A man waits for transportation outside Sealdah station in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Express photo/Shashi Ghosh)
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tracker India Updates: As people stranded across the country reach their home states in Special trains, Centre has allowed the states to arrange buses to ferry the passengers from railway station to their homes. In a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in Kerala in several days, as many as 26 people, including seven foreign returnees and a police personnel, tested positive on Thursday, taking the number of people under treatment to 64.The tally of COVID-19 cases in the state has risen to 560.
Saying that the government is aware of the plight of the migrant workers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the launch of the National Portability Cards (One Nation One Ration Card) which would enable the moving migrants to access the public distribution system (PDS) anywhere in the country. Addressing a press conference, Sitharaman also assured that free foodgrains would provided to non-PDS card holders for the two months.
Follow Nirmala Sitharaman press conference LIVE Updates here
On Thursday, the Covid-19 tally crossed the 78,000 mark to stand at 78,003 with as many as 2,549 fatalities. Of the total, as many as 49,219 cases are active while 26,234 have been discharged and one has migrated. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the media at 4 pm to provide details on the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic package, which was announced on Wednesday to cushion the economic cost of the virus.
Globally, over 43 lakh people have been infected, while close to three lakh have died so far. The US has recorded the most fatalities at 84,133, followed by UK (33,264) and Italy (31,106).
Migrants gathered at Custom Yard near Wadala, Mumbai, on Wednesday. (Express photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)
The main thrust of announcements was a relief to MSMEs in the form of a massive increase in credit guarantees to them.
Aarogya Setu, the contact tracing app has been made mandatory for hockey players to download
Though Chandigarh is waiting for Centre’s guidelines, various services are likely to gradually resume post-May 17 but with strict orders. However, activities will not be allowed in containment zones.
Sources said that Public transport will resume but with a particular percentage capacity, like buses will be allowed to operate with only a percentage of seating capacity being occupied. Similarly, cabs may be allowed but with only two passengers. The administration has already ordered the withdrawal of CTU buses which were being used to supply vegetables and fruits, from May 16 onwards. An order by Commissioner KK Yadav said that these CTU buses will supply produce only in containment zones and operations of the same in all other areas will be suspended.
The administration is also considering allowing auto rickshaws to operate, but only with one passenger. However, operations will only be allowed upto 7 pm subject to lockdown requirements.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has informed the Delhi High Court that it is “keen” to start its OPD in a “phased manner” and also “hopes” that healthcare services will resume in the “next two weeks”.
The OPD services at AIIMS were shut down on March 24, following the Covid-19 outbreak.
AIIMS revealed the information before a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar during hearing of a plea late Thursday evening. The plea sought directions for free-of-cost medical treatment to over 100 outstation patients at AIIMS, which allegedly stopped treating them after the COVID-19 outbreak. Read more here
Pune saw the highest number of persons testing positive for coronavirus on Thursday. A total of 194 new cases were reported with the total number of patients climbing to 3,246. Health authorities recorded a total of six deaths on Thursday. The toll is now 181, said Dr Bhagwan Pawar, district health officer.
Two of the deaths occurred on Thursday. A 48-year-old man from Hadapsar who was admitted on April 25 to Noble Hospital and succumbed to the infection Thursday. He had coronavirus with sepsis.
The second case was of a 72-year-old man from Lohegaon who was admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic on May 11. He died Thursday due to coronavirus-related acute respiratory distress syndrome.
RANGING FROM a silent infection to a lethal disease, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has shown immense clinical variability. Scientists and immunologists across the world are exploring the question if it is possible that some are genetically resistant to the virus and, hence, do not get critically ill. In India, experts from Mumbai hospitals have submitted a study proposal to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Dr Zarir Udwadia, noted pulmonologist at Hinduja hospital, Mumbai, told The Indian Express that they were keen on understanding why some young, but otherwise healthy, patients get critically ill or die of Covid-19. “We have planned a study by doing a genetic analysis of this specific group of people aged below 50 and who do not have any co-morbid health conditions and their families,” Dr Udwadia said.
Dr Mukesh Desai, principal investigator of the proposed study and chief immunologist at Wadia hospital in Mumbai, said a global effort had been underway since one-and-a-half months to understand and identify if there was a genetic defect in these patients without any co-morbid conditions, who at a young age got a severe form of Covid-19.
