The Tamil Nadu government is giving special attention to coronavirus testing, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said.

K Palaniswami was tested for coronavirus in strict adherence to testing protocols in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has tested negative for coronavirus, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said in Chennai today.

The government is giving special attention to coronavirus testing, he said adding that following protocol “without any exception, the chief minister subjected himself to the coronavirus testing and today we have the good news that he is negative.”

He maintained that the government was transparent in tackling coronavirus and no information was concealed and daily bulletins, district wise data are also being released.

Favipiravir being manufactured by Glenmark will be marketed by the name of Fabiflu and will be available in strength of 200 milligrams.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals shares surged more than 35 per cent to a new 52-week high on Monday, after the company said it had received an approval from the government’s drug regulator to market and manufacture oral antiviral drug Favipiravir for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in the country. On the BSE, Glenmark Pharma shares soared to as high as Rs 572.70 in the first half of the session, compared to their previous close of Rs 409.10.

The Mumbai-based drug maker said the clearance by the drug regulator was part of the government’s Accelerated Approval Process, which takes into account the disease severity, rarity, and the availability or lack of alternative treatment. Glenmark said the drug would be for “restricted emergency use” in the country.

A generic version of Favipiravir will be manufactured and marketed by Glenmark under the name Fabiflu, and will be available in the strength of 200 milligrams. Glenmark has priced the strip of 34 tablets at Rs 3,500, costing around Rs 103 per tablet, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Use of Favipiravir has been approved by medical authorities in China, Japan, Canada and Saudi Arabia among other countries.

India has over 4.25 lakh coronavirus cases, recording the biggest single-day jump of 445 deaths amid renewed concerns over the rapid rise in new infections in the country. The spike in cases has taken the country’s tally to 4,25,282 while the death count rose to 13,699, according to the Union Health Ministry data till Monday morning.

The coronavirus cases in Delhi have increased to 59,746. All coronavirus patients in Delhi will have to go to COVID-19 care centres and those who have facilities at home and have no co-morbidity can avail home isolation in the capital, the Centre said, hours after the Delhi government issued a revised order on home quarantine.

At 11:35 am, Glenmark shares traded 38.11 per cent higher at Rs 565.00 on the BSE, outperforming the benchmark Sensex index which was up 0.40 per cent.

The state government has already declared Morlem village, which falls under Valpoi, the Assembly constituency of Vishwajit Rane, as a COVID-19 containment zone.

Till Sunday, Goa reported 818 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 683 are active cases

An 85-year-old woman, who tested positive for coronavirus earlier, succumbed to the infection on Monday, making it the first case of death due to the viral disease in the state, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

The woman, belonging to Morlem village in North Goa district, was undergoing treatment at the ESI hospital, a designated facility for COVID-19 patients, he said.

The state government has already declared Morlem village, which falls under Valpoi, the Assembly constituency of Vishwajit Rane, as a COVID-19 containment zone.

“Today, an 85-year-old woman from Morlem village died. This is the first COVID-19 death in the state. My condolences to the family,” Vishwajit Vishwajit Rane told reporters.

He said the state government was following all the latest protocols to keep Goa safe.

“Team Goa is united and is doing its best. Stringent methods and protocols are in place. The death was unfortunate, he said.

Vishwajit Rane appealed to people to remain calm and said the Goa government was making all efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Till Sunday, Goa reported 818 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 683 are active cases.

Cipla shares surged over 9% after it got an approval from DCGI to manufacture and market generic COVID-19 drug Remdesivir.

Cipla shares surged over 9 per cent to hit a record high on Monday, after the company informed stock exchanges that it had received an approval from the government’s Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market a generic version of Gilead Sciences’s experimental COVID-19 treatment Remdesivir. Cipla said its generic version of Remdesivir will be called Cipremi. Gilead Sciences signed non-exclusive licensing pacts last month with five generic drug makers based in India and Pakistan to expand the supply of its COVID-19 treatment.

“The US drug regulator issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Gilead Sciences Inc. for emergency use of Remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. It is the only U.S. FDA approved Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) treatment for adult and pediatric patients hospitalized with suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection,” the Mumbai-based drug maker said in its regulatory filing.

India has over 4.25 lakh coronavirus cases, recording the biggest single-day jump of 445 deaths amid renewed concerns over the rapid rise in new infections in the country. The spike in cases has taken the country’s tally to 4,25,282 while the death count rose to 13,699, according to the Union Health Ministry data this morning.

