The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, it showed.

A reduction of 2,531 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.29 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.35 per cent, the ministry said.

Australia is offering a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines to over 65s from next month, federal health authorities announced Friday, as a new Omicron strain races through the population.

The top advisory group on vaccines approved the fourth shot for vulnerable groups: those aged over 65, indigenous people over 50, people who are immunocompromised and care home residents.

In the past six weeks, other countries, including France, Germany and Sweden as well as health authorities in England, have recommended a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose for the most vulnerable, including the elderly.

Australia has been reporting daily infection rates of more than 50,000 in the past few days — about double those of just a month earlier — blamed partly on the rise of a more infectious BA.2 Omicron variant.

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Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of omicron cases at 108, followed by Delhi at 79, Gujarat 43, Telangana 41, Kerala 38, Tamil Nadu 34 and Karnataka 31.

With 6,987 more people testing positive for Covid -19 in a day, India’s total caseload increased to 3,47,86,802, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The death toll has climbed to 4,79,682 with 162 new fatalities, the data stated.

The daily rise in coronavirus infections has remained below 15,000 for the last 59 days now.

The number of active COVID-19 cases declined to 76,766, comprising 0.22 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, the ministry said.

The national Covid -19 recovery rate stands at 98.40 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.74 per cent. It has remained below 2 per cent for the last 83 days.

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.62 per cent. It has remained below 1 per cent for the last 42 days, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the viral disease surged to 3,42,30,354, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.38 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 141.37 crore.

India’s Covid -19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

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Expats with valid residency visas who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine approved in the UAE are among those who will be allowed to travel back. They should have received the second dose of the vaccine at least 14 days before travel and hold a certificate as proof.

Unvaccinated residents from certain categories are also permitted to return. They include medical workers, teachers at schools and universities in the Emirates, students, residents facing extraordinary or emergency circumstances, patients undergoing medical treatment in the UAE and employees who work for federal or local government agencies. They must apply for permission to return on the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship website.

Passengers must possess a negative PCR test result received within 48 hours from their date of travel. A rapid test will be conducted before boarding the flight. There will be further PCR testing and quarantine upon arrival in the UAE.

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A total of 99,748 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The test positivity rate is 27.56. A total of 1,71,33,089 samples have been tested so far, including LAMP and antigen testing.

No one from the UK, South Africa or Brazil has confirmed COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. COVID-19 has so far been confirmed by 125 people from the UK (115), South Africa (9) and Brazil (1). Of these, 122 tested negative. A total of 11 people were diagnosed with the genetically modified virus.

It has been confirmed today that 65 deaths in the last few days were due to COVID-19. This brings the total death toll to 5879.

Today, 255 of those diagnosed with the disease are from outside the state. 24,815 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 2303 is not clear. Thiruvananthapuram 3231, Malappuram 3253, Thrissur 3249, Ernakulam 2699, Kozhikode 2419, Palakkad 811, Kollam 2028, Alappuzha 1906, Kannur 1617, Kottayam 1589, Kasaragod 886, Pathanamthitta 415, Idukki 407 and Wayanad 305 were affected by the disease.

One hundred and fourteen health workers were affected by the disease. Health workers from Kannur 45, Ernakulam 14, Thiruvananthapuram 12, Kasaragod 11, Thrissur 9, Wayanad 7, Kollam, Palakkad 5, Pathanamthitta 4 and Malappuram 2 were affected.

A total of 31,209 people who were diagnosed and treated were cured. Thiruvananthapuram 2696, Kollam 2280, Pathanamthitta 431, Alappuzha 2071, Kottayam 2054, Idukki 376, Ernakulam 3999, Thrissur 2076, Palakkad 3526, Malappuram 3694, Kozhikode 4995, Wayanad 383, Kannur 1803 and Kasaragod 825 were cured. With this, 4,19,726 people have been diagnosed with the disease and are still undergoing treatment. 15,04,160 people have so far been freed from COVID-19.

There are currently 9,89,991 people under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 9,56,932 are under home / institutional quarantine and 33,059 in hospitals. 3580 people were newly admitted to the hospital.

Today there are two new hotspots and no area is excluded from the hotspot. There are currently a total of 798 hotspots.

