Coronavirus India LIVE updates: A day after six trains set off from across the country, taking stranded migrants back home, the Railways on Saturday cleared 12 more trains. Sources said the Railways estimates that around 500 such trains will eventually be run to take stranded people home.
Throughout Saturday, the entire Railways system kept itself busy resolving coordination issues with states.
For instance, after the departure of the train from Sabarmati to Agra, it was found that a large number of people were from Kanpur and wanted a halt there, something authorities in Uttar Pradesh had not informed the Railways.
Meanwhile, with 187 new coronavirus cases, Punjab on Saturday recorded its highest single-day spike since the outbreak. The state’s cases tally is now 772. Of the 187 new cases, 170 were pilgrims who had returned from Nanded, Maharashtra.
A government functionary said that of the total 772 who have tested positive in the state so far, 339 were pilgrims who had returned from Nanded, accounting for nearly 44 per cent of the total cases.
Lokpal member Justice A K Tripathi (Retd) dies of coronavirus
Former Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court and Lokpal member Ajay Kumar Tripathi passed away late evening on Saturday at AIIMS trauma centre. He was admitted to the hospital in April after he tested positive for Covid-19. On Saturday, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and succumbed to the month-long illness.
“He was still positive for Covid-19 and at around 9 pm he suffered a cardiac arrest,” said Dr Amil Lathwal, medical superintendent of AIIMS trauma centre. The hospital had put him off the ventilator few weeks ago after he showed some improvement, however, he was put back on ventilator support.
Rahul Gandhi calls Aarogya Setu a ‘sophisticated surveillance system’; RS Prasad hits back
Highlighting data security and privacy concerns with Aarogya Setu, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Saturday claimed the government’s contact-tracing mobile application was a “sophisticated surveillance system outsourced to a private operator”.
Gandhi’s remark came a day after the Centre made the use of the app mandatory for all employees of public and private organisations to track patients with Covid-19 and alert others in proximity to them. The app is developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
“The Arogya Setu app, is a sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a private operator, with no institutional oversight – raising serious data security and privacy concerns. Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent,” the Congress leader said.
Hitting back, Union Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the app was a “powerful companion which protects people and has a robust data security architecture.”
Trump hopes COVID deaths will be below 100,000
President Donald Trump says he’s hoping that the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States will be below 100,000. Even that, he acknowledged on Friday, is a “horrible number”.
Trump’s predictions of the expected U.S. death toll have changed over time, and he repeatedly has used high estimates to make the case that his administration’s actions, especially his decision to restrict travel from China, have saved lives.
His actions have been challenged by state, local and public health officials who have complained about shortages of testing supplies and safety gear for doctors and nurses.
While Madhya Pradesh reported a decline in the number of active cases for the second consecutive day, Ujjain continued to be a spot of bother for the government, as the death toll rose to 32 on Sunday.
Alarmed by the high fatality rate in the temple town, the government sent a special team from Indore to check on the treatment facility. While Ujjain did not report many positive cases, seven people lost their lives over the last two days. The death toll was 15 on April 25, but it more than doubled in the last eight days to climb to 32. The fatality rate is more than 20 per cent. The state death toll climbed to 158. Though Indore has reported 76 deaths, the fatality rate has come down to five.
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Ujjain divisional commissioner Anand Sharma told The Indian Express that Jansapura locality has reported most cases, but people are still apprehensive to report illness. "The infection is reported very late, which makes treatment difficult," he said.
While about 50 positive cases were reported from different parts of the state, 174 persons were discharged in the last 24 hours, bringing the active case count to 1,889. Chouhan, however, counted Ujjain death rate as a cause of worry and asked to send a special team immediately.
ACS Mohammed Suleman said the state has ramped up testing facility to conduct 2,600 tests daily.
Meanwhile, the CM said the state has requested to arrange 31 trains to bring back migrant labourers stranded in other parts of the country. The plan includes 22 trains from Maharashtra, two from Gujarat and Goa. The government said the toll free (0755/2411180) number started for workers stranded outside MP is receiving 1,300 calls per minutes.
No pass needed to move around in Bengaluru from 7 am to 7 pm from tomorrow (May 4). From 7 pm to 7 am, even pass-holders aren’t allowed to step out (except medical, essential service).
