Supply trucks stuck in Ghaziabad, near UP's border with Delhi, Wednesday. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will chair the virtual summit on March 26 to advance the global coordinated response to the pandemic. Apart from the leaders of G-20, the heads of state of Jordan, Spain, Singapore and Switzerland are also scheduled to participate. The UAE will also take part in its capacity as sitting president of the Gulf Cooperation Council states.
In a separate video conference earlier this week, G-20 finance ministers and central bankers agreed to develop an action plan to respond to the outbreak, which the IMF expects will trigger a global recession.
A video conference of senior health professionals of SAARC countries to share their experiences of combating the spread of COVID-19 is also proposed to be held on March 26. The major topics of discussion will be “practical joint action on online training capsules for emergency response teams, setting up of an Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal, creation of a Common Research Platform and coordination of research…”
In India, as the 21-day nationwide lockdown kicked in Wednesday, confusion prevailed among local authorities and police over exemptions, causing major disruptions in last-mile supply of food and grocery items, which are part of essential goods and services and exempted from prohibitory orders.
While some authorities including Delhi Police, Gurugram Police, Noida Police and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation instituted mechanisms for allowing home deliveries, including issuing curfew passes to the staff of Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, Grofers, Swiggy, Zomato, etc, many raised concerns over non-adherence of Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) orders in different states. Offline retailers such as Future Retail, which operates the Big Bazaar chain, also complained that police confiscated bikes and keys of its staff and even beat them up on their way to stores.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday interacted with citizens of Varanasi. During the interaction, he warned of tough action against those misbehaving with healthcare professionals and airline crew. “People in whites in hospitals and clinics are our Gods now; they should be respected. They are saving us by risking their own lives,” PM Modi said.
On Tuesday, in the first step for unorganised sector workers, the Centre had asked states to devise schemes for the use of Rs 52,000 crore of unutilised cess collected under the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess (BOCW) Act and transfer these funds to the bank accounts of construction workers through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) route.
The government is also planning to suspend invocation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) “for a period of six months so as to stop companies at large from being forced into insolvency proceedings in such force majeure causes of default.”
Here’s a quick Coronavirus guide from Express Explained to keep you updated: Are smokers at high risk form coronavirus? | Can Vitamin-C prevent or cure coronavirus infection? | What exactly is community spread of coronavirus? | How long can the Covid-19 virus survive on a surface? | Amid the lockdown, what is allowed, what is prohibited?
Homeless and poor being fed at Howrah station. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
According to New York Times, at least 81,321 people in the US have been infected with the coronavirus. The number is more than the number of cases in China, Italy or any other country so far, according to data gathered by The New York Times.
As many as 250 families staying in a Pakistani Hindu refugee camp in Northwest Delhi, who largely work as daily wagers, have been left without a source of income following the lockdown. It was on Wednesday that the Northwest district police came to their rescue and decided to ‘adopt’ the families for the next 21 days. Police said they will contribute funds from their pockets at the district level to ensure they have three meals a day. Read more...
AN Angry Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, Thursday finally relented to the growing “outrage on social media”, and allowed grocery shops and those selling milk, vegetables and fish to open. Sawant, however, fumed that the lockdown had been imposed for Goa’s welfare, and he now “dreads the future”.
Goa has been in complete lockdown since March 22, 7 am. With shops selling grocery and other essential edible shut, a population of 15 lakh in the state has been caught completely unprepared.
A young IAS officer, who has been under home quarantine since March 18, has skipped the isolation and reportedly went to his native state Uttar Pradesh.Anupam Mishra, sub-collector in Kollam district, had been on leave and joined back duty on March 18. Realising that Mishra had gone abroad during the leave period, District Collector B Abdul Nazer directed the sub-collector to remain under observation at his official residence.
The death toll due to #COVID19 in United Kingdom jumps by more than 100 in a day for the first time
Total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have crossed 500,000 at 510,108, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. At least 22,993 people have died so far, with Italy recording the highest at 8165 deaths.
1,245 foreign nationals to be evacuated to their respective countries (Austria, UAE, Israel, Germany, and Italy) from Delhi airport via 5 special flights between 25th March and 26th March: Airport official
The study acknowledges this -- "the most severe form of interventions", it says, would drastically bring down the number of infected people, and restrict the spread to just about 13,800 cases by May 15, instead of 58,600
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari donated a month's salary to PM Relief Fund for COVID-19 and urged everybody to come forward and contribute, PTI reported.
