Pune: A boy wearing mask looks at the rain through a window
As the Centre extended the nationwide lockdown, for two weeks, starting May 4, the number of cases in India on Saturday crossed the 37,000 mark, taking the tally to 37,336. The toll stood at 1218 with 71 more deaths recorded in last 24-hours. The lockdown, which was initially planned for 21 days starting March 25, has now been extended for the third time.
The Union Home Ministry also issued a set of divided districts in the country into ‘red’, ‘orange’ and ‘green’ zones as per the doubling rate and number of cases. At least 130 districts are in the red zone, 284 in orange and 319 in green. Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad are in the red zone. The government said it could be possible to relax restrictions in red and orange zones. (Here is the full list)
While Maharashtra remains the worst- affected states with over 11,000 deaths and 485 deaths, Kerala, for the first time in over one month, reported zero new cases of Coronavirus on Friday. Kerala, which was the first state in India to have Coronavirus patients, has seen the slowest rise in numbers in the last month among states with large caseloads. Right now it has 497 confirmed cases, and just three deaths. (
On the global front, the coronavirus has claimed at least over 235,000 lives and infected over 3.3 million people, according to a tally by John Hopkins University. The United States continues to be the worst-hit, with over 10,00,000 cases and over 64,000 deaths.
Migrants in Nashik being taken back to their native places in buses. (Express Photo: Prashant Nadkar)
Panchkula's market at Sector 7 under lockdown. (Express photo)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday applauded the decison of the CDS and Armed forces to thank Corona Warriors, who are working relentlessly to keep our nation safe against the menace of COVID-19.
Respiratory dropplets from a cough can travel upto 12 feet within 2 minutes, however it becomes less dense as far as they travel. Watch this video.
While the focus remains on four states with the highest caseload in the country, new IIT Bombay research in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) finds that Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have the most districts with high epidemiological risk. This risk value takes into account social vulnerability as well as case load. The risk mapping highlights zones that may require extra attention because of livelihood weaknesses, even if caseload is not as daunting. Twelve districts in Rajasthan and 14 in Uttar Pradesh have less than 100 cases as of April 22, but are in the top 100 districts with the highest epidemiological risk. Read full report
A day after Centre announced lockdown extenstion, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said India is doing much better than other coutries and that following social distancing norms, 'do gaz ki doori' will be the new normal till the time a vaccine is not developed for COVID19.
" I think the worst is over. But till the time the disease is not completely contained, we should continue to follow all precautions and guidelines," he added.
As neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural links, India and Thailand will work together to deal with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
After its first train from Aluva to Odisha on Friday, Kerala will send two more trains to Hatia and Jharkhand today.
The first batch of 1,140 migrant workers from Odisha, who were living and working in Ernakulam district of Kerala, boarded a special train arranged by the Railways to take them home. The non-stop train destined for Bhubaneswar left from Aluva railway station at 10 pm on Friday. Railways is expected to arrange all medical facilities on the train. “We have sent all the details of the travellers to the Odisha government. They can take a decision on quarantining measures,” said the ministry.
From large hospital chains to smaller nursing homes, the lockdown and the Covid pandemic have re-shaped operations: revenues have dipped by 70-80 per cent, operating costs have jumped with hospitals required to provide staffers financial incentives, personal protective equipment (PPE), transport service, and even accommodation. Operating a Covid facility is much more expensive, said Abhay Soi, Chairman, Max Healthcare, and CMD, Radiant Life Care. “It is thrice that at a regular hospital due to the cost of protective gear and tests we perform to ensure our healthcare workers are not infected. We also have to exercise caution in operating other facilities (25 per cent costlier now) so that patients with other critical conditions, and doctors and nurses treating them, do not get infected,” he said. Read more
The 130 districts in the red zone form 17 per cent of the total districts in the country, but account for about 33 per cent of the population (2011 Census). The 284 districts in the orange zone — 39 per cent of the total districts — account for about 43 per cent of the population. And the 319 districts in the green zone form 44 per cent of the total districts, but account for only about a quarter of the population. Read more
Maharashtra added 1008 new cases, the first time that any state has crossed the 1000-figure mark in a day. Maharashtra now has 11506 confirmed cases out of which 1879 have recovered from the disease. Tamil Nadu showed a big surge, adding 203 cases on Friday to take its tally to 2526. Gujarat numbers jumped by 326 while Delhi showed a rise of 223.
