Latest Updates Live: On November 29, 2020, 41,810 new infections were recorded in a day (File)
India reported 40,953 new coronavirus infections in a day on Saturday, the highest single-day rise recorded in 111 days, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,15,55,284, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
Registering an increase for the tenth day in a row, the total active caseload has reached 2,88,394, which now comprises 2.49 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.12 per cent, the data stated.
The daily rise in infections (40,953) was the highest recorded in 111 days, while the death count increased to 1,59,558 with 188 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am Saturday showed.
On November 29, 41,810 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates::
Two Officers On Election Duties In Tamil Nadu Test Covid Positive
Two officers deputed on election duties in Virudhunagar have tested positive for coronavirus, said Virudhunagar District Collector R Kannan on Sunday, reported news agency ANI.
Tamil Nadu registered 1,289 new COVID-19 cases, 668 recoveries and nine deaths on Sunday. The total number of cases in the state reached 8,66,982 including 8,46,480 recoveries and 12,599 deaths. At present, there are 7,903 active cases of coronavirus in the state.
The 234-members Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will take place on May 2.
ITBP Jawans Reunite 70-Year-Old Karnataka Man With Family After 30 YearsHe spent three decades of his life living like a destitute -- wearing torn clothes, spending days working at an eatery in Uttarakhand just for food enough to survive, nights at a nearby bus stop even in bone-chilling winters, and his plight kept only to himself as he spoke and understood nothing except Kannada.
But, the 70-year-old Kenchappa Govindappa's wait to unite with his family finally ended earlier this year when he was spotted by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Jawan Constable Riyaz Sunkad. Mr Sunkad was going on leave when he spotted Mr Govidappa at a roadside eatery in Uttarakhand's Chalthi village, 64 kms from Pithoragarh.
Mr Sunkad went home, but Mr Govindappa's story kept troubling him. He called his two seniors who are natives of Karnataka -- Head Constables Premananda Pai and Sharana Basava Ragapur -- and told them about the man.
The two Head Constables went to the eatery and found Mr Govidappa in a "real bad shape". "He was in emotional shock. He was lost for years and could not get in touch with his family or relatives," Mr Pai told news agency PTI over the phone.
Gujarat Chief Minister Rules Out Lockdown Amid Rise In COVID-19 Cases
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday ruled out imposition of a fresh lockdown in
the state despite a surge in the fresh COVID-19 cases.
Gujarat's overall tally of cases rose to 2,87,009 with the addition of 1,580 new infections on Sunday.
"As Chief Minister, I assure you that there will be no new lockdown," Mr Rupani said in his Facebook Live address to people of the state.
He also appealed to citizens to not believe in rumours.
"The state government had to take steps like discontinuing offline education in schools and colleges, extending the hours of a night curfew, and imposing restrictions on hotels and restaurants in cities due to the rise in the number of cases," he said.
Farmer Unions Condemn Parliamentary Panel's Demand For Implementation Of Essential Commodities Amendment Act
Farmer unions on Sunday condemned the demand for immediate implementation of the Essential Commodities Amendment Act (ECAA) by a parliamentary committee.
The ECAA is one of the three laws against which farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders.
The parliamentary panel, which also has members from opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and the AAP, asked the government to implement in "letter and spirit" the ECAA.
These parties have been demanding repeal of all three farm laws enacted by the centre recently.
"It is insensitive to the food security of poor people and the demand to increase the procurement of farmers'' crops," the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a joint front of the protesting farmer unions, said in a statement.
"We appeal to farmers, labourers and common citizens to intensify their struggle for the repeal of the three laws and legal right of minimum support price," the SKM said.
Puducherry Lt Governor Flags Off Mobile Unit To Generate Awareness About Covid
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday flagged off a mobile unit of the health department in neighbouring Muthialpet to generate awareness about steps to be taken to combat COVID-19.
She also launched a Health Booth equipped with sanitizer, gloves, face masks and distributed face masks to the people.
The Governor released posters carrying awareness messages about preventing the spread of COVID-19.
She also helped some people wear masks. She also requested the people to follow the protocol/norms of COVID-19 laid down by the government.
Siren To Be Blown To Get People To Wear Masks In Madhya PradeshA siren will be sounded in all cities of Madhya Pradesh at 11 am on March 23 for two minutes when people will take a vow to wear masks and maintain physical distance at public places to check the spread of coronavirus, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Sunday in view of a fresh surge in infections.
He said a siren will be blown again at 7 pm on Tuesday to remind people of their resolve to follow these norms.
"Putting on a mask is very important and that is why we are starting this campaign. We should be cautious. Do not let things go out of our hands," the chief minister told reporters.
BJP President JP Nadda To Hold 3 Rallies In Assam On Monday
Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda will hold rallies in Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Biswanath Charali on Monday ahead of the Assam assembly election.
Elections for the 126-seat Assam assembly are scheduled to take place in three phases from March 27 to April 6. The results will be announced on May 2.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held an election rally in Golaghat and said that ''doosri baar, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) sarkar'' has been decided in Assam adding that Assam will witness a ''double engine'' National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for the second time.
Farmer Leader Rakesh Tikait To Address Kisan Mahapanchayat In Jaipur On Tuesday
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait will address a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Jaipur on Tuesday.
The mahapanchayat will be held at Vidhyadhar Nagar stadium, Raja Ram Meel, president of the Jat Mahasabha, said.
"It will be the first meeting of Tikait in Jaipur. Earlier, he has held a few meetings in other districts like Hanumangarh and Ganganagar," Mr Meel told reporters.
