Coronavirus India LIVE Updates: The recovery rate is now at 23.3 per cent, with 7,027 people recovered so far.
Coronavirus India LIVE Updates: The number of COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh’s worst-hit Indore saw a sharp increase on Wednesday as they mounted to 1,466, with 94 new cases being reported in last 24-hours. This comes despite the curfew being in place in urban areas of the district for more than a month now.
The death toll due to the coronavirus pandemic crossed 1,000-mark on Wednesday to reach 1,007 while the total number of positive cases soared to 31,332 including the 7,695 people who have been treated and discharged so far. As many as 73 deaths and 1,897 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra, which continues to be worst-hit by COVID-19, has reported 11,106 infections and 400 deaths so far.
In less than 15 days, the number of hotspot districts (red zones) has shrunk to 129 from the 177 that were identified on April 15, after three weeks of implementing the curbs. The number of orange zone districts has risen from 207 on April 15 to 250 now, sources in the Health Ministry said. Coronavirus has spread to more districts over the past few weeks but clusters of larger and faster transmission have emerged in the major urban centers of Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, and Ahmedabad.
On the global front, the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has so far claimed at least 2,16,989 lives and infected at least 31,14,659 people worldwide since its outbreak, according to a tally by John Hopkins University. The United States continued to be the worst-affected, with over 10,03,625 cases and over 57,000 deaths. President Donald Trump has projected that coronavirus deaths in the United States could reach 70,000, but said original projections were much higher as he explained why voters should consider re-electing him in November. He also doubled down on China for failing to tame the coronavirus at its very origin, saying it has led to 184 countries “going through hell”.
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the BRICS had an important role to play in shaping global economic and political architecture.
India has so far lost more than 1,000 lives to Covid-19. (File photo)
The board exams for class 10 and 12 pending due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will be conducted at the first possibility and there is no move to do away with the remaining exams, CBSE officials said on Wednesday.
The board is prepared to conduct the exams for class 10 and 12 for crucial 29 subjects, while the HRD Ministry has directed states to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and facilitate the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in evaluation of answer sheets.
"Recently, there has been a lot of speculation regarding CBSE Board exams. The board's decision to take exams for 29 subjects of class 10 and 12, stands the same. There is no change in position of conducting board exams. Therefore, exams will be conducted," Sanyam Bhardwaj, CBSE's Controller of Examinations said.
The clarification by the CBSE officials came amid uncertainty over when the exams will be conducted leading to speculations that the exams will be done away with in a one-time arrangement. (PTI)
A string of new infections in double digits in districts that had been declared Covid-19-free has heightened worries among health officials in Kerala at a time when the state has been leading from the front in combating the pandemic.
Between April 12 and April 20, the state recorded only 34 new cases of coronavirus in a sign that the curve of new infections was beginning to stabilise. In those days, the number of patients who recovered from the infection each day remained consistently higher than new cases. But between April 21 and April 27, the state saw 74 new cases added to its tally, taking by surprise doctors and health officials in war-rooms who had been keeping a watch on the situation.
In fact, Kottayam district in central Kerala, which had the last of its coronavirus patients getting discharged in the first week of April, accounted for 17 of those new cases. The neighbouring hilly district of Idukki, which was also Covid-free by the second week of April, reported 14 cases. Both districts, plotted under ‘green zone’ had been enjoying the fruits of lockdown relaxations when they were swept by new cases of infection. Read more
In a video message, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said the lockdown in the state will be lifted from 7 am to 11 am every day. During this time people can come out of their houses and shops will be opening. He also said the state government has decided to extend the curfew by two more weeks.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on Wednesday said its employees have pledged Rs 9.85 crore towards the PM-CARES Fund to help the government fight COVID-19 pandemic.
The development finance institution's 3,554 employees have contributed the amount from their salary, a statement said.
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) was set up on March 28 to raise money for combating the coronavirus outbreak and to provide relief to the affected. (PTI)
A large number of new COVID-19 cases are coming to the fore in Madhya Pradesh's worst-hit Indore despite the curfew being in place in urban areas of the district for more than a month now.
Though the steady rise in cases has raised questions over enforcement of preventive measures as well as the very nature of the viral spread, a government data also suggested a drop in the COVID-19 mortality rate in the district over the last 20 days.
With 94 new coronavirus positive cases in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Indore district has mounted to 1,466, officials said on Wednesday.
Chunk of these cases have been reported from urban areas of the district, where the curfew was clamped on March 25 after detection of the first coronavirus positive case. (PTI)
NEET exams for admission to graduate and PG medical and dental courses do not violate rights of minorities under the Constitution to administer unaided/aided institutions, rules Supreme Court.
“Regulatory measures by prescribing NEET is to bring the education within the realm of charity which character it has lost. It intends to weed out evils from the system and various malpractices which decayed the system” & don’t interfere with Article 30 rights," the apex court said.