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An expert has told a news channel that the spike in the cornavirus cases in India could be linked to the super spreader events and not the mutations of the virus.

Dr V Ravi, Retired Professor of Neurobiology at NIMHAN and Nodal Officer for Genomic Confirmation of SARS-CoV-2, Government of Karnataka, quoted saying that the upsurge in the India coronavirus cases is triggered by super spreader events and then lack of tracking, testing to detect the spread.

“It is not true that we have our own Indian variant that has emerged with the amino acid mutations that have been seen in Maharashtra. These changes have been witnessed in other places as well. We have been doing genomic sequencing at NIMHANS. We have found both the 440 and the 484 mutations isolated in variants that have been circulating ever since the post lockdown period. There is no variant that has a propensity to spread higher than what has been identified in India,” he said.

On the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines on the new variants of the coronavirus, the report quoted experts as saying that there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that the vaccines will not be effective on the variants.

Amid a spurt in the coronavirus cases in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the existing Covid-19 guidelines will remain in force till March 31.

In a statement, the home ministry said while there has been a substantial decline in the active and new coronavirus cases, there is a need to maintain surveillance, containment, and caution so as to fully overcome the pandemic.

The states and union territories have also been advised to speed up the vaccination of the target population so as to break the chain of transmission and overcome the pandemic.

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During the last 24 hours, 74,408 samples were tested. The test positivity rate is 7.25. Routine sample, Sentinel sample, CBNAT, TRUNAT, POCT. PCR, RT A total of 1,04,40,267 samples have so far been sent for testing, including LAMP and antigen testing.

It has been confirmed that 18 deaths in the last few days were due to COVID-19. This brings the total death toll to 3,954. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.
Seventy-four of those diagnosed with the disease are from outside the state and 4,980 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 313 is not clear. Ernakulam 560, Kottayam 526, Pathanamthitta 489, Malappuram 520, Kozhikode 514, Kollam 494, Alappuzha 465, Thrissur 456, Thiruvananthapuram 295, Kannur 159, Idukki 181, Palakkad 72, Kasaragod 131 and Wayanad 118 were affected by the disease.
Thirty health workers were affected. Health workers from Thrissur 8, Wayanad 7, Thiruvananthapuram 5, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kannur 3 and Pathanamthitta 1 were affected.

The test results of 5332 people who were diagnosed with the disease were negative. Thiruvananthapuram 424, Kollam 306, Pathanamthitta 568, Alappuzha 356, Kottayam 374, Idukki 293, Ernakulam 743, Thrissur 414, Palakkad 153, Malappuram 424, Kozhikode 604, Wayanad 198, Kannur 405 and Kasaragod 70 were found to be negative today. With this, 63,961 people have been diagnosed with the disease and are still undergoing treatment. 9,25,871 have so far been freed from COVID-19.

There are currently 2,41,362 people under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 2,30,942 are under home / institutional quarantine and 10,420 in hospitals. A total of 1,294 people were admitted to hospitals.

There are three new hotspots and six areas were excluded from the hotspot. There are currently a total of 452 hotspots.

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A person from the UK has been confirmed to have a genetically modified virus. The genetic variant of the virus was confirmed on a native of Kannur (34). The virus was detected in a sample sent to IGIB. With this, the genetically modified virus was detected in a total of 10 people.

COVID-19 was confirmed within the last 24 hours on two people from the UK. With this, COVID-19 has so far been confirmed by 68 people who recently came from the UK. Of these, 41 tested negative.

During the last 24 hours, 58,057 samples were tested. The test positivity rate is 11.63. A total of 91,48,957 samples have so far been sent for testing, including LAMP and antigen testing.

It has been confirmed that 19 deaths in the last few days were due to COVID-19. This brings the total death toll to 3564. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.

Seventy-two of those diagnosed with the disease are from Kerala and 6,109 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 510 is not clear. Ernakulam 952, Kozhikode 704, Pathanamthitta 564, Malappuram 568, Kottayam 542, Kollam 566, Thrissur 535, Thiruvananthapuram 359, Alappuzha 398, Kannur 228, Palakkad 160, Wayanad 236, Idukki 233 and Kasaragod 64 were affected by the disease.

