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NEW DELHI – India has added 61,871 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to around 7.5 million.
The Health Ministry also recorded 1,033 new deaths on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 114,031.
The country continues a downward trend in new cases, but virus-related deaths rose after posting the lowest daily figure of 680 in nearly three months on Friday.
Some experts say the figures for India may not be reliable due to poor reporting and inadequate healthcare infrastructure. India also relies heavily on antigen tests, which are faster but less accurate than traditional RT-PCR tests.
Health officials have warned of the possibility of the virus spreading during the religious festival season that begins later this month. New Delhi is also preparing for high levels of air pollution, which will complicate the fight against coronavirus in the coming months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked officials to set up cold storage chains and a distribution network for the delivery of vaccines in line with the holding of elections, involving all levels of government and citizen groups.
According to Indian officials, three vaccines are in advanced stages of development.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIRUS OUTBREAK:
– Rural Midwest Hospitals Struggling to Handle Rising Viruses
– Trump downplays the virus as he moves for a second term
– US Resorts Adjust to New Ski Normal Amid Pandemic
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to unite as they did in the spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus, as the country posted another daily record of new cases.
Iran has its death toll from the coronavirus that has passed the 30,000 milestone, in what has been the worst outbreak in the Middle East region.
– Europe’s economy was catching its breath from what had been the sharpest recession in modern history. A resurgence in coronavirus cases this month is a severe blow that will likely turn what was supposed to be a recovery period for the economy into a lean winter of job losses and bankruptcies.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE IS THE MOST HAPPENING:
MELBOURNE, Australia – Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has relaxed lockdown restrictions as new and active COVID-19 continues to decline.
Starting at midnight on Sunday, Melbourne residents will no longer face limits on the time they can spend away from their homes for education or recreation. Previous restrictions allowing Melburnians to travel just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from their home will increase at midnight to 25 kilometers (15 miles).
Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people from two households will be allowed and golf and tennis may resume.
The state of Victoria reported only two new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and no deaths. The 14-day moving average of cases dropped to eight, the lowest in four months.
There were only 137 active cases in the entire state of Victoria on Sunday and 12 people received hospital treatment, none in intensive care.
Regulations will be further relaxed on November 2 with the partial reopening of shops, bars and restaurants.
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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – The Navajo Nation, which spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, reported 53 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths Saturday.
The total number of cases in the pool is now 10,913. The total number of deaths remains at 571.
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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – State officials say a coronavirus outbreak infected 33 inmates at a prison in Fairbanks, causing the facility to go into quarantine for 14 days.
The Alaska Department of Corrections says that 32 of the cases at the Fairbanks Correctional Center are men and one is a woman. All those infected were housed in the general population.
Other inmates are being tested for coronavirus and results are expected Monday. Prisoners with coronavirus are being isolated in a separate unit of the prison.
The facility serves northern Alaska and has male and female inmates, some of whom are serving sentences and others are awaiting trial.
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Pennsylvania reports 1,857 new cases of COVID-19, the second-highest daily total since the start of the pandemic, days after authorities said the Commonwealth was experiencing a “falling resurgence” of the coronavirus.
The numbers announced Saturday by the state health department are surpassed only by the 1,989 cases reported on April 9 and bring the state total to nearly 181,000. Nine new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths associated with the virus to 8,466.
On Wednesday, the state health secretary pronounced Pennsylvania “at the beginning of the fall resurgence” of COVID-19, but said there were no plans to reimpose a stay-at-home order or close businesses again in response.
Dr. Rachel Levine said Pennsylvania is more prepared for such an influx than it was in the spring, citing a contact tracing program, more supplies of personal protective equipment and enough available hospital beds.
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OKLAHOMA CITY – The number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus stood near a record in Oklahoma on Saturday, while the number of reported cases increased by 1,195 and deaths increased by 14.
About 792 people were hospitalized, the state Department of Health said Saturday, one less than the one-day record of 793 reported Friday. There are 106,503 total cases reported since the pandemic began in March and 1,168 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The department said there were 8,272 new coronavirus cases during the week ending Thursday, a 15% increase from the previous week, and an additional 58 deaths from the previous week due to COVID-19.
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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s daily average of new coronavirus infections continued to grow at record levels with Saturday’s update from state health officials, who also added 31 more deaths from COVID-19 to the state number.
The daily update from the state health department showed Indiana’s seven-day moving average of newly confirmed COVID-19 infections hit 1,799 as of Friday. That’s the highest level the state has seen during the pandemic and it has more than doubled in the past three weeks.
The 2,521 new infections reported Saturday, a daily high, marked the second day in a row that the number surpassed 2,000 in a single day. The health department said the number was inflated by about 100 cases that were not previously included due to technical problems. The recently recorded deaths bring Indiana’s death toll to 3,918, including confirmed and suspected coronavirus infections, according to the health department.
Gov. Eric Holcomb cited the spike in cases Wednesday when he said he would continue the state mask mandate for another month. Holcomb chided those who resist wearing masks for ignoring the safety of others.
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NEW YORK – Theaters in New York state may reopen starting next Friday with audience size restrictions and other precautions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.
Theaters in New York City are not included, and counties must have a positivity rate of less than 2% in an average of 14 days and have no “cluster zones.”
Audiences will be restricted to 25% of capacity with a maximum of 50 people per screen, Cuomo said in his briefing. Masks will be required and seats will be assigned to ensure social distancing.
This week, the Global Film Federation sent an open letter to Cuomo urging him to let theaters reopen, saying that Hollywood studios could continue to delay their remaining 2020 releases if theaters remain closed. The group asked Cuomo to adopt a county-by-county plan for theater openings based on virus data, similar to what California Governor Gavin Newsom said had done.