Standalone shops, as well as markets of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in Gurgaon, will be allowed to operate between 7 am and 7 pm from Monday, along with salons and beauty parlours, as the nationwide lockdown enters its third phase. Deputy Commissioner Amit Khatri said that any shops open during the remaining length of the lockdown will have to abide by the COVID-19 protocol and follow social distancing and preventive measures, such as use of face masks and hand sanitisers.
Gurgaon has recorded 73 cases COVID-19. Six of these were recorded on Sunday. Among them, is a Delhi Police officer residing in Gurgaon, authorities said. Faridabad also recorded 7 new cases on Sunday, and now has the same number of cases as Gurgaon: 73, which is the highest among the districts in Haryana.
The Southern Naval Command illuminated warships in Kochi to salute healthcare professionals at the forefront of the Covid-19 battle.
The national capital witnessed the highest single-day spike with 427 new cases as total number of cases have soared to 4,549.
Mumbai's biggest slum sprawl Dharavi on Sunday reported 94 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said. With this, the overall number of the cases from the densly-populated slum colony rose to 590 and the death toll to 20, he said.
"Dharavi on Sunday reported 94 new COVID-9 cases from various areas, taking the tally to 590 so far. The slum area also reported deaths of two COVID-19 patients, increasing the toll to 20," the official said.
Dharavi, believed to be the biggest slum in India, is posing a tough challenge for the BMC and the Maharashtra government to contain the coronavirus spread, mainly due to its population density which makes social distancing very difficult.
West Bengal reported two more COVID-19 fatalities, raising the death toll due to the disease to 50 in the state, officials said on Sunday. A total of 41 fresh COVID-19 cases have emerged in West Bengal, according to a bulletin issued by the state health department.
Till Sunday afternoon, there were 927 coronavirus cases in the state, it said. The Union health ministry, however, has put the figure at 922. The number of active cases in the state stood at 663, the bulletin said. The officer-in-charge of the Pragati Maidan police station in the eastern parts of the city and a senior state government official have tested positive for the disease and have been admitted to a private hospital, officials said. A total of 22,915 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in West Bengal so far, they added. (PTI)
In its latest attempt to spread awareness about the coronavirus pandemic and urge people to stay home, the Tamil Nadu police department has taken inspiration from the dancing Ghana pallbearers, which had become a fodder for memes earlier this year.
For the uninitiated, several memes and videos of the “dancing coffin” crew from Ghana had gone viral earlier this year. The performance is a part of a funeral service, which is carried out on the request of the family.
Taking inspiration from the popular viral meme, the cops in Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu imitated the moves to show how breaking lockdown rules could turn fatal. Here, take a look:
The first batch of 92 stranded Manipuris, who returned to the state amid the lockdown have tested negative for COVID-19 on Sunday. Of the total number of people, 87 were brought from Guwahati and five from Mizoram by road on Saturday. They were lodged at a quarantine center in Imphal West district even as their samples were sent for testing. In all 44 samples were tested at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and 48 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), the highest number of tests conducted in the state in a single day. Hospital Authority of both the institutes said that they conducted pull testing to shorten the testing period.
The Gujarat government on Sunday said that the COVID-19 lockdown will be strictly implemented in six municipal corporations and six municipalities of the state till May 17, while it also announced some relaxations in areas falling orange and green zones.
Declaring a series of decisions to be implemented during the third phase of the lockdown, Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashwani Kumar, on Sunday, said that lockdown will be strictly implemented in municipal corporation areas of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar which fall under red zone category and in Rajkot.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday constituted an advisory committee to suggest measures to revive the state's economy, which is hit by the coronavirus outbreak. The eight-member committee, led by retired IAS officer Subhash Das, will study various aspects of the economic activities in the state and advise the government to bring the economy back on track. (PTI)
Erection of barricades and drawing up of boxes or circles aimed at maintaining social distancing were seen in front of liquor shops in different parts of Karnataka on Sunday, a day ahead of their reopening after a gap of over 40-days, due to the lockdown. Karnataka Excise Commissioner on Saturday had ordered that only CL-2 (retail shops) and CL-11C (state-run retail shops like Mysore Sales International Limited) would open from May 4. It had permitted liquor sale liquor between 9 am and 7 pm only in areas that are outside COVID-19 containment zones.
Reports of barricades being erected to ensure that people stand in line and drawing of boxes or circles in front of shops to maintain social distancing in front of retail and MSIL shops have emerged from across the state, including the state capital. Also reports about shop keepers doing special poojas outside liquor shops in Kolar and some even illuminating their outlets with lights from outside have surfaced from other parts of the state. Meanwhile, officials were engaged in checking stocks ahead of the shops opening on Monday morning.
Calling for number of customers to be limited to five at a time while ensuring that they maintain social distancing of not less than six feet distance, the order states that customers and the staff will have to wear masks and sanitizers should be used at the shops. Only stand alone CL-2 and CL-11C shops are allowed to commence liquor sale and not those at malls and super markets, it said. Officials in Bengaluru said liquor sale is prohibited in 26 containment zones in the city, while in other places rules that have been prescribed need to be followed. In case of any violation, strict action would be taken, including imposing of penalty, they said. There was pressure on the government to kick start economic activities, including allowing sale of liquor, to boost the state's finances as excise is the key area which generates revenue. State Excise Minister H Nagesh had recently pegged the losses at Rs 60 crore per day because of closure of liquor shops, due to the lockdown. (PTI)
Commercial passenger flights at Delhi’s IGI Airport will resume operations from Terminal 3 after the lockdown is lifted. Entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allocated to airlines to avoid overcrowding by air travellers.
The most common symptoms of Covid-19 are well known by now, these include fever, dry cough, sore throat and muscle pain among others. But emerging research has pointed out some other symptoms as well, which include the loss of smell and taste, confusion, stroke and seizures reported in a small subset of patients infected with the virus.
Now, a paper published in the British Journal of Dermatology talks about “unexplained” skin manifestations in Covid-19 patients. Researchers have described five clinical patterns, including the so-called ‘covid toe’, that they observed in 19 per cent of the cases examined.
The third phase of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown to break the chain of transmission will kick in from Monday after the government extended the nationwide lockdown for two more weeks. According to latest figures provided by the Health Ministry, the total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 40,263 with as many as 1,306 fatalities. The ministry said 2487 cases and 73 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
“After a comprehensive review and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the Covid-19 situation, the government has decided to further extend the lockdown,” the MHA order read.
The MHA further said a limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zones, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road; running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.
The Health Minister informed that India has done more than 10 lakh tests till date and government is performing over 74,000 tests in a day presently. Harshb Vardhan added that the government has distributed around 20 lakh PPE kits all over India and supplied medicines (both Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Paracetamol to more than 100 countries.
He said India is on a 'better footing' as compared to other nations, adding the country is capable to pull off any eventuality with more than 2.5 lakh beds in dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and health centers. Vardhan also urged the people to observe the extended period of lockdown 3.0 (till May 17) in letter and spirit and treat it as an effective intervention to cut down the chain of transmission of COVID-19.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the rate of growth of new COVID-19 cases has been steadying for a while and the recovery rate improving, adding that India is on the path of success and will win the war against the pandemic. He said around 10,000 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far. "The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients has steadily increased which shows that more and more of these patients are getting better and going back home," he said.
"The rate of growth of new cases has also been steadying for a while," Vardhan added. According to the data received on Sunday, for the past three days, the doubling rate of the virus is 12.0, for seven days it is 11.7 and for 14 days it is 10.4, the minister was quoted as saying in a statement.
Assam to impose 6pm - 6am curfew from tomorrow. "Nothing except pharmacies will be allowed to remain open in that period," says Himant Biswa Sarma.
* The Chief Minister cautioned that people aged above 65, those with health complications and children of the age below 10 should remain indoors. They will be allowed to venture out only in case of medical needs, Kejriwal said, reiterating the ban on spitting in public places.
* Between 7 pm to 7 am, people have been advised against going out unless dealing with essential services and needs.
* For now, public transport services such as Delhi Metro, bus services, autos, cabs and e-rickshaws will also remain suspended. The ban on social, political and religious gatherings will also stay enforced. However, marriages, with maximum 50 people in attendance and funerals, with maximum 20 people, will be allowed under conditions of abiding by social distancing norms.
* Shops and establishments extending services such as barber shops, salons and spas will remain closed. In markets, only shops selling essential items can open while all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and those inside residential complexes can open businesses, irrespective of whether essential or non-essential.
PTI reported that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated Sunday that his government will implement all lockdown relaxations prescribed to Union Home Ministry. "Delhi govt offices engaged in essential services to function with full strength; private office to open with 33 per cent strengt," Kejriwal added. "We will not be able to sustain the lockdown for long as the economy is in peril. The revenue has fallen from Rs 3500 Crores in April month of previous years to Rs 300 Crores this year. How will the government function?," Kejriwal said.