In his remarks at the G20 Virtual Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted the alarming social and economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic. He added that 90% of the COVID-19 cases and 88% of deaths were in G20 countries, even as they share 80% of world GDP and 60% of world population: Ministry of External Affairs
The Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi is offering free food to the homeless in 236 centres in the city which is under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The All India Muslim Law Board has asked worshippers to offer Zuhur at home instead of praying Jumah at mosques, and avoid coming out out for congregational prayers.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a revised notification allowing inter-state travel of animal fodder. "It is hereby clarified that exceptions under clause 6 covers the transportation/inter-state movement of animal feed and fodder, being the essential items," the notification read.
For a Nagpur resident, who was discharged after 14 days' treatment for Coronavirus on Thursday, his fight with the pandemic was like a boxing bout which he always knew he would win. When the 44-year-old IT professional returned home on Thursday, his two children, a 18 - year old son and 14-year-old daughter, and his parents in their mid-70s were emotional. "I will be home-quarantine for 14 more days. So they welcomed me by keeping distance. I couldn't hug them physically. But I did give them a mental hug, " the patient told The Indian Express, on phone.
Asserting confidence on overcoming the pandemic together, G20 leaders said they were ready to strengthen global financial safety nets, pledging USD 5 trillion into the global economy. "We are injecting over USD 5 trillion into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic," the leaders said in a statement, according to AFP.
The positive cases reported in India climbed to 694, the Health Ministry website said on Thursday evening. The death toll rose to 16, meanwhile, 44 have recovered from coronavirus. Kerala and Maharashtra have reported highest number— with 125 and 124 cases, respectively. The national capital has reported 42 cases, whereas 58 positive cases have been reported in Karnataka until now.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today, announced door-to-door distribution of 10 lakh packets of dry ration to daily wagers and unorganised labour in the state. Claiming that these sections of the society were ignored by the Finance Minister during the announcement of the economic relief package to combat coronavirus, Singh undertook this initiative and apprised Congress president Sonia Gandhi of the measures taken by his government. He also ordered for these packets to be made available at the offices of the Deputy Commissioners to support any such persons who do not get covered during the distribution effort.
Saudi Arabia King Salman on Thursday addressed G20 leaders through video conference and urged them to take 'effective and coordinated' action to combat the global crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, amid forecasts of a deep economic recession, news agency AFP reported. US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are part of the the emergency videoconference chaired by King Salman, who is under pressure to end an oil price war with Moscow that has roiled energy markets. The talks come amid criticism that the group has been slow to address the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left a global death toll of more than 21,000 and triggered financial shockwaves as more than three billion people around the world are locked down in their homes.
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Shops selling essential commoditieswill be allowed to stay open 24 hours of the day in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Thursday evening.The decision was taken to prevent crowding at shops and marketplaces amid the lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic, said a statement from his office.
The challenge of countering the spread of COVID-19 virus has brought in all branches of the government, including the armed forces, at the forefront of this fight. As the biggest service among the armed forces, the Army, led by the Army Chief General MM Naravane, will have a leading role to play in this fight. The Indian Express conversed with General Naravane over email about the effect of spread of COVID-19 on the Army, its preparation and contingency planning. Read Express Exclusive
As 19 people tested positive across Kerala today, the tolal number of cases in the state climbed to 137, PTI quoted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as saying. Northern district of Kannur reported nine cases today. Of the total number,11 have been discharged from hospitals so far. However, health ministry website is yet to update the figures.
Appealing to the migrant workers, especially from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to not travel on foot back to their villages when the state is under a lockdown, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday asked businesses and traders employing such workers to arrange for food and shelter.Rupani appealed to industrial associations, real estate associations and chambers to "ensure" that food and shelter is provided to such workers so that they do not attempt to travel to their native villages in this situation. He said both the state government and the NGOs will be providing the necessary help in this regard.The chief minister appeal comes at a time when a large number of migrant labourers employed in the urban centers have started returning home. Most of them have been trying to walk home in groups.
Muslim organisations in West Bengal have urged people not to offer prayers in mosques in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tomorrow being Friday, Muslims offer congregational prayers in mosques in the afternoon. Bengal Imams’ Associations has asked all imams across the state to close mosques for the public. “In view of the present situation arising from COVID-19 pandemic, we are requesting all imams, secretaries and other members to close all gates of mosques for the public. Imams will give azaan (call for prayer) and offer namaz with their staff as usual. However, do not allow anyone to enter the mosques. Tell them to offer prayers at home. This is a temporary arrangement in the given situation. This will remain effective till Shab-e-Barat on April 9,” the association said in a statement. Read full story
The Bombay High Court has also asked authorities across Maharashtra to go slow in taking coercive steps against citizens, which might drive them to court.
India extends ban on international flights till April 14, in view of the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
The number of declared coronavirus cases in Europe topped 2,50,000, according to an AFP tally Thursday, more than half of which are in hard-hit Italy and Spain. The worst-affected region in the world, Europe was declared the new epicentre of the novel coronavirus.