With vehicles off the city roads and most industries shut for over a month due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the air quality in Mumbai has improved significantly .
A study, ‘Impact of Lockdown (March 25 to April 19) on Air Quality’, undertaken by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows a sharp decrease of 77 per cent in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels and 59 per cent drop in average benzene (a hydrocarbon, C6H6) level during the lockdown period as compared to the weeks preceding it. In Mumbai, the Chembur-Trombay and Deonar areas, which have power plants, several petroleum refineries and a fertiliser factory, are considered hotspot for high NO2 levels. Lowest 24-hour average of NO2 levels during the lockdown period was 5 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter air).
12 new positive cases of #COVID19 and 3 deaths have been reported today in Rajasthan taking the total number of cases to 2678 and 65 deaths. 1116 people have recovered while 714 have been discharged till date: Rajasthan Health Department.
Gilead Science Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir was granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 on Friday, clearing the way for broader use of the drug in more hospitals around the United States. During a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump, Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day called the move an important first step and said the company was donating 1.5 million vials of the drug to help patients.
The donation is expected to be enough for at least 140,000 patients, depending on the number of days they need to be treated. Read more
With a new cluster of cases being reporting from Chennai linking to the Koyambedu vegetable market, the City Corporation has now identified four more high-risk zones. The Tamil Nadu government has stepped up restrictions in the market operations, banned all retail vendors from the market area to allow wholesale dealers alone. Of the 203 new cases reported on Friday, 176 were from Chennai, eight from Chengalpet and six from Tiruvallur, neighbouring districts of Chennai. As the city currently has 906 active Covid-19 cases and “98 per cent of these cases were asymptomatic” according to the Commissioner Prakash, the government was busy devising new strategies on Friday to contain the situation in city’s highly populated zones even as the situation across the state seemed under control. Read more
US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated that imposing an additional tariff on China for allegedly mishandling the coronavirus outbreak is “certainly an option”. Trump was responding to a question about his remarks a day earlier in which he had indicated at imposing tariff on China as a punishment for the spread of coronavirus. “It’s certainly an option. It’s certainly an option,” Trump said but did not give a timeline for this.
The total number of cases in India crossed 37, 000 mark, taking the tally to 37,336. The toll stood at 1218 with 71 more deaths recorded in 24-hours. While the number of active cases stand at 26,167, the Ministry of Health and Framily Welfare updated that 9,950 people have been cured.
The implementation of the latest MHA guidelines will allow resumption of certain activities in Delhi, including opening private offices, delivery of public services such as issuance of birth, caste, income certificates, among others. However, with all 11 districts of Delhi classified as red zones, public transport, including buses, Metro, cabs, autos and e-rickshaws will be under complete lockdown at least until May 17. Every district in Delhi has containment zones, with most having active cases. So far, four zones have been de-sealed, including three in East Delhi, while 97 remain sealed. At 20, the maximum number of containment zones are in the Southeast district. The Northwest, with three, has the least.
The National capital reported 223 coronavirus cases onFriday, taking thetally to 3,738.The toll stoodat61, including two deaths being reported Friday.
The virus has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide, including over 64,000 in the US and more than 20,000 each in Italy, Britain, France and Spain, forcing lockdowns that have shuttered factories and businesses, thrown tens of millions out of work and throttled the world's economies. With the crisis stabilizing in Europe and in many places in the U.S., countries and states are gradually easing their restrictions amid warnings from health experts that a second wave of infections could hit unless testing for the virus is expanded dramatically.
As India braces for lockdon phase 3, starting May 4, Centre allowed elaxations in green and orange zones like opening of markets (barring malls) and offices; operation of factories and industries; movement of public (with some restrictions); services of domestic helps, barber shops and all other self-employed people; e-commerce delivery of non-essential items. In red zones, barring containment areas, private offices can function with 33% strength, and standalone liquor shops will be allowed to open.
The Union Home Ministry also issued a set of divided districts in the country into ‘red’, ‘orange’ and ‘green’ zones as per the doubling rate and number of cases. At least 130 districts are in the red zone, 284 in orange and 319 in green. Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad are in the red zone. The government said it could be possible to relax restrictions in red and orange zones. (Here is the full list)
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