"I believe enforcing the lockdown was very essential at that point (last week of March). Had it not been implemented, the country would have faced serious consequences. However, after 1.5 months, at least in Delhi, we are fully prepared to lift the restrictions," the CM said during a webcast. He also added that the lockdown was having grave consequences on the economy with revenue drying up. "Where will we give salaries from?" Kejriwal asked, reaching out to the centre to allow more relaxations in Delhi.
"We will now have to learn to live with corona. Both governments and the people need to prepare themselves for it. If lockdown is lifted, there will be a little spike in cases, but we are ready to tackle that. We have told the Centre that the containment zones should be kept under lockdown and the rest of the city should be thrown open," the CM added.
Commercial passenger flights at Delhi’s IGI Airport will resume operations from Terminal 3 after the lockdown is lifted, news agency PTI reported. Entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allocated to airlines to avoid overcrowding by air travellers. It is also reported that the airport will keep all food, beverage and retail shops open to avoid overcrowding at one place and use 'ultraviolet disinfection tunnels' for all incoming baggage, according to a plan prepared by the GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd.
The plan said the passengers of Vistara and IndiGo would enter the airport through gates 1 and 2 only. These two airlines will have check-in rows A, B and C among them, it said. AirAsia India and Air India passengers will use entry gates 3 and 4. These passengers will then go to rows D, E and F where the staff of these two airlines would assist them check-in, according to the plan. SpiceJet and GoAir passengers would enter through gate 5 towards the staff of these two airlines at rows G and H for check-in.
Passengers of all other domestic airlines will enter through gate 5 and will head to row H, the plan said. All international airlines' passengers would be entering the airport using gates 6, 7 and 8. The staff of these airlines would be sitting at rows J, K, L and M for check-in at Terminal 3. The DIAL's exit plan stated that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays would be allocated to airlines to ensure smooth flow of passengers from forecourt into check-in hall and security thereafter. India has been under a lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected around 40,000 people and killed more than 1,300 people in the country till now.
Kerala witnessed yet another day with no new positive cases. One person has recovered, taking the number of active cases down to 95. A total of 401 people have recovered from the infection so far.
Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed that COVID-19 doubling rate is 12. "Doubling rate of Delhi is 12 and the country's doubling rate is 11. Earlier, we face difficulties with the NIB Noida lab which was functioning under the central government and that has been resolved. 58,210 tests have been conducted in total in Delhi. The contained zone should not be considered a 'Green Zone' until and unless zero cases are reported from there for 21 days. We want relaxation of restriction in area that are not contained," said Satyendar Jain.
State government spokesperson Rohit Kansal stated Sunday that all educational and training institutions will remain closed in Jammu & Kashmir till May 17.
A youth who was rendered jobless after a meat factory shuttered temporarily due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown has been found hanging his room in Aligarh, police said on Sunday. Mohammad Haider (23) was found hanging on Saturday afternoon in Alambagh locality of Civil Lines area here.
Inspector of Civil Lines police station Amit Kumar said the cause of the suicide "is being investigated and a family discord cannot be ruled out". According to the victim's mother Salma, Haider was working as labourer in the meat factory and became jobless after the plant was temporarily closed down a few weeks back. He was the only earning member of the family and was depressed for the past few days as he had become financially weak amid the lockdown, Haider's mother said.
Congress national secretary and former MLA of Aligarh city Vivek Bansal visited the family and demanded that they be provided financial relief immdiately to save themselves from starvation.
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal stated Sunday that he will announce fresh dates for the IIT (MAIN) entrance examinations on May 5.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority begins the work of constructing a 1000 bedded coronavirus hospital at MMRDA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex.
Migrant labourers arrived at Lucknow’s Charbagh Railway Station on May 03 by 'Shramik Special’ train. The train carried over 800 stranded labourers from Maharashtra’s Nashik after the Centre’s decision to run special trains for them. Several trains from different parts of the country have been started to make sure migrant labourers reach their home safely.
A Delhi High Court registry official has tested positive for coronavirus and has been admitted to LNJP Hospital here, sources in the court said on Sunday. According to the sources, the official had not attended the court after the announcement of the nationwide lockdown on March 25.
