In a move to increase the green cover especially in arid regions of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation dropped one lakh seed balls using an Indian Navy chopper along with other modes of transport.

The first-of-its kind endeavour of the GVMC, supported by the Eastern Naval Command and Pragathi Bharath Foundation, aims at dropping the seed balls as a part of the massive afforestation initiative taken to add a dash of green to the barren patches and water parched hills and localities.

GVMC is also planning to conduct the mission through other modes of transport.
Seed bombing technique is called spray speeding or aerial reforestation which involves a plane or drone dropping thousands of ‘seed bombs’ These seed bombs are balls of clay and earth packed with seed inside. In this method a variety of seeds can be packed into a single ball.

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With this latest spike, the coronavirus cases across the country stand at 48,46,428. As per Health Ministry, there are 9,86,598 active cases while 37,80,108 patients have been cured/ discharged.

The country’s recovery rate now stands at 77.99 percent.

#IndiaFightsCorona

The Centre's focussed, calibrated & effective strategies have manifested in high level of Recovery Rate (77.88%),& a sustained low Fatality Rate(1.65%).

There are some States/UTs reporting even better Recovery & Case Fatality Rates than the national average. pic.twitter.com/XYNevUaSXk

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) September 14, 2020

The country in the last 24 hours reported 1,136 deaths due to the coronavirus taking the overall toll to 79,722.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected State from the infection with 2,80,138 active cases while 29,115 patients have succumbed to the virus in the State. Andhra Pradesh comes second with 95,733 active cases and 4,846 deaths.

A recent study found that coronavirus genomes in India have 5.39 per cent mutation similarity with 72 nations. The study was done by a group of researchers trying to identify the genetic variability and potential molecular targets in the virus and humans to find the best possible ways for combating COVID-19.

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As the novel coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China is continuing to spread chaos in all nooks of the globe, India is quickly climbing up the chart, and the country has recorded more than 15 lakh positive cases in August alone. According to the latest updates, India has more than 3.2 million positive cases, and the country stands on the third spot in the global chart just behind the United States and Brazil.

On Tuesday, 1,071 deaths were reported, the second-highest single-day figure recorded so far. It should be noted that fresh cases reported on August 25 zoomed past 66,000, and if it goes like this, India will soon overtake Brazil which has 3.6 million positive cases.

A total of 329 deaths were recorded in Maharashtra on August 25 alone, followed by Karnataka (149), Tamil Nadu (107), and Andhra Pradesh (92). However, the number of fresh cases in Maharashtra dipped from 11,000 to 10,425.

Kerala, the southern state of India which successfully flattened the curve at one point in time, is also facing the wrath of coronavirus since May. On Tuesday, the state recorded 2375 positive cases, the highest single-day spike. However, the state has somehow managed to control the fatality rate associated with COVID-19.

In the initial months of the outbreak, coronavirus cases in the country were primarily confined to the urban areas. However, over the past few months, coronavirus drastically affected people living in rural areas and suburbs, which played a crucial role in the surge in positive cases. Relaxation of lockdown measures in several states to reopen economies also negatively affected the strategies aimed to contain coronavirus spread in the nation.

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Prakasam district Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal said the people had been consuming sanitiser for the past few days, mixing it with water and soft drinks. While the Superintendent of Police has ordered a probe into the matter.

“We are also investigating whether they laced the sanitiser with any other toxic substances,” the senior police officer said.

“Their family members say these people have been consuming sanitiser for the past ten days. We are sending the sanitiser stocks, being sold in the area, for examination,” the official added.

Kurichedu in Prakasam district is also currently under lockdown due to rise in coronavirus cases and the liquor shops are  also shut for the last 10 days. Dirt to this the habitual drinkers started  consuming sanitisers that have alcohol content.

The police said two beggars near a temple were the first to fall victim on Thursday night. While one of them was found dead at the spot, another died in the government hospital in Darsi town, they said.

Another person was also taken to the Darsi hospital late on Thursday night after he fell unconscious at his home. But he died on the way.  Six more who fell ill after allegedly consuming sanitiser, succumbed this morning.

Others who fell ill after consuming sanitiser are undergoing treatment at their residences in the village, the police said.  

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Ten more staffers in the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the total number of those affected in various offices to 25 on Thursday. Previously, 15 staffers in the Secretariat and two in the Assembly complex had tested positive for coronavirus.

In the Andhra Pradesh Legislature, situated on the same premises, two employees tested positive for the virus, officials said.

Secretariat employees in departments like Animal Husbandry and Water Resources were found infected with coronavirus in the samples tested at the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) in Guntur.

Following this, the Special Chief Secretaries and Secretaries of the departments concerned asked their staff to go home as a precautionary measure. Most of the blocks in the Secretariat wore a deserted look as the COVID-19 scare hit once again. Previously, 15 staffers in the Secretariat and two in the Assembly complex had tested positive for coronavirus.

In another development, around 26 officers and staff working at the High Court in Amaravati have also tested positive until now, since the COVID-19 pandemic began. They are currently under medical supervision, according to reports.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh crossed 16,000 with 845 people testing positive during a 24-hour period ending on Thursday, health officials said. The state also reported five fatalities, pushing the death toll to 198.

The health department said 281 people were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recoveries to 7,313. At present, 8,586 patients are undergoing treatment — 6,673 in hospitals and 1,913 in COVID care centres.

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