BMC medical staff heading towards Shastri Nagar slum in Mumbai. Earlier this month, 4,000 migrants had gathered near Bandra railway station after which some positive cases were reported from the area. (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)
The number of confirmed US coronavirus cases neared 1 million on Tuesday even as some states eased restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic battering the economy. Meanwhile, Russia has extended the nation’s partial economic shutdown through May 11 as its total coronavirus cases reached 93,558 with 867 deaths.
Meanwhile, the total number of infections rose to 29,974 while the death toll crossed the 900-mark to reach 937 on Tuesday. In a press briefing, the Health Ministry said the plasma therapy for COVID-19 is one of the therapies being experimented with but there is no evidence for its use as a treatment. Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that in the last 24 hours, 1,543 new cases of the coronavirus were detected in the country, of which 684 cases were cured. The recovery rate is now at 23.3 per cent with 7,027 people recovered so far, he added.
Patients with mild coronavirus symptoms can now stay in home isolation, according to the new guidelines by the Health Ministry. As per the new guidelines, medical officers can recommend home isolation to those patients who have been clinically categorised as a very mild case or pre-symptomatic case, provided they have the requisite self-isolation facility at their residence so as to avoid contact with other family members.
Follow Indian Express COVID-19 tracker for latest updates
On the global front, over 3 million people have been infected from the novel coronavirus ever since its emergence in China last December, while 2,11,167 people have died. The United States continues to be the worst affected, with over 990,135 cases and over 56,144 deaths. The country has recorded 1,303 deaths in the last 24 hours. After the US, Spain reported 2,29,422 infections followed by Italy (1,99,414), France (1,62,220), Germany (1,58,142), the United Kingdom (1,54,038) and Turkey (110,130). (Click here to follow our coverage of Covid-19)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during interaction with CMs.
The Centre is planning extension of the Covid-19 lockdown in major hotspots across the country. (Express photo/Pavan Khengre)
Of the over 2,300 people evacuated from the Nizamuddin Markaz, 1,080 had tested positive for the infection.
Coronavirus LIVE updates: The kits were to be used only for surveillance and not for diagnosis, but that too stands suspended now.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday spoke to Punjab’s Congress MLAs through a video-conference about the state’s Covid fightback and said that certain relaxations in curbs were in the offing, but without lowering the state’s guard.
Amarinder informed MLAs that the Centre had indicated, based on various inputs and studies, that the rising trend in COVID-19 cases was likely to continue till July, a government statement said. Read More
With 26 more people infected with COVID-19 being discharged on Tuesday from the Nagarwada red zone, the total number of recoveries in Vadodara has reached 88.
The recovery rate of 34 per cent — 263 positive cases have been recorded until Tuesday — appears to be a progress for the city, but officials are preparing a “Covid army” to offer support in case of a possible community transmission.
The “Covid army” which includes at least 5,000 school teachers will be prepared for the third phase of fighting the pandemic, expected to begin from June 1. Read More
Weather does affect viruses and their transmission, but data recorded over an year must be studied to assess if heat has any effect on coronavirus, said M Rajeevan, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus, it has been repeatedly debated whether hot, humid and high temperatures could kill the virus, thereby slowing down the rate of infection. Read More
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States of America has crossed the 1-million mark, AFP quoted Johns Hopkins University as saying.
The 20-member taskforce constituted by Punjab government to devise an exit strategy from the lockdown has suggested a phased easing out from the cubs, while expressing concerns over the state’s low testing rate and its alleged ill-preparedness to deal with a spike in cases as per a Niti Aayog projection.