A truck driver was Wednesday night arrested in New Delhi for ferrying 33 migrants under the garb of providing “medicine emergency services”.
DCP (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said, “The truck was stopped during picket checking at South Extension-I. It was covered and there were ropes on all sides. The driver said he was going to supply medicines, but failed to show any papers. Covers were opened and the migrants were found sitting in the truck in inhuman conditions.”
DCP said that during questioning, the migrants disclosed that they lived in Ranhola and Mayapuri area, and hired the truck for Rs 1,800 each to get dropped off at Azamgarh, Mau, Gazipur and Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
To minimise physical visits of medical staff in the special ward for Covid-19 patients at Patan-Dharpur medical college of North Guajrat, the hospital authorities have deployed a special robot developed by four youths from the district.
The robot, in the shape of a trolley, delivers medicines, water, food to the patients while also play music or motivational speeches to keep them entertained.
“We have developed a special ward for Covid-19 patients in the hospital. Apart from doctors, nursing and paramedical staff are required to visit the ward. To reduce visits of our staff in the ward, we are using this robot at the hospital,” said Dr Yogesh Goswami, medical superintendent of the hospital.
The parents of a young vegetable vendor, who committed suicide on Monday, has alleged that their son ended his life because of lack of income and harrassment by officials of the anti-encroachment department of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
A resident of Gharkul in Chikhli area, 17-year-old Yogesh Mehtre hanged himself when he was alone at home on Monday evening, said police. Yogesh’s family said he was under tremendous pressure as PCMC officials had taken away his hand-cart, from which he used to sell vegetables.
“Despite civic officials confiscating his hand-cart, as a desperate measure, Yogesh kept selling vegetables by sprawling them on the ground. But civic officials learnt about this and took away his vegetable weighing machine … he cried a lot that day. Selling vegetables has been our only source of income for the past two months,” said his father Vaijanath Mehtre.
MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava responds to TMC leader Partha Chaterjee's allegations of "injustice" over repatriation of West Bengal residents. Says: "MEA does not discriminate between states. GOI’s Vande Bharat Mission is for all stranded Indians, including those from West Bengal. Over 3700 of them have registered for repatriation from different parts of the world."
Earlier, Chaterjee had tweeted, "Is the MEA asking us to believe that there are enough people to come from Georgia to Gujrat but none want to come to Kolkata ? Also, there are enough people to come back to Bihar from Kyrgyzstan but not enough to bring back to Bengal?? Stop this injustice !!!"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday held an interaction with Bill Gates on the coronavirus pandemic. "Had an extensive interaction with Bill Gates. We discussed issues ranging from India’s efforts to fight Coronavirus, work of the Gates Foundation in battling COVID-19, role of technology, innovation and producing a vaccine to cure the pandemic," the PM tweeted.
As people stranded across the country reach their home states in Special trains, Centre has allowed the states to arrange buses to ferry the passengers from railway station to their homes.
Tripura has decided to recruit 24 doctors and 24 nurses in the state health services to boost manpower in handling the coronavirus outbreak, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said Thursday.
In a Tweet from his official handle, Deb wrote that these doctors will be engaged in treatment of coronavirus patients for 7 days, after which they will be sent to quarantine centers for 14 days. They will also enjoy 7 days' holidays afterwards. Doctors engaged in such duties will be given Rs 50,000 honourarium in 28 days a month. If doctors render their services at hospital at other times, they will be paid a Rs 2,000 every day. Nurses recruited through this move will be paid Rs 20,000 and Rs 500 daily for extra duty.
The decision comes after the All Tripura Government Doctors’ Association (ATGDA) submitted a deputation to Director of Health and Family Welfare a week back, seeking to set up a self-equipped and separate COVID-19 hospital. The organisation also sought the government’s attention on recruiting new doctors and nurses to deal with the pandemic, since a part of the workforce is required to be quarantined every one week after duty in the COVID ward.
Reacting to the CM's announcement, ATGDA's Dr. Rajesh Choudhury told indianexpress.com that 24 doctors and nurses wouldn’t be anywhere near sufficient to deal with coronavirus outbreak. Debraj Deb
Special service train from Delhi reached Chennai at 08.10 pm today. The passengers will be directly shifted to quarantine facilities from station.Tamil Nadu Health Minister said a 400-member team was formed to handle all the passengers from other states.