"Farmers have understood that the Modi government has cheated them and is trying to weaken farmers. The government is planning to hand over the agriculture sector to industrialists and farmers have understood this thing. Therefore, there are countrywide protests against the farm laws," he said.
6 Crore Covid Vaccine Doses Sent To 76 Nations, 4.5 Crore Doses Administered In India: Health Minister
More than 6 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been sent to 76 nations, while 4.5 crore doses have been administered to beneficiaries in the country till now, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.
He also called for making the vaccination drive a "Jan Aandolan" (mass movement).
"Until this morning, nearly 4.5 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given to the people in this country. More than six crore doses have been sent to 76 nations," Mr Vardhan said during a media interaction at the Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH).
"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party (BJP) president JP Nadda have called for making the vaccination drive a ''jan andolan'' (mass movement)," he said.
Vaccines Are The Answer, Not One-Day Lockdowns: Omar Abdullah
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Sunday said one-day shutdowns to contain the spread of coronavirus is a "meaningless tokenism" which can lead to complacency, and called for allowing more people to take vaccine against COVID-19.
The Madhya Pradesh government had on March 19 announced Sunday lockdowns in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur till further orders in view of the spurt in coronavirus cases.
"With a rampaging virus that has a 2-14 day incubation period this one-day lockdown is meaningless tokenism. All it will do is create a misplaced sense of complacency," Mr Abdullah tweeted.
Covid Vaccination Timings For Unregistered Beneficiaries Increased By 4 Hours: Delhi Health Minister
Unregistered but eligible people in Delhi will be able to take COVID-19 vaccine jabs between 3 pm and 9 pm, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday.
Till now, unregistered beneficiaries were being inoculated between 3 pm and 5pm, he said.
Beneficiaries need to register themselves on Co-WIN portal to get jabs. Those who do not have access to the Co-WIN portal can go to the centre and take COVID-19 vaccines.
"Only registered beneficiaries will be given vaccine shots between 9 am and 3 pm. The unregistered ones can take the jabs from 3 pm to 9 pm...They just need to carry their Aadhaar card or any other valid identity proof," Mr Jain said.
Six states accounts for 77.7 pc of India's fresh COVID-19 cases in last 24 hoursThe Union health ministry on Sunday said that five states in the country accounted for 77.7 per cent of the new cases in last 24 hours.
A total of 43,846 new daily cases reported in last 24 hours. 83.14 per cent of the new cases are from six states.
Maharashtra continued to report the highest daily new cases at 27,126 followed by Punjab with 2,578 while Kerala reported 2,078 new cases.
197 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Six states account for 86.8 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (92). Punjab follows with 38 daily deaths. Kerala reported 15 deaths.
Puducherry logs 64 new COVID-19 casesThe COVID-19 cases registered a marginal rise in the Union Territory of Puducherry on Sunday with 64 infections being reported, taking the tally to 40,386, the health department said.
One more fatality took the count to 675. The Union Territory had reported 60 cases on Saturday.
A total of 1,238 samples were tested in the last 24 hours ending at 10 am and the cumulative number of specimens examined so far was 6.06 lakh, Health and Family Welfare Services Director S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
There were 395 active cases after recovery of 23 patients during this period. In all, 39,316 people have recovered from the disease so far in the Union Territory.
COVID-19: Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur observes complete lockdown todayJabalpur has been placed under a complete lockdown on Sunday due to rising COVID-19 cases.
On Saturday, the Madhya Pradesh government had announced a lockdown on every Sunday in Jabalpur, Bhopal, and Indore until further orders due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
According to the state government directive, all schools and colleges in these three cities will remain closed till March 31.
The decision has been taken after the review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday.
No new COVID-19 case in ArunachalArunachal Pradesh did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last two days, a senior health official said on Sunday.
The northeastern state''s caseload stands at 16,842, of which three are active cases, while 16,783 people have recovered from the disease and 56 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stands at 99.64 per cent, he said.
Mizoram reports one new COVID-19 case in last 24 hoursMizoram reported one new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of corona cases in the state to 4,447, the state health department informed on Sunday.
The state now has 15 active cases, while 4,421 people have recovered from the disease.
The death toll in the state stands at 11.
Coronavirus news: No new COVID-19 case in AndamansNo new COVID-19 case was reported in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday, a health
official said.
The Union territory's caseload stands at 5,038, of which seven are active cases, while 4,969 people have recovered from the disease and 62 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, he said.
"Sack Him": Devendra Fadnavis On Cop's Letter Against Anil DeshmukhBJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has sought the resignation of state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh after former Mumbai Police chief alleged the ruling party's minister "set a target to collect ₹ 100 crore a month".
Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made the allegations of corruption against Mr Deshmukh, who is from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of the Shiv Sena and the Congress in Maharashtra.
"We demand the Home Minister's resignation. If he doesn't, then the Chief Minister must remove him. An impartial probe must be conducted. The letter also says the Chief Minister was informed about this earlier, so why didn't he act on it?" Mr Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, told reporters shortly after the letter surfaced in the media.
Tamil Nadu Schools To Remain Shut For Classes 9, 10, 11 Until Further Orders
In the light of the increasing trend of COVID-19 cases, schools in Tamil Nadu will remain shut for classes 9, 10, and 11 from tomorrow until further orders, according to the state Revenue and Disaster Management Department, reported news agency ANI.
Hostels for these students will also remain closed. However, online/digital mode of education will continue for students of these classes.