Sixty-two health workers were affected. Kannur 12, Ernakulam, Kozhikode 10, Pathanamthitta 8, Wayanad 7, Kollam 5, Thrissur 4, Thiruvananthapuram 2, Alappuzha, Idukki, Palakkad and Kasaragod 1 each were affected by the disease today.

The test results of 6,108 people who were diagnosed and treated were negative. Thiruvananthapuram 272, Kollam 290, Pathanamthitta 595, Alappuzha 387, Kottayam 900, Idukki 452, Ernakulam 1005, Thrissur 463, Palakkad 141, Malappuram 602, Kozhikode 611, Wayanad 163, Kannur 166 and Kasaragod 61 were found to be negative today. With this, 70,395 people have been diagnosed with the disease and are still undergoing treatment. 8,03,094 people have so far been freed from COVID-19.

There are currently 2,11,277 people under surveillance in various districts of the State. Of these, 1,99,404 are under home / institutional quarantine and 11,873 in hospitals. A total of 1,544 people were admitted to hospitals.

There are for new hotspots. The new hotspots are Elamad (Continent Sub-wards 6, 7, 8) in Kollam district, Mynagappally (sub-ward 3), Valappad (11) in Thrissur district and Puthur (sub-ward 19).

Three areas were excluded from the hotspot list. With this, there are currently a total of 407 hotspots.

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COVID-19 has been confirmed for 5,615 people in Kerala on January 5. The district-wise break-up of the infected are Ernakulam 719, Kottayam 715, Pathanamthitta 665, Thrissur 616, Kollam 435, Kozhikode 426, Alappuzha 391, Thiruvananthapuram 388, Malappuram 385, Palakkad 259, Kannur 252, Wayanad 175, Idukki 131 and Kasaragod 58.

COVID-19was confirmed within the last 24 hours by 2 people from the UK. With this, Kovid-19 has so far been confirmed for 41 people who recently came from the UK. Their samples have been sent to NIV Pune for further testing. In 6 of them, the genetically modified virus was detected on January 4.

During the last 24 hours, 61,269 samples were tested. The test positivity rate is 9.16. A total of 81,60,890 samples have so far been sent for testing, including LAMP and antigen testing.

It has been confirmed that 24 deaths in the last few days have been caused by COVID-19. This brings the total death toll to 3,184. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.

Fifty-nine of those diagnosed with the disease are from outside the State and 5,037 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 475 is not clear. Ernakulam 655, Kottayam 670, Pathanamthitta 602, Thrissur 603, Kollam 432, Kozhikode 399, Alappuzha 382, Thiruvananthapuram 271, Malappuram 360, Palakkad 110, Kannur 204, Wayanad 167, Idukki 126 and Kasaragod 56 were affected by the disease.

The disease affected 44 health workers. Pathanamthitta 8, Thrissur, Kozhikode 6 each, Ernakulam 5, Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur 4 each, Malappuram 3, Kollam, Wayanad, Kasaragod 2 each, Kottayam and Palakkad 1 each were affected by the disease.
The test results of 4,922 people who were diagnosed and treated were negative. Thiruvananthapuram 284, Kollam 283, Pathanamthitta 327, Alappuzha 304, Kottayam 707, Idukki 140, Ernakulam 401, Thrissur 520, Palakkad 251, Malappuram 495, Kozhikode 655, Wayanad 171, Kannur 341 and Kasaragod 43 were found to be negative today. With this, 63,802 people have been diagnosed with the disease and are still undergoing treatment. 7,17,311 have so far been freed from Kovid.

There are currently 1,90,990 people under surveillance in various districts of the State. Of these, 1,79,868 are under home / institutional quarantine and 11,122 in hospitals. A total of 1,082 people were admitted to hospitals.

There are four new hotspots. The new hotspots are Adimali in Idukki district (Cantonment zone sub ward 1), Pandanad (sub ward 12) in Alappuzha district, Muriyad (7) in Thrissur district and Puthige (8) in Kasaragod district.
Six areas were excluded from the hotspot. With this, there are currently a total of 445 hotspots.

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But the top court also said Ayush doctors cannot advertise anything as a cure, it added.