Congress leaders Vashram Sagathiya, Mahesh Rajput and Ashok Dangar submit a memorandum to Rajkot distdict collector Remya Mohan stating their application to sponsor a special train for migrant workers from UttarPradesh was pending since May 7. Congress leaders threaten to launch agitation if permission to sponsor a train to ferry 1300 migrants back to UttarPradesh is not given by Sunday.They say they want to pay train fares on behalf of 1,300 workers whose list they had submitted to collector on May7.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Thursday set up a five-member committee to suggest measures to revive the state's economy which has been dented by the COVID-19 pandemic. BJP MLA Sonam Venchungpa has been appointed chairman of the Economic Revival Committee, while CL Denzongpa, Financial and Economic Advisor to the Sikkim government; Mahendra P Lama, Chief Economic Advisor to the Sikkim government and Karma R Bonpo, District Collector, West will be its members. VB Pathak, Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department, has been made the member secretary of the committee. PTI
Mumbai ASI passes away due to coronavirus
With 22 new cases, the Covid-19 tally in Karnataka neared 1,000 with the total now standing at 981. These include 35 deaths and 456 discharges.
Seventeen more Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel from 6th battalion, who had arrived in Ludhiana for duty from Delhi, have tested positive for #coronavirus. Total is 34.
Around 750 migrant workers, who had been stranded in Gurgaon because of the lockdown, were transported back to their homes in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh in 25 buses on Thursday.
Ten government and private hospitals across India have been shortlisted to undergo a phase III clinical trial of Favipiravir drug for mild and moderately ill Covid-19 patients.
Favipiravir is an anti-viral that prevents viral duplication in body by inhibiting the enzyme that drives the viral replication. It is commonly used as an anti-influenza drug in Japan and China. In India 150 patients will be undergoing the trial, a 14 day dosage will be administered on patients. The phase III trial results are expected by July-August period this year. Read more
Four people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Gurgaon today — 2 from Palam Vihar, 1 from Sector 57, and a vegetable wholesaler linked to Azadpur mandi. Total cases in Gurgaon now 170. 18 cases also emerged in Faridabad, which has now recorded 137 cases of COVID-19.
A 78-year-old man admitted to a government hospital here on suspicion of coronavirus infection committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor on Wednesday morning, officials said. The hospital administration said that the man, who was suffering from severe pneumonia, had not tested positive for coronavirus.
Satyapal Ahuja, the man, was hospitalized 19 days ago. Dr Sumit Shukla, in-charge of Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar (MTH) Hospital, told PTI that Ahuja, admitted to a ward on the the fourth floor of the hospital, jumped from the window near his bed. He was seriously injured and could not be saved despite best efforts.
"He was taking time to respond to the treatment due to his age. He might have taken the step due to depression," Dr Shukla said.
In a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in Kerala in several days, as many as 2 people, including seven foreign returnees and a polic personnel, tested positive on Thursday, taking the number o people under treatment to 64.The tally of COVID-19 cases in the state has risen to 560 While ten of the new cases were from Kasaragod district Malappuram reported five, Palakkad and Wayanad three each Kannur two and Pathnamthitta, Idukki and Kozhikode district one case each,Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Three people -- two from Kollam and one from Kannur -have recovered, he told reporters.
Nirmala Sitharaman said that technology systems will be used to attain 'One Nation, One Ration Card' mission by March 2021. This will enable migrants to access public distribution system from anywhere in India. She also announced to give free foodgrain to 8 crore migrants for two months.
Three Congress MPs and two MLAs have been asked to go into home quarantine after they may have potentially come in contact with a person who later tested positive for Covid-19 at Walayar on the Kerala-TN border. The MPs — Remya Haridas, T N Prathapan and V K Sreekandan - and the MLAs - Shafi Parambil and Anil Akkara — were at the Walayar border to solve complaints of many people entering the state from Tamil Nadu. This week, one such person who travelled from TN via Walayar on May 9 tested positive in Palakkad. Since the MPs and MLAs could have been there at the same time and being primary contacts have been asked to go into quarantine. Other public representatives, police officials and journalists who were there that day have been asked to contact the DMO and go into quarantine.
