Coronavirus news highlights: Another BJP minister tests positive for COVID-19 in MP; masks no longer compulsory outdoors in Beijing

With that it's a wrap to the LIVE updates on the coronavirus pandemic for the day. Do join us tomorrow for the top developments on the COVID-19 situation from India and around the world. Until then, stay safe and good night.

Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates: DDMA allows weekly markets to open from Monday on trial basis

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday allowed weekly markets to open on trial basis from August 24-30 and directed authorities to ensure strict implementation of anti-COVID-19 measures, including social distancing and mandatory use of face masks. According to an order issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, weekly markets will not be allowed in containment zones in the national capital. "One weekly per day per zone in all three municipal corporations/New Delhi Municipal Council/Delhi Cantonment Board shall be allowed to function on trial basis for a week i.e 24.08.2020 to 30.08.2020 in NCT of Delhi..." Dev, who is also the chairman of DDMA's state executive committee, said in the order. Weekly markets will be permitted to open from 4 pm to 10 pm, it said, adding that not more than two buyers will be allowed to deal at any stall at a time.

Coronavirus in Gujarat LIVE Updates: Surat reports 251 new COVID-19 cases; 5 more deaths

The COVID-19 tally in Gujarat's Surat went up to 18,708 after 251 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the government said on Friday. Surat's tally is the second highest in the state after Ahmedabad, where 29,841 people have tested positive so far. The spike in the number of cases in Surat was the highest for any district in the state on Friday, the government said in a release. Of the 251 new cases, 169 were from Surat city and 82 others from rural parts of the district, it said. While three persons from the city died in the last 24 hours, two deaths were reported from the villages, taking the fatality count in the district to 766. A total of 340 people, highest in Gujarat on Friday, recovered from the infection and were given discharge in the last 24 hours, which pushed the count of recoveries to 15,321, the release said.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Himachal Pradesh reports 2 more COVID-19 deaths, 77 fresh cases

With two more fatalities, the COVID-19 death toll climbed to 24 in Himachal Pradesh, while 77 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 4,618 on Friday, official data showed. A 58-year-woman and a 84-year-old man died due to novel coronavirus in Chamba district on Friday, a district official said, adding that both were co-morbid patients. With this, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has risen to 24 in the hill state. The deaths include that of a 70-year-old Delhi woman, who had stayed at a factory guest house in Solan's Baddi. She died at the PGIMER in Chandigarh on April 2. The state health department initially showed her death in its records but it stopped doing so later, stating that according to protocol, her death should be included in Chandigarh, where she had tested positive for the disease. On the contrary, authorities in Chandigarh said the death of the woman should be included in the records of HP, from where she was referred.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Sikkim Health Minister tests positive for COVID-19

Sikkim Health Minister Dr MK Sharma tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. The minister himself announced the news of his testing positive for COVID-19 in a brief Facebook post. "I, Dr MK Sharma, Health Minister of Sikkim, would like to inform all the Sikkimese people that I developed symptoms of COVID-19 and got myself tested today and the results have come as positive," he said. Sharma said that he was doing fine and confined himself in isolation. Urging his friends and supporters not to panic, the Health Minister urged all those people who have in contact with him in recent days to self-isolate themselves and get tested for COVID-19. Sikkim till Friday has reported 1,336 COVID-19 cases of which 499 are active cases, as 834 patients have recovered from the disease and three persons have died.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rises to 895

At least 21 people, including seven truckers, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, taking the northeastern state's tally to 895, an official said on Friday. The official said that 12 cases were reported from Aizawl district, seven from Kolasib district, and one each from Lunglei and Siaha districts in the last 24-hours. Eighteen people recovered from COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 420, he said. Of the total 895 COVID-19 cases, 475 are active as 420 people have recovered from the disease. Mizoram has so far not reported any COVID-19 death. According to a health department official a total of 30,753 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till Friday.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 44 more test COVID-19 positive in Muzaffarnagar

Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on Friday reported 44 fresh COVID-19 cases, including six health workers and two prisoners. The district now has 366 active COVID-19 cases, District Magistrate Selvakumari said. Twenty-six patients recovered from the disease on Friday, taking the number of people who have been cured to 1,066. Four medical staffers of the district hospital and two of Begarajpur college are among the fresh cases.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 2 more COVID-19 deaths, 116 fresh cases in Chandigarh

Two more COVID-19 fatalities in Chandigarh pushed the death toll to 33 while 116 new cases reported on Friday took the infection tally to 2,631 in the union territory, according to a medical bulletin. A 67-year-old coronavirus positive man had succumbed to the infection on Wednesday at a government hospital here. The patient was also suffering from diabetes, the bulletin said. Another death due to COVID-19 on Wednesday was that of a 66-year-old woman who breathed her last at a government hospital here. She was also suffering from diabetes, it said. The new COVID-19 cases include a one-year-old child, a four-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. The fresh cases were found in many areas including sectors 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, Mani Majra, Dadu Majra and Hallo Majra, according to the bulletin. There are 1,170 active cases as of now in the union territory. Thirty-six more patients were discharged after they recovered from infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,426, according to the health bulletin.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Five more COVID-19 patients die in U'khand

