More than half of COVID-19 cases reported in India are in the 18-44 years age group, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

Emphasising that while life is important, livelihood is equally vital, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday said India is undertaking the unlocking process, despite rise in COVID-19 cases, with adequate precautions, preparedness and awareness.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that five States Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra currently account for 70% of total COVID deaths in the country. But only two States Karnataka and Delhi show an increase in daily deaths.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Noida govt. hospital claims over one lakh RT-PCR tests
The Government Institute of Medical Sciences in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday claimed that it has performed over one lakh RT-PCR tests for COVID-19, the maximum by any facility in Uttar Pradesh.
The Greater Noida-located facility has also completed 100 procedures of plasma therapy since the service was launched here on May 9, GIMS Director Dr Brig Rakesh Gupta said.
 Only half of JEE students wrote exam on Day 1; 80% attendance on Day 2 and 3
Just over half the students who had registered for the B.Arch and B.Planning papers on the first day of JEE-Main turned up to write the examination on Tuesday. The second and third day of the examination, which were for B.E and B.Tech admissions, saw 80% attendance.
The Hindu had reported that many students who had registered for both architecture and engineering exams chose to skip the B.Arch and B.Planning papers this year, and focus on B.E and B.Tech in the light of COVID-19 risk, leading to 54% attendance on Day 1.
Overall, attendance has been lower this year due to fear of infection and difficulties in transportation due to the pandemic and local lockdowns, which forced a number of registered candidates to miss the examination.
 83,341 fresh cases push Indias COVID-19 tally to 39,36,747; death toll rises to 68,472 with 1,096 new fatalities, according to the Union Health ministry.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 8,31,124, while 30,37,151 people have recovered from disease.
200 vials of vaccine arrive in Chennai for trials
Oxford Universitys COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, has arrived in Chennai for clinical trials. Health officials said they had received 200 vials of the vaccine for trials that will involve two institutions and 300 volunteers.
Clinical trials of the vaccine will be taken up at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research.
 Six new fatalities in Jharkhand
Jharkhands COVID-19 caseload rose to 46,480 on Friday as 1,618 more people tested positive for the infection, while six fresh fatalities pushed the States coronavirus death toll to 444, a health official said.
The fresh infections have taken the number of active COVID-19 cases in the State to 15,150, while 30,886 people have been cured of the disease so far, he said.
– PTI
Over 2,700 Mumbaikars fined for not wearing masks
Over 2,700 people have been fined by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the last five months for stepping out in public without wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on Friday.
As per the Union governments guidelines following the viral outbreak, the civic body made masks mandatory in public places since April 9.
The civic body in Mumbai has collected a total of 27.48 lakh in fines from 2,798 citizens between April 9 and August 31, the official said.
– PTI
TS healthcare workers have highest positivity rate in India
The positivity rate among healthcare professionals in Telangana is 18%. As per the statistics announced by Union Health Ministry officials at a press conference held on Thursday, the positivity rate (percentage of people tested who are positive) of 18% is the highest when compared to other States. Healthcare professionals include doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, lab technicians, and patient care providers.
Around 80,000 to one lakh healthcare professionals in Telangana are involved in COVID-19 management for the past six months. Last week, senior officials of the State Health department said that around 2,000 healthcare workers contracted the infectious disease, and at least 14 had died.
Members named to panel probing WHOs pandemic response
An independent panel appointed by the World Health Organisation to review its coordination of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic will have full access to any internal UN agency documents, materials and emails necessary, the panel said Thursday as it begins the probe.
The panels co-chairs, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, announced the 11 other members during a media briefing. They include Dr. Joanne Liu, who was an outspoken WHO critic while leading Medecins Sans Frontieres during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Also named to the panel are: Dr Zhong Nanshan, a renowned Chinese doctor who was the first to publicly confirm human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus; Mark Dybul, who led the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and David Miliband, a former British foreign secretary who is CEO of the International Rescue Committee.
– PTI
No respite from surge in positive cases in A.P.
The State reported 75 new deaths and 10,199 new infections during the past 24 hours as of Thursday morning. For the ninth day in a row, the State witnessed over 10,000 new infections, and so far over 94,000 cases were reported in the past nine days. During the same period, an average of 60,991 samples per day were tested.
The overall tally has gone up to 4,65,730 and the death toll to 4,200. As many as 9,499 patients recovered leaving 1,03,701 patients active. The recovery rate stands at 76.83% with a total of 3,57,829 recoveries so far.
Robert Pattinson tests positive for COVID-19, says media reports
British actor Robert Pattinson has tested positive for COVID-19, news media reported on Thursday, halting production of The Batman and highlighting the industry’s struggles to get back to business after months of a pandemic-induced shutdown.
Movie studio Warner Bros. said in a statement that a member of The Batman production in Britain had tested positive for the coronavirus, but did not give a name. Filming is temporarily paused, the studio’s statement added, but did not say for how long.
Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair all cited sources as saying the person who tested positive was Pattinson, the film’s star.
Subject Class X private candidates with mental, physical disabilities to COVID-19 tests, says HC
The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the School Education Department to ensure that all those with physical or mental disabilities wanting to write the Class X examinations from September 21 as private candidates, as well as their scribes, are subjected to COVID-19 tests at least two days before the exams.
Justices M.M. Sundresh and R. Hemalatha also directed government officials to explore the possibility of letting the candidates and the scribes interact with each other through mobile phones or by maintaining a safe physical distance.