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The total coronavirus cases mounted to 91,39,865 while the death toll climbed to 1,33,738 with 511 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of active cases remained below 5 lakh for the thirteenth consecutive day. There are 4,43,486 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date which comprises 4.85 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

The national recovery rate was recorded 93.68 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.46 per cent.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20.

According to the ICMR, over 13.25 crore samples have been tested up to November 22 with 8,49,596 samples being tested on the day.

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Emirates has been rated the safest airline in the world in its response to the COVID-19 Pandemic according to the Safe Travel Barometer.

The airline, which has set industry-leading safety standards since the resumption of its operations back in May, has topped the ranks with a ‘Safe Travel Score’ of 4.4 out of 5.0 among 230+ airlines evaluated worldwide. The score is based on an independent audit of 26 health and safety parameters evaluating safety protocols, traveller convenience and service excellence announced by airlines.

Safe Travel Barometer is the world’s most comprehensive solution to monitor and benchmark supplier initiatives in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry for the post-COVID world. Its rating mechanism considers safety measures and hygiene standards across all touchpoints of a traveller’s journey which Emirates has consistently delivered on. At every step of the journey, Emirates has spared no effort to prioritise the care, health and safety of its customers, employees and communities.

Enhanced biosafety measures taken by the airline include the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits, protective barriers at check-in desks and immigration counters, personal protective equipment and new safety protocols for cabin crew and airport employees in customer facing roles, and elevated aircraft cleaning procedures including the frequent cleaning and disinfecting of aircraft lavatories every 45 minutes during flights, among many other measures.

Emirates has also led the way in traveller convenience which was another sub-category considered by the Safe Travel Barometer. The airline was first in the industry to offer its customers free COVID-19 cover to help them travel with more confidence, knowing that medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day for 14 days will be covered if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel, while they are away from home. Emirates’ booking policies also offer customers great flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers have options to change their travel dates, or extend their ticket validity for 2 years. In addition, the airline launched initiatives to help its loyal Emirates Skywards members retain their tier status and introduce new ways for them to earn and spend their Miles.

The Safe Travel Barometer was launched in 2020 to monitor global traveller health and safety measures, traveler convenience initiatives and overall traveler experience which influences traveler’s decision-making and the actual journey in the new normal. The Safe Travel Score is an industry-first COVID-19 rating initiative, created in the wake of recovery from the pandemic.

Safe Travel Barometer is a B2B solution by Safe Travel Technologies, an independent subsidiary of VIDEC, a travel industry advisory and consulting firm. The coverage includes more than 2,000 companies across 10 industry categories, 50 parameters, and traveller arrival information on more than 80 destinations.

Emirates’ 34 years in India have been defined by progressive investment, partnership and growth. In October 1985, Emirates launched flights from Dubai to Delhi and Mumbai which formed the base of its initial route network. Since then, Emirates has grown its India operations to serve a total of nine destinations across India – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram – with 170 weekly flights. Globally, the airline flies to 157 destinations in 83 countries and territories.

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According to media projections, Democrat Biden has won the November 3 presidential election. However, Trump, a Republican, has alleged election fraud and mounted legal fights in a number of battleground states.

“More people may die if we don’t coordinate,” Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, responding to a question on President Donald Trump refusing to concede the election and the outgoing administration not co-operating in the transition process.

“A vaccine is important. It’s of little use until you’re vaccinated. So, how do we get the vaccine, how do we get over 300 million Americans vaccinated? What’s the game plan? It’s a huge, huge, huge undertaking to get it done, prioritise those greatest in need and working our way through, and also cooperate with the World Health Organiszation and the rest of the world in dealing with this,” he said.

“So they (Trump administration) say they have this ‘Warp Speed’ programme that not only dealt with getting vaccines, but also how to distribute this. If we have to wait until January 20th (day of Presidential inauguration) to start that planning, it puts us behind over a month, month-and-a-half. And so, it’s important that it be done, that there be coordination now, now or as rapidly as we can get that done,” Biden said.

As of now, Biden said his action plan is to deal with every individual, organisation in the country from business to labour, Republicans and Democrats, to try to pull together a serious and consistent plan so that he is ready on day one with everything from staffing to ultimately naming cabinet members to moving along on coordinating with business and labour, the COVID-19 outbreak.

And so, it would make it a lot easier if the president were to participate. We have a number of Republicans suggesting that–the good news here is my colleague is still on the Intelligence Committee so she gets the intelligence briefings. I don’t anymore. But there’s a number of Republicans calling for that, he said.

“My message is I will work with you. I understand a lot of your reluctance because of the way the president operates, but I’ve been in contact with and will be in contact with more of them as we move along. And if it has to wait until January 20th to get–to actually become operational, that’s a shame but it may be that’s the only way to get it done,” he said.

Biden was also asked about his thoughts on Trump’s tweet over the weekend where he first seemed to acknowledge that Biden had won the election. However, soon after Trump said he would not concede, and that he had won.

“I interpret that as Trumping-ism, no change in his modus operandi. And I think the pressure will continue to build,” he said.

The President-elect said that he is having a lot of meetings with world leaders on the telephone and he can get into negotiating with them about things that are going to be done. They are calling with some degree of enthusiasm everyone from a holy father to prime ministers across the globe.

“So we are moving along knowing what the outcome will be and but I find this more embarrassing for the country than debilitating for my ability to get started,” Biden said.

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COVID-19 has been confirmed for 5804 people in Kerala on November 13, while the test results of 6,201 people who were diagnosed and treated were negative.

The district-wise break-up of the infected were Kozhikode 799, Ernakulam 756, Thrissur 677, Malappuram 588, Kollam 489, Alappuzha 468, Thiruvananthapuram 439, Palakkad 438, Kottayam 347, Kannur 240, Pathanamthitta 189, Idukki 187, Wayanad 106 and Kasaragod 81.

During the last 24 hours, 58,221 samples were tested. The test positivity rate is 9.97. A total of 53,65,288 samples have so far been sent for testing, including routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, Trunat, CLIA and Antigen Assay.

Twenty-six deaths have been confirmed due to COVID-19. Raveendran (59) from Kanjiramkulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Rajadas (85) from Thottakkal, Gomati (62) from Nemam, Thulasamma (52) from Varkala, Vincent (68) from Peroorkada, Jayarajan (53) from Thiruvananthapuram, Basheer (60) from Kottarakkara, Kollam; Mani (60) from Idathara, Ajimon (39) from Mynagappally, Hamsa (80) from Chengannur, Alappuzha and TK Joseph (80) from Karuvatta, Kochupennu (90) from Kottayam, Purushan (60) from Puthuppally, Muhammad Kutty (77) from Thazhathangadi, Fathima Ibrahim (85) from Eramallur, Ernakulam, Hamsa Beevi (78) from Arangath Cross Road, Radhakrishnan (57) from Powerhouse, Babu (54) from Chittissery, Thrissur, Sulaiman (68) from Karikuzhi, Subramanian (86) from Ponkunnam, Saramma (74) from Alathur, Palakkad, Ali (69) from Ottapalam, Veeran (75) from Moothedam, Pookottur Nisar (32), Saru (71) from Ponnani, and KM Hamza (60) from Chelad, Kannur were the dead. This brought the total death toll to 1,822. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.

One hundred and eighteen of those diagnosed with the disease were from outside the State and 4,988 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 643 was not clear. A total of 55 health workers were affected by the disease on the day.

There were currently 3,16,923 people under surveillance in various districts of the State. Of these, 2,98,448 are under home / institutional quarantine and 18,475 in hospitals. A total of 2130 people were admitted to hospitals.
Eleven new areas have been brought under hotspot list, 15 areas were excluded. With this, there were a total of 616 hotspots.

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COVID-19 has been confirmed for 5,457 people in Kerala on October 27. Outbreaks were reported in Thrissur 730, Ernakulam 716, Malappuram 706, Alappuzha 647, Kozhikode 597, Thiruvananthapuram 413, Kottayam 395, Palakkad 337, Kollam 329, Kannur 258, Pathanamthitta 112, Wayanad 103, Kasaragod 65 and Idukki 49.

