Amit Shah intervention made ICMR expand labs for testing COVID-19
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) expanded the number of laboratories that could conduct COVID-19 tests on an intervention by the Union Home Minister, The Hindu has learnt.
COVID-19 is 10 times more deadly than swine flu, says WHO
The novel coronavirus is 10 times more deadly than swine flu, also called H1N1, which caused a global pandemic in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, calling for control measures to be lifted “slowly”.
Actions giving results; no new cases in 25 districts, says govt.
India registered the largest spike in deaths due to COVID-19 on Monday, with 51 being reported in the past 24 hours, the highest since the first case was reported in January. India’s tally with 905 additional cases has gone up to 9,352 and 324 deaths so far. Over 857 patients have recovered. The 51 deaths reported since Sunday evening include 22 from Maharashtra, seven each from Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, five from Delhi and four from Gujarat.
Day before surrendering to NIA, Anand Teltumbde writes to the people of India
Professor Anand Teltumbde, an engineer and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduate who used to teach at the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur), wrote an open letter ‘to the people of India’ a day before he surrenders to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after the Supreme Court denied him any relief.
Coronavirus lockdown | ‘Online child porn traffic rises by 95%’
Consumption of child pornography after the lockdown in the country has gone up by 95% with online data monitoring websites showing an increase in demand for searches like “child porn,” “sexy child” and “teen sex videos.”
Tendering process for new Parliament on, to be issued after lockdown
The Centre’s plan to construct a new Parliament building by August 2022 is on track and the tender for the project would be floated after the lockdown is lifted, according to the architects of the project.
Coronavirus | MGNREGA jobs crash to 1% of normal
Employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has collapsed to just over 1% of the usual rate this month due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Activists petitioned the Supreme Court demanding that the government pay full wages to all active job card holders during this time, following its own instructions issued to other employers.
Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for Democratic presidential nomination
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, was formally endorsed on Monday by longtime rival Bernie Sanders, a move that may help unify the Democratic Party ahead of a general-election matchup against Republican President Donald Trump.
Airlines prepare for take-off in post-coronavirus world
Airlines have started conducting mock drills to educate and prepare staff for the new social distancing normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will promote a safe flying experience as and when commercial flights take to the skies again.
Data | Why has Mumbai seen the most coronavirus cases in Maharashtra?
Maharashtra is bearing the brunt of India’s COVID-19 crisis, with 23% of the total cases and 46% of overall deaths*. Most cases are from Mumbai, with the highest share in its G-south ward. Wards with dense populations have the highest number of cases. The State has the highest number of such wards.