Nirmala Sitharaman said, "12,000 self-help groups (SHGs) have produced more than three crore masks and 1.2 lakh litres of sanitisers. 7,200 new SHGs for urban poor have been formed in the last two months."
Mentioning that the government is aware of the plight of the migrants, Sitharaman said, "We have already generated 14.62 crore person-days of work till 13th May, which is 40-50% more persons enrolled as compared to last May. Migrant workers going back to their states being actively enrolled."
Three crore marginal farmers have already availed Rs 4 lakh crore loans on concessional rates, says Sitharaman while unveiling 2nd tranche of nomic ecopackage. (Photo: ANI)
In her Thursday press conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says 2nd tranche of economic stimulus package will benefit migrant workers, street vendors, small farmers.
President Ram Nath Kovind will forego 30 per cent of his salary for a year in view of COVID-19 crisis, Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a release on Wednesday.Apart from this, the Rashtrapati Bhavan has decided to undertake the following measures to reduce its expenditure:
1. No new capital works will be taken up in FY 2020-21. Only the ongoing works will be completed.
2. Repair and maintenance work will be minimised to only ensure proper upkeep of assets.
3. There will be substantial reduction in the use of office consumables. For instance, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will use e-technology to cut down the use of paper to avoid wastage and make the office eco-friendly. Efforts will be made to save energy and fuel by rationalising their usage.
4. The President has decided to defer purchase of the Presidential Limousine which was to be used for ceremonial occasions. The existing resources of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Government will be shared and used for such occasions.
5. The domestic tours and programmes will be substantially reduced in order to follow the social distancing restrictions and minimise the expenditure that such exercises entail. Instead, the President will largely rely on technology to reach out to people.
6. Consumption during ceremonial occasions such as At-Home ceremonies and state banquets will be minimised by taking measures.
A 35-year-old woman, who tested positive for coronavirus, gave birth to a healthy baby girl at a Navi Mumbai hospital, officials told PTI.
The woman tested positive for the disease in the 36th week of her pregnancy and her treatment and delivery plans had to be chalked out by a multi-disciplinary COVID task force team at the private hospital, they said. "The patient was given treatment as per the health ministry guidelines and she responded well to it," PTI quoted Dr Farah Ingale, from the department of internal medicine at Vashi-based Hiranandani Hospital, as saying.
To determine the feasibility of resuming export of alcohol-based sanitiser, the central drugs controller has asked the states and union territories to submit details of manufacturers, their production capacity and if they fulfil domestic demand, by Friday noon, reported PTI. On May 6, the government had banned exports of alcohol-based sanitiser to ensure its availability in the domestic market as the novel coronavirus cases soared in the country.
In a letter to the State and UT Drug Controllers on Wednesday, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has askd for details of hand sanitiser manufacturers, including their names and addresses, average production capacity, and average actual monthly production in April 2020, PTI reported.
Bar Council of India has exempted lawyers from wearing black coat and robe during COVID-19 season. It said they may for now wear “plain White shirt/white salwar-kameez/white saree with plain white neck band” during hearings/proceedings in all forums till further orders
Tamil Nadu govt will quarantine over 1,000 passengers reaching Chennai from Delhi tonight. Covid-19 tests will be done at the quarantine facilities arranged by Chennai Corporation. There was a tussle betweem the Raillways and the state govt as the Railways did not inform the state in advance about the service. Passengers would be directly shifted to the quarantine facilities from station. Officers on board the train are collecting details of passengers who opt for paid or institutional quarantines.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has asked the people returning to the state from various parts of the country not to conceal any relevant information, including travel history, from health personnel. As many as 1,140 stranded Manipuris on Wednesday returned to the state in a special train from Chennai and have been placed under institutional quarantine for 14 days. "Concealing travel history can prove to be devastative and is a loss for all," Singh said in a video message.
The coronavirus death toll in the national capital has climbed to 115 while the highest single-day spike was reported with 472 fresh cases that took the total number of cases in Delhi beyond the 8000-mark, health authorities said on Thursday. The previous highest spike in fresh cases -- 448 -- was recorded on May 7. In a bulletin issued on Thursday, the Delhi health department said the death toll from coronavirus infection has risen to 115, adding that the cumulative fatality figure is as per the case sheets received from hospitals and after being audited by the coronavirus death committee.