He never came to the court complex since then, they added. The official, posted in the original side in the registry, was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital on Saturday and his condition is stated to be stable, the sources said. (PTI)
The continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is expected to stabilise anytime soon, Niti Aayog member V K Paul said on Sunday. He also said the rationale behind the government's decision to extend the lockdown by two more weeks after May 3 is to consolidate the gains of the first and second phase of restrictions.
In an interview to PTI, Paul said sudden spurt in number of coronavirus cases is still amenable to containment strategy. "The rationale (behind extending lockdown till May 17)?is that the gains of lockdown need to be consolidated in the country...Real goals of lockdown was to suppress the chain of transmission of the virus. So, we will lose that, if we abruptly end it," he said.
Paul, who is heading an Empowered Group on medical equipment and management plan to tackle coronavirus outbreak, said that at the same time where situation is good, the opening will take place with caution and care. Replying to a question that whether India has slipped into community transmission stage, he said, "Essentially, we think it (continuous rise in coronavirus cases) is still amenable to containment strategy".
He also noted that India is nowhere close to the kind of escalation of coronavirus cases that it witnessed during the pre-lockdown phase. "In the pre-lockdown stage, we were doubling our number of cases in every five days. Before that even at every 3 days. Now, we are doubling in 11-12 days. "So, overall the rate of spread has diminished but yes the number still has not stabilised. But we expect it to stabilise anytime soon," the Niti Aayog member said. (PTI)
On May 1, the US government announced a grace period of 60 days for H-1B visa holders and Green Card applicants who have been served notices for submission of various documents, in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier, on March 30, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had first given a flexibility of 60 days for responding to requests or notices having issuance dates between March 1 and May 1, 2020.
As per the fresh notification from the agency, the grace period will become applicable to the documents if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1 and July 1, 2020.
The statistics are necessary, but so are the stories. If the stories of people afflicted by this virus are told daily on CNN and BBC it is because the victims are seen as human beings and not as numbers. In all the years that I have been a journalist, I have rarely felt more ashamed of my profession. When all this is over, it really is important that the big bosses of Indian journalism urge a season of introspection. When I got my first job as a reporter in 1975 the media was just a handful of badly printed newspapers. Today it is a vast, powerful machine that should have no problem at all in speaking truth to power. Read more here
Under our special Stories of Strength initiative, we present to you the story of an educational NGO in Telangana that has been conducting 30-minute WhatsApp sessions on English, Hindi, Telugu and Mathematics for poor children hundreds of kilometres away to ensure they do not drop out of school. Read it here
Iran plans to reopen mosques and schools in areas that have been consistently free of the coronavirus as President Hassan Rouhani's government starts to ease restrictions that were aimed at containing the outbreak. With mosques closed and religious gatherings banned since mid-March as the outbreak spread in the Middle East's worst-hit country, ordinary Iranians have turned to drive-ins for ceremonies during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. State TV and videos on social media showed people in their cars watching a religious ceremony on a big screen in a Tehran car park. "Mosques will reopen in 132 low-risk or 'white cities' and towns from Monday. Friday prayer sermons will resume in those areas as well ... However, all these steps will be taken by respecting the health protocols," Rouhani said in a televised meeting.
Russia on Sunday recorded its highest daily rise in confirmed coronavirus cases with 10,633 new cases, bringing the overall number of cases to 134,686, according to the authorities' official website. The mortality rate has slowed in recent days however, and remains much lower, in relative terms, than many other countries. The nationwide death toll rose to 1,280 after 58 people died in the last 24 hours, Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said.
A poster prohibiting the entry of Muslim traders in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district was removed by police on Sunday. A case has also been registered against unknown persons. “Muslim vyapariyonka gaon mein pravesh nishedh hai (Muslim traders are not allowed in the village),” the poster, which was reportedly signed on behalf of residents of Pemalpur village in Depalpur tehsil, read. The poster was apparently put up on Saturday.
Pakistan's coronavirus tally crossed 19,000 on Sunday after 989 new patients were diagnosed in the last 24 hours. The Ministry of National Health Services said 23 patients died in this period, taking the total toll to 440. So far, 4,817 people have recovered from the deadly virus, the ministry said. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday night said he was not sure when the vaccine against COVID-19 will be available and expressed fears that "we may have to live with the coronavirus for six months or (even) a year".
The CRPF headquarters in New Delhi has been sealed after a personal staff of a senior officer tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials said on Sunday. Officials working in the building will not be allowed inside the premises from Sunday, they said. The force has informed the district surveillance officer for "initiating required protocols" as per medical guidelines, for time-bound proper sealing of the building located in the CGO complex on Lodhi Road. They said a contact tracing exercise has begun of all the personnel who came in contact with the staffer at the headquarter building.
The Philippines barred incoming passenger flights from Sunday morning for one week to contain the spread of the coronavirus and help reduce pressure on quarantine facilities housing thousands of Filipino repatriates, officials said on Sunday. "This decision is meant to decongest our quarantine facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and also ensure that our overseas Filipino workers are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad", the task force said in a statement. The Philippines introduced curbs on immigration, travel, commerce and public gatherings in mid-March, days after the first case of domestic transmission. Entry to the country is closed to all except repatriated Filipinos. (Reuters)
Every disease is a story. It has a beginning, middle and, hopefully, an end. Some illnesses are little more than anecdotes or riddles. Others are parables and allegories. A few grow into epics, containing a multitude of episodic tales, one leading on to another. The novel coronavirus, which is responsible for COVID-19, sounds like something out of science fiction. How will we tell the story of this pandemic? Read here
In a thanksgiving exercise to laud the efforts of the country’s healthcare workers engaged in the fight against Covid-19, the Armed forces are holding hold several “special activities”, including military band displays and flypasts to shower flower petals on hospitals treating coronavirus patients
As the total confirmed cases of coronavirus cross 2,700 in Tamil Nadu, experts say crucial indicators of the outbreak remain reassuringly low, with not a single patient on ventilator among the 1416 active cases currently being treated in the state. Talking to The Indian Express, health secretary Beela Rajesh said the state government has already sought the help of the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) to study the interesting pattern of disease on the state population. Rajesh said the disease transmission rate was also much lower, except in Chennai.
China has reported 14 new COVID-19 cases, including 12 asymptomatic ones, taking the number infections in the country to 82,877 while over 4,630 people have succumbed to the deadly virus, health officials said on Sunday. China's National Health Commission (NHC) said the two new confirmed cases were reported on Saturday which included one imported and another locally transmitted. The death toll remained 4,633 as no fatalities due to the coronavirus were reported on Saturday while the total number cases increased to 82,877 with 531 still undergoing treatment, it said. China has reported a total of 1,672 imported cases so far, of which 451 Chinese coming from abroad are still being treated with six in severe conditions, the NHC said.
Amid the lockdown, at stake are not only 11 crore jobs in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)but the future of what makes up 45 per cent of the country’s total manufacturing output, 40 per cent of exports — and almost 30 per cent of the national GDP. As the government is holding discussions to finalise a package, MSMEs are bleeding.
Their problems are multi-fold: from the break-down of the credit cycle, lack of availability of working capital to paying salaries and fixed costs even as units are shuttered, and an inability to even encash their assets to maintain solvency. Add to this the huge question mark over labour availability as and when the lockdown opens given that most of them employ migrants who are either stranded in camps or scrambling to return home.
Many MSME promoters The Indian Express spoke to are anguished and despairing. They say the third lockdown gives no clear indications on whether MSMEs will be allowed to operate at full strength or not – and this uncertainty could wreck the sector. Read our special story, here
As the world grapples with coronavirus, the Dalai Lama on Sunday said people should come together to give a "coordinated, global response" to challenges posed by the crisis. The Tibetan spiritual leader also noted that the economic disruption caused by the spread of the virus is posing a major challenge to governments and is undermining the ability of people to make a living. "This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning that only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face. I pray we all heed 'The Call to Unite',” he said in a statement released by his office. “In this time of crisis, we face threats to our health and sadness for the family and friends we have lost. Economic disruption is posing a major challenge to governments and undermining the ability of so many people to make a living," he said.
While the lockdown is still continuing, the number of new cases, as well as the number of deaths being reported every day, has been steadily rising for the last few days. On Saturday, over 2500 new cases were reported for the first time, while the number of deaths was at least 93. By the end of Saturday, India had just a little below 40,000 cases, while the death figures had crossed 1300.
There were no new surprises on Saturday, and the numbers simply reinforced the trend that we have been witnessing for a few days now. The bulk of new cases, as well as deaths, are being reported from the top five or seven states, while the others contributing very modest numbers. READ MORE
Chopper of the Indian Air Force showers flower petals on the Police War Memorial in order to express gratitude and appreciation towards the police officials
As India enters its 40th day into a nationwide lockdown enforced to contain the transmission of the novel coronavirus, the coronavirus cases in the country neared the 40,000-mark. Of the 39,980 confirmed cases, 10,633 are recovered, while 28,046 are active cases. The death toll is 1301.
Spaniards have filled the streets to exercise outside in gorgeous spring weather for the first time in seven weeks and German children rushed to playgrounds as countries in Western Europe gradually relax coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Russia and Pakistan, however, reported their biggest one-day spikes in new infections, a sign the pandemic is far from over. And in the U.K., the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 28,000.
The British government had a contingency plan for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's death as his condition deteriorated while he battled COVID-19 last month in intensive care, Johnson said in an interview with The Sun newspaper.
"They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario," Johnson, 55, was quoted as saying by The Sun. "It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it." "The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong," Johnson said of his COVID-19 battle. "The bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction." He said doctors discussed invasive ventilation. "The bad moment came when it was 50-50 whether they were going to have to put a tube down my windpipe," he said.
After Johnson was discharged, St Thomas' said it was glad to have cared for the prime minister, but the hospital has given no details about the gravity of his illness beyond stating that he was treated in intensive care.
Serving Lokpal member Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi, who had tested positive for COVID-19 a month ago, died on Saturday in the national capital after he suffered a cardiac arrest, AIIMS officials confirmed. Justice Tripathi, 62, was one of three judicial members of Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, and was admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre last month after testing positive for coronavirus.
Justice Tripathi was one of the first COVID-19 patients to be admitted at AIIMS Trauma Centre on April 4. He was on ventilator support for more than a fortnight, sources said. The hospital had put him off ventilator a few weeks ago after he showed some recovery, but he was again put on ventilator support, it is learnt.
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The armed forces have made elaborate arrangements to conduct aerial fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and shower flower petals on several hospitals across the country on Sunday to express gratitude to lakhs of doctors, paramedics, sanitation staff and other front-line workers engaged in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Friday announced that the three services will carry out a series of activities to thank the "corona warriors". The thanks-giving activities will start with laying of wreaths at the police memorial in Delhi and in several other cities on Sunday morning to honour the police personnel deployed for enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, officials said. It will be followed by fly-pasts by fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, covering a sizeable number of cities and towns across the country beginning 10 AM, officials said.
Good morning. The lockdown in India, which was initially planned to end today, has been extended for two more weeks. COVID-19 has claimed over 1000 lives in India and has infected over 37,000 people. Follow this space as we track the latest news and developments from across the country and globe
The Ministry of Home Affairs may have allowed stranded migrants to return home, but the roads leading out of Mumbai on Saturday were dotted with hundreds of workers who continued to trudge on the Mumbai-Agra Highway, unaware that the state was arranging trains for migrants. While in the past, migrants who were undertaking the arduous trek were being helped by locals as well as district officials who provided them food and water on the way, the new directives from the Centre has led to state officials claiming that they would no longer take responsibility of the workers walking home. Read more here
A senior IAS officer in Karnataka has been issued a showcause notice by the BJP government in the state for hailing Tablighi Jamaat members as “heroes” for donating plasma to facilitate treatment of COVID patients. The government issued the notice over Mohammad Mohsin’s tweet on April 27 which stated, “More than 300 Tablighi Heroes are donating their plasma to serve the country in New Delhi only. What about #Godi Media? They will not show the works of humanity done by these heroes.”
At Around 11.30 pm on Friday, about 1,200 migrant labourers from Jharkhand reached Hatia station on a special train from Lingampalli in Telangana.
After being stranded for more than a month due to the lockdown, the relief to be home showed on their faces. But this relief was shadowed by uncertainty about the future.
As they recounted hardships of the past month, some said they would never leave the state for work again. Others said they would have to, for their families. Read More
Out of work and money, a group of migrant workers stuck in Chandigarh cycled all the way to their home state of Bihar, covering more than 1,000 km through forests, dirt roads and rivers in around 17 days.
The 150-odd people—masons, electricians, plumbers and painters—split themselves into smaller groups and set off in the intervening night of April 14-15.
Through the journey, they survived on beaten rice and jaggery, steered clear of highways and major roads for fear of being stopped by the police, and cycled with frequent breaks to conserve energy. Read More