Breaking news: July 8, 2020 | As it happened

Goa on Wednesday recorded the highest single-day rise of 136 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 2,039, state Health Department said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh increased to 3,526 on Wednesday after 100 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said.

Also, 107 patients were discharged from different hospitals in the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 2,835, he said.

The death toll stood at 14.

"Of the new cases, 22 were reported from Bilaspur, 20 from Raipur, 12 from Bastar, 10 each from Narayanpur and Rajnandgaon, six from Bemetara, five from Durg, four from Dantewada, three from Korba, two each from Koriya and Surguja districts", he said.

Fifteen fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Chandigarh on Wednesday, taking the tally to 507, as per a medical bulletin. Six members of a family, including a 74-year-old woman, a 71-year-old man and an eight-year-old boy, residents of sector 49, tested positive, it said.

The fresh cases were reported in sector 19 (1), sector 20 (3), Manimajra (1), sector 45 (1), sector 44 (1) and sector 43 (2), as per the bulletin.

A total of 8,833 samples have been taken for testing so far and of them, 8,267 tested negative while reports of 57 cases are awaited, it said.

There are 98 active cases as of now in the city.  A total of seven people have so far died of COVID-19 and 402 patients have recovered till now in the city.

The maximum temperatures dropped in Haryana and Punjab after rains lashed several places in the two states on Wednesday. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, which also received rains, recorded a maximum of 30.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches against normal limits, according to the Meteorological Department here.

Hisar in Haryana which also received heavy showers (48.2 mm) recorded a high of 36.5 degrees Celsius, down two notches against the normal while Karnal registered a high of 32 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the normal.

Ambala recorded a high of 31.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below the normal, as the district received 16 mm of rainfall. Rains also lashed Narnaul, which recorded a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius, which is 10 notches below normal limits.

Ludhiana, which received heavy showers (27 mm), recorded a high of 29.4 degrees Celsius, down six notches. Rains also occurred in Patiala, which registered a high of 30.2 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal limits.

Amritsar recorded a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal.

In the highest ever single day jump in Kerala, as many as 301 people tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the infection tally to 6,195, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

While 2,605 people were presently under treatment, as many as 107 were discharged on Wednesday, taking the cumulative recoveries to 3,561,she said in a press release.

West Bengal on Wednesday witnessed the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with 986 fresh infections, taking the state's virus count to 24,823, the health department said in a bulletin.

Uttarakhand reports 28 new COVID-19 positive cases today taking the total number of cases to 3258 including 2650 recoveries, 534 active cases and 46 deaths. Percentage recovery for COVID19 patients in the state is 81.34%.

Number of COVID-19 cases reaches 1,092 in Himachal Pradesh, active cases stand at 260.

Bangladesh has reported 46 more deaths due to the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of the COVID-19 fatalities in the country to 2,197, health officials said on Wednesday. The total number of the COVID-19 cases in the country has surged to 172,134 with 3,489 people testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours till 8 a.m. on Wednesday, an official from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)informed.

Another 2,736 infected patients have recovered at home and in hospital care in the same period, taking the total to 80,838, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said during a media briefing here on the novel coronavirus situation.

The recovery rate from the disease currently stands at 46.96 per cent, while the mortality rate is 1.28 per cent, she added. 

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday announced a three-day special cleanliness campaign to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection and other communicable diseases.

"The three-day special cleanliness campaign will be organised on July 10, 11 and 12 in villages and urban areas. The campaign will be organised in coordination with the departments of urban development, rural development, panchayati raj and other institutions,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said after chairing a meeting of senior officials here.

He directed that special attention should be given to social distancing during the campaign.

Under the campaign, anti-larval chemicals will be sprayed in all districts of the state. Fogging will also be done.

The chief minister also stressed on cleaning of water tanks, and said public toilets must be constructed in rural areas on a priority basis.

He added that COVID-19 testing capacity should be increased to 35,000 tests per day.

"Additional teams should be constituted to collect maximum possible samples and the team members should be trained for the same," Adityanath said.

In a statement issued here, the chief minister said installation of TrueNAT machines should be encouraged in private hospitals.

TrueNat, a diagnostic machine is commonly used for testing drug-resistant tuberculosis.

He also called for increasing the number of COVID-19 help desks, adding their regular and proper operation should be ensured.

Mizoram reports 3 new COVID-19 positive cases; the total number of cases in the state stands at 201 including 58 active cases and 143 cured/discharged.

Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar is under home quarantine after his Personal Assistant tested positive for COVID-19, a city civic body official said here on Wednesday.

Specialist doctors from the AIIMS here have been roped in by the Union Health Ministry to provide expert guidance and knowledge support on COVID-19 to doctors manning ICUs in state hospitals, in an effort to reduce the fatality rate.

Puducherry registered its highest-ever single day spurt of 112 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the aggregate number of those infected by the virus in the Union Territory to 1,151.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday took over the investigation into the Tuticorin custodial deaths case and registered two FIRs after the Centre gave nod to the agency.

