Coronavirus 19 June, Highlights: Centre directs Delhi govt to make 5-day institutional quarantine compulsory

AAP MLA Atishi, who is herself undergoing treatment for Covid-19, has criticised the Delhi LG's decision to make 5-day institutional quarantine mandatory for Covid patients, saying it will lead to further spread of the virus as many people will be scared of institutional quarantine and will not get themselves tested.

Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet districts went under a strict 12-day lockdown from Friday. The lockdown, which will end on June 30, was imposed in a bid to curb the rise in Covid-19 cases in the four districts.

In Chennai, 288 checkpoints were set up by the Greater Chennai Police to carry out vehicle checks. Only those with a valid pass or ID card will be allowed to travel around the city during the lockdown.

The police have warned that strict action will be taken against violators and vehicles will be seized if citizens are found to be commuting without a valid reason. Read more

With 540 new coronavirus patients detected on Friday, the number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat reached 26,198, the state health department said.The death toll due to the pandemic in the state also rose to 1,619 with 27 COVID-19 patients dying, it added.

Ahmedabad alone reported 312 out of 540 new cases, raising its total to 18,258. The death toll in the district rose to 1,296 with 21 more patients dying on Friday, news agency PTI reported.

Twenty-seven new Covid-19 cases were detected in Tripura on Friday, raising the state’s tally to 1,186, out of which 547 are active patients.

As per latest reports, 37,495 out of 44,489 people placed under surveillance for coronavirus in Tripura have completed their 14 days observation period and were discharged from hospital. However, 6,994 others are still under observation including 719 in different quarantine centres and 6,275 people placed under home quarantine. Tripura has so far tested 51,500 people.

121 active Covid cases in Mizoram

With 08 more Covid-19 patients discharged from the Zoram Medical College (ZMC), Mizoram's COVID-19 tally is at 130. Out of these, 121 cases are active. The Department of Information of Public Relations informed this evening that eight COVID-19 patients including six from Kolasib District and two from Aizawl, who were admitted at ZMC isolation ward since June 02, were discharged today after testing negative twice in last 24 hours.

COVID-19 has one more high-profile casualty in the hospitality industry. Indian Accent London, which operated in Mayfair, one of the city’s poshest locations, has shut its doors permanently.

According to a statement put out by IRL, the company which licensed Indian Accent in London, the decision was the direct result of COVID-19. “Social distancing would reduce the restaurant capacity to just 30 covers. This, combined with the significant fixed costs as a result of operating on one of the most expensive streets in the world and the general economic uncertainty in the UK, means that the business is unviable at its current location,” said the statement.

This is the second major fine dining restaurant to announce its exit from London’s highly competitive hospitality scene. The two Michelin-starred restaurant, The Ledbury, located in Notting Hill, announced its closure earlier this month, again due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

Favipiravir and Umifenovir (Arbidol) are the drugs approved by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for clinical trials to treat Covid-19, at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Dr Shekhar Mande, Director General, CSIR, said the regulatory body had approved Favipiravir for the second phase of clinical trials, and multicentre trials were underway across different locations, including Mumbai and Pune.

Along with Favipiravir are other drugs – ACQH, Umifenovir (Arbidol) and Mycobacterium W (anti-leprosy drug), which are now in clinical trials. The focus is on repurposed drugs and with 10 in the basket so far, Dr Mande said he was hopeful of results in the next two to three months. More details here.

A total of 32 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in India due to the lockdown, have been sent back to the neighbouring country through a checkpoint in Assam's Karimganj district, a senior police officer said on Friday.

The foreigners - 14 males and 18 females - were stuck here for a long time and their visas had expired, Karimganj Superintendent of Police Kumar Sanjiv Krishna said.

In the presence of BSF officials, they were sent back to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi-Sheora checkpoint at the border on Thursday evening, he said. (PTI)

With 145 people testing positive in Gurgaon today, the district has now crossed the figure of 4,000 in terms of Coronavirus cases.