Uttarakhand on Friday reported five more deaths due to COVID-19 taking the fatality toll in the state to 192 while 447 more people tested positive for the disease pushing the infection tally to 14,083. Three COVID patients died at AIIMS, Rishikesh and two at Doon Medical College, a state Health Department bulletin said. Meanwhile, 447 new cases were reported in the state with Udham Singh Nagar district accounting for the highest 106 cases followed by Haridwar which reported 101cases, Dehradun 95, Nainital 50, Uttarkashi 41, Almora 14, Pauri 11, Champawat nine, Tehri and Pithoragarh six, each, Chamoli five, Bageshwar two and Rudraprayag one case, it said. A total of 9,676 COVID patients have recovered so far in the state, while 51 have migrated out of the state and 192 died. There are 4,164 active cases in the state, the bulletin said.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 2,100 confirmed school virus cases in Tennessee

Tennessee had 2,100 confirmed coronavirus cases in children ages 5 to 18 during the past two weeks, according to state data. So far, 131 of Tennessee's roughly 140 public schools have restarted, with 129 districts operating or planning to run on a hybrid model. Most of those are opening in person with a virtual option, according to Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. Eighteen districts are operating fully remotely, and nine individual schools were closed due to at least one COVID-19 case, Schwinn says. Republican Governor Bill Lee says his administration is asking federal officials how specific Tennessee can get in disclosing cases of COVID-19 in schools. School districts currently have the choice of releasing information on cases on their own. Tennessee has nearly 1,500 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Over 1,200 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, 14 deaths

For the first time, Gujarat on Friday recorded a spike of more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the state health department said. With highest single-day spike of 1,204, the caseload in the state rose to 84,466. Fourteen persons with COVID-19 infection died across the state, taking the death toll to 2,869. On the other hand, 1,324 patients were discharged from hospitals since Thursday evening. Notably, over 72,000 coronavirus tests were conducted in 24 hours, which was also a record. Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Total cases 84,466, New cases 1,204, Deaths 2,869, Discharged 67,277, Active cases 14,320 and people tested so far 16,20,067.

Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates: 14,161 new COVID-19 cases in state, 339 more die

Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra went up to 6,57,450 on Friday with 14,161 new patients being reported, the state health department said. With 339 fatalities, the death toll due to the pandemic rose to 21,698, it said in a statement. Also, 11,749 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 4,70,873. The recovery rate in the state is 71.62 percent while the case fatality rate is 3.30 percent. There are 1,64,562 active cases in the state, while 34,92,966 people have been tested so far.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Hit by virus surge, Hong Kong offers free tests to everyone

Hong Kong will offer free coronavirus tests to its residents starting Sept. 1 as it grapples with its worst outbreak since the pandemic began, leader Carrie Lam said Friday. The testing program, which will last up to two weeks, will allow every Hong Kong resident to be tested on a voluntary basis, she said. "For the good of yourself and others, and for safeguarding public health, please take part in the scheme," Lam said. "What we're doing today is so that we can come off the epidemic as soon as possible, so that we can resume our economic activities." The testing is aimed at identifying people who are infected with the coronavirus but have exhibited no symptoms, officials said. The city, which has 7.5 million people, has conducted over 1.2 million coronavirus tests so far. A new surge in infections which started in July has more than tripled the number of cases in the city to 4,632.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 3 more test positive in Dharavi, tally rises to 2,700

The tally of coronavirus patients in Dharavi, the largest slum in Mumbai, increased to 2,700 on Friday after three persons tested positive for the infection, a senior civic official said. On Thursday, Dharavi had recorded 17 positive cases, its highest single-day rise in the month of August. Of the total 2,700 COVID-19 cases, 2,348 patients have already recovered and discharged from hospitals, the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The slum-dominated area currently has 92 active cases, he added. The civic body has, however, stopped sharing the death toll, if any, from Dharavi since June. Spread over 2.5 square kms area, Dharavi is considered as the largest slum in Asia with a population over 6.5 lakh.

Coronavirus in West Bengal LIVE Updates: Over 1 lakh people recovered from COVID-19 in WB

Over one lakh people have recovered from COVID-19 in West Bengal after 3,082 patients recovered from the disease on Friday, accordimg to a bulletin released by the state health department said. The discharge percentage in the state improved to 76.89 per cent as a total of 1,01,871 people have so far recovered from the disease, it said. The COVID-19 tally reached 1,32,364 after the biggest single-day spike of 3,245 new cases of the contagion was reported, it added. The toll reached 2,689 after 55 people succumbed to the disease in the past 24 hours, the bulletin said. The number of active cases rose to 27,804, it said. Since Thursday 36,229 samples have been tested in West Bengal, it added.