Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS: Odisha Relaxes Covid Curbs; Malls, Restaurants To Reopen With 50% Capacity
Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Sunday, August 1: For the fifth consecutive day, Kerala recorded more than 20,000 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday but saw a decline in fatalities.
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Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Sunday, August 1: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that he will take a call on imposing nightlife curbs, weekend curfews after watching how the situation unfolds in 15 days in the state on Saturday after chairing the meeting in connection with emerging Covid situation in the bordering districts of state.
"We will watch the developments and verify on imposing restrictions. Until then, there will be strict implementation of rules," he underlined. The present rule of allowing 50 per cent of customers to bars and pubs will continue for a fortnight, he added.
Ahead of Onam festivities beginning in the state, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has asked people to avoid crowds and if possible, even events, celebrations and visits to relatives to reduce the risk of Covid infection. People should strictly avoid crowds and follow Covid protocols while organising and attending events and celebrations, the Minister said.
Kerala reported 20,624 new Covid cases and 80 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to health bulletin on Saturday. Presently, positivity rate stands at 12.31%. The state reported 16,865 recoveries during the same period. With this, the active cases in Kerala has now gone up to 1,64,500.
This is the fifth day running when the southern state had registered over 20,000 new cases in a day. On Friday, Kerala had reported 20,772 cases and 116 deaths in a span of 24 hours.
J&K Lockdown: No Weekend Curfews; Schools, Higher Education Institutions To Remain Shut
J&K Lockdown: No Weekend Curfews; Schools, Higher Education Institutions To Remain Shut
In view of this, the authorities have decided that there would be no weekend curfews in any district but night curfews would remain in place from 8 pm to 7 am.
Over 49 cr vaccine doses given to states, 3 cr still unutilised: Centre
Asserting its commitment to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid-19 vaccination throughout the country, the Centre on Sunday said that over 49.49 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union Territories so far and a further 8,04,220 are in the pipeline.
"Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 46,70,26,662 doses (as per the data available at 8 a.m. on Sunday)," an official statement said. It said that over 3 crore (3,00,58,190) unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union Territories and private hospitals to be administered.
"The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to states and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain," it said. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday said that over 13 crore vaccines have been administered in July and the vaccination drive will get more accelerated from August. "We must feel proud of our health workers for this feat," he said.
As earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the shortage of vaccines supply to the states, Mandaviya urged him to feel proud at the efforts of health workers who have administered over 47 crore vaccinations so far.
Delhi reports 85 COVID-19 cases, 1 death
The national capital Sunday reported 85 coronavirus cases and one death, while the positivity rate stood at 0.12 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.
With the new cases, the overall infection tally in the city climbs to 14,36,350. Of this, over 14.10 lakh patients have recovered from the disease.
The death toll now stands at 25,054. On Saturday, the city had reported 58 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent and one death due to the infection. On Friday, the capital logged 63 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 0.09 percent and three deaths. On Thursday, it registered 51 cases of COVID-19 with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent and zero deaths.
Odisha Relaxes Covid Curbs; Malls, Restaurants, To Reopen With 50% Capacity From Aug 1
With an improvement in the Covid-19 situation, the Odisha government on Saturday announced reopening of shopping malls, parks and cinema halls among several relaxations in all the districts, barring three cities where coronavirus caseload is relatively high.
The administration granted the relaxations for a month starting from 6 am on Sunday, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said, adding that the existing 10-hour night curfew from 8 pm will be in place in all the districts. “The new guidelines will be enforced for a month till 6 am on September 1," he said.
All weekly and monthly markets, shopping malls and parks are allowed to reopen across the state from Sunday but the restrictions on social and political gatherings are not withdrawn.
Offices, both government and private, are also permitted to function with half the manpower, the SRC said. The state government asked the district administrations to decide on the reopening of religious places, except Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and Shree Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, he said.
Malls, restaurants, roadside eateries, bars, theatres and cinema halls are also allowed to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity and strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
Andhra Pradesh reports 2,287 fresh Covid cases and 18 deaths
Andhra Pradesh reports 2,287 fresh Covid cases, 2,430 recoveries, and 18 deaths in the past 24 hours. Active cases: 21,019 Total recoveries: 19,34,048 Death toll: 13,395