi government authorities, a committee has been constituted for a daily audit of every fatality due to Covid-19.

The total number of coronavirus positive cases in India has reached 18,601 on Tuesday. And at least 590 have died due to the disease.

With 78 fresh coronavirus cases and two deaths on Monday, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi rose to 2,081, the government authorities said. The death toll from Covid-19 in the national capital stands at 47, with 25 victims aged 60 and above.

Acording to Delhi government authorities, a committee has been constituted for a daily audit of every fatality due to Covid-19.

The city government has acquired 42,000 such kits and after trial runs on Sunday, the first phase of tests were conducted on Monday in a containment zone in Nabi Karim area in central Delhi, the news agency PTI reported.

"Sixty-two Covid-19 tests using rapid (anti-bodies) test kits were conducted today in Nabi Karim area's containment zone and all samples came out negative," a senior official said.

The tests were being administered only in persons showing some sort of symptoms of the coronavirus infection, he said.

The number of containment zones in Delhi increased to 84, with eight new ones being added, the authorities said.

According to the Health Department, at least 625 coronavirus patients are admitted to various hospitals like LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and AIIMS Jhajjhar. It said 26 of them are in ICU and six on ventilator support.

As many as 32,192 people, who came in contact with affected persons, are under home-quarantine and 20,041 have completed their 14-day quarantine, the officials said.

Donald Trump wants to send US experts inside China to probe coronavirus

Trump said he is not happy with China where the pandemic emerged in December last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said his government wants to send a team of experts inside China to investigate coronavirus, a day after he warned Beijing of consequences if it was knowingly responsible for the spread of Covid-19 which has killed over 41,000 in America.

Describing the coronavirus as a plague, Trump, during his White House news conference on Sunday, said that he is not happy with China where the pandemic emerged in December last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

"We spoke to them (Chinese) a long time ago about going in. We want to go in. We want to see what's going on. And we weren't exactly invited, I can tell you that," the President told reporters.

"I was very happy with the (trade) deal (with China), very happy with everything and then we found out about the plague and since we found out about that I'm not happy," he said.

The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

He has repeatedly expressed disappointment over China's handling of the coronavirus disease, alleged non-transparency and initial non-cooperation from Beijing with Washington on dealing with the crisis.

Based on an investigation, we are going to find out, Trump told reporters.

A day earlier, he warned China that it should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the spread of the novel coronavirus, upping the ante on Beijing over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump also claimed that the US has carried out more tests than 10 other countries, including India, taken together.

Trump asserted on Sunday that the US continued to make steady progress in its war against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the country had tested 4.18-million people. "That's a record anywhere in the world," he said.

Now, pvt labs to also test for coronavirus infections as Centre gives nod

Around 50-60 accredited private labs to test for coronavirus infection.

When the coronavirus (Covid-19) episode is giving no indications of easing back down, the Center has chosen to permit the utilization of certify private labs for testing the infection. 

Indian Council of Medical Research executive general Balram Bhargava affirmed to The Times of India, on Monday, that around 50-60 private labs, certify by the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories, can continue with testing for Covid-19.

The coronavirus pandemic has internationally hit 182,547, with 7,164 announced passings across 157 nations.

The episode in India has now arrived at the eastern province of Odisha also with first instance of Covid-19 contamination revealed yesterday, taking the all out national tally to 124.

Follow full inclusion of Coronavirus here

At present, just government-claimed labs are allowed to test the coronavirus.

Here's how a lot of testing for coronavirus will cost you:

Individuals testing positive for coronavirus contamination can be tried for nothing in government research facilities. The administration bears this cost which extents to around Rs 6,000 - Rs 1,500 for screening and Rs 4,500 for re-affirmation.

Notwithstanding, patients testing in a private lab should shell more cash. As indicated by Times of India, testing at private labs may cost between Rs 9,000 and Rs 12,000. The administration may need to choose whether private players will charge according to their costing model or at financed rates.