Like other sectors, Mumbai’s film industry has also come to a grinding halt as the city and the state grapple with the coronavirus outbreak. With Covid-19 cases still rising in Mumbai, Satej Patil, the minister of state (Home) is now promoting his home constituency of Kolhapur as an alternative destination for the industry. Patil told The Indian Express that he has started talks with various production houses in this regard. Patil said Kolhapur has played a pivotal role in the early days of the Marathi film industry. Spread across 75 acres, Chitranagari, the state government’s film studio, is also located near Kolhapur city. “The state government has spent over Rs 8-10 crore in its modernisation and the studio can be used as a venue for both movies and television serials,” Patil said.
Mumbai traffic police collected Rs 9 crore by issuing challans to those violating lockdown norms in the city since the travel restrictions came into force in March, an official said. He also informed that nearly 18 people lost their lives in road accidents in Mumbai from March 23 to May 12. The police collected Rs 9 crore by issuing challans to those violating lockdown norms from March 20 to May 13, he said. Nearly 73,735 two-wheeler riders were penalised for not wearing helmet, 36,248 people were fined for disobeying public order, 11,611 for failing to produce valid licence and over 6,354 for driving without a licence, the official said, adding that 2,09,188 challans were generated. He said nearly 3,37,136 people have been penalised so far for various offences by the traffic police department amid the lockdown.
A special train from New Delhi, carrying more than 1000 passengers, arrived at the Howrah station today, as the railways resumed partial services amid the Covid-19-triggered lockdown. The air-conditioned train, the first between the national capital and the city since the imposition of the lockdown, reached Howrah at noon, an Eastern Railway (ER) official said here. All 1,060 passengers were subjected to health check-up arranged by the state before they left the station building, the official said. Official sources said at least 40 buses have been arranged by the state transport department to take the passengers home. A number of app-based cabs and yellow taxis were also parked outside the station for the ones willing to hire those to reach home. All returnees will have to undergo 14-day home
Modified seating arrangements, change in timings and further division of the class into different sections may be among key features introduced in schools when they re-open, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank informed during a live interaction with teachers today. The NCERT is exploring a new system for opening schools, while the UGC is working out modalities for higher educational institutes, including colleges and universities for the upcoming session, he stated. While the UGC has stated that classes for enrolled students will begin in August for enrolled students and from September for the upcoming session, there is no clarity on when schools will reopen. “The health of our students is our key concern. Schools will open only once the situation caused due to coronavirus is normalised,” the HRD Minister said.
'Most people suggested that schools, colleges, spa, swimming pools and malls should not be opened. Most people also suggested strict action against those not wearing mask, violating social-distancing norms,' Kejriwal said. "Most market associations have suggested the opening of markets on odd-even basis. We have to work hard to open economy," he added.
Stranded migrant workers wait for transport at Swargate bus stop in Pune. (Express photo/Arul Horizon)
'Today, we will hold a meet with the LG at 4 pm and accordingly put forward our proposal on the lockdown restrictions as per the approximately five lakh suggestions we have received from the public, to the Centre. Accordingly, the new rules will be in force from Monday. However, one must not forget to maintain social distancing and wear masks while stepping outside,' the AAP supremo told reporters.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is addressing the media on the lockdown.
Since it was launched last month, the Aarogya Setu has raised several concerns. Not only about privacy, but also about the legality of making it mandatory. Earlier this week, the former Supreme Court Judge B N Srikrishna called the government mandating the app “utterly illegal”. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the legal and privacy concerns around the app.
A Delhi Police officer who is the SHO of a police station in southeast Delhi tested positive for Covid-19 today, police said. The force has reported 152 cases so far. "Contact tracing is on and five personnel have been quarantined," DCP (South east) R P Meena said. Of the 152 personnel who have tested positive, at least 47 have recovered, said a senior police officer. On Wednesday, a note by the Delhi Police stated that Commissioner of Police S N Shrivastava "personally spoke to a few private hospitals" and on his request, "some have placed a few beds at the disposal of the Delhi Police to meet emergency admissions." Delhi police personnel who have tested positive for the virus are undergoing treatment at government hospitals such as LNJP, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, RML hospital, AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital, and other private hospitals such as Max hospital, Saket and Apollo Hospital, among others.
