A day after India overtook Russia to become the third-highest country in the world in terms of coronavirus cases, the Indian Council of Medical Research said that the country has tested over one crore samples till date. “The per day testing capacity which was around 1.5 lakh on May 25 is more than three lakh per day now,” said the institution’s scientist and media coordinator Dr. Lokesh Sharma.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.
Here are the latest updates:
11.30 am
Union minister Pratap Sarangi goes into home quarantine
Union minister and Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi has quarantined himself at his New Delhi residence after a BJP MLA from Odisha he shared the dias with at two events last week tested positive for COVID-19.
In a series of tweets on Monday night, the Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) said he is “hale and hearty”. Sarangi said he had shared the dais with Sukanta Kumar Nayak, the MLA from Nilagiri constituency in Balasore district, at two events on July 2 and 3.
“On being informed that MLA Nilagiri has been tested positive for #COVID-19, I self quarantined myself at my official residence in Delhi as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,” he said.
– PTI
11.00 am
Total shutdown in parts of West Bengal for a week
Total shutdown would be imposed in English Bazar and Old Malda towns for a week, starting Wednesday in the wake of the rising cases of COVID- 19, officials said.
All shops will remain shut during this period, except those selling essential items, they said. Pharmacies have also been excluded from the purview of the shutdown, officials said.
Private vehicles will not be allowed on the roads, they said, adding that state-run buses after leaving the Gour Kanya terminal will stop only at a single point in any of these two towns. Cycle-rickshaws and e-rickshaws will also be not allowed, officials said. However, some rickshaws would be made available at three designated locations for emergency purposes.
The vegetable market in English Bazar, the district headquarters, will remain open till 11 a.m.
Malda, the home to lakhs of migrant workers from West Bengal, has so far reported 859 cases. Of them, 331 are currently undergoing treatment while 524 people have been discharged after recovery. Four deaths have been reported from the district, which is on the India-Bangladesh border.
– PTI
10.30 am
UP’s Muzaffarnagar, Shamli districts seal borders to prevent entry of kanwariyas
File photo of Kanwar yatra in progress.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar and Shamli on Monday sealed the borders of the districts with neighbouring states of Uttarakhand and Haryana, respectively, in view of the cancellation of the annual Kanwar Yatra due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Lord Shiva known as kanwariyas. The devotees visit Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to