Twenty-four deaths have been confirmed as due to COVID-19. Abdul Rahim (80) from Nettayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Sreekumar (60) from Anand, Manikandan (42) from Neyyattinkara, Ramachandran (84) from Neendakara, Kollam, Valsala (70) from Neendakara, Haridas (75) from Punthalathazham, Thankamani (55) from Thodupuzha, Idukki. Kamalam Kuttappan (78) from Perumbavoor, Ernakulam, TM Shamon (44) from Kumbalangi. Moideen (75) from Mulavur, KK Rajan (63) from Vengur, Kochu (62) from Chittilappally, Thrissur, Magi (46) from Chavakkad, Ramachandran (67) from Erumappetti, Babu (47) from Pariyaram, Jamal (56) from Kodungallur, Fathima (70) from Erumapetta, Khadeeja (65) from Kairadi, Palakkad, Yusuf (65) from Kunnapally, Malappuram, Vellan (80) from Koorachund, Kozhikode, Kamalakshi Amma (91) from Kuthiravattam, Padmanabhan (65) from Pariyaram, Kannur, and AP Aisha (71) from Narath and Sameera, 36, of Mulleriya, Kasaragod. This brought the total death toll to 1,376. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.

Eighty-eight of those diagnosed with the disease were from outside the State. A total of 4,702 people were infected through contact. Contact source for 607 was not clear. Sixty workers were affected and the test results of 7,015 people who were diagnosed and treated were negative.
There were currently 2,83,150 people under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 2,61,563 are under home/institutional quarantine and 21,587 in hospitals. A total of 2,339 people were admitted to hospitals on the day.

During the last 24 hours, 46,193 samples were tested. A total of 44,09,750 samples have so far been sent for testing, including routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, Trunat, CLIA and Antigen Assay.

There were 10 new hotspots and four areas have been excluded from the hotspot. With this, there were a total of 688 hotspots.

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Setting a platform for industry and investors to leverage products and services from the startup ecosystem at affordable costs to tap post-COVID opportunities, a virtual exhibition will be held from October 19 to 21 in the third edition of ‘Big Demo Day’ series of Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM).

Around 34 start-ups from healthcare, consumer technology, Internet of things (IoT) and robotics domains will exhibit their cutting-edge products and services for industry to seize.

The virtual expo is aimed at presenting a slew of ideas and technologies developed by start-ups before Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as big businesses to help them make use of these products to strengthen businesses, especially in the post-pandemic economic surge.

Organised in association with industry bodies, the programme seeks to make technologies available for industrialists at reasonable costs, besides expanding the market for start-ups.

The health sector start-ups will showcase their products on October 19 while those from consumer technology will take part in the expo, scheduled from 10am to 4pm, on October 20.Startups from the Internet of things (IoT) and robotics sectors will put on display their products on October 21.

Industrialists, industry bodies and investors from healthcare, consumer technology, IoT and robotics sectors are also expected to participate.

The programme has the backing of IT entrepreneurs’ organisation G-Tech and various Indian corporate firms.

To watch the expo, visit https://business.startupmission.in/ at 10 am. The previous editions of the event had received encouraging response from industry.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State.

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Twenty deaths have been confirmed due to Kovid-19. Thankappan (82) from Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram, Sasidharan (63) from Poovar, Abdul Aziz (52) from Chapath, Shahul Hameed (66) from Pothencode, Faziluddin (76) from Oyur, Kollam, Shatrughanan Achari (86) from Kollam, Ramesan from Karunagapally. (63), Nelson (56) from Thankassery, Surendran (66) from Karunagapally and MM. Shefi (68) from Mayyanad, Raseena (43) from Edathwa, Alappuzha, Neelakanthan Nair (92) from Nooranad, Abdul Hameed (73) from Canal Ward and PN Shashi (68) from Velliyepilly, Kottayam, Sugathamma (78) from Mariyanthuram, Sarojiniamma (81) from Mariyanthuram, Sushila (54) from Kumarakom East, Nirmala (74) from Mattancherry, Ernakulam and PV Viju (42) from Karigakurath and Devi, 75, of Kuttiyadi, Kozhikode. This brings the total death toll to 791. Further deaths will be confirmed after NIV testing in Alappuzha.

Of those diagnosed on the day, 47 came from foreign countries and 184 from other States. A total of 8,274 people were infected through contact. Contact sources for 657 are not clear.

