Around 7% of Indias adult population may have been exposed to the coronavirus till the last fortnight of August, according to the second national sero-survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
This is roughly a 10-fold jump in numbers from the first sero-survey conducted by the Council across 70 districts in 21 States that sought to estimate the likely number of infected until early May.
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:
ESIC guidelines for workplaces cites mandatory use of Aarogya Setu
Guidelines to keep workplaces safe from COVID-19 released by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Tuesday include advice to companies to make the use of the Aarogya Setu app mandatory, ban cigarette breaks, and mention repeated violations of social distancing and hygiene norms by employees in their annual appraisal.
The guidelines, in the form of booklets in English and Hindi, were released by Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, and Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
The Health Minister urged industries and establishments to adhere to the safety guidelines issued and to make necessary modifications/changes at workplaces and process accordingly to maintain continuity in business activities with keeping workforce safe, a Labour Ministry statement said.
Punes SII to produce additional 100m COVID-19 vaccine doses
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday announced a further collaboration with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of an additional 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
This expansion brings the total number of vaccine doses to be covered by the partnership between the SII, GAVI, and the Gates Foundation to an aggregate of up to 200 million doses, following the initial agreement for up to 100 million doses announced in August this year.
The Gates Foundation, via its strategic investment fund, will provide at-risk funding of a further $150 million to GAVI, bringing the total funding provided through this collaboration to $300 million, the SII said in a statement. This funding will be used to support SII to manufacture potential vaccine candidates, and for future procurement of vaccines for India and the LMICs through GAVIs COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) facility.
Lockdown restrictions extended by a month
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday extended the COVID-19 lockdown across the State till October 31, but offered a few relaxations. Last month, it had extended the curbs till September 30.
In a statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said restaurants and tea shops would remain open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Takeaway services would be permitted till 10 p.m. Essentially, this means an extension in operational timings by an hour each for dine-in and parcel services. He also announced that shootings for cinema could be carried out with 100 persons on set, but spectators were not to be allowed.
“The State government announced major relaxations during September and, at the same time, the spread of the infection has decreased at the State level. Steps are being taken to further decrease the [case] mortality rate,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
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