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.
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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).
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.