Ninety-three health workers were infected through contact. And three INHS in Ernakulam District Employees were also affected by the disease

The test results of 4,092 people who were diagnosed and treated were negative. Thiruvananthapuram 357, Kollam 295, Pathanamthitta 218, Alappuzha 342, Kottayam 174, Idukki 93, Ernakulam 212, Thrissur 270, Palakkad 221, Malappuram 951, Kozhikode 423, Wayanad 75, Kannur 303 and Kasaragod 158 tested negative. With this, 77,482 people have been diagnosed with the disease and are still undergoing treatment. 1,35,144 people have so far been freed from COVID-19.

There are currently 2,46,631 people under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 2,15,778 are under home / institutional quarantine and 30,853 are under hospital surveillance. A total of 3599 people were admitted to the hospital today.

At the same time, inspections have been increased. 63,175 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. A total of 30,49,791 samples have so far been sent for testing, including routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, Trunat, CLIA and Antigen Assay. As part of Sentinel Surveillance, 2,13,499 samples were sent for testing from priority groups such as health workers, guest workers, and individuals with greater social contact.

There were 63 new hotspots and 15 areas have been excluded from the hotspot. With this, there were a total of 705 hotspots.

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For the second day in a row, more than 8,000 people were confirmed with COVID-19 on October 1 in Kerala. With 8,135 people newly infected, the number of patients under treatment reached 72,339. Of those detected, 7,013 are cases of infection through contact and the source was unknown for 730 cases. A total of 105 healthcare workers were among those infected. At the same time, 2,828 patients have recovered from the disease.

A total of 72, 339 people were under treatment in various hospitals in the State. The total number of infected in the State crossed two lakhs, the Chief Minister said.

Meanwhile, 29 deaths were confirmed as due to COVID. The deceased were Abraham (62), Sharmila (52), Velayudha Kurup (92), Mohanan Nair (75), Sudhakaran Das (61), Sukumaran (73), Hashir (45), Vijayakumaran (61) and Rajan (82) from Thiruvananthapuram district; Thankamma (67), Mohanan (62) and Salim (55) from Kollam district, Manoharan (60) from Alappuzha district; K P Mohanan (62), K A Krishnan (59), Alphonsa (57), Riski Androoduram (67), Vishwambharan (92), Nabeesa (73), Kunjumon (57) and K P George (85) from Ernakulam district; Abdul Rahman (55), Balaraman (53), Bhaskaran (85), Laila (56) and Lizzie (70) from Thrissur district, and B K Khalid (64), Kumaran (62) and Khadeejumma (90) from Kasargod district. This takes the COVID related death toll in the state to 771.

Of the confirmed cases, 67 have come back from foreign countries and 218 from other States.

The district-wise figures for the new active cases were Kozhikode 1,072, Malappuram 968, Ernakulam 934, Thiruvananthapuram 856, Alappuzha 804, Kollam 633, Thrissur 613, Palakkad 513, Kasargod 471, Kannur 435, Kottayam 340, Pathanamthitta 223, Wayanad 143 and Idukki 130.

The count of the locally transmitted cases from the districts were Kozhikode 1,013, Malappuram 879, Ernakulam 740, Thiruvananthapuram 708, Alappuzha 774, Kollam 620, Thrissur 603, Palakkad 297, Kasaragod 447, Kannur 279, Kottayam 316, Pathanamthitta 135, Wayanad 135 and Idukki 67.

The numbers of the infected healthcare workers district-wise were Thiruvananthapuram 29, Kannur 26, Ernakulam 16, Kottayam 8, Kasaragod 6; Pathanamthitta, Kozhikode and Wayanad 5 each, Malappuram 2, and Kollam, Alappuzha and Palakkad one each. Two INHS personnel in Ernakulam district were also infected by Coronavirus.

The district-wise figures of the patients who tested negative were Thiruvananthapuram 363, Kollam 213, Pathanamthitta 82, Alappuzha 191, Kottayam 148, Idukki 70, Ernakulam 226, Thrissur 290, Palakkad 113, Malappuram 322, Kozhikode 333, Wayanad 59, Kannur 129 and Kasaragod 289. So far, 1,31,052 people have recovered from COVID in the State.

There were currently a total of 2,43,107 persons under observation in various districts of the state, 2,12,849 under home or institutional quarantine and 30,258 in hospitals. 3,150 people were admitted to hospitals.