Amid a nation-wide lockdown in the country to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday visited a marketplace in Kolkata to ensure the implementation of social distancing by vendors and consumers.
In Tamil Nadu, a 24-year-old man has been tested for coronavirus, taking the number to 27 in the state. The man has a travel history to Dubai and has been kept under quarantine at Tiruchi Government Hospital. The stae Health Minister has assured that the patient is kept in isolation and his condition is stable.
The coronavirus death toll in Spain surged to 4,089 after 655 people died within 24 hours, the health ministry was quoted as saying by AFP on Thursday. It was a 19 percent increase on figures released Wednesday by the authorities in Spain, which has the world's second highest death toll from the disease after Italy. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 56,188, the ministry said.
Two more positive cases reported in Srinagar taking the total number of active cases in Jammu-Kashmir to 11, according to the government. The two siblings, aged 7 years and 8 months, are grandchildren of a person who had a travel history to Saudi Arabia, and had tested positive on March 24.
In a move to monitor and supervise the containment activities of Covid-19 in Kerala, the state government has set up a round-the-clock War room headed by Dr K Ellangovan IAS in Thiruvananthapuram. Different department officers at top-level management would facilitate the management of the war room. Different state departments include, health, police, revenue, local self and more.
The Centre has capped the maximum retail price of 3 ply face masks made of meltblown non-woven fabric at Rs 16 per piece till June 30 after clearing confusion with the manufacturers, PTI reported Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Agarwal as saying. On March 21, the Consumer Affairs Ministry had notified MRP for 2 ply and 3 ply 'surgical' face masks at Rs 8 and Rs 10 per piece, respectively. But for 3 ply meltblown face masks, it had said MRP would at the rate that prevailed as on February 12. "We had a meeting with face mask manufacturers. They were facing some challenges because of lack of clarity on MRP front. So, we have decided to fix the MRP of 3 ply meltblown face masks at Rs 16 per piece," Agarwal told PTI.
"Community transmission phase of Covid 19 will start if the community & the government don't work collectively and follow guidelines. But it would never happen in India if we follow social distancing & treatment properly," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Min said. Whereas, ICMR's R Ganga Ketkar said, the steps taken by the government are so effective that if people follow them strictly, cases will hardly increase in the country.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the chief ministers of 18 states requesting them to extend food, shelter and medical assistance to migrant labourers from West Bengal who are unable to return home due to the coronavirus lockdown. Here is a copy of the letter written to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Health Ministry denies reports of "community transmission" of coronavirus in India. "There is still no hard evidence to say there has been community transmission of coronavirus in India," ministry says.
An Italian employee of the Holy See who lives in the same residence as Pope Francis was reported Thursday to have tested positive for COVID-19 and has been hospitalised, according to news agency AFP. Several Italian newspapers with reputable sources in the Vatican, said, the clergyman has lived for years in Saint Martha's guest house. Pope Francis has remained largely secluded at his residence since coming down with a cold at the end of last month. The 83-year-old pontiff has a small apartment in the building and takes his meals there.
Spain registered 655 fatalities from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours - down from over 700 on Wednesday, the health ministry reported on Thursday as the total death toll from the epidemic in the country rose to over 4,000.The overall number of coronavirus cases soared to 56,188 from 47,610 on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The number of reported deaths from the virus rose to 4,089 from 3,434 on Wednesday, the ministry said.
"While the numbers of Coronavirus cases are increasing, the rate at which they are increasing appears to be relatively stabilizing. However, this is only the initial trend. India is geared for Covid-19 challenge," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry said.
Allaying fears and to ensure that people do not indulge in panic buying, Punya Slila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, MHA said: "Government is taking steps to ensure that production, supply or distribution of essential goods & services do not get affected during Coronavirus lockdown. States are working to provide food & shelter to migrant workers."
"42 fresh cases and four deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in the last 24 hours. Total number of cases stands at 649," Lav Aggrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said and added that on inistry's request,work has begun in nearly 17 states for dedicated hospitals to treat Covid-19.
Australian health authorities Thursday said the deaths due to coronavirus has touched 12 with the demise of three elderly persons while the total number of infections has risen to nearly 2,800. The state of Victoria recorded the deaths of three men in their old age diagnosed with deadly coronavirus in the last 24 hours taking the total number of fatalities due to the deadly coronavirus infection to 12. "All the three men who died in the state were in their 70s and had pre-existing health conditions," Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton was quoted as saying by PTI.
Delhi police has withdrawn the order allowing online delivery services to operate.
Immediately after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several economic measures outlining farmers and for the poor, Sensex jumped 1,410.99 points to settle at 29,946.77. Whereas, Nifty also soared by 323.60 points to 8,641.45.
Congress former chief Rahul Gandhi praised Centre's move to release a financial assistance package towards the unorganised sector workers and said, "The Govt announcement today of a financial assistance package, is the first step in the right direction. India owes a debt to its farmers, daily wage earners, labourers, women & the elderly who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing lockdown."
Delhi Police Commissioner has withdrawn the earlier order that allowed delivery services including- Zomato, Amazon, BigBasket, 24seven and other retilers to operate in the national capital.
In view of the nationwide lockdown enforced to combat the coronavirus outbreak, Delhi Metro services will remain closed till April 14, a senior official of the DMRC said on Wednesday. On March 22, the DMRC had announced closure of its services till the end of this month. "As there is a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, the services will remain closed till April 14," PTI quoted the official as saying.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that his government will coordinate with other states and bear the expenses of migrant workers, who might have been stranded there owing to the three-week-long nationwide lockdown. Kumar made the announcement at a high-level meeting he chaired here to review the situation arising out of the outbreak of the disease.
The meeting was attended by his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, other members of his cabinet, and top officials. Kumar also said that a sum of Rs 100 crore has been released from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund which would be utilized by the disaster management department for setting up shelters for rickshaw pullers and daily-wage earners who might be living away from their homes.--PTI
Pakistan has sought USD 3.7 billion additional loan from three multilateral creditors to cope with the economic crisis being posed by the coronavirus outbreak, as the pandemic spread further in the country, infecting over 1,100 people and killing eight so far. In addition to USD 1.4 billion loan from the IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will extend loans of USD 1 billion and USD 1.25 billion respectively to the country, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said at a news conference on Wednesday. Prime Minister Imran Khan had earlier announced a Rs 1.2 trillion economic relief package. The number of coronavirus patients in Pakistan has reached to 1,102, according to the latest official data.
Karnataka reported one more death due to coronavirus on Thursday. According to health department officials, the patient, who was 70-year-old, had travelled from Mecca, Saudi Arabia along with her son (Patient 19) to Gauribidanur, Chikkaballapura district on March 14. She was tested positive for COVID-19.
'I regret to inform that the COVID-19 test result has come out as positive for Mallika Bai, who had succumbed to death yesterday. The govt stands committed to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state. Please stay home, stay safe,' Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar confirmed in a tweet.
Here are the instructions:
Quarantine/Isolation Centres: Identify additional infrastructure for setting up of Quarantine/ Isolation centers in each station for own personnel
Liaison with Civil Administration: Indian Army is prepared to extend its network of Hospitals and Laboratory facilities to assist civil administration at COVID-19 hotspots
Plan for Augmenting Public Health Experts in severely affected areas: Prepare a plan for sidestepping medical personnel from lesser affected areas to augment health experts in severely affected areas if required.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday held a review meeting with senior officials of Ministry of Defence (MoD) on the action plan of the Ministry to deal with the COVID-19 situation. During the meeting, The defence minister expressed appreciation on the proactive role played by the Armed Forces and various departments of MoD in evacuating Indian nationals as well as foreigners from COVID-19 affected countries and ensuring them proper care at various quarantine facilities. He urged the Armed Forces and other departments to gear up their preparedness and provide all required assistance to the civilian administration at various levels.
A 73-year-old coronavirus patient has passed away in Rajasthan's Bhilwara. Health Department, however, clarifies that he had chronic kidney disease as well as diabetes. On March 3, he had suffered a brain stroke and was in a coma since then.
However, the Health Ministry is yet to update figures.
To benefit the construction workers, the Centre will direct the state governments will to use the funds under Buildings and other Construction Workers Act. "It has Rs 31,000 crore in it. It has 3.5 crore registered workers. We intent to tell states to utilise this fund to provide assistance to workers," Sitharaman said. The District Mineral Fund will also be utilised to augment medical testing, screening and other requirements to fight coronavirus and preventing its spread
For the organised sector, the government will pay the EPFO contribution both of the employer and the employee (12 per cent each) for the next three months. This is for all those establishments which have up to 100 employees and 90 per cent of them draw less than Rs 15,000 per month.
The Provident Funds Scheme Regulation will be amended to allow the workers to draw up to 75 per cent of the amount standing to the credit of a member or three-months wages, whichever is lower. This is a non-refundable advance.
Collateral free loans up to Rs 20 lakh will be provided to women self-help groups and will benefit 7 crore families
Nearly 8 crore of BPL families will be given free cylinders for the next three months. Over 8 crore families are expected to benefit
Women Jan Dhan account holders will be getting an ex-gratia amount of Rs 500 for the next three months. This will benefit 20 crore women
For the old aged, widows and the 'divyangs' an ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 will be given in two installments in thee next three months and will benefit over 3 crore people