The Delhi government has asked NGOs, civil society organisations, NCC and NSS cadets and scouts for the survey of coronavirus suspects, and surveillance and management of isolation cases. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to NGOs and individuals to join the fight against COVID-19 in large numbers.

MHA sources confirm that the Delhi government has been instructed to make five days institutional quarantine compulsory for all people testing positive for Covid-19. Centre argues that isolation is not possible in most homes.

Scientists in Italy have found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected from Milan and Turin in December 2019 - suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in Northern Italy before China reported the first cases. The Italian National Institute of Health looked at 40 sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between October 2019 and February 2020. An analysis released late on Thursday said samples taken in Milan and Turin on Dec. 18 showed the presence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, news agency Reuters reported.

Here are the private labs permitted by ICMR to carry out Covid-19 tests in Telangana

Global property consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) has projected that office rentals might drop 5-10 per cent on lower demand for office space from corporates because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease will have a short-term impact on India's office market, with demand likely to fall 45 per cent, said C&W Managing Director (India and Southeast Asia), Anshul Jain. The net leasing or absorption of office space might fall to 25 million sq ft this year across eight major cities as against 45 million sq ft during 2019, he said. (PTI)

The Supreme Court Friday said it would direct states to set up expert panels and on installing CCTV cameras in hospitals to ensure proper treatment to COVID-19 patients while asking the Centre to take a decision on the issue of different charges being levied in different states for coronavirus tests.

Seeking uniform COVID testing charges, the top court said that in some states it was Rs 2,200, while in others it was fixed at Rs 4,500. It, however, left the issue to be decided by the Centre, news agency PTI reported.

The medical condition of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain deteriorated Saturday afternoon after he developed a lung infection during the ongoing treatment for Covid-19 at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital. He is being shifted to the ICU of Max Super Speciality Smart hospital in Saket, said a government source.

“He faced difficulty in breathing and during the CT scan, it was found that the pneumonia patch in his lungs has widened. His condition is slightly critical,” said a source in the Delhi government.

Jain, 55, was admitted to the government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital on Tuesday after he developed breathlessness, fever and a drop in oxygen levels had tested negative for the virus, but as his symptoms persisted, he was tested again. He was tested positive on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has capped the treatment cost of Covid-19 for private hospitals in the national capital. The decision was based on suggestions by a committee led by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul, along with representatives from the Delhi government and AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria. The move is expected to provide relief to patients. Click here to know how much you have to pay now for Covid treatment in Delhi.

The Delhi government on Friday issued a statement needing the support of NGOs, CSOs, individual volunteers, NCC, NSS cadets etc for survey of suspected Covid-19 cases in Delhi. Taking to twitter chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "Delhi will fight Corona together. I appeal to all NGOs and individuals to join in this effort on a large scale."

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has been shifted to Max hospital after his health worsened. He's facing diffculty in breathing. Union Minister Amit Shah, just a while ago wished speedy recovery to the health minister. He tested positive for covid-19  a week ago.

A high-level committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recommended rates for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals in Delhi to be reduced by close to two third of existing rates. The committee, led by Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul, has fixed the rate for isolation beds and ICU beds with and without ventilators at almost 30% of the existing rates in private hospitals.

From Rs 24,000-25,000 for isolation beds, the rates have been reduced to Rs 8,000-10,000. For ICU beds without ventilator, the rates have been reduced from Rs 34,000-43,000 to Rs 13,000-15,000. ICU beds with ventilators, which earlier cost Rs 44,000-54,000 a bed a day, have been recommended to be charged at Rs 15,000-18,000 a bed a day.

The committee has also said that these rates will include PPE costs. Earlier, hospitals charged extra for PPE kits. Sources said the report has been forwarded to the Delhi government for further action. The Delhi government is likely to take private hospitals into confidence before issuing an order. Read more here

A total of 32 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in India due to the lockdown, have been sent back to the neighbouring country through a checkpoint in Assam's Karimganj district, a senior police officer said on Friday. The foreigners-14 males and 18 females- were stuck here for a long time and their visas were expired, Karimganj Superintendent of Police Kumar Sanjiv Krishna said.