Headed by former Chief Secretary K R Lakhanpal, the task force, in its 46-page report, has said: “The testing for COVID-19 even in big districts like Amritsar, and Patiala is quite low. Overall, probably because of various constraints and factors beyond control of the state, only 9,000 tests have been done. Currently, the state has only 25,000 RT-PCR test kits. The current daily testing capacity for RT-PCR tests is 1,200 tests only and is being increased to 2,000. One lakh Rapid Testing kits had been planned, but ICMR has suspended their use.” Read More
Close to 50 per cent of the 210 procurement centres run by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) have resumed their operations, allowing farmers to sell their produce at the government-declared Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 5,550 per quintal. Chances of private ginners actively procuring from farmers are slim given the headwinds the industry is facing of late.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and the subsequent lockdown has brought CCI’s MSP procurement operations to a standstill. Gin and press owners had taken a stance not to restart their operations in view of labour issues as well as fear of the infection. Read More
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) shifted more than 1,200 persons, including women and children, from a COVID-19 hotspot in the city to an institutional quarantine.
The operation in Satranjipura area in east Nagpur was started late on Monday night and went on till Tuesday morning. The area has been the focal point for civic and police administration ever since the first coronavirus-related death was reported there on April 5. The deceased, a 68-year-old man with several comorbidities, had no travel history and was later found to have come in contact with the friend of one of his sons-in-law, who had links with the Tablighi event in Delhi. Since then, the number of cases in the NMC area has gone up to 80. Read More
In densely-populated hotspots of Pune, where aggressive imposition of curfew continues, police teams are going beyond the call of duty to help affected people, and they are being aided by citizen volunteers, NGOs and technology-based solutions.
A large number of densely-populated areas in the centre of Pune, many of which are slum areas, remain some of the worst-affected parts of the city with increasing cases of COVID-19 infections. Read More
“If Vivian had to be buried, he would have to be buried at home — in Mizoram.” Raphael AVL Malchhanhima’s voice, from a quarantine centre in Aizawl, does little to give away the ordeal of the past few days — the sudden demise of his best friend, and the journey which followed: a 3,345-km road trip from Chennai to Aizawl, with two Tamil drivers, and the mortal remains of his friend.
But now that it is over, and his friend Vivian Remsanga has been laid to rest, Malchhanhima is tired, barely able to keep up with his buzzing phone. “I am getting so many messages from people. But I just want to say that I did this for my friend. And for everyone in Mizoram,” says the 23-year-old from Mizoram, who moved to Chennai in 2015. Read more here
A police constable deployed on Covid-19 lockdown duty came to the rescue of a seven-year-old snakebite victim at Badlapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Tuesday.
Shivam Jadhav was bitten by a snake at a cattle shed near his home in Mankavli and his father was trying to find means to get him to a hospital during the lockdown, an official said. The boy’s father approached constable Girish Sahil, who was deployed in the area to enforced the lockdown, he said, adding that the policeman immediately rushed the child to a hospital on his two-wheeler. Read more here
The top Democrat in the US Senate warned on Tuesday that state and local governments will see “massive” layoffs if Congress fails to act soon to provide financial assistance to help them combat the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
“There’s going to be massive layoffs at the state and local level unless we get money to them quickly,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told MSNBC in an interview.
Schumer also called for new oversight hearings on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response when lawmakers return to Washington next week. Top administration officials should face “tough question after tough question,” he said, on issues ranging from problems with Paycheck Protection Program assistance to small businesses to the status of efforts to provide testing.
Some children in the United Kingdom with no underlying health conditions have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome which researchers believe to be linked to COVID-19, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday. Italian and British medical experts are investigating a possible link between the coronavirus pandemic and clusters of severe inflammatory disease among infants who are arriving in hospital with high fevers and swollen arteries.
Spain’s daily death toll fell to 301 today, far below record highs of three times as much in early April. The health ministry said the total fatalities since the start of the outbreak rose to 23,822, with the daily increase coming down from Monday’s 331 and also well below record highs of over 900 earlier in the month. The number of diagnosed cases rose to 210,773 from 209,465 on Monday.
This will allow the government to set a framework for regions to start phasing out the lockdown which was put in place on March 14. On Sunday, children under 14 were granted one hour of daily supervised outdoor activity.
France is planning to ease its coronavirus lockdown from May 11 to avoid an economic meltdown, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, adding caution that infections would spiral higher again if the country moved too swiftly. In an address to the parliament, he said schools will gradually reopen and businesses will be free to resume operations. However, restaurants and cafes will remain closed until at least early June and professional sports, including soccer, will not begin again until the autumn. “A little too much carefreeness and the epidemic takes off again. Too much prudence and the whole country buckles,” the PM said.
More than 23,000 people have died in the pandemic in France, the world’s fourth-highest toll behind the United States, Italy and Spain.
Total active coronavirus cases in Pune rise to 1,057.
The Panchkula police came knocking on the door of a 69-year-old on Tuesday. They were on a special, secret mission – to deliver a birthday surprise for the Sector 7 resident.
The resident, identified as Karan Puri, owns a famous book shop at Panjab University of Chandigarh, and lives in Panchkula alone. In the heartwarming video released by the police on Twitter that soon went viral, a team of women personnel can be seen wishing him and singing for him as he bursts into tears. Read the full story here
The number of confirmed US coronavirus cases neared 1 million on Tuesday and the projected American death toll rose in a closely watched academic model, even as some states eased restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic battering the economy.
With President Donald Trump's economic adviser forecasting an unemployment rate of more than 16% for April and many Americans chafing under stay-at-home orders, about a dozen states were moving to restart their battered economies despite a lack of large-scale virus testing.
Public health experts have warned that a premature rollback of social distancing policies aimed at curbing the spread of the pathogen could cause a surge in new infections.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Monday he would let the state's stay-at-home order expire and begin reopening businesses including restaurants and retail shops in phases beginning on Friday.
The governors of other states including hard-hit New York have put off the reopening of businesses out of concern they might fuel a second wave of infections. (Reuters)
Kerala Tuesday reported four more positive cases of COVID-19 of which three cases are from Kannur district and one case from Kasaragod, taking the total aggregate in the state to 485.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said four cases were cured in the state and currently 123 are under treatment in various hospitals.
"Out of the four new cases, two came from abroad and two are contacts of infected people," Vijayan said.
Two patients each from Kannur and Kasaragod were cured.
"As of now, there are 20,773 under observation while 518 are in isolation wards across the state. A total of 23,980 samples have been sent for testing till now," Vijayan told reporters.
He said the state had randomly collected 875 samples from health workers, guest workers and people with more social contacts and sent for testing, out of which 801 returned negative. Vijayan also said that on Monday alone, the state had collected 3,101 samples and tested in the 14 labs across the state and 2,682 samples were found negative.
"Three of today's positive cases are from this set of samples...25 samples have been given for re-testing," Vijayan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held conversation with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and discussed the collaboration and partnership between the two countries in fighting the coronavirus pandemic including through medical research and supply chain management.
Over 3,800 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh, who were stranded in Gujarat over the last one month due to the coronavirus lockdown, will be sent back to Visakhapatnam in 67-odd buses, covering 2,200 kilometres, officials said.
“The state government will be dispatching 3,862 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh today and tomorrow in 67-odd buses hired specially for this purpose. They will be undertaking a two day-long journey to Visakhapatnam,” Manish Bharadwaj, Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department told The Indian Express.
The first lot of fishermen left Veraval in 27 buses on Tuesday evening. A medical check-up of the fishermen was done before they boarded the buses, officials said.
Amravati has emerged as the biggest corona hotpot in Vidarbha from fatalities point of view with seven corona-related deaths being reported so far from the city. All the deaths have been reported from the congested Haiderpura locality of the city. Incidentally, all deaths have occurred at home with their corona positive reports coming later.
The overall positive cases in the district, however, stands only at 27, with no discharges yet. This stands in sharp contrast to Nagpur that has only one death so far despite cumulative 131 positive cases of the disease.
Asked how the authorities couldn't get a wind of the illnesses in the locality despite it being declared a containment zone, Amravati Divisional Commissioner Piyush Sigh said, 'It's a densely populated area. We have been doing home-to-home survey and seeking co-operate and information. But the same is hard to come by. We just can't go around forcing people to give information. All these deaths have been of people above the age of 70 and With several co-morbidities.'
Asked what's going to be the containment strategy in the wake of the alarming rise in deaths, Singh said, 'we are now making sub-containment zones in the 100-metre radius of these deaths and in case of all future deaths by any other health problem also and would be taking all in that sub-zone into institutional quarantine.'
'We have made the lockdown further strict by disallowing even vegetable shops since most of the vegetable vendors come Haiderpura locally,' he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday extended a non-working period in Russia aimed at containing the spread of the novel coronavirus until May 11, speaking during a televised meeting with senior government officials and regional heads.
Restrictions were due to be lifted at the end of April, but Putin said the peak of Russia's coronavirus infections had not yet been reached.
He ordered the government to come up with fresh measures aimed at supporting the economy and citizens, and to prepare recommendations on gradually easing the coronavirus lockdown restrictions by May 5. (Reuters)
Spain's Cabinet is outlining on Tuesday how to allow people to come out of their homes for exercise from Friday and further easing of a 7-week lockdown, one of the world's strictest during the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement comes in the heels of a new order that is allowing children to take supervised strolls around their house for one hour per day. Officials have made a public call to be responsible and avoid crowds after people were seen in promenades and beach fronts closer than experts recommend to avoid contagion.
Spain has recorded 301 new deaths of patients infected with the new coronavirus to a total of 23,822, official data released on Tuesday showed.
The figure was down from the day before, when 331 new fatalities were recorded. The country has 210,773 infections for COVID-19 that have been confirmed by the most reliable lab tests, but the real number is believed to be much higher because many patients don't show signs of the illness or are not being tested. (AP)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) had an important role to play in shaping global economic and political architecture.
At a video conference of the foreign ministers of BRICS, Jaishankar said, “Covid-19 is not only posing great risk to health, well-being of humanity but is also severely impacting global economy.”
Stressing on mutual cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Jaishankar said, “We need to provide support to businesses to tide over Covid-19 crisis and ensure livelihoods are not lost.”
An official says the British government's virus contact tracing app will be ready in two to three weeks.
Britain and many other countries are developing mobile apps to help reduce infections after they ease lockdown restrictions.
Matthew Gould, CEO of the National Health Service's digital transformation unit, says a San Francisco-based software company Pivotal Labs has done most of the work building the app.
He told Parliament's science and technology select committee the rollout will be part of a wider post-lockdown strategy that includes expanded testing.
The app will use Bluetooth signals to anonymously log when a user comes into close contact with others. The data is kept on devices. But if users later develop COVID-19 symptoms or get positive test result, they can choose to upload the data to a central server so those contacts can be alerted. (AP)
Authorities in Poland say a 100-year-old World War II veteran and former fire fighter has recovered from COVID-19.
Iwona Soltys, a spokeswoman for a government hospital in Warsaw, tweeted that Stanislaw Bigos has recovered. She wished him plenty of health, positive thinking and energy in the future.
Deputy Interior Minister Blazej Pobozy tweeted it was "super news coming from our hospital". He sent greeting to Bigos and congratulations to the doctors.
A nation of 38 million, Poland has reported more than 12,000 COVID-19 cases and 570 deaths. (AP)
French Prime Minister Edouar Philippe said on Tuesday he would send a bill to parliament to extend to July 23 the state of emergency that allows the government to restrict freedom of movement, business an gathering by decree. (AP)
A Delhi Police constable of Crime Branch, who visited Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid, headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin West, has tested positive for COVID19-19. Around 15 team members have been advised for home quarantine.
In one of the biggest operations of its kind anywhere, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has taken over 1,200 persons, including hundreds of women and children, from a corona hotspot in the city into institutional quarantine.
The operation in the Satranjipura area in east Nagpur was started late on Monday night and went on till Tuesday morning. The area has been the focus of civic and police administration ever since the first corona-related death had happened there on April 5. The deceased, a 68-year old man with several co-morbidities had no travel history and was later found to have come in contact with the friend of one of his sons-in-law, who had Delhi Tablighi event background. Since then the corona chain beginning with the deceased has touched 80, which was the main reason behind the en masse quarantine move.
Incidentally, there was no resistance from the people in the area. As reported earlier, East Nagpur BJP MLA Krishna Khopde had demanded deployment of army to discipline the residents of the locality, whom he had accused of non-cooperation.