Vinay Tiwari, suspended Station Office (SO) of Chaubeypur Police, has been taken into custody.  Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force detains gangster Vikas Dubey's brother-in-law from Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district 

Sun shone over Mumbai skies on Wednesday morning almost after a week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said while predicting moderate showers in the metropolis.

Mumbai, neighbouring Thane and other districts in the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra received heavy showers over the past few days. The intensity of rainfall in Mumbai and Thane reduced on Tuesday.

The IMD has predicted generally cloudy sky over Mumbai with there being a possibility of moderate rains/showers on Wednesday.

Mumbai and around today a sunny morning after almost a week, IMD Mumbais Deputy Director General K S Hosalikar said in a tweet. The Santacruz observatory in suburban Mumbai recorded 58.3 mm rainfall while the Colaba weather station in South Mumbai recorded 58 mm rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, according to the IMD.

The Ratnagiri observatory recorded 144.1 mm rainfall, while the Harnai weather bureau in the coastal district reported 75.2 mm showers during the same period. The Matheran hill station in Raigad received 116.4 mm rainfall during the period while Alibaug in the district reported 74.2 mm downpour.

The Thane-Belapur Industries Association weather station reported 84.6 mm rainfall during the period. Baramati in Pune district reported 20.2 mm rainfall while the Pune weather bureau recorded 13.9 mm rain.

Besides, Nanded and Beed districts in the Marathwada region received 16 mm and 11 mm rainfall, respectively, during the period.

527 new COVID19 positive cases reported in Odisha in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in the state is now 10,624 including 3,860 active cases, 6,703 recovered and 48 deaths

173 COVID-19 positive cases, 6 deaths, 8 recovered and 6 discharged today in Rajasthan. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 21,577 including 478 deaths, 16,583 recovered and 16,208 discharged

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs Union Cabinet meeting at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg

India reports a spike of 22,752 new COVID-19 cases and 482 deaths in the last 24 hours. Positive cases stand at  7,42,417 including 2,64,944 active cases, 4,56,831 cured/discharged/migrated and 20,642 deaths

A total of 1,04,73,771 samples tested for #COVID19 till date. Of these, 2,62,679 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Good morning everyone. Everyday Swami Ramdev tells you how yoga can boost your immunity and keep yourself away from diseases like COVID-19, Asthama, Backache, Migrain, diabetes, hyperthyroidism among others. Doing yogasanas, pranayam helps your body relax and boosts your immunity. 

However, in the time of coronavirus, it is also important to take care of your phone's health. Mobile phones are the most used thing these days and are not washable (often). You keep your phone at several places and then also hold it close to your ear and head. It is important to keep your phone free of germs and dust. Especially in summers, your mobile phone also catches sweat easily. By not cleaning it, you make yourself prone to lot of fungal diseases as well. Some research has also said that your phone is often more dirtier than your toilet seat. 

How to clean your phone and make it germ-free: 

Before you start, ensure your smartphone is switched off and no earphones or charging cable is connected to your device. Also, remove the cover/case on your smartphone.

Now, take a lint-free, soft cloth to clear your device. Using the one you use to clean your spectacles is a good option. This microfibre cloth will ensure scratches don’t take residence on your smartphone.

You can choose from two options; you can either use warm and soapy water or screen cleaner solution. As for water-resistant smartphones (iPhone 11 series, Samsung Galaxy S20 series, Google Pixels, and many more), they can be submerged in water or put under a running tap depending upon the resistance level they come with. (Please do not wash your phone if it is not water-resistant/proof.) Use a slightly wet cloth and rub it thoroughly. 

You can use isopropyl alcohol but it has to be diluted with water to avoid its harsh effects on the phone screen. 

All you have to do it, take the solution, dip the microfibre cloth and make sure you damp it (remove the excess solution). Wipe the smartphone with the damp cloth and then with a dry one.

For small corners of your smartphone such as the earpiece, speaker grills, and various ports on your phone, you can either use a Q-tip or toothpick to swab the areas. 

Read More: Here's how you can disinfect your phones

Heavy rainfall triggers severe waterlogging in Gujarat's Dwarka city

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev reveals yoga asanas to cure sinusitis, migraine and other breathing problems | Watch Now 

Amar Dubey, close aide of history-sheeter Vikas Dubey, has been killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Hamirpur today.

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Sushmita Panda and my colleagues Himanshu Shekhar, Shashwat  Bhandari, Vani Mehrotra, Priya Jaiswal,  Sidhant Mamtany and Rashi Hardaha. You can get in touch with us directly on twitter​​ ​​@sushmitapanda, @himaanshus, @ShashBhandari​ @vani_mehrotra​ @priyajais, @SidMamtany, and  @rashihardaha for news, tips, photos, questions and comments. Stay tuned to Indiatvnews.com (@indiatvnews) for all the latest updates on what's happening around the world. 

Here's a quick overview: 

The total number of global cases has surpassed 11.9 million, including more than 546,000 fatalities. More than 6,849,000 patients are reported to have recovered.

Total positive cases country-wise: