Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS: Delhi govt bans political, sports gatherings; metro, buses to operate at 50%

In view of the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Saturday hinted at the imposition of a strict lockdown in the state, some ministers and a senior BJP leader who attended an all-party meeting said.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he would hold a meeting on Monday to work out a financial package for the sections of people whose livelihood bear the impact, while his colleague Ashok Chavan stated the “nature, scope and duration of the lockdown will be finalised soon”. “Though no formal decision on a lockdown has been taken at the all-party meeting, the chief minister appears to be in favour of a strict lockdown,” news agency PTI quoted state BJP president Chandrakant Patil as saying while speaking to the media after the virtual meeting, in which the states’s COVID-19 situation was discussed for over two hours.

State minister Nawab Malik said the chief minister will hold meet with the state’s COVID-19 task force on Sunday before taking a decision. Read more

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Friday said that although he understands that the citizens are losing their patience with the lockdowns, giving up the fight against Covid-19 was not an option at this stage. He stressed that the government needs support from the citizens to break the chain of transmission.

Pawar attended the weekly Covid-19 review meeting at Pune’s Council Hall on Saturday along with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. Pawar thanked the residents of Pune for following the ‘Weekend Lockdown’ rules. Read more

Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday accused the Centre of "discrimination on the basis of politics" in the distribution of critical medical equipment such as PPE kits, N95 masks and ventilators to various states. In a statement issued here, the former chief minister said information from the Centre itself confirmed this politically biased distribution, adding that Maharashtra, despite having the highest COVID-19 caseload, was facing step-motherly treatment. The Centre's reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha on February 12 on distribution of medical equipments revealed a shocking picture, Chavan said. "Gujarat got 9,623 numbers of N95 masks per thousand COVID-19 patients as compared to Maharashtra, which got 1,560 masks per thousand patients. Even UP got 3,916 N95 masks, more than twice that of Maharashtra. In PPE kits, Gujarat got 4,951 kits per thousand, and UP got 2,446 kits while Maharashtra got just 223 kits," he said quoting the Centre's reply in the Lok Sabha. --PTI

Karnataka reports 6,955 new Covid-19 cases including 4,384 cases in Bengaluru Urban, 3,350 discharges and 36 deaths.

Karnataka reports 6,955 new #COVID19 cases including
4,384 cases in Bengaluru Urban, 3,350 discharges and 36 deaths.

Total cases: 10,55,040
Total dicharges: 9,80,519
Active cases: 61,653
Total deaths: 12,849 pic.twitter.com/hVLvzFbvSW

— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2021

"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is holding a meeting with Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition and his cabinet colleagues via video conferencing, over COVID situation the state," said Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office.

India has established a bilateral air bubble arrangement with Sri Lanka for operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Saturday. With this, India now has such pacts with 28 countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the UAE, the UK and the USA. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international passenger flights can be operated by their airlines into each other's territories under restrictive conditions. --PTI

The Covid positivity rate in the capital’s central and southwest districts, home to several densely packed neighbourhoods, has touched 10 per cent, leading to a surge in active cases — 61 per cent of active cases are in containment zones notified by authorities.

The overall positivity rate, which is the number of positive cases against total tests, stands at 4.6 per cent. The graph has, however, risen considerably over the last few days, with the daily positivity rate reaching 8.10 per cent on April 8.

A district-wise breakup of the numbers shows that central has the highest positivity rate at 10.84 per cent, followed by southwest at 10.64 per cent. Northwest and southeast districts have a positivity rate of 9.15 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. –– Sourav Roy Barman's report from Delhi

Why are India's COVID-19 cases flaring up so sharply? There are no clear answers but top scientists say the complex interplay of mutant strains, a hugely susceptible population made more vulnerable by elections and other public events and the lowering of guard are primarily to blame. India's COVID tally climbed to 1,32,05,926 (1.32 crore, 13.2 million) with a record spike of  1,45,384, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday, in what many say is a second wave that is surging more powerfully than the first. And just like there were no answers to why there was a slide earlier this year, there is no clarity on why the numbers are rising so sharply. --PTI

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh also flagged vaccine shortage and the fact that Punjab has only 3 days' vaccine left. He candidly pointed out that the Central government has given no assurance of numbers and supply.

In the meeting on Covid preparedness in Congress-ruled states, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel pointed out steps taken to fight COVID-19 and said that the state has only 3 days' vaccine left, unless Central government ramps up supply.

Veteran Punjabi actor Satish Kaul, who featured in several Hindi films and shows including "Mahabharat", died on Saturday due to COVID-19 related complications. He was 74. According to Kaul's sister Satya Devi, the actor, popular for playing the role of Lord Indra in BR Chopra's "Mahabharat'', was admitted to a city hospital after he developed fever six days ago. "He died today morning due to COVID-19 at the hospital. He had fever and wasn't keeping well. We admitted him to the hospital on Thursday and got him tested, where it turned out that he was COVID-19 positive," Satya Devi told PTI. ––PTI

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state might reach one lakh by the end of this month given the spike in infection count. He made the statement while speaking to reporters here. "The way there is a spike in coronavirus infection cases, the number of active cases in Madhya Pradesh may reach one lakh by the end of this month. We will try to stop this in the middle as we have started adopting some measures, including lockdown," he said. –– PTI

Congress candidate for by- election to Odisha's Pipili assembly segment, Ajit Mangaraj, said on Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Taking to Facebook, Mangaraj, after announcing that he is undergoing treatment for the viral disease, appealed to party activists to stay united and not pay heed to any rumour. –– PTI

In the Congress meeting to discuss the current coronavirus situation, Rahul Gandhi Saturday expressed deep concern over the second wave of COVID-19 hitting the country and asked for a concerted approach. He asked the government to look at new mutations, which are the source of 2nd wave. He also called for joining hands and energies, instead of complacency and premature victories.Rahul Gandhi points towards a direct connection between COVID-19 spread and nutrition and livelihood. He pointed out that the virus attacks the poorest and disadvantaged the hardest while reiterating the demand for ‘Basic Income Support’ by the Central government.

"Oxygen demand in Indore has gone up to 60%. We have created a committee that will audit oxygen availability in hospitals. We have extended the lockdown in Indore from Monday to Friday," said Shankar Lalwani, Indore MP. "A 24X7 covid control room will provide virus-related information to public. We are working on increasing number of normal & ICU beds in hospitals. Today, a team of doctors will release a protocol on hospital admissions," he added. --ANI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday ruled out the possibility of another round of stringent lockdown to combat the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the city, announcing that some sector-specific restrictions are in the offing.

Speaking to reporters after reviewing facilities at the LNJP Hospital here, Kejriwal said authorities are working to reinstate the level of arrangements that were put in place in November, when Delhi had battled the third wave of the virus, with daily case count peaking at 8,593 cases on November 10.

“We are currently in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators. We will ensure that the people of Delhi stay safe. Lockdown is not an option, however, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. We will release the restrictions in the coming few days. COVID centres are being rebuilt and some have already started functioning,” Kejriwal said. –– Sourav Roy Barman reports from Delhi

Uttar Pradesh minister Anand Swaroop Shukla has tested positive for Covid-19. The minister of state for parliamentary affairs said he got himself tested for the disease on Thursday after noticing some symptoms. The test report came out as positive on Friday, Shukla added. (PTI)

Punjab's Covid-19 vaccine stock will last another five days, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday as he urged the Centre to share the schedule of supply of the vaccines. The state has been inoculating 85,000-90,000 beneficiaries in a day, and at this rate, Punjab's current stock of 5.7 lakh vaccine doses will run out in five days, he said.

Pinning hopes on fresh batches of vaccines from the Centre, Singh stressed that if Punjab was able to meet its target of administering two lakh shots a day, then its current supplies will last only three days. In an official statement here, he said he wrote to the prime minister and the Union health minister to give confirmed supply schedules for the next quarter.

Despite being a slow-starter in vaccination, Punjab has inoculated more than 16 lakh people, at an average of around 85,000-90,000 per day, the Punjab chief minister said at a meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the party-ruled states. The meeting was attended by chief ministers of Congress-ruled states, as well as senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi. (PTI)

Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally soared to 1,34,715 on Saturday as 1,925 more people tested positive for the infection, while 17 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,175, a health bulletin said.

Ranchi district reported the highest number of new cases at 754, followed by East Singhbhum (256) and Dhanbad (94), it said. Ranchi reported the highest number of coronavirus fatalities at eight, followed by three in East Singhbhum, two in Dhanbad and one each in Gumla, Chatra, Palamu and Sahibganj districts. (PTI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called for giving money into the hands of common people during the second wave of coronavirus, but lamented that the "arrogant government" is allergic to good suggestions. "The failed policies of the central government has led to a terrible second wave of coronavirus and migrant labourers are forced to migrate once again," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. (PTI)

Maharashtra Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar died while undergoing treatment for post-Covid complications at a hospital in Mumbai, party sources said on Saturday. Antapurkar, who was 64, died at Bombay Hospital on Friday night, they said. He suffered a multi organ failure and was on ventilator since April 1.

Antapurkar was a two-time MLA from Deglurassembly constituency in Nanded district. Party sources said that the legislator had tested positive for Covid-19 on March 19 and was initially admitted to a hospital in Nanded, before being shifted to Bombay Hospital on March 22. His report was negative around March 28, but he continued to remain in the ICU. His lungs and kidneys were infected, the sources said. His funeral will take place in his native Antapur village in Nanded district on Saturday. (PTI)

Even as capital city Bengaluru continues to drive the Covid-19 surge during the second wave in Karnataka, official data identified four other districts — Kalaburagi, Mysuru, Bidar and Tumakuru — as contributors to the overall caseload with a high incidence of new cases and fatalities.

Among them, Kalaburagi has reported 1,668 new cases and 17 deaths since April 2021 started. Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Kalaburagi DHO Dr Rajashekhar Mali blamed “a sense of complacency” among the general public in the district for the recent surge. “We have been continuously requesting people to avoid unnecessary travel and meetings even when cases had seen a major dip in between. However, most people chose not to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines, which has forced the district administration to take strict action against violators,” he said. (Read Ralph Alex Arakal's report) 

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday held a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states regarding the spike in Covid-19 cases around the country. During the meeting, she said that the policy should be to test, track and vaccinate for all states.

Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi addresses a meeting of Congress ruled States & Congress Ministers from our alliance States to review the efforts to fight #COVID19 including availability of vaccines, access to medicines & ventilators.

Priority is test, track & vaccinate.

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 10, 2021

On Saturday morning, relatives of Covid-19 patients gheraoed the chemists at Poona Hospital Medical Store after they failed to procure the Remdesivir injections despite procuring tokens in advance. For the last four days, there has been a shortage of the Remdesivir in the city which is seeing the highest ever coronavirus infections for last few days and record number of hospitalizations.

While FDA officials had earlier told The Indian Express that the supply had been stabilised, on Saturday, there was a queue of people lining up outside the pharmacy.

A person whose relative was at a hospital at Sinhagad road required the injection, and despite collecting tokens on Friday from the Chemists Association after being assured that the injection would be given on Saturday, failed to get the vial. (Read Anuradha Mascarenhas's report) 

Manufacturers of Remdesivir said a lull in demand from December to February led to low or zero production of the anti-viral drug for three months, which subsequently affected its supply chain. The manufacturers said they did not anticipate such a sudden surge, and that it would take at least 10 days to overcome the shortage.

Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have reported a shortage of Remdesivir as Covid-19 cases surge. India has been reporting over a lakh fresh cases for the past couple of days. The number of active infections has reached close to 10 lakh, half of which are in Maharashtra that requires 40,000-50,000 vials of Remdesivir, up from 30,000 vials per day during first the “peak” last year. (Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report)

In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in Goa, the state education department has directed the higher secondary schools and junior colleges to hold examinations for Classes 9 and 11 in online mode. The department had earlier announced that examinations for students of Class 1 to 8 would be held online and they can appear for the test from home.

On Friday evening, director of education D R Bhagat issued a fresh circular, in which he asked the educational institutions to hold exams for Classes 9 and 11 also in online mode. The circular has been issued to all the higher secondary schools in the state, which were gearing up to hold offline exams for the students from this week. (PTI)

Punjab recorded 3,459 Covid cases and 56 deaths on Friday, the highest ever single-day case count since the pandemic began last year.

This is the fifth time in past 15 days that the daily case count in Punjab crossed the 3,000-mark. On Thursday (April 8), the state had 3,119 new cases, and 3,019 and 3,187 cases were recorded on April 4 and April 1, respectively. The first time the daily case count in Punjab had crossed the 3,000-mark was on March 26 when 3,176 fresh cases were reported.

The country is presently experiencing its second Covid wave. In the first wave, the highest number of cases Punjab recorded was 2,896 cases, on September 17 last year. 

The number of patients on ventilator support also increased from 24 to 43 within 24 hours. The daily case count in SAS Nagar district (Mohali) also breached the 600-mark Friday. 

Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, nodal officer, Covid-19, Punjab said that the doubling rate of Covid cases in the state currently stands at 76 days. It has dropped drastically since February last week when the doubling rate of Punjab was 320 days. "In February last week, the doubling rate had increased to 320 days in Punjab before second wave commenced," said Dr Bhaskar. 

With 56 fresh deaths Friday, the toll in Punjab due to Covid reached 7,390.

Telangana registered nearly 3,000 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single day spike this year, pushing the tally to over 3.24 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,752 with six more fatalities. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounted for the most number of cases with 487, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 289 and Nizamabad 202, a government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 PM on April 9.

The total number of positives stood at 3,24,091 after 2,909 new additions while with 584 patientsbeing cured, the total recoveries were at 3,04,548. The state has 17,791 active cases and over 1.11 lakh samples were tested on Friday. (PTI)

The coronavirus tally in Thane district of Maharashtra reached 3,67,610 after 6,176 people tested positive for the infection, an official said on Saturday. Apart from these new cases that were reported on Friday, the virus also claimed the lives of 26 persons, which took death toll in the district to 6,664. The Covid-19 mortality rate of the district is 1.81 per cent, he added. So far, 3,09,349 patients have recuperated from the infection and the recovery rate stands at 84.15 per cent. There are 51,597 active cases in the district at present, the official said. (PTI)

In a new daily high, India detected 1,45,384 cases of the novel coronavirus in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday. The country’s Covid-19 caseload, which currently stands at 1,32,05,926, includes 10,46,631 active cases, 1,19,90,859 recoveries, and 1,68,436 deaths. India reported 794 deaths on Thursday, the highest fatalities in a day since October 18, 2020. Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry said the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 9.80 crore. (ANI)

As Maharashtra headed into a weekend lockdown, two senior government ministers on Friday spoke of the possibility of an extended lockdown in view of the fast rising cases of coronavirus infection and the stretched healthcare system in the state.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope said Maharashtra seemed headed towards a lockdown; Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said the time for such a step was already here.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold an all-party meeting on Saturday to build consensus on the steps needed to break the chain of transmission. A complete lockdown will also be discussed at the meeting. Read more

The Railways Friday denied that there was a rush among migrants to travel back home in light of the fresh spike in Covid cases and said there is no plan to curtail or stop train services.

A number of officials, including Railway Board chairman Suneet Sharma, Southern Railway manager John Thomas and the chief public relations officers (CPROs) of the Northern and Central Railways, reached out to the media to deny reports of an exodus of migrant workers via trains. (Read full report)

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was admitted to a private hospital in Nagpur on Friday. The news was tweeted by the RSS. “Mohanji Bhagwat tested positive for covid today (Friday) afternoon. He has general symptoms of corona and he has been admitted to the Kingsway Hospital in Nagpur for general checkup and as precaution,” the tweet read.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohanji Bhagwat today tested Corona positive. He has normal symptoms and admitted to Kigsway hospital Nagpur.

— RSS (@RSSorg) April 9, 2021

The Covid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 5,161 on Saturday as 12 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. Two new patients have travel history, while 10 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. One more person has been cured of the disease, the official said. The Union territory now has 71 active cases, while 5,028 people have been cured of the disease and 62 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, he said. (PTI)

Delhi on Friday recorded 8,521 new COVID-19 cases –– the highest single-day surge since November 11 (8,593 cases, highest till date) last year. As many as 39 people succumbed to the infection, taking the city’s toll to 11,196, said the  health department. This is also the first time that over 8,000 cases have been recorded in a day this year. The positivity rate reduced slightly to be recorded at 7.79 per cent on Friday from 8.1 per cent on Thursday.

CPI leader D Raja on Friday tested positive for Covid-19.

Manipur government has ordered closure of schools for classes V to VIII with immediate effect on Friday in view of the COVID-19 second wave sweeping in some parts of the country. An order issued by L Nandakumar Singh, director Education (s) stated, “In view of COVID-19 second wave and to avoid any kind of unwanted consequences likely to occur in the near future more particularly the students of Class VI to VIII, the government on Friday ordered immediate closure of the recently reopened schools for classes VI to VIII."

"It is hereby instructed to all concerned stakeholders of government and private institutions/ schools that the recently reopened schools for classes VI to VIII shall remain closed with immediate effect and until further orders in public interest," it said.

However, the physical sessions for classes IX to XII shall continue by strictly observing the approved SOP/ guidelines framed by the State Government, added the order. 

The order also said that the classes for students of Class V and below will be through online mode only as notified earlier.

On March 3 last, the state gave its approval for resumption of classes from V to VIII after SOP was prepared by the Education department. –– Jimmy Leivon reports from Manipur

Mumbai crossed five lakh total Covid-19 infections today. 9,200 new cases in city today. The administration has decided to keep all private vaccination centres shut for next three days. Only government centres will work.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold an all-party meeting on April 10 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the state, a BJP leader said on Friday. Talking to reporters, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said the decision to organise the all-party meeting was taken this afternoon. "This decision was taken during the meeting held today to decide the postponement of MPSC exams scheduled for Sunday," he said. When asked about the weekend lockdown that comes into force from Friday night, Darekar said the state government should take a decision on financially supporting small businesses. --PTI

A special transport vehicle carrying COVID19 vaccine, Covishield, broke down in Patna, today.

Bihar: A special transport vehicle carrying COVID19 vaccine, Covishield broke down in Patna, today

"89,689 vials being transported in this van. Each vial contains 10 doses," said Mukesh Kumar, pharmacist, accompanying the van carrying vaccine doses pic.twitter.com/aY3PIBNYKa

— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2021

After Maharashtra, Rajasthan on Friday flagged vaccine shortage and asked for 'immediate' supply of doses.
Stating that the vaccines will run out of stock in the state in two days, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting for another 30 lakh doses.

Rajasthan CM @ashokgehlot51 writes to @PMOIndia @narendramodi saying that present stock of vaccine with the state will finish within two days, requests that 30 lakh doses be provided "immediately."#Rajasthan #coronavirus@IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/RR2z9o2l1h

— Hamza Khan (@Hamzwa) April 9, 2021

Sahara group Chairman Subrata Roy Sahara has tested positive for coronavirus. Amidst the rising number of COVID-19 cases, Roy has appealed to everyone that the priority should be to "stay safe and take care of people around us", according to a release. As per the release, Roy, who is the Managing Worker and Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar, has tested positive for coronavirus. --PTI

A case has been registered against an NCP functionary for allegedly violating COVID-19 norms during an election campaign meet in Pandharpur of Maharashtra's Solapur district, an official said on Friday. The gathering on Thursday was addressed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar ahead of an Assembly bypoll in the district. The opposition BJP has alleged that the COVID-19 norms were flouted during the meet. --PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has tested positive for Covid-19. Taking to Twitter, he said he is asymptomatic and is isolating himself at home.

For a year I did my best to dodge this damn virus but it’s finally caught up with me. I tested positive for #COVID?19 this afternoon. I’m completely asymptotic. Based on medical advice I’m self-isolating at home & monitoring my parameters like oxygen saturation levels etc.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 9, 2021

Delhi government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGGSH) has been again converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility amid a massive surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, officials said on Friday. All non-COVID services have been suspended till further orders, they said. RGSSH is a 650-bed facility in east Delhi and had played a critical role in combatting the pandemic in the city last year, when the national capital had witnessed its three waves of the spread of the virus, the last one being in November. --PTI

The Railways has assured there are no plans to curtail or stop train services amid the second wave of Covid-19. Several cities are seeing an exodus of workers as restrictions are reimposed.

"There is no plan to curtail or stop train services. We will run as many services as required. There is no cause for alarm. We can run trains immediately on demand if there is any rush. This rush is normal during the summer season and we have already announced trains to clear the rush," Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma was quoted as saying by PTI.

Like @Central_Railway, the @WesternRly too has stopped issuing platform tickets to stop people rushing to railway stations. Also, special trains announced from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal and Assam to meet the demand as per the waiting list monitored daily.

— Jayprakash (@jaynaidu87) April 9, 2021

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday with an appeal for universal vaccination. Gandhi said there was “no clear reason” why the government was exporting vaccines, and urged the Prime Minister to “open up vaccination for everyone who needs it”.

Gandhi requested PM Modi to provide vaccine suppliers with resources to increase manufacturing capacity; place an immediate moratorium on vaccine export; fast track approvals of other vaccines; open vaccination to everyone who needs it; double central allocation for vaccine procurement from the existing Rs 35,000 crore; give state government a greater say in vaccine procurement and distribution; and provide direct income support the the vulnewable sections amid the second wave. Read more here

Amid a fresh exodus of people from big cities, the Railways has stopped the sale of platform tickets at 6 long-distance train stations, including Mumbai CSMT.

Visit https://indianexpress.com/photos/india-news/ for more pictures that capture India's second wave of Covid-19

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to impose night curfew from April 10 in urban areas of eight districts that have seen a spike in cases. These districts are Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, Anantnag and Kupwara. “Directed the divisional administration to impose Corona curfew from 10 pm to 6 am in urban areas of eight districts affected by the recent #COVID spike,’’ Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said.

The daily positivity rate of Covid-19 cases in Delhi over the last 10 days has gone up from 2.70 per cent to 8.10 per cent, indicating spread of the infection within the community. The data shared by the Delhi government shows the daily positivity rate on March 30 was recorded at 2.70 per cent and as the cases increased, the rate jumped to 8.10 per cent on April 8. Read Astha Saxena's report

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Friday shut down all its 87 vaccination centres — 59 of its own and 28 private ones — owing to shortage of vaccines. PCMC’s Additional Health and Medical Chief, Dr Pavan Salve, said, “All vaccination centres will remain shut on Friday as there is no stock available.”

So far, as many as 2,30,000 citizens have been vaccinated at the 87 vaccination centres since the inoculation drive started on January 16. Read Manoj Dattatrye More's report

The Mumbai Police has held a 22-year-old for being in the possession of 12 vials of Remdesivir, a medicine used to treat Covid-19. The accused, Sarfaraz Hussain, was allegedly trying to sell the anti-viral drug in the black market. Remdesivir injections are in high demand in Maharashtra, which is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases. Read more here

The rising coronavirus cases in the country, especially in Maharashtra, has made things uncertain in the television industry all over again. The state government has asked shoots to continue with minimum workforce and cut down on crowded scenes. They have also been asked to regularly test everyone on set, and encourage a quarantine bubble.

Indian Film and TV Producers Council’s chairman (TV division) JD Majethia, told indianexpress.com: "No one wants a lockdown given the economy will get hit. However, the health and safety of the people are also important. We put across our concerns, and the CM too shared his suggestions. He said he trusts us and wants the visual medium to be used as a way to promote safety measures like Covid warriors,” he added.

While most shows have gone back to shooting with one-third crew, they have also cut down on scenes with a lot of people. “We are strictly maintaining social distancing even on screen. There’s no hugging, puja or shaadi happening on shows,” Sandiip Sikcand, producer Mehndi Hai Rachne Wali shared. Read Sana Farzeen's report here

India reported 1,31,968 Covid-19 cases and 780 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Friday. The country’s caseload includes 9,79,608 active cases and 1,19,13,292 recoveries and 1,67,642 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said.

An order by the Union Health Ministry, accessed by The Indian Express, shows that 350 lakh Covishield doses are to be distributed in the coming days — Uttar Pradesh will receive 44.98 lakh doses, Madhya Pradesh 33.76 lakh, Karnataka 29.06 lakh, Haryana 24 lakh, West Bengal 21 lakh, Maharashtra 17.43 lakh, and Gujarat 15.57 lakh.

The worst-hit state, Maharashtra is vaccinating close to 4 lakh people daily and has immunised the most number of people across the country (89.49 lakh). Kerala, which is also seeing a surge, is among the bottom half in terms of supply as is Rajasthan (3.83 lakh new doses). Rajasthan incidentally has vaccinated the second-highest number of people (82.87 lakh). Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday asked officials to impose a fine of Rs 1,000 on people not wearing masks. "The CM said that for the corona curtailment, the wearing of masks should be implemented strictly. If the people do not wear masks, they should be fined Rs 1,000 per person," an official release said. Rao also directed officials to increase Covid-19 testing, and ensure all frontline workers were vaccinated.

It was this time last year that lakhs of migrant labourers began walking home in different parts of the country after the national lockdown was imposed. Now, some are planning a temporary departure from the Delhi till the situation gets better. 

Ashok (34) said: “I used to work in Narela on a fixed daily wage. In the last lockdown, we suffered a lot because work almost stopped. The government has announced a night lockdown since cases are rising. At this point, we don’t know when things will get better. I cannot feed my family with zero income. And this lockdown has scared us. I don’t know when I will come back or if I will. This disease has consumed us all.” Read Amil Bhatnagar's report