Coronavirus roundup: Developments in India and rest of world

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Apr 23, 2020, 20:06 IST

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry on Thursday decided to put on hold increment in dearness allowance for 50 lakh central government employees and 61 lakh pensioners till July 2021 due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, DA and DR at current rates will continue to be paid. Meanwhile, with an increase of 1,229 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of cases reached 21,700 and the death toll climbed to 686, according to the Union home ministry.

Here are the top developments:

1

India

The government said that it has been able to "cut coronavirus transmission", minimise its spread and increase the doubling time of Covid-19 cases in the country during the 30-day period of the nationwide lockdown.
The government said that the rise in coronavirus cases in the country has been more or less linear, not exponential. The country is experiencing 4.5% positive cases among the tested people, which are similar to the situation a month ago before the lockdown was imposed.
Nearly 20 per cent Covid-19 patients have recovered so far in the country, said the Union ministry of health officials.
The Union ministry of home affairs clarified that in-house caregivers of senior citizens and prepaid mobile recharge utilities are exempted from lockdown restrictions.
The MHA also informed that the food processing units in urban areas have also been exempted from the restrictions and the ministry has also allowed activities related to import and export of horticulture produce.
President Ram Nath Kovind approved to promulgate The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which provides stricter punishments for attacks against health workers even as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak.
Measures to "speed up" economic and industrial activities were reviewed by a high-level group of officials comprising the Union home secretary and his counterpart in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the MHA said.
As many as 145 Indian crew members, who were stuck on board a cruise ship due to the coronavirus pandemic, disembarked in Mumbai, over a month after it set sail from Thailand.

2

States

Maharashtra: With 431 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases has reached 5,649 in Maharashtra.
Uttar Pradesh: The number of Covid-19 cases rose to 1,507 in Uttar Pradesh as 58 more people tested positive for the infection.
Delhi: The Delhi government said there were 2,248 coronavirus patients in the national capital and 32 per cent of these have recovered from the infection.
Rajasthan: 49 new cases of Covid-19 were found in Rajasthan, taking the total number of cases to 1937 in the state.
Tamil Nadu: With 54 more coronavirus positive cases reported in Tamil Nadu today, the total number of cases in the state has reached 1,683, including 908 active cases & 20 deaths.
West Bengal: 58 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in last 24 hours. There are 334 active cases in the state.
Karnataka: 18 new Covid-19 positive cases have been reported in Karnataka in last 24 hours. Total positive cases in the state stand at 445 which includes 17 deaths and 145 discharges.
Puducherry: The Union territory has not reported any fresh case of coronavirus in the last 10 days and has only 3 active cases as of now.
Andhra Pradesh: Eighty new cases, three more deaths and 21 fresh discharges took the overall Covid-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh to 893, 27 and 141, respectively in the last 24 hours.
Assam: A fresh positive coronavirus case was reported in Assam's Dhubri district, taking the total virus count in the state to 35.
Bihar: Four more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Bihar, all residents of a coronavirus hotspot in Munger district, taking the tally to 147.
J&K: Twenty more tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of Covid-19 patients in the Union territory to 427.
Jharkhand: 4 more persons tested positive for Covid-19 in Ranchi. Total positive cases in the state rises to 53.
Haryana: The total number of Covid-19 cases has reached 270 in Haryana, including 24 linked to foreign nationals.
Odisha: Four more people have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of positive cases in Odisha to 87.
Punjab: 26 persons have been tested positive for Covid-19 in Punjab today. The total positive cases in the state stand at 283.
Kerala: With 10 fresh coronavirus positive reported in Kerala, the total cases in the state stand at 447, of which 129 are active.
Uttarakhand: One person tested positive for Covid-19 today and the total cases in the state stand at 47.
Telangana: One more person succumbed to the coronavirus infection taking the Covid-19 death toll in the state to 25 while 27 positive cases were reported. With the fresh cases, the number of positive cases in the state has surged to 970.

3

World

The worldwide death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 183,707 on Thursday.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to suspend certain types of immigration into the US for 60 days to protect the jobs of Americans laid off due to the Covid-19. In the US, now the worst-hit country, the death toll stood at 46,785 with 842,624 infections.
Two cats in New York State have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, marking the first confirmed case of the Covid-19 infection in pets in the US, according to health authorities.
The UK is "at the peak" of its coronavirus pandemic, its health minister Matt Hancock said, but warned that it was too early to lift social distancing measures. The UK currently has 134,638 coronavirus cases, with 18,100 deaths.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for international cooperation on the development of a vaccination for the new coronavirus, saying that the pandemic transcends borders and can only be countered jointly. Germany has reported more than 150,000 infections but a relatively low death toll of about 5,000.
China announced an additional USD 30 million grant to the WHO to support its global fight against the deadly coronavirus, days after Donald Trump's decision to freeze US' funding for the UN health agency over its handling of the Covid-19 crisis.
Spain said 440 people died in the past 24 hours from the new coronavirus, a slight increase for the third day running, bringing the overall death toll to 22,157.
Pakistan on Thursday said it has reported 742 new cases of Covid-19 and 15 more deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deadly coronavirus infections to 10,513 with 224 deaths in the country.
Bangladesh has decided to extend the nationwide Covid-19 shutdown for 10 more days until May 5 amid warnings of heightening risks of coronavirus infections in the country.
Australia will keep its borders closed for at least another three to four months as it believes it would be "risky" to ease travel restrictions in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Australia has recorded 6,649 Covid-19 cases, including 74 deaths.
Nepal on Thursday reported two fresh cases of Covid-19 taking the nation's total count to 47.