Coronavirus LIVE Updates: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday allowed universities and other academic institutions to conduct examinations during the ongoing ‘Unlock 2’ phase. In a statement, the MHA said it has sent a letter to the Union Higher Education Secretary permitting universities and institutions to conduct examinations.
“The final-term examinations are to be compulsorily conducted as per the UGC guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for the universities and as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) approved by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,” the statement said. Various examinations conducted by universities and higher education institutions in the country have been suspended since March during the coronavirus-induced lockdown which first began on March 25. Since June 1, the government has announced ‘Unlock 1’ for a month and again from July 1 ‘Unlock 2’ for another month.
Further easing coronavirus-induced lockdown, the Maharashtra government on Monday decided to allow hotels and other entities providing accommodation services like lodges and guest houses outside containment zones to operate from July 8 at 33 per cent of their capacity.
The government announced the decision through a notification here. The permission has been granted on conditions of these entities adheringto social distancing norms and other protocols.
Further modifying its Covid-19 quarantine norms, the Karnataka government on Monday exempted those travelling to the state from Maharashtra from the mandatory seven days of institutional quarantine. From now on those travelling to Karnataka from Maharashtra, like people coming from other states, will have to undergo 14 days of home quarantine. “Persons coming from other states to Karnataka, including Maharashtra, shall be placed in 14-days Home Quarantine,” an order by Principal Secretary Revenue Department (Disaster Management) and Member Secretary, State Executive Committee N Manjunatha Prasad said. It said, the other conditions as specified in the earlier order and standard operating procedure issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare shall continue to be in force until further orders. Till now those coming from Maharashtra had to undergo seven days of institutional quarantine, followed by seven days of home quarantine.
Another big single-day jump of 24,248 Covid-19 cases took India’s tally close to the 7-lakh mark today, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 19,693 with 425 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry. With this, the country has recorded over 20,000 cases of the infection for the fourth consecutive day. India went past Russia yesterday to become the third worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the US and Brazil are ahead of India in terms of total coronavirus infections.
According to the Monday morning update of the Union Health Ministry, a single-day jump of 24,248 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 6,97,413. With a steady rise, the number of recoveries stands at 4,24,432 in the country, while one patient has migrated. There are 2,53,287 active coronavirus cases in the country, the data showed. “Thus, 60.85 per cent of the patients have recovered so far,” the ministry said. The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners who tested positive in India. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 99,69,662 samples were tested for the disease in the country till July 5, with 1,80,596 just on Sunday.
The United States recorded 39,379 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Sunday, as infections continue to trend up around the country. The country’s total number of cases now stands at 2,876,143. The world’s largest economy also recorded a further 234 fatalities, bringing the death toll to 129,891, the Baltimore-based institution’s tracker showed. Sunday’s tally comes after a string of surging daily new infections, including a high of 57,683 on Friday. The lower number could be attributed to less reporting on the July 4th national holiday weekend.
The United States is the hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, both in caseload and deaths, and has struggled to respond to the devastation wrought by the virus. Some mayors say their cities reopened too early and worry that their health care systems will soon become overwhelmed.
Officials at the epicenter of the worsening coronavirus crisis in the United States warned Sunday their hospitals were in danger of being overwhelmed by the upsurge, as India registered a record number of new cases.
The pandemic has killed at least 531,789 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally on Sunday based on official sources. More than 11 million people have been infected in 196 countries and territories.
After the United States, Brazil is the hardest-hit country with 64,867 deaths, followed by Britain, Italy and Mexico. The US’ annual July 4 holiday weekend was overshadowed by growing evidence that its fractured response has exacted a heavy price across the south and west, after previous hotspots such as New York emerged from the worst of the virus.
“Our hospitals here in Harris County, Houston, and 33 other cities… they’re into surge capacities. So their operational beds are taken up,” said Lina Hidalgo, chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston, Texas. “Restaurants are still open. Indoor events can take place no matter the size,” she told the ABC TV channel. “What we need right now is to do what works, which is a stay-home order.”
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