"We haven't been getting enough reliable information from the locals. We found that over 200 people had hidden information about their contact with corona cases from the locality. Some people had hidden their families in some other areas. Although we have sealed the area, every day we were getting positive cases from there. So, in the larger interest, we decided to shift all the people in the locality," said NMC Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. "We have evacuated all people from about 280-odd houses from there and have put them into institutional quarantine," he added.
The Health Ministry Tuesday said the plasma therapy for COVID-19 is one of the therapies being experimented with but there is no evidence for its use as a treatment. In pic: Passerby feeding monkeys on National Highway-7 near Nada Sahib Gurudwara in Panchkula during lockdown. (Express photo: Jaipal Singh)
Sanitisation process has started and each room and corridor will be santised in the next two days, sources said. (Express photo: Anil Sharma)
The death toll due to the coronavirus pandemic crossed the 900-mark to reach 934 on Tuesday while the total number of infections soared to 29,435, including the 6,868 people who have been treated and discharged so far. In pic: Central team visited a quarantine and isolation hospital in Kolkata Tuesday. (Express photo: Shashi Ghosh)
Mumbai's Dharavi slum recorded its highest single day jump in positive COVID-19 cases as 42 new cases were recorded on Tuesday, taking the overall count from the area to 330.
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has asked states to start process of evaluation of board exam papers.
Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia suggested the HRD Ministry that it is not feasible now to conduct board exams of classes 10 and 12 which are pending due to the lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 spread. (PTI)
A 55-year-old Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel died on Tuesday due to coronavirus infection, officials said.
This is the first death due to the pandemic among the about 10 lakh personnel strong Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) or the paramilitary forces that function under the Union Home Ministry for upkeep of internal security and border guarding.
The sub-inspector (SI) rank official was admitted to the Safdarjung hospital a few days back after being detected positive for the virus.
"The 55-year-old personnel died on Tuesday due to COVID-19 infection. He was posted with the 31st battalion of the force based in Delhi," a senior official said.
The trooper, who hailed from Barpeta district in Assam, was suffering from co-morbid conditions like diabetes and hypertension, he said. (PTI)
Vadodara sees discharge of 28 Covid-19 patients from Covid Care Centre at Ajwa ITI. With this the total recoveries in Vadodara is at 88 out if the 263 cases reported. The 28 persons discharged today belong to Nagarwada red zone and were mostly asymptomatic.
As the need to step up relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Coca-Cola in India has committed an initial support of Rs 100 crores towards helping the healthcare system and communities to combat the crisis and contain the spread of the pandemic. The relief programs initiated by Coca-Cola in India aims at benefitting and positively impacting over 10 lakh lives across the country, a statement by the company said.
Coca-Cola India will ensure immediate support to enhance the country’s healthcare infrastructure, including testing facilities and Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) for health workers. The company is also working very closely with its NGO and bottling partners to provide aid to the most impacted communities such as unemployed and migrant workers by distributing meals and beverages during the lockdown period, the statement added.
A 72-year-old man died on his way back home in Tripura from Chennai where he went for treatment and got stranded after lockdown came into effect on March 25.
The deceased, who was the resident of Tripura’s Dhalai district, was suffering from cancer since several years. He went to visit Apollo Hospials, Chennai on February 17 this year for treatment and was about to return to Tripura, when lockdown was announced.
After being stranded for several days, they booked an ambulance from Chennai and started a long and ardous journey of over 3,000 km back home. But he passed away on April 24 when the ambulance was crossing Andhra Pradesh.
His son, who joined him in his last journey, decided not to go back to Chennai and carried his father home. His son is an employee of Tripura Police and is posted as personal guard of Kamalpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sushanta Sarkar.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sushanta Sarkar informed this evening that two persons of the family including Subrata Dhar and a relative, who accompanied them in the journey to Chennai and back, were ordered to remain under home quarantine for the next 14 days.
“They returned home last night and the funeral rites of the deceased were held in the night itself. We have ordered the two of them to remain under home quarantine,' the official said.
In Jammu and Kashmir, 19 new COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in last 24 hours; all are from Kashmir division. Total positive cases in the Union Territory stand at 565 which includes 381 active cases.
After one Supreme Court employee tests COVID-19 positive, 36 security personnel who may have come in contact with him when he visited court last on April 16 placed in home quarantine “as a matter of abundant caution”.
Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on Tuesday is the chief guest at the Express Adda, which is being hosted by The Indian Express online for the first time. Subramanian said India should plan for negative growth rates in this financial year.
“For developing countries like India, the trade off between lockdown and economic activity should be different from developed countries. This is the pralay of Hindu mythology,” he said.
Besides discussing the contours of a prudent yet compassionate macro-economic policy framework, Subramanian also spoke on the immediate and medium-term challenges facing the economy, the policy options before leaders, and the trade-offs there in. Follow Express e-Adda LIVE updates here
Fourteen patients in Karnataka have recovered from the coronavirus in the last 24-hours taking total discharges to 207.
Two people have recovered from COVID-19 and been discharged in Haryana's Nuh today, while three have recovered in Palwal. Nuh has so far recorded 57 cases, of which 46 have recovered, while Palwal has recorded 34 cases, of which 32 have now recovered.
Nine more prisoners lodged at the Central Jail in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city have tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Tuesday.
With this, the total number of those who contracted the infection in the jail in last 14 days has gone up to 19, including 17 prisoners and two jail guards, prison superintendent Rakesh Kumar Bhangre said.
"Out of the 124 prisoners, who were already kept at a temporary jail located far from the Central Jail campus after they showed symptoms similar to coronavirus, nine have tested positive for the disease," he said. (PTI)
Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases now stands at 10.2 days.
On a question about number of health professionals with COVID-19, Lav Agarwal, Health Ministry Joint Secretary said: If health professionals do not take precautions they will get infected; some health professionals have been infected in parties, some during patient care.
Health Ministry Joint Secretary Luv Agarwal: Plasma therapy for COVID-19 is one of the therapies being experimented with. There is no evidence to use it as treatment. ICMR Delhi has also launched a trial to study this.
Health Ministry Joint Secretary Luv Agarwal is addressing the media. Here are the top points from his briefing
-1,543 cases detected in last 24 hours
-29,435 total COVID-19 cases
-21,632 active cases,
-684 cases cured in last 24-hours
-Recovery rate now 23.3 per cent
-In 17 districts, no case in last 28 days
-Kalimpong and Wayanad added from this list. Lakhisarai dropped off
Workers working on the Mumbai Metro Project near Goregaon on Western Express Highway during the lockdown.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved $1.5 billion loan to India to help fund its fight against coronavirus pandemic.
The is fully committed to supporting the Indian government in its response to this unprecedented challenge, said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.
'The quick-disbursing fund is part of a larger package of support that ADB will provide in close coordination with the government and other development partners.
'We are determined to support India's COVID-19 response programs and ensure that they provide effective support to the people of India, especially the poor and vulnerable,' Asakawa said in a statement. (PTI)
The COVID-19 briefing is shifted out of National Media Centre after reports of a journalist testing positive for the coronavirus.
Patients with mild coronavirus symptoms can now stay in home isolation, according to the new guidelines by the Health Ministry. As per the new guidelines, medical officers can recommend home isolation to those patients who have been clinically categorised as a very mild case or pre-symptomatic case, provided they have the requisite self-isolation facility at their residence so as to avoid contact with other family members.
The guidelines also adds that the patient should regularly inform his health status to the district surveillance officer for further follow up by the surveillance teams. The caretaker and all close contacts of such cases should take Hydroxychloroquine as a preventive medication according to the protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer.
The total positive cases of Covid-19 in Gujarat's Anand district tally rose to 65 on Tuesday after a 62-year-old female tested positive from Khambat. Nine patients have recovered and will be discharged today in Anand, district administration confirmed.