As many as 349 people hailing from Gujarat were brought back to Ahmedabad from Kuwait and London in two flights earlier this morning, an official said. The flight from Kuwait carried 177 passengers while the one from London brought back 172 Gujarat residents, Ahmedabad district development officer Arun Mahesh Babu said. After their screening at the Ahmedabad international airport, the passengers were sent to institutional quarantine centres, where they will kept for 14 days before being allowed to go home, said Babu, who is the nodal officer for coordinating the arrival of such flights here.
Citing dwindling coffers of the states amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel today demanded opening up of more economic activities in the country to raise revenue of states. Baghel also said that states must be given a free hand in deciding what all economic activities can be started by them instead of the Centre deciding it for them. "We have steel. We have cement in the state. If no construction activities take place in the country or elsewhere then who do we give it to. So there has to be demand and more economic activities in the country that could lead to the growth not only in Chhattisgarh but in the whole country," he told news agency PTI in an interview.
Passengers who arrived at the Dibrugarh station on Thursday morning were taken to their respective quarantine centres. Of the lot, the symptomatic will be tested.
The first special train passenger train arrived in Assam’s Dibrugarh on Thursday morning at 7.30 am carrying more than 500 passengers from Delhi. While 253 de-boarded at Dibrugarh (the last stop), a number of passengers de-boarded in the preceding stations of Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Lumding, Dimapur (in Nagaland), and Mariani. The train included passengers from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur — who were taken back home by the respective state governments, after screening. The Assam passengers were taken to their respective district quarantine centres. Of the lot, the symptomatic will be tested.
The Shiv Sena today raised questions over the Centre's Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced to revive the COVID-hit economy, and asked if India is not a "self-reliant" country at present. An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' wondered how Rs 20 lakh crore will be raised, and opined that an environment needs to be created where industrialists, trade and business sectors are encouraged to invest. On the path of new self-reliance, India cannot afford industrialists running away, and for that "political institutions like the ED and CBI need to be put in lockdown for some time," it said.
With effect from May 13, the Indian Railways have started noting down the destination address of all passenger train tickets. This process might help in contact tracing later, if required, officials said.
The Railways Wednesday issued a refund policy if a passenger is barred from boarding the train for showing symptoms of novel coronavirus. “If during screening, a passenger has very high temperature/symptoms of Covid-19, he shall not be allowed to travel despite having confirmed tickets. In such a case, full refund shall be provided to the passenger,” the notice read. To know more, click here.
Under the Vande Bharat Mission, several Indians are also expected to arrive at Chennai from Dhaka today.
Meanwhile, under the Operation Samudra Setu, INS Jalashwa is set to arrive at Male port to bring home stranded Indians. The ship will set off for Kochi from Male tomorrow.
Maharashtra Highway Police have issued an order asking their personnel not to collect fine from vehicles carrying migrant labourers during the lockdown. Following complaints that some police personnel were collecting money illegally in the guise of fine from such vehicles, the highway police warned that those found indulging in such acts would be terminated from service. "If any officer or personnel is found collecting money from those vehicles, then he or she will not only be suspended but also terminated from service," the order said.
A 30-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter have tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district, taking the total number of cases in the state to 70, a state health official said on Thursday. The two had returned from Delhi on May 4. Sirmaur deputy commissioner RK Pruthi said the two were quarantined after they had returned to Hari Om Colony in Paonta Sahib on May 4 and their samples were randomly taken for testing on May 12. Both of them were asymptomatic.
Meanwhile, to provide more details on the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic package, FInance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the media at 4 pm today.
In view of the pandemic, the Railways today announced that all tickets booked for regular passenger trains for travel on or before June 30 stand cancelled; only Shramik, special trains will continue to run. Passengers with tickets of regular trains which have been cancelled till June 30 will be refunded, the Railways added.
The Indian Railways resumed passenger train services after a long halt of 51 days. Special trains were started for people stranded in various parts of the country. We spoke to those who managed to get a seat on the first day of operations from the New Delhi railway station. Take a look here: