New Delhi : August 2, 2020 . Coronavirus India Updates: India’s Covid-19 tally breached the 17-lakh mark on Sunday, just two days after it went past 16 lakh. With 54,735 cases within a span of 24 hours, the tally has risen to 17,50,723, while the death toll has touched 37,364. This is the fourth consecutive day that cases have increased by more than 50,000.
The number of recoveries also crossed the 11-lakh mark to stand at 11,45,629. According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,98,21,831 samples have been tested till August 1, with 4,63,172 samples being tested on Saturday alone. The recovery rate among Covid-19 patients has risen to 65.44 per cent while the fatality rate has further dropped to 2.13 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh minister Kamal Rani Varun, who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, died due to the infection in Lucknow on Sunday. Kamal Rani is the first minister in Uttar Pradesh to die due to Covid-19. She was 62.
Varun, 62, was the minister of Technical Education in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet and MLA from Ghatampur seat in Kanpur Nagar. The state government has announced state mourning upon her death and lower down the flags in the district and her cremation with police honour.
Expressing condolences, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called her a “popular public leader who worked efficiently.” “I express my deepest condolences to the family of Cabinet Minister Kamala Rani Varun. She was COVID19 positive and was receiving treatment at SGPGI Hospital. She was a popular public leader & a social worker. She worked efficiently while being the part of the Cabinet,” he tweeted.
A man wears a mask with “Boycott China” written on it, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu observes strict Sunday lockdown
A strict lockdown is in force in Tamil Nadu today, leaving several roads deserted as most shops, barring pharmacies, remained shut. The state saw skeletal vehicular movement, with police allowing private vehicles on the roads only for emergency purposes.
While announcing the extension of the coronavirus-induced lockdown till August 31, Chief Minister K Palaniswami had said that complete restrictions would be in place on all five Sundays this month also, much like in July. There will be no relaxations, he had said.
ICMR plans to set up registry of hospitalised Covid patients
A registry of hospitalised coronavirus patients across the country is being considered to collect real time data which will help improve treatment outcomes, analyse trends in the progression of the pandemic and calibrate response, officials said, PTI reported.
The officials added that the ICMR, in collaboration with the Health Ministry and the AIIMS, is planning to set up the National Clinical Registry that will help researchers and policy makers understand effectiveness of investigational therapies, adverse effects taking place and generate evidence for improving treatment.
“The aim is to collect data of the hospitalised Covid-19 patients like clinical and laboratory features, their demographics, comorbidities, treatment outcomes, complications?in all age groups among others,” officials said.
