Highest single-day spike of 62,538 cases, India's COVID-19 tally reaches 20,27,075

New Delhi, Apr 5: Joining efforts to fight COVID-19, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed a full-body disinfection chamber and a special face protection mask for healthcare professionals, officials said.

The special chamber called 'PSE' has been designed by Vehicle Research Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar, a DRDO Laboratory.

The walk through enclosure is designed for personnel decontamination, one person at a time. It is a portable system equipped with sanitiser and soap dispenser, officials said.

The decontamination is started using a foot pedal at the entry. On entering the chamber, electrically-operated pump creates a disinfectant mist of hypo sodium chloride for disinfecting, the DRDO said in a statement.

The mist spray is calibrated for an operation of 25 seconds and stops automatically indicating completion of operation. As per procedure, personnel undergoing disinfection will need to keep their eyes closed while inside the chamber, it said.

The system consists of roof mounted and bottom tanks with a total of 700 litres capacity. Approximately 650 personnel can pass through the chamber for disinfection until the refill is required, the DRDO said.

The system has see-through glass panels on side walls for monitoring purpose and is fitted with lights for illumination during night-time operations, it added.

This system can be used for disinfection of personnel at the areas of controlled ingress and egress such as entry and exit to hospitals, malls, office buildings and critical installations, officials said.

Also, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh, have developed face protection mask for healthcare professionals handling COVID-19 patients, the DRDO added.

Its light weight construction makes it convenient for comfortable wear for long duration. This design uses commonly available A4 size Over-Head Projection (OHP) film for face protection, it said.

One thousand face shields are being produced daily in TBRL and provided to Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, it said.

Similarly, 100 are produced at RCI and these have been handed over to Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Hyderabad. A demand of 10,000 shields has been received from PGIMER and ESIC hospitals based on successful user trials, the DRDO added.

New Delhi, Mar 25: The total number of positive coronavirus cases in India have climbed to 606, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.
The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the country so far stands at 553, while the number of people who have been cured or discharged stands at 42.
Ten people have died from the disease while one case has migrated, the Ministry further informed.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi said that it is vital to break the chain of the disease and experts have said that at least 21 days are needed for it.

New Delhi, Jun 25: Diesel price in the national capital crossed the Rs 80 per litre-mark for the first time ever on Thursday as oil companies raised prices for the 19th day, taking the cumulative rate to Rs 10.63 a litre.

Petrol price, after a day's hiatus, was hiked by 16 paise and the increase in less than three weeks now totals Rs 8.66 per litre.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 79.92 per litre from Rs 79.76, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 80.02 a litre from Rs 79.88, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Diesel had for the first time become costlier than petrol in Delhi on Wednesday and has now crossed the Rs 80 per litre-mark.

Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of value-added tax (VAT).

However, diesel is costlier than petrol only in the national capital where the state government had raised local sales tax or VAT on the fuel sharply last month. It costs less than petrol in other cities.

The 19th daily increase in rates since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision, has taken diesel prices to fresh highs.

In 19 straight days, diesel price has gone up by Rs 10.63 per litre. Petrol price has been hiked on 18 occasions since June 7 and now totals to Rs 8.66 a litre.