In presence of BSF officials, they were sent back to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi-Sheora checkpoint at the border on Thursday evening, he said. Of the 32, eight were studying at NIT Silchar in Cachar district and others came to India for medical purposes and got stranded due to the lockdown, he said.

The Bangladeshis were screened by a medical team of the district before sending them back, the SP said, adding that the policy directives of two countries were followed. (PTI)

Over 15,000 samples were collected for testing coronavirus in the national capital within a 24-hour span, a senior official said on Friday. A total of 7,040 samples were collected for rapid antigen test and 7,972 samples were collected for the RT-PCR test for coronavirus on Thursday, the official said.

The Delhi government commenced COVID-19 testing through rapid antigen methodology at 193 centres on Thursday. A total of 7,040 samples were collected and out of them, 456 people were found to be positive. In the initial phase, those residing in containment zones are being tested. The Delhi government has also capped the rate of COVID-19 RT-PCR test at Rs 2,400 with the city witnessing an alarming spurt in coronavirus cases. (PTI)

In a move to enhance passenger and staff safety in Karnataka in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport will now scan outbound baggage with ultraviolet (UV) treatment.

“Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. These tunnels are located at a cordoned-off area of the Terminal,” a Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) spokesperson told indianexpress.com.

Furthermore, the authorities have also planned to use an ultra-low volume spray treatment for check-in bags to ensure all outbound passenger baggage is sanitised before being boarded to the aircraft. Read more

Centre has asked other states to adapt the best practices being implemented by Karnataka, especially the IT-based model of Comprehensive Contact Tracing and House-to-House Survey to fight the pandemic. The Centre lauded the best practice from Karnataka for COVID-19 management which includes the comprehensive contact tracing of COVID-19 positive cases and physical/phone-based household survey which has covered more than 1.5 crore households Karnataka has widened the definition of ‘Contact’ to include both high risk as well as low risk contacts as defined by Government of India. 

The Home Ministry on Friday recommended half rates of treatment for coronavirus in private hospitals. The new rates imply Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 for isolation beds, Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 for ICU beds without a ventilator, and Rs 15,0000 to Rs 18,000 for ICU beds with a ventilator.Rates for Private Hospital treatment of #Covid_19 almost halved by @HMOIndia. New rates: Rs 8,000-10,000 for isolation bed. Rs 13,000-15,000 for ICU beds without ventilator. Rs 15,000-18,000 for ICUs with ventilator. @IndianExpress— Deeptiman Tiwary (@DeeptimanTY) June 19, 2020

At least 55 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 4,246 in the region, a health official said on Friday. Of the 2,439 swab samples tested on Thursday, results of 55 persons were found to be positive, the official said.

Four persons, including an 80-year-old man and a 74- year-old woman, have died of the deadly infection at hospitals in the city, the official said, without providing specific dates for these casualties. With these four deaths, the toll in the district now stands at 189, he said.

The 55 fresh cases have taken the district's tally to 4,246, of which 3,149 patients have recovered from the infection, the official said. As per the official data, the district's recovery rate was nearly 74 per cent, while the COVID-19 mortality rate was at 4.45 per cent till Friday morning. (PTI)

Two more COVID-19 patients died at a hospital here, taking the number of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus in the Union Territory to 74, officials said on Friday. Both the deaths took place at SKIMS hospital in Soura area of the city here, the officials said.

A 79-year-old man from Nowshera area of Srinagar, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at 11:15 pm on Thursday night, the officials said. They said the patient was admitted to the hospital on June 8 and was suffering from hypertension, hypothyroidism, with bilateral chest infiltrate. He had contact history with a positive patient, they said.

