With 34,931 samples being tested so far, the government on Sunday set up 11 empowered groups to coordinate the management and control of the disease across the country. The designated groups will look at issues related to the medical emergency plan, availability of hospitals, isolation and quarantine beds, availability of critical medical equipment, human resources supply chain management, private sector coordination, economic and welfare measures and public grievances and strategic issues on lockdown.
Central PSUs are in the process of manufacturing 40 lakh more masks — 13 lakh have been procured and 5 lakh received as donation. Across the country, 1,26,720 isolation beds have been earmarked for COVID-19 patients. This includes 17,631 beds in central government institutions and 1,09,089 in the states. However, there are only 25,743 ICU beds so far.
The Centre on Sunday suspended two senior bureaucrats of the Delhi government and initiated disciplinary proceedings against two others for alleged dereliction of duty during the COVID-19 lockdown. Sources said action had been taken against the bureaucrats over the exodus of migrant workers seen in the national capital over the past couple of days. The Centre and several states have asked shops and establishments, and other commercial units, to pay wages to their workers during lockdown, but the informal nature of these entities, and non-registration of many unorganised workers with states, would restrict the states’ ability and administrative control to enforce such orders, said government officials, who did not wish to be named. The Centre also asked states to ensure that there is no movement of people across cities. It also announced that the migrants who travelled to their home towns during the lockdown would be put under mandatory 14-day quarantine.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised for imposing “harsh steps” but said it would be difficult to contain the virus from spreading if the lockdown is violated. Addressing the nation on his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat, PM Modi said: “I understand that no one wants to break the rules deliberately, but there are some people who are doing so. To them, I will say that if they don’t follow this lockdown, it will be difficult to protect ourselves from the danger of coronavirus.”
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Here’s a quick Coronavirus guide from Express Explained to keep you updated: What can cause a COVID-19 patient to relapse after recovery? | COVID-19 lockdown has cleaned up the air, but this may not be good news. Here’s why | Can alternative medicine work against the coronavirus? | A five-minute test for COVID-19 has been readied, India may get it too | How India is building up defence during lockdown | Why only a fraction of those with coronavirus suffer acutely | How do healthcare workers protect themselves from getting infected? | What does it take to set up isolation wards?