The coronavirus cases in Delhi has neared the 60,000 mark, with 59,746 cases. 3,000 people tested positive on Sunday. All coronavirus patients in Delhi will have to go to COVID-19 care centres and those who have facilities at home and have no co-morbidity can avail home isolation in the capital, the centre said, hours after the Delhi government issued a revised order on home quarantine.

At 10:35 am, Cipla shares traded 3.33 per cent higher at Rs 658 on the BSE, outperforming the benchmark Sensex index which was up 0.70 per cent.

Coronavirus: In Mumbai, daily growth in number of COVID cases has fallen to 2.43 per cent consistently for a week, which is lower than the national rate of 3.3 per cent

Mumbai:In the last three days, coronavirus recoveries in Mumbai have also outnumbered new cases 

The spread of coronavirus disease, which brought India’s financial capital to a standstill, seems to be slowing down offering hope that the damage can be contained with discipline and cooperation.

The daily growth in number of COVID cases in Mumbai has fallen to 2.43 per cent consistently for a week, which is lower than the national rate of 3.3 per cent. Mumbai’s daily growth rate was 2.7 per cent a week ago.

According to the public health department data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, or the BMC, the rate at which cases are doubling also improved to 29 days, as on June 17, up from 20 days on June 3.

The doubling rate, or the rate at which number of cases double, is calculated over periods of three, five or seven days to observe the effect of containment measures adopted.

Out of the 24 wards in Mumbai, the most improvement was seen in Matunga area – part of F North ward – where doubling rate is 60 days, while in Dahisar area – part of R North ward – cases are doubling every 13 days.

The most heartening development, however, comes from Asia’s biggest slum – Dharavi – where the doubling rate is 46 days and, so far in June all of eight deaths have been registered compared to 50 deaths registered over the same period last month.

Dharavi is one of the 17,837 containment zones in Mumbai.

In the last three days, the number of coronavirus recoveries has also consistently outnumbered new cases.

However, the deaths in the city went up after government reconciled the hospital data. The total number of coronavirus related deaths now stands at 3,311.

“We did data reconciliation and after that the deaths, which had not been added earlier, have been added. The deaths were not hidden, but we have instructed all district collectors to ensure such lag in reporting does not happen in future,” Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.

Officials and frontline health workers, however, have warned that now would not be a good time for Mumbai to heave a sigh of relief as the monsoon has arrived and with rain would come many more diseases.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says the Chinese attack in Galwan, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, was pre-planned.

New Delhi:Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the price was paid by Indian soldiers.  

Unrelenting in his attacks on the centre over the Ladakh clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, Rahul Gandhi tweeted today that it is “crystal clear” that the government was “fast asleep” and jawans paid the price. He posted the fresh charge hours before an all-party meeting on the India-China that his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to attend.

“It’s now crystal clear that: 1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned. 2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem. 3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans,” the Congress leader tweeted, sharing a report quoting junior defence minister Shripad Naik as saying the attack was planned.

In an interview to news agency ANI, Mr Naik had said: “It is a matter of national security, there will be no compromise. We will not allow others to take our land. I pay tribute to all jawans who lost lives. The nation is proud of them that they made the supreme sacrifice. It won’t go in vain. It was pre-planned by China and Indian forces will give a befitting reply.”

The minister also said: “We were in talks with Chinese officials. Soldiers of both sides have demarche 2.5 KM. It is sad that China has attacked our soldiers in our territory and their soldiers have also been killed.”

Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had posted that soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom”. He was fact-checked by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said soldiers always carry arms but the rules of engagement do not allow use firearms during face-offs.

Indian soldiers were assaulted with iron rods and clubs wrapped in barbed wire laced with nails in the fight with the Chinese in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Actual Control. Many were thrown off a steep ridge and some of the soldiers fell into the river Galwan.

Mr Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi the incident would have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship and China must take corrective steps. But both ministers agreed that “neither side would take any action to escalate matters.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to make full use of the expanded COVID-19 testing capacity and saving lives a top priority.

Coronavirus Cases India: India’s recovery rate is at 52.79 per cent.

India today reported over 12,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours in the biggest one-day spike. The country has so far reported 3,66,946 coronavirus cases; 1,94,935 have recovered. The number of dead is 12,237. The recovery rate is at 52.95 per cent. 

Maharashtra has the highest number of cases in the country. The number of fatalities across the state and its capital Mumbai went up sharply on Wednesday as the records were updated with 3,307 cases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to make full use of the expanded COVID-19 testing capacity and saving lives a top priority. PM Modi also called for fighting the stigma associated with coronavirus and that people should be assured there is no need to panic if somebody has contracted the infection as the number of recovered patients has also been rising. The COVID-19 recovery rate for the country currently stood at around 53 per cent.