In view of the deaths of three policemen in the last three days due to COVID-19 disease, the Mumbai Police have asked their personnel who are above 55 years of age with pre-existing ailments to go on leave as a precautionary measure, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
Besides, police personnel who are above 52 years of age and have existing medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension etc. have also been asked to stay at home for now.
"In view of this, we have decided to protect our policemen and officers - who are above 55 years of age and having some pre-existing ailment - and asked them to take leave," an official said.
"Because of their age, these police personnel are at a higher risk. Therefore, we are allowing them to take leave during these days," he said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held discussion with Indonesian President Joko Widodo over the coronavirus situation in the two countries. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Discussed COVID-19 pandemic with good friend President @Jokowi. As close maritime neighbours and Compreshensive Strategic Partners, close cooperation between India and Indonesia will be important to deal with the health and economic challenges posed by this crisis."
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider the feasibility of 'temporarily' adopting the 'one nation, one ration card' scheme during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown period to enable the migrant workers and economically weaker sections (EWS) get subsidised foodgrain. The central government scheme is scheduled to be launched in June this year. A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai, in an order passed on Monday said: "We direct the Union of India to consider whether it is feasible for it to implement the said Scheme at this stage or not and take appropriate decision in this regard keeping in view the present circumstances."
The UN humanitarian chief said Monday that $90 billion could provide income support, food and a health response to the coronavirus pandemic for 700 million of the world's most vulnerable people -- a price tag just 1 per cent of the USD 8 trillion stimulus package the 20 richest countries put in place to safeguard the global economy. Mark Lowcock told a video briefing most experts agree that the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't reached the poorest parts of the world, but may peak in the next three to six months. He said about 700 million people -- 10 per cent of the world's population -- are most vulnerable and concentrated in about 30 to 40 countries which already receive humanitarian assistance and will see a big drop in incomes as the virus spreads and governments impose restrictive measures and lockdowns.
The Hazur Sahib Gurudwara in Maharashtra's Nanded district is on alert after some pilgrims who went back from there to Punjab tested positive for coronavirus, a gurudwara official said on Tuesday. The shrine administration is sanitising the premises at regular intervals and following the social distancing guidelines, he said. Eight of the Sikh pilgrims who recently returned from Nanded to Punjab tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. Five of the pilgrims belonged to Tarn Taran while three hailed from Kapurthala in Punjab. --PTI
Singapore on Tuesday reported 528 new coronavirus cases, the vast majority of them linked to foreign workers, including Indians, residing in dormitories that have emerged as the hotspots for the transmission of the disease in the country. Only eight Singaporeans or permanent residents (foreigners) were among the new patients, said the Health Ministry. Migrant workers, including Indian nationals, living in dormitories continue to be the vast majority of the 528 new cases which took the total number of infections to 14,951. A total of 12,183 of the 323,000 migrant workers living in dormitories - about 3.77 per cent - have tested positive, putting the spotlight on their living conditions. --PTI
A 26-year-old woman has tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar's Nalanda district, taking the total number of cases in the state to 346, a top official said here on Tuesday. According to Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar, test reports of the woman, a resident of Nepura village adjoining the district headquarters of Bihar Sharif, came late on Monday. She had recently returned from Delhi. With this, the number of positive cases reported on Monday touched 69 the biggest-ever spike witnessed in the state where the contagion has now spread to 25 out of 38 districts. --PTI
Pakistan government is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said as the number of coronavirus cases crossed the 14,000-mark and claimed the lives of over 300 people. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, 3,233 people have fully recovered from the deadly virus. The ministry said that Pakistan has reported 14,079 patients, as Punjab registered 5,640 patients, Sindh 4,956, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,984, Balochistan 853, Gilgit-Baltistan 320, Islamabad 261 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 65. So far 157, 223 tests have been done, including 6,417, during the last 24 hours.
People who experience loss of smell as one of the symptoms of coronavirus are likely to have a clinical course of the disease ranging from mild to moderate, according to a study which might help healthcare providers determine which patients need hospitalisation, PTI reported. The findings of the study, published in the journal International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, follow an earlier study which stated that loss of smell and taste were indicators of a coronavirus infection.