The National Sports Club of India in Worli, Mumbai, which has now been turned into an isolation centre, was one of the largest event venues in the country with a seating capacity of 8,000-10,000 people spread over 38,000 sq ft. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Equipped with filters to keep out fine particles and purify the air, the venue currently has a 500-bed capacity to quarantine asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Till Monday, there were 260 patients in the facility, which jointly run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon, Dr Mufti Lakdawala, founder of Digestive Health Institute in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
The place is equipped with 'contactless' sample collection facility and diagnostic 'self-clinic' (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
A 55-year-old railway employee, who was under quarantine at a medical college here, allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday, police said. The employee was under quarantine at F H Medical College and Hospital, Tundla. His body was found hanging in the medical college, Gyanendra Kumar, SHO, Tundla said. The victim, a resident of Railway Colony Tundla, was sent into quarantine on April 20 after his senior tested positive for coronavirus, the officer said.
African leaders are asking what China can do for them as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to destroy economies and wipe out some 20 million jobs across a continent where Beijing is both the top trading partner and top lender. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have announced immediate relief measures, including freeing up billions in debt payments and expectations for help from China are high across resource-rich Africa, but Beijing has remained silent. Click to read more
Microsoft launched its Bing COVID-19 tracker last month to help users keep a check on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company has now released some new features to help citizens of India stay up-to-date with information related to coronavirus pandemic. Some of the new features Bing has added to its tracker include the integration of the self-assessment created Apollo Hospitals and a hub for telemedicine support from reputed healthcare firms. READ MORE
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday urged the government to announce a scheme to protect the salaries and wages of 12 crore people as employers are facing financial crunch in the wake of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. He also called upon the government to announce a financial package for the MSME sector, as proposed by his party, and provide financial assistance to states to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. The former finance minister asked the government to prepare an exit strategy in view of the lockdown and look into the issue of migrants stranded in different place due to it.
A new data released by the UN Population Fund and partners reveal that the current lockdown measures as well as disruptions of health services as a fallout of the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to prevent around 47 million women in low and middle income countries to use the modern contraceptives, leading to 7 million unintended pregnancies.
As part of its lockdown exit strategy Luxembourg plans to test the whole of its population for COVID19. The Luxembourg government says tests will be conducted on a voluntary basis and aim at avoiding a second wave of infections As of Tuesday 3741 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in the tiny country of 6,00,000 inhabitants including 89 deaths.
Russian President Vladimir Putin extended the coronavirus lockdown measures for another two weeks while planning for a gradual lifting of curbs, beginning mid-May. The measure that was to expire Thursday is now extended till 11 May. Putin, while reiterating the stabilising of coronavirus cases in Russia, told Russians to still expect the worst of the outbreak.
China has decided to hold the annual meeting of its ceremonial parliament late next month after postponing it for weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday that the National People’s Congress that comprises 3000 members would open in Beijing on 22 May. The convening of the full session was decided by its standing committee and reflects the growing confidence of overcoming the coronavirus in China.
The 58,355 Covid-19 deaths in US exceeded the number of American soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam War that lasted for two decades. The US accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally and one-fourth of the over 213,000 global fatalities.
COVID-19 is a mega-pandemic, if ever there was one. No other outbreak, even if it was called a pandemic by the World Health Organization, affected people in as many countries as this one has. Nothing in my lifetime (and I am 55 now) has ever caused the world to shut down. Every country that has tried to follow a different path, calibrated or otherwise, has discovered that a shutdown is inevitable. The impact was so swift and widespread that we were forced to learn new lessons and rediscover the value of some old ones much to our chagrin. Here are 11 lessons that we re-discovered or learnt. The list is by no means exhaustive but provides food for thought.
The government has mandated all Central government officers and staff to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones "immediately". Staff have been advised to leave for office only when the app shows 'safe' or 'low risk' status.
As more countries mull lifting Covid-19 lockdowns, airlines are examining how social distancing can be factored in while flying. Most airlines are trying to come up with measures that can instill confidence among the travellers. From airport practices to cabin layouts, things may look very different once we start traveling again. Here’s what some airlines in the United States are up to
A 25-year-old youth who tested negative for coronavirus was recalled by Jalandhar Civil Hospital authorities within hours after he was discharged. The Lava Bazaar area resident said he got a call on Tuesday saying his test report had come back positive after he went home and met his family and friends.
Talking to The Indian Express, the patient said: “Doctors told me that your report had come negative and you can go home. I was discharged at 2:00 pm. I returned home and met all my family members and few relatives. Then at 11:30 pm Dr. Kashmiri Lal, Senior Medical Officer (SMO), of Civil hospital called me and told to return to hospital. They told me that my report was positive.”