Countries have battled the coronavirus for 100 days now, since China first reported on December 31, 2019 a “pneumonia of unknown cause” from a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan. Today, the pandemic has inflicted "the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression", according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
With the number of novel coronavirus cases in India nearing 5900-mark, including 169 deaths, the central government Thursday approved a COVID-19 emergency package worth Rs 15,000 crore for states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted at extending the lockdown, which was to end on April 14, in some areas, but a decision on the same is yet to be announced.
Odisha became the first state to extend the lockdown till April 30 on Thursday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also announced that schools in the state will remain closed till June 17 and said he will suggest the central government to extend the nationwide lockdown till the same period.
The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to ramp up testing to at least 2.5 lakh by April 14. Speaking to The Indian Express, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora said the target was conveyed by the Union Health Ministry in a video-conference with Health Secretaries of all states and UTs Wednesday. “We were told that 1 lakh samples have been collected in India till date, and by April 14 we have to take it up to 2.5 lakh samples,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is framing a protocol for infusing blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 into patients in a serious condition. The procedure, known as convalescent plasma therapy, is carried out in the expectation that antibodies specific to the coronavirus that are present in the blood of the patient who has recovered will help generate immune response in the other patient.
Read more news on the coronavirus pandemic in India, the world:
Explained: Reading the containment plan
UN flags concern to Govt Covid group: Need to fight targeting of certain sects
Investors unfazed by March mayhem, equity MF inflow at 12-month high
Armed forces in outbreak battle: their role, procedures for requisition
K Srinath Reddy: ‘We have to wait for two more weeks to see if the curve has flattened’
Big spike in COVID-19 cases among patients with acute respiratory illness, shows ICMR research
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?
The global death toll from coronavirus has crossed 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.
The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus has hit 100,000, according to the running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll kept by Johns Hopkins University neared another sad milestone, though the true number of lives lost is believed be much higher because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and cover-ups by some governments. The number confirmed to be infected was more than 1.6 million. (AP)
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
Italy, one of the worst affected countries in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, is gaining local support through the mafia gangs in the country who are distributing free food to poor families. The country which has reported nearly 18,279 deaths is staring at a major economic crisis. However, in the past few weeks, videos have surfaced of known Mafia gangs delivering essential goods and free food to poor families in quarantine who have run out of cash, the Guardian reported. These gangs are helping out families in the poorest soutern regions of Campania, Calabria, Sicily and Pugulia. Click here to read the full story
Seven new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Kerala today. Three persons in Kasargod district and two each from Kannur and Malappuram districts have tested positive today. The two cases in Malappuram district are Nizamuddin returnees. The other five cases have got infection locally through contact. This was announced by the Minister of Health and Social Justice, Smt K K Shailaja Teacher.
Meanwhile, the test results of 27 patients came negative today. 17 patients from Kasargod district, six from Kannur District, two from Kozhikode district and one each Ernakulam and Thrissur districts are those who have recovered from the Coronavirus infection. The total number of patients cured of Covid-19 and discharged from hospitals is 124, till date.
A total of 364 Coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Kerala and presently, 238 patients are under treatment in various hospitals.
There was a considerable drop in the number of people under observation in the State. 1,29,751 persons are under observation across different districts in Kerala with 1,29,021 at their homes and 730 under observation in hospitals. 126 people were admitted to hospitals today. So far, 13,339 samples from people with symptoms have been sent for testing and 12,335 samples have tested negative.
The number of coronavirus positive patients in Gujarat jumped to 378 on Friday after as many as 116 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, officials said. After two more COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infection, the death toll in the state has reached 19, Principal Secretary (Health), Jayanti Ravi, said. (PTI)
To ensure personal protective equipment (PPE) are available to COVID-19 frontline workers, the Uttar Pradesh health directorate has approved the locally-made ‘Kheri kit’, comprising shoe covers, body cover and head gear, to keep health professionals and police safe from the disease. Officials said laminated poly poplin fabric had been used to make the items in the PPE kits. Read more
183 new COVID-19 cases reported in Delhi, total now 903
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who has already donated Rs 50 lakh for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has also decided to feed 5000 people for a month. Apnalaya, a non-profit organsation through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.
"Thankyou,@sachin_rt for stepping in & helping Apnalaya help the ones suffering the most during this lockdown.He will be taking care of the ration of around 5000 people for a month. "There are many more individuals who need your support, people! Donate below!," Apnalaya tweeted from their official handle. (PTI)
Former Leeds and England defender Norman Hunter is under treatment in hospital after contracting coronavirus, AFP reported. Hunter, 76, had won two English titles among a host of trophies during his appearances for Leeds United. "We can confirm that Leeds United and England legend Norman Hunter is being treated in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19," a Leeds statement said on Saturday.
The costliest foreign player in Indian Premier League, Pat Cummins says he would be willing to play in the T20 event without fans as it would help bring a sense of normality in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The IPL was originally scheduled to start on March 29 in Mumbai but it was postponed to April 15 due to the worsening pandemic which has killed more than 95,000 people worldwide. Asked whether he would support games without fans in a BBC podcast, Cummins said, "Of course - whatever it takes to try and get cricket up and play those big events safely." (PTI)
With the global coronavirus death toll nearing a lakh, an analysis of data by the Johns Hopkins University tracker shows that the top five countries with the highest mortality rate are the ones which lack a sufficient and robust health system and have fared poorly in latest Human Development Index (HDI) report released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Zimbabwe, which has so far recorded 11 cases and 3 deaths, has the highest mortality rate of 27.30 per cent, which is nearly five times that of the global rate of 5.9 per cent. Zimbabwe is followed by Bahamas, Guyana, Algeria and Myanmar — none of which feature in the top 10 countries with most cases or fatalities, according to John Hopkins University data. Click here to read more
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shanmugan at a briefing said 77 people tested positive for coronavirus in the state today and all of them have contact or travel history. The total number of cases in the state rose to 911 with the latest development. "One woman died in Thoothukudi, thus the death toll is 9 in Tamil Nadu now. State will receive Rapid testing kits in a day or two. We are still in Stage 2 of the pandemic and Stage 3 is when the source of infection is unknown for majority of the infected population," he said. The Chief Secretary also urged all doctors to wear Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) while attending to patients.
Tripura Friday announced to start classes for school-students through social media and electronic media to help students deal with their syllabus during lockdown. In a video message circulated by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), CM Biplab Kumar Deb today said, “Our children aren’t able to attend schools. NCERT syllabus, which we have adopted, is tough for students to understand without classes. Not everyone can afford tuitions. We, at the state government, have decided to conduct lessons on different subjects, just like classes through electronic media, social media. Details and timings of such classes will be informed," Deb said.
A Faridabad resident recovered from coronavirus and was discharged from the hospital today after treatment, making it a total of 3 recoveries. The district has seen 28 positive cases until now.
Bharuch district reported its first COVID-19 cases on Friday from the remote village of Ikhar in Amod taluka, with four Jamaat members from Tamil Nadu testing positive. District Collector MD Modhiya said that over 95 people belonging to various Islamic Jamaat groups in different states were identified in the district. A massive health check-up drive is being conducted in the areas where they have been staying since before the lockdown was imposed, he added. The four COVID-19 positive patients have been admitted to the Bharuch Civil Hospital for treatment.
The four men — aged 25, 27, 39 and 50 years — belong to Tamil Nadu and are part of a Jamaat that had travelled to cities such as Mumbai and Surat before arriving in Ankleshwar, Bharuch. “They drove in a van and reached Ikhar village on March 18. They had arrived in Ankleshwar on March 12 via Surat and Mumbai. They also stayed in Bharuch for a few days. We are trying to trace their entire contact history and quarantine everyone who has come in contact with them.” Click to read more
Ten new COVID-19 cases were reported in Karnataka in last 24 hours taking the total number to 207. Of these 167 are active cases, 34 have been discharged and 6 died. Out of the 167 active cases, 163 are in isolation wards and four are in ICU.
Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP on Friday donated Rs 1 crore to PM CARES Fund to fight COVID-19. The money was raised from all the party leaders, activists including former legislators, businessmen and common people, a party release said. The party president Ravinder Raina along with former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta among other functionaries handed over cheques worth Rs 50.11 lakh to the manager of Trikuta Nagar branch of State Bank of India. This has been in addition to over Rs 50 lakh donated by party workers and supporters to PM CARES Fund online, teh release added.
An artist paints a wall at Dharavi labour camp in Mumbai with a message on how to fight coronavirus as part of an MCGM initiative.
'COVID19 is disrupting our societies, but it cannot, and must not, shake our foundations. History will judge us not only on whether we get through this pandemic, but the manner in which we did so,' said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, directpr-general of World Health Organisation. Remarking that, the restrictive measures implemented by the various goevrnments are already having massive impact on livelihoods, he said, 'We must plan for and take appropriate measures to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.'
Twelve more test positive for COVID19 in Vadodara, taking the total to 59. All are residents of Nagarwada, which has been declared as a red zone since Sunday.
In an order today, Gurgaon DM clarified that both Nirvana Country and Sector 54 are included among the nine containment zones in the district. Others are Sector 9, Palam Vihar, Emar Palm Gardens, Laburnum, Sector 39, Fazilpur Jharsa, Ward 11 Pataudi, Raipur village.
Punjab Cabinet has decided to extend curfew till May 1. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had indicated that his government was seriously thinking of extending the lockdown as the time did not appear to be right for lifting the restrictions. However, he had made it clear that since the lockdown could not be indefinite, the government was also looking for ways to extricate the state from the restrictions and enable it to function with the Coronavirus around. A high-powered committee with several doctors, medical and other experts, was examining the situation and would soon submit its report on the lockdown exit strategy, said the Chief Minister.
As the churches remained closed due to coronavirus lockdown, priests organised special live streaming of the Good Friday service for the followers.
Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal requested people to be respectful towards medical workers. Asking them to not misbehave with the doctors, he urged people to bring the respect they had shown by lighting lamps in their actions now.
Assam government ordered sealing of a masjid in Athgaon in Guwahati city for 14 days. It would be a containment zone, announced health minister HB Sarma. Around 100 persons had attended a meet there on March 12 night and three of them have tested positive.
Lav Agarwal also stated that 16,002 tests were done in the last 24 hours in India. According to the health ministry, about 9 lakh N-95 masks were already available with states. 'We have sent about 20,000 more; placed orders for 49,000 ventilators,' Agarwal added. He also said that Rs 15,000-crore package will be used for upgrading testing facilities, buying PPEs, setting up COVID-19 hospitals, and also training medical and paramedical staff.
"We have 3.38 crore tablets of Hydroxychloroquine available with us. This means we have triple the requirement for the country. Domestic production has been 100% ensured for now and for future," said Lav Agarwal JS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
With 678 cases and 33 deaths reported in last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in have mounted to 6,412 and toll to 199.
As per information till April 9, 37,978 camps are functional across the country for migrants. Over 34,000 camps have been set up by state governments, said Punya Salila Srivastava Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.
Ministrry of External Affairs said India has evacuated 20,473 foreign nationals of several countries: "This is all GOI effort with other nations," the ministry said in the evening press breifing.
Three people, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gurgaon last month, have recovered and been discharged from hospital Friday, said officials. “Three people who had been diagnosed with Coronavirus have now recovered, after two consecutive samples of theirs returned negative. A total of 12 people in the district have now recovered,” said Dr Jaswant Singh Punia, Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
According to the CMO, the three include a resident of Sushant Lok who had recently travelled to London, as well as a 45-year-old man who had recently travelled to Mumbai, and his father, who reside in Sector 54.
Global death toll in COVID-19 has mounted to 95,808, close to 1,00,000, with Italy counting highest number of deaths at 18,279, followed by United States (16,686), Spain (15,447), France (12,210) and United Kingdom (7,978). Meanwhile in China, 77,758 have recovered, 52,407 recovered in Germany, 52,165 in Spain, and 32,309 in Iran. (Source: John Hopkins University and Medicine).
The expert medical committee constituted by the Tamil Nadu government has recommended extending the lockdown by another 15 days in the state. Chief Minister Edappadi is likely to take a call tomorrow in the cabinet meeting. Meanwhile, Punjab too is mulling extension of lockdown. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday indicated that his government was seriously thinking of extending the lockdown as the time did not appear to be right for lifting the restrictions. The state cabinet later today would take the final decision.
