Sanitization process underway in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)
Coronavirus India LIVE Updates: With over 3,500 fresh cases since Wednesday evening, the coronavirus tally in India breached the 50,000 mark to stand at 52,952 on Thursday. The jump in cases came even as the Centre and state governments continued to chalk out lockdown exit strategies for post May 17. As many as 64 flights have been deployed until May 13 as well as as three Navy ships to bring home nearly 15,000 Indians stranded overseas from Thursday. The first of the 64 flights will carry 209 passengers from Abu Dhabi to Cochin International Airport today, while another flight will bring citizens from Dubai to Calicut airport and one from Singapore to the Delhi International airport.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi all those in the frontline of the Covid-19 war, saying their selfless work for others during the pandemic is worthy of praise. He said India is standing firmly with those facing difficult times, both in the country and abroad. “India is standing strong and selflessly in these difficult times with those facing trouble in India or abroad. India’s growth will always be aiding global growth,” he said.
The total number of active coronavirus cases in the country stood at 35,902 while 15,266 have been cured or discharged so far. As many as 1,783 deaths have been recorded, the Ministry of Health announced, adding that one person has migrated. Globally, as many as 37,55,341 Covid-19 cases have been registered worldwide, according to data released by John Hopkins University. Over 2,60,487 people have died from the novel coronavirus worldwide, with most fatalities in the United States (72,233) followed by United Kingdom (30,150) and Italy (29,684).
Foreign nationals flown out from Pune airport in a special flight (File Photo)
A child wearing a protective face mask plays with bubbles next to a masked woman as they walk along a pavement in Beijing (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The Delhi government is discussing the possibility of home delivery of alcohol amid the lockdown, something that Chhattisgarh and Punjab have already announced. Senior government officials, however, said there were major challenges to the plan, especially in a city as densely populated as Delhi. “Discussions are underway, though at a preliminary stage. The biggest issue that needs to be resolved, if we go forward with this, is that of back-end operations. In a city like Delhi, demand is going to be high. We have to see if we have the capacity to fulfil that demand…,” said an official. The Delhi government had said government-owned liquor stores could open from Monday provided they are not located in malls or market complexes, and social distancing norms are followed, as per orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Alarming doubling rate, confirmation percentage “way above” the national average and high fatality rate — three districts in the national capital have come under the lens of the Union government for a set of worrying factors, as per official documents. The Indian Express has learnt that Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev sought a report on the “underperformance” of these three districts — Central, Southeast and North — after the Union Health Ministry raised the matter in a meeting chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary on May 3. There are 11 districts in Delhi.
A 58-year-old assistant sub-inspector of police has died of coronavirus in Maharashtras Solapur district, an official said on Thursday. With this, five police personnel from the state have so far succumbed to the viral infection. The assistant sub-inspector, posted at Solapur MIDC police station, was admitted to the civil hospital there on Tuesday after he tested positive for coronavirus. He died while undergoing treatment at the hospital on Wednesday, the official said. The victim, who was set to retire after four months, was on duty till last week, he said.
With fresh Covid-19 cases reported in India, here's what the latest figures look like. (Source: PIB)
Seven non-scheduled special flights will operate from Saturday to fly back Indian nationals stranded in the US amidst the international travel lockdown, the Indian embassy in Washington said. A computerised draw of lots would identify the names of the Indian nationals for the special seven flights back home, due to the limited number of seats available. "Since the number of seats on the flights would be limited, passengers with the compelling cases such as those facing medical emergencies or requiring return due to bereavement in the family, students, pregnant women, elderly or those facing expiry of visas will be given priority, and identified through an electronic random selection method," the embassy said.
The number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus infection crossed the 50,000 figure mark on Wednesday, as India added close to 3,500 new cases in a day. Of these, the city of Mumbai alone has contributed over 10,000 cases. While it took India nearly a month and a half to discover the first 10,000 cases, the journey from 40,000 to 50,000 cases has taken just four days. Globally, now there are only 13 countries with more infections than India. One of them, Peru has about 55,000 cases, which India is likely to surpass today itself.
Of the 548 deaths recorded in Maharashtra as of May 3, 239 (44 per cent) are from the minority Muslim community — almost thrice their share (just under 12 per cent) in the state’s population. This has prompted the state epidemiology department to plan issuing Covid awareness messages in Urdu in select hotspots and roping in local religious leaders for outreach. An analysis of official records by The Indian Express shows that between March 17, when the first death was reported in the state, and April 15, 89 of the 187 deaths were from the Muslim community. Between April 15 to May 3, of the 361 additional deaths, 150 were from the community. State officials and experts point to several reasons behind this: curbs on travellers from the Gulf came as late as mid-March; Friday prayers in many mosques continued until March 20; a significant share of the community lives in neighbourhoods where social distancing is difficult, population density is high, and access to healthcare poor.
The Uttar Pradesh Public Health and Epidemic Disease Control Ordinance, 2020, cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday, prescribes a maximum punishment of life term if “death be caused by intentional (Covid-19) affliction”. Section 24 of the ordinance on “punishment for intentional affliction” says any person who “intentionally” infects another person with a contagious disease shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for 2-5 years. Section 25 defines “mass affliction” as infecting five or more persons. Section 26 states that “whoever causes death by affliction under Sections 24 and 25, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but may extend to imprisonment for life”, and shall also be liable to pay a fine ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. When contacted, Chief Secretary R K Tiwari said the meaning of “intentionally here is the same as defined in legal terms”.
Another coronavirus death was registered in Kashmir after a patient at SMHS hospital (Srinagar) passed away on Wednesday night. Nine Covid-19 deaths have been registered in the Union Territori (8 Kashmir, one Udhampur) so far while 775 people have been infected.
The first Shramik Special from Bihar to Telangana, Khagaria- Lingampalli (Telangana), started off with several migrants workers this morning.
The first special train from Delhi carrying around 1,200 migrant workers who were stranded in the national capital due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, will leave for Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, officials said. "About 1,200 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh staying in shelter homes in Delhi will leave for their native state," an official said. The Delhi government is also in talks with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to run special trains for migrant workers from the two states who wish to return, the official added.
During his virtual address on the occasion of Buddha Purnima this morning, PM Modi also said, "I extend my wishes to all on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. Today, the situation is such that I cannot participate in Buddha Purnima programs physically. It would have been my pleasure to be with you all in the celebrations,but the circumstances prevailing today do not permit us to do this. Buddha is the symbol of both realization and self-realization of India. With this self-realization, India is working in the interest of the humanity and the world, and will continue to do so."
India is witnessing a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases even as the government has relaxed rules in the third phase of the lockdown. With over 15,000 cases, Maharashtra is the worst affected state.
Public enclosed spaces like workplaces and restaurants can become super-spreading environments for Covid-19; however, schools are not prominent transmission centres; children are unlikely to be the source of any household infection. These common findings of 14 studies on transmission patterns across nine countries could provide some pointers as the Centre and state governments work on exit strategies ahead of May 17, when the third phase of the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end. The studies tracked index patients and the channels of contagion (home, public transport, workplaces, religious gatherings