Coronavirus update: SC dismisses plea of 6 opposition-ruled states, NEET and JEE to be held as scheduled

The Supreme Court September 4, 2020,  rejected a petition by cabinet ministers of six non-BJP ruled states seeking review of its August 17 order allowing holding of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) and JEE (Mains) examinations. The Bench said there was no merit in the petition, adding “no case is made out for reconsidering our earlier decision.” 

Cabinet ministers from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajastha, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh had sought the deferrment of the exams in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 

• Restaurants, hotels and clubs will be allowed to open in the national capital Delhi from September 9-30 — on a trial basis with 50 per cent seating and no provision for standing customers — Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) stated September 3. Social distancing and masks will be mandatory and any deviation from guidelines will result in sealing of the premises, the DDMA said.
• The city recorded the highest single-day spike — 2,737 cases — for the first time in 67 days. The number of fatalities was 4,500, with 19 recorded in the last 24 hours.
• Telangana has reported the highest positivity rate — 18 per cent — among health workers, reported the Indian Express. This is the highest in the country, followed by Maharashtra (16 per cent).
• India recorded spike of 83,341 new cases in the last 24 hours and 1, 096 deaths, taking the total tally to 3,936,747 and 68,472 fatalities.
• A total of 46,679,145 samples were tested up to September 3, 2020. Of these, 1,169,765 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, according to Indian Council for Medical Research.
• The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention told the states to prepare a vaccine by November 1, 2020 — two days before the country’s presidential election.
• “CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020,” CDC Director Robert Redfield wrote in the letter.
• Globally, there are 26,304,271 confirmed COVID-19 cases across 188 countries, which has led to 868,726 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• A Cambridge hospital has piloted the use of combined rapid point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The test is a combination of the RT-PCR test and antibody test. Researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that this approach was superior to virus detection alone for diagnosing the COVID-19 disease.
• Both PCR and antibody tests have limitations because of the nature of coronavirus infection. According to researchers, however, if the two tests are combined and carried out at point of care — as soon as patients arrive at the hospital — their reliability can be increased.