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The OutbreakAugust 2020Issue the Eighth

India’s economy shrinks 23.9% as cases near 80,000 a day

India’s economy shrinks by nearly a quarter as its cases climb fastest in the world, Singapore clears its last dormitories, and Russia registers a vaccine.

NEW DELHI, Monday 31 August.—India’s economy shrank 23.9 per cent in April-June from a year earlier, the National Statistical Office said on Monday, the first contraction in decades, after the nationwide lockdown that began on 25 March.

GDP at constant prices was estimated at Rs 26.90 lakh crore, against Rs 35.35 lakh crore a year earlier, when the economy grew 5.2 per cent.

Construction fell 50.3 per cent; trade, hotels, transport and communication 47 per cent; manufacturing 39.3 per cent. Agriculture was the only major sector to grow, by 3.4 per cent.

Though the restrictions have been gradually lifted, there has been an impact on the economic activitiesGovernment statistics report

“Though the restrictions have been gradually lifted, there has been an impact on the economic activities,” the government’s statistics report said.

The virus is still spreading fast. Union Health Ministry data on Monday morning showed 78,512 new cases and 971 deaths in 24 hours, taking India to 36,21,246 cases and 64,469 deaths. In its weekly update the World Health Organization said India had the highest number of new cases in the world, and noted a substantial rise in testing.

Even so, the country is opening further. Under the Home Ministry’s Unlock 4 order of 29 August, metro trains may run again in a graded manner from 7 September, and functions of up to 100 people are allowed from 21 September with masks and distancing. Schools and colleges stay closed to students until 30 September.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (National Statistical Office), Government of India, Aug. 31 · Scroll.in, Aug. 31 · India TV, Aug. 31 · World Health Organization, Aug. 31 · Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (Order No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A), 29 August 2020), as reproduced by StaffNews, Aug. 29 · The Quint, Aug. 29

Three vaccines under test, Modi tells the nation from the Red Fort

NEW DELHI, Saturday 15 August.—Three Covid-19 vaccines are being tested in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Saturday.

“As soon as the green signal is received from the scientists, the country’s preparation is also ready for mass production of those vaccines,” he said.

Earlier in the month the drug regulator approved Phase II and III trials in India of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, to be run by the Serum Institute of India with about 1,600 adults at 17 sites, including AIIMS-Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh. The institute, which calls the candidate Covidshield, is to manufacture it.

As soon as the green signal is received from the scientists, the country's preparation is also ready for mass production of those vaccinesNarendra Modi

“The trials have shown promising results and we are extremely happy about it,” said Adar Poonawalla, the institute’s chief executive.

Prime Minister's Office, India, via Embassy of India, Baku, Aug. 15 · The Quint, Aug. 3

Every dormitory cleared, but ‘the crisis is far from over’, Lee warns

SINGAPORE, Wednesday 19 August.—Singapore declared every foreign worker dormitory cleared of Covid-19 on Wednesday, including the 17 blocks that had been kept as quarantine facilities.

Construction firms were allowed to resume work from 10 August, and 86 per cent of construction, marine and process workers, some 333,000, now hold a Green AccessCode.

New cases had turned up in cleared dormitories on 12 August. “The new infection cases in cleared dormitories and decant sites remind us on the need to be vigilant,” the Ministry of Manpower said.

The new infection cases in cleared dormitories and decant sites remind us on the need to be vigilantMinistry of Manpower

In his National Day message on 9 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “The crisis is far from over.” Business closures, retrenchments and unemployment were likely to rise in the coming months, he warned.

“It will most likely take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available, and the threat of the virus is blunted,” he said.

Mothership, Aug. 19 · Ministry of Manpower (Singapore), Aug. 11 · Prime Minister's Office, Singapore, Aug. 9

Russia registers a coronavirus vaccine before final trials end

MOSCOW, Tuesday 11 August.—Russia has registered a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya institute before the end of its large final-stage trial, drawing warnings from experts and the World Health Organization.

“I have been told that the world’s first coronavirus vaccine was approved this morning,” President Vladimir Putin told a government meeting. “I know this very well, too, because one of my daughters has got this vaccination.”

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said medical workers and teachers would be offered the vaccine first. “In fact, Russia has the first full registration certificate,” he said.

I have been told that the world’s first coronavirus vaccine was approved this morningVladimir Putin

The Phase III trial, with thousands of volunteers, began only last week, and the registration certificate lists civilian circulation from 1 January 2021. The WHO urged Russia to follow established guidelines and complete all the necessary stages.

President of Russia (Kremlin), official transcript · The Moscow Times; all Aug. 11, 2020.

In Brief

Home Minister Amit Shah tests positive

GURUGRAM, Sunday 2 August.—Union Home Minister Amit Shah, 55, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being admitted to Medanta Hospital. “My health is fine but I am being admitted to the hospital on advice of doctors,” he said on Twitter. He asked everyone he had recently met to isolate and get tested.

Scroll.in, Aug. 2, 2020.

Odisha pupils climb trees to reach online classes

BHUBANESWAR, Saturday 15 August.—Pupils in Odisha are walking miles and climbing hills, trees and water tanks to get a signal for online classes, the state’s School and Mass Education Minister, Samir Ranjan Dash, said. “I am happy that my department has been imparting online classes but children have to climb trees, hills to get net connectivity.”

The Tribune (Chandigarh), from Press Trust of India, Aug. 16, 2020.

Singapore narrows its forecast for the year

SINGAPORE, Tuesday 11 August.—Singapore’s economy shrank 13.2 per cent year on year in April-June, against 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said. It narrowed its forecast for 2020 to a contraction of 5 to 7 per cent, from 4 to 7 per cent.

Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore, Aug. 11, 2020.

Start The Outbreak from issue one tomorrow

Wayback Wire · No. 8 · August 2020