In another death at the hospital, an 80-year-old man from Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district passed away at 9 am in Friday, the officials said. They said the patient suffering from hypertension and cardiac failure was admitted to the hospital on June 17. His sampling was done that day only and the report returned as positive the next day, they added. (PTI)

Considering the rise in COVID-19 cases, Aurangabad collector Uday Choudhari has asked private hospitals in the district to accommodate patients on regular beds if ICU ones were not available, a district official said on Friday. As on Thursday, Maharashtra's Aurangabad district had recorded 3,106 COVID-19 cases, of which 1,709 patients have recovered from the infection, while 166 have succumbed to it.

In a meeting here on Thursday, the collector asked hospitals to inform the civic authorities before treating COVID-19 patients or suspects and shift them to a dedicated facility if beds were available, the official said. Private hospitals were also directed to admit patients, irrespective of whether they were referred by the civic body, to ensure timely treatment and accommodate them on regular beds if ICU ones were unavailable, he said. (PTI)

After being postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states began today. Counting of votes will commence at 5 pm. Among the states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are all set to see a close fight between the BJP and the Congress. You can read the latest news here

India has reported 13,586 cases of the novel coronavirus and 336 deaths in the last 24 hours. This takes the country's tally to 3,80,532 including 1,63,248 active cases, 2,04,711 recoveries and 12,573 deaths.

Telangana has tested 45,911 samples for the novel coronavirus till June 17, the lowest in the country. Nudged by the Telangana High Court to ramp up testing and make the figures public, the state has started conducting more than 1,000 tests since June 15. From March 2, when the first Covid-19 positive case was detected in Hyderabad, the state conducted 22,842 tests till May 14, at just over 300 tests per day. From May 14 till June 17, it conducted 23,069 tests at just 700 tests per day. On June 17, 1096 tests were conducted out of which 269 turned out positive taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 5675.

Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender said the number of tests conducted daily was adequate as they are doing it in areas identified as hotspots. "We are doing tests in and around containment zones and in areas where positive cases were detected earlier and they recovered. Apart from that we are conducting tests on medical professionals and healthcare workers. Compared to other states, the spread of virus in Telangana is less. We have total control over the Coronavirus situation in the state," he said.

Input from Sreenivas Janyala in Hyderabad

The Andhra Pradesh government's targeted testing of vulnerable groups in all 13 districts has led to early detection of coronavirus positive cases. Of the 26,770 foreign returnees who were under surveillance, 237 have tested positive. The state government had also tested 72,349 persons with influenza like illness and senior citizens with previous medical conditions out of which 564 tested positive.

"This targetted testing has helped us detect positive cases early, before the infected person can spread it to others. Apart from random testing in all 13 districts we are conducting sentinel surveillance; testing in areas where cases were reported previously; around existing containment zones; households and neighbours of people who returned from abroad or out of the state," Health Minister A Krishna Srinivas said.

Input from Sreenivas Janyala in Hyderabad

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned the use of saliva on the ball for safety measures. Irfan Pathan explains the importance of saliva, and how it aids fast bowlers

Not one of the mathematical models predicting India’s coronavirus outbreak “proved correct”, because they all “carried a strong element of bias”, an editorial in the ‘Indian Journal of Medical Research’ (IJMR) has stated. The editorial stated: “Several mathematical models projected the severity of pandemic in terms of cases and deaths. At least in the context of India, none of these proved correct. Estimates that emerge from modelling studies are only as good as the validity of the epidemiological or statistical model used; and accuracy of assumptions made for modelling. It was obvious that the models proposed during the COVID-19 pandemic carried a strong element of bias and used assumptions which proved to be far from real.” Read more here

Alarm bells are ringing in private hospitals across Delhi over resignations by nurses, compounding the healthcare crisis at a time when the Capital is battling surging coronavirus numbers. The nurses have been complaining of lack of essential PPEs, long and difficult working hours, and inadequate support from the authorities, amidst fear of contracting Covid-19.

Earlier this week, Primus Super Speciality Hospital lodged a complaint with the district authorities and police against its nurses, accusing them of “abandoning patients”. On Thursday night, the nurses rejoined duty on a reassurance to meet their demands, particularly reduction of duty hours. Read full story here

The state reported 514 new coronavirus positive cases on Thursday, taking the state's tally to 25,700. The number of people presently undergoing treatment in the state is nearly 6,200.

Ahmedabad’s active cases, which make up more than 65 per cent of the state’s total active cases and nearly 70 per cent of the state’s total positive cases, saw 22 patients succumbing to the virus. Read more here

With the number of patients requiring hospitalisation for Covid-19 rising in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the government will have to increase the number of ICUs and ventilators to cater to them.

Delhi government’s biggest Covid-only facility, Lok Nayak Hospital, is going to double the number of ICU beds in the next two days. The 2,000-bed hospital has 67 ICU beds, out of which 55 have ventilators. “We already have 75 new ventilators and the number of ICU beds will be doubled in the next two days. We are also hiring 25% additional manpower ranging from nurses, doctors to technicians,” said a senior doctor from the hospital. Read more here

Bracing itself for the spread of water-borne diseases during monsoon, BMC has allocated eight of its hospitals to treat only non-Covid cases and handle the bulk of monsoon-related ailments expected to surge by the end of June.

At least 8,000 beds have been reserved in these hospitals to handle seasonal diseases like leptospirosis, dengue, malaria, typhoid, gastroenteritis and cholera. Read more there

A 11-year-old girl died due to Covid-19 in Panvel on Saturday, the 11th death reported among children in Maharashtra.

District health officials said while the girl died five days after developing fever, she also suffered from epilepsy and experienced convulsion before her demise. Read more here

At least 386 fresh cases and four deaths were reported across Haryana in last 24 hours taking the death toll to 134 and total Covid cases to 9218. The state also recorded the highest recovery rate in a single day with 604 patients recovered in the last 24 hours.

Gurgaon again led with 129 fresh patients, followed by 35 in Faridabad, 51 in Sonipat, nine in Jhajjar, 25 in Ambala, 12 in Palwal, two in Panipat, three in Panchkula, 12 in Karnal, nine in Yamunanagar, six in Fatehabad, 24 in Bhiwani, 32 in Rohtak, six in Hisar, 23 in Rewari and eight in Kurukshetra. 

The total number of active Covid patients in Haryana were yet 4538, while the state ramped up its testing to 8000 tests per million population. The recovery rate of Covid patients in the state reached 49.43 per cent, while the case positive rate also reached 4.69 per cent. 

The state’s total count of testing till date crossed 2,02,808 samples out of which 187303 tested negative while the report was yet awaited in 6287 cases. 

As novel coronavirus cases top 8 million globally, some countries that experienced a significant drop in new Covid-19 infections in April and May are now beginning to witness an uptick in confirmed daily cases.

The most notable resurgence has been in China’s capital Beijing, which has reported over 150 infections ever since the city recorded its first domestically transmitted case in 57 days on June 11. Most of the cases have been linked to Beijing’s bustling Xinfadi wholesale market. Read more here.

With the 12-day lockdown set to begin in Chennai from Friday, the Greater Chennai Police issued a series of instructions for the city residents to follow during the period. Barring hospitals, labs, ambulances, pharmacies, and funeral hearses, there are restrictions on other activities. Auto rickshaws, taxi cabs will not be allowed to run in the city except in case of emergency.

The Karnataka government on Thursday observed ‘Mask Day’ to spread awareness about the use of masks to contain the spread of COVID19. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa along with other ministers and officials walked from Vidhana Soudha to Cubbon Park as part of the walkathon to create awareness about the importance of wearing a mask.

Meanwhile, Karnataka reported 210 new COVID19 cases on Thursday. With this, the total number of positive persons in the state has gone up to 7,944. It includes 114 deaths and 4,983 recoveries.

With 12,881 fresh cases, the coronavirus tally in India rose to 366,946 this morning, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ruled out the possibility of another round of lockdown. Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, revised the country’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’, stating that the pandemic has significantly weakened India’s growth prospects for the year and exposed the challenges associated with a high public-debt burden. Here’s a curated list of some interesting stories as the country enters Day 11 of 'Unlock 1.0'

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) lifts export ban on hydroxychloroquine API and its formulations.

As the race for a vaccine against the new coronavirus intensifies, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunised first – leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends.

Earlier this month, the UN, International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine”. But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be extremely messy. Click here to read more.

The Delhi government on Thursday commenced Covid-19 testing through the rapid antigen methodology at 169 centres in and around containment zones of the city. A total of 341 teams are involved in the rapid-antigen testing which makes results available within 30 minutes, news agency PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on International Yoga Day 2020 said post Covid-19 era, the focus on preventive healthcare will get stronger.

"In the post COVID-19 era, the focus on preventive healthcare will get stronger and that is why I am confident that yoga will become even more popular," Modi said

Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday launched a mobile laboratory for coronavirus testing which can be deployed in rural areas and help in promoting last-mile testing. The mobile lab, also called I-Lab or Infectious Diseases Diagnostics Lab, can run 50 RT-PCR and about 200 ELISA tests in a day. A double set of machines can help increase the capacity to about 500 tests per day in 8 hours shift, Vardhan said. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science and Technology along with the Andhra Pradesh Med-tech Zone (AMTZ) has initiated DBT-AMTZ COMManD (COVID-19 Medtech Manufacturing Development) consortia to address the shortage of critical healthcare technologies in India and move progressively towards a stage of self-sufficiency.

COVID-19 patients who do not show any symptoms of the disease may have a weaker immune response to the virus, according to a new study which highlights the risks of using ‘immunity passports’ to certify that a person has recovered from COVID-19, and is fit for travel and work.

The research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, presents an analysis of the clinical and immunological manifestations of 37 asymptomatic patients infected with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Click here for more details.

Visuals from isolation facility at Radha Saomi Satsang Beas in New Delhi. 

Following the Supreme Court’s direction, the Centre Thursday asked the states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure that the salaries of doctors and health workers doing Covid-related duties are released on time, adding that any violation in this regard will be treated as a punishable offence.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah had directed the government to issue an appropriate direction to the Chief Secretary of the States/Union Territories to ensure that the orders are faithfully complied with, violation of which may be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and appropriate action would be taken against the defaulting hospital. More details here.

A new study published in the journal Physics of Fluids says that blocking the path of faecal-oral transmission, which commonly occurs during toilet usage, is key to suppressing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The study points out that flushing a toilet generates “strong turbulence within the bowl”. The question is if this turbulent flow can expel aerosol particles containing viruses out of the bowl. Click here to read our explainer.

"Everyone who needs an assignment in these 116 districts will be given work under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, broad estimated expenditure for the scheme is Rs 50,000 crores," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during the press conference.

Within 125 days, for 116 districts, nearly 25 schemes of the government will be brought together under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA), we will reach saturation levels for each of those schemes within those 125 days, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Pursuant to Supreme Court directions, Centre has directed States and UT’s to ensure that salaries of Doctors and health workers doing Covid-19 related duty are released on time. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be addressing a press conference on the launch of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) soon. Faced with the challenge of providing employment to returning migrants in the wake of Covid-19, the Centre had launched the GKRA scheme, under which public works worth Rs 50,000 crore will be carried out.

Tamil Nadu government has appointed monitoring officers for 33 districts to oversee COVID-19 control measures. Former Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh has been assigned for the Krishnagiri district.

Bangladesh's coronavirus cases on Thursday crossed 1,00,000-mark after 3,803 new Covid-19 infections were reported in the last 24 hours, news agency PTI reported. The death toll due to the Covid-19 rose to 1,343 after 38 people died, according to the country's health directorate.

MoS Home G Kishan Reddy Thursday said that the central govt will provide 500 additional ventilators and 650 more ambulances to hospitals in Delhi. He also said that government plans to conduct 6 lakh Covid-19 tests in the national capital through rapid antigen methodology at 169 new facilities, news agency PTI reported.