A total of 59,157 samples were tested during the last 24 hours. Till now, a total of 29,85,534 samples have been sent for testing, including 2,05,349 samples from priority groups as part of Sentinel Surveillance.

Fourteen hotspots were declared on the day while 18 areas were excluded from the list. There are now 656 hotspots in Kerala.

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The new novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, and was traced back to the sea-food market, which soon became the hotspot and was considered to be the origin centre, where a virus jumped from a bat or a pangolin onto humans.

In April, a French Nobel prize winning scientist Luc Montagnier had also sparked a row by making the same claim.

Speaking on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’, Dr Li-Meng Yan, who is described as “a scientist who was working at the Hong Kong School of Public Health when she turned whistleblower on the Chinese government after she alleged they knew about the spread of the coronavirus before publicly acknowledging the COVID outbreak.”

The description refers to Dr Li’s claims that she had to flee to the US for her own safety and “is now determined to spread her findings to the world”. She is said to have joined the ‘Loose Women’ from a secret location.

Dr Li said while working at Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, her supervisor first asked her to investigate a new ‘SARS-like’ virus in Wuhan on December 31, but her efforts were later “stifled”.

She said she reported back that cases appeared to be rising exponentially but was told to “keep silent and be careful.”

She also said she has proof that the virus came from a virology lab in the city and not from the wet-food market. “The genome sequence is like a human fingerprint,” she says on YouTube.

Based on this you can identify these things. I will (use this) evidence to tell people why this has come from the lab in China, why they are the ones who made it,” she says. “Anyone, even if you have no biology knowledge, will be able to read it, and check and identify and verify it yourself.”

She said the Chinese authorities began to discredit her even before she fled the country. “They deleted all my information and also they told people to spread rumours about me,” she said. The Chinese National Health Commission, World Health Organisation and University Of Hong Kong disputed her claims, according to The Sun.

In July, Hong Kong University put out a statement: “Dr Yan Limeng was a postdoctoral fellow at HKU. She has left the University. HKU notes that the content of the said news report does not accord with the key facts as we understand them. Specifically, Dr Yan never conducted any research on human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus at HKU during December 2019 and January 2020, her central assertion of the said interview.”

In March, a paper in Science journal on the proximal origins of COVID-19 found that “analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.”

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The total coronavirus cases mounted to 41,13,811, while the death toll climbed to 70,626 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 1,065 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has further declined to 1.72 per cent. There are 8,62,320 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 20.96 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and it went past 40 lakh on September 5.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 4,88,31,145 samples have been tested up to September 5 with 10,92,654 samples being tested on Saturday.

Of the 1,065 fresh deaths, 312 are from Maharashtra, 128 from Karnataka, 81 from Uttar Pradesh, 71 from Andhra Pradesh, 69 from Punjab, 61 from Tamil Nadu, 58 from West Bengal, 34 from Bihar, 30 from Madhya Pradesh, 25 from Delhi, 22 from Haryana, 19 from Chhattisgarh, 18 each from Puducherry and Uttarakhand, 15 each from Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

Fourteen fatalities have been reported from Rajasthan, 11 from Kerala, nine each from Goa and Telangana, eight from Tripura, seven each from Assam and Odisha, four from Himachal Pradesh while Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Manipur and Meghalaya have registered one fatality each.

Of the total 70,626 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 26,276 followed by 7,748 in Tamil Nadu, 6,298 in Karnataka, 4,538 in Delhi, 4,347 in Andhra Pradesh, 3,843 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,510 in West Bengal, 3,091 in Gujarat and 1,808 in Punjab.

So far, 1,543 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,122 in Rajasthan, 886 in Telangana, 781 in Haryana, 770 in Jammu and Kashmir, 735 in Bihar, 538 in Odisha, 462 in Jharkhand, 356 in Chhattisgarh, 352 in Assam, 337 in Kerala and 330 in Uttarakhand.

Puducherry has registered 298 fatalities, Goa 229, Tripura 144, Chandigarh 69, Himachal Pradesh 54, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 50, Manipur 36, Ladakh 35, Meghalaya 15, Nagaland 10, Arunachal Pradesh eight, Sikkim five and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that State-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

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