However, he made it clear that since the lockdown could not be indefinite, the government was also looking for ways to extricate the state from the restrictions and enable it to function with the Coronavirus around. A high-powered committee with several doctors, medical and other experts, was examining the situation and will soon submit its report on the lockdown exit strategy, said the Chief Minister.
?
ICMR, Delhi, Friday? validated tuberculosis testing machine for COVID-2019 screening.
Coronavirus cases in Rajasthan crossed the 500-mark Friday afternoon. With 183 cases, Jaipur now has more cases than the next six districts combined. At least eight have died in the state — two each in Jaipur, Bhilwara, one each in Alwar, Bikaner, Kota, Jodhpur.
Total number of COVID-19 cases in Haryana stands at 161, of which 141 are active. A total of 24033 people are under surveillance in the state.
Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is likely to extend most measures of Italy's month-long lockdown until early May in order to avoid a second coronavirus wave, AFP reported. Italy's main newspapers said Conte will published a decree either Friday or Saturday prohibiting people from taking walks or lounging in parks until May 3. Italy's death toll from the novel coronavirus has officially reached 18,279 since the end of February, the highest in the world. But daily rises in new infections have slowed dramatically and Italy is gradually approaching a point when the number of people officially suffering from COVID-19 might begin to drop.
Here is a list of COVID-19 deaths and cases in India (state-wise):
Read more here
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking more tests for coronvirus in the state as this "can prove to be a lifesaver". She wrote: "We are with you in this fight against the pandemic. Coronavirus does not see any religion or caste and affects everyone. In this battle, there is need to take steps by keeping our political ideologies away and help bring people together and create a fear-free atmosphere."
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres says the coronavirus is "the fight of a generation and the raison dêtre [reason for being] of the United Nations itself.” He added that the virus could further “ruinous social and economic impacts", adding that it "poses a significant threat to the maintenance of international peace and security.”
IndiGo has announced that post lockdown, it will restart its operations with only 50% occupancy and will not serve meals on board. CEO Ronojoy Dutta, in an email to employees, wrote: “We have always been very safety conscious. Now we should be very health conscious too. We will deep clean our aircraft more frequently, will discontinue meal services for a brief period and run our coaches at a maximum load of 50 per cent. We will come out with the new set of protocols very soon”.
Air India chief Rajiv Bansal has said that the “crippling effect” of coronavirus has further "plummeted" the company's finances to a “precarious” position. However, he added that the company has managed to keep afloat. “Air India has been passing through a critical financial condition much before the Covid19 onslaught. The crippling effect of the pandemic, especially in the aviation sector, has further plummeted our finances to a precarious position. In spite of this, your airline has left no stone unturned to continue to remain afloat,” Bansal said in a message to Air India employees.
People across the United States are howling every night at 8 pm to thank the nations health care workers and first responders for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. This is likened to the balcony applause and singing in Italy and Spain.
The 27-year-old was pregnant, her due date was April 8. On the night of April 3, she could not breathe. Over the next 12 hours, her husband, a scrap dealer, rushed her to four hospitals covering 70 km between Nalasopara and Mumbai. The next afternoon, the woman, nine-month pregnant, passed away. The unborn child could not be saved. Her death has led to an immediate lockdown of Dhanev, a slum settlement in Nalasopara, a suburb north of the financial capital Mumbai. Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report.
A group of Australian researchers are discussing head lice drug Ivermectin as a possible treatment to kill the infection in less than 48 hours. A set of findings by Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) and the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), both in Australia, suggest that the drug can quickly prevent the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The disruption in supply chains as a result of the lockdown has spotlighted the relevance of a nearly two-decade-old initiative to reach fresh produce directly to consumers in Maharashtra, bypassing the mandis. The essential features of this alternative market channel — decentralisation and direct-to-home delivery — will remain valuable even after the lockdown, when efforts to avoid crowding in the wholesale markets are likely to continue, Parthasarathi Biswas writes.
Though the 21-day nationwide lockdown should end on April 14, there is no clarity yet whether it will be lifted across the country, or whether it will be done so in a phased manner. Regardless, there are many people who have been stuck in parts of the country that may not be known very well to them. Several platforms have come up to help people combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of such platforms is covidmaps.in. The platform not only maps stores selling essential items in every neighbourhood but also mentions the timings for each store and what kind of supplies are available there. Based on crowdsourced information, the service was started for Bengaluru in India and Vancouver in Canada initially, but since then has been expanded to other cities in India. Within seven days of its launch on March 30, CovidMaps had got more than 17,000 unique users with more than 400 submissions. It was launched as a non-profit project by a group of seven volunteers who are spread across Bengaluru, Vancouver and San Francisco, and work at organisations like Microsoft, Walmart and Swiggy.
Also read | Still Open app shows nearest open grocery shop, medical store, COVID-19 test centres
Former Maharashtra CM and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis has targeted the Uddhav Thackeray government for allegedly granting VIPs permission to evade lockdown norms in the state. "No lockdowns for mighty & rich in Maharashtra? One can spend holidays in Mahabaleshwar with official permission from police. It is not possible that a senior IPS officer would do such gross mistake knowing the consequences on his own. With whose order or blessings was this done? Mr. CM & HM you owe us an explanation," Fadnavis tweets. He was responding to a report by Times Now on violation of lockdown orders by Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL Group and 22 others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India is committed to contribute to humanity's fight against this pandemic. His remark comes in response to Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who thanked him for supplying hydroxychloroquine to the country. "The India-Brazil partnership is stronger than ever in these challenging times," PM Modi said. In another tweet, he also responded to Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu. "We have to jointly fight this pandemic. India is ready to do whatever is possible to help our friends. Praying for the well-being and good health of the people of Israel," PM Modi said.
As the Army moves in to take over the COVID-19 quarantine facility at Narela in Delhi, the procedure for calling the armed forces to help the civil administration is in the spotlight. The regulations permit civil authorities to requisition the Army for controlling law and order, maintaining essential services, assisting during natural calamities such as earthquakes, and any other type of help that may be needed by the civil authorities, writes Sushant Singh. Read more here
“He is with me now, I am very happy,” Razia Begum giggled over the phone. The 48-year-old headmistress of a government school drove 1,400 kms on her scooty from Bodhan in Nizamabad in Telangana to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and back to bring back her son who was stranded at a friend’s house. Her son, 19-year-old Mohammed Nizamuddin, a student at Narayana Medical Academy at Hyderabad, had gone with his classmate to Rehmatabad in Nellore on March 12.
From arguably the biggest sporting event, the Olympics, to the most globalised tournament, the Premier League, to an overwhelmingly rural sport like mud wrestling, the coronavirus outbreak has spared none. And pretty much like the players and executives across the globe, the pehalwans have been counting their losses in the last few weeks. For a seemingly small sport, the economics of a dangal season is staggering, far outweighing a lot of mainstream events in the country. The season is divided in two: March, April and May — with a spillover into June — is when the tournaments take place in Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. After a break in July, another three-month season gets underway in Punjab, writes Mihir Vasavda.
After New Delhi and Mumbai, the Faridabad District Magistrate has ordered that everyone must wear a mask if leaving the house.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no new emoji characters released till September 2021. The Unicode Consortium, the group which releases them, said in a statement that it has decided to postpone the release of version 14.0 of the Unicode Standard by 6 months, from March to September of 2021. “Under the current circumstances we’ve heard that our contributors have a lot on their plates at the moment and decided it was in the best interests of our volunteers and the organizations that depend on the standard to push out our release date,” said Mark Davis, president of the Consortium. “This year we simply can’t commit to the same schedule we’ve adhered to in the past."
Assam has reported its first COVID-19 death from Hailakandi district. A 65-year-old who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat gathering passed away due to “complications of COVID-19 infection”, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted. The patient had been shifted to the ICU of Silchar Medical College and Hospital yesterday when his condition started deteriorating. The total number of reported cases in the state stands at 29, with one death.
Welcome to our live blog on the coronavirus pandemic in India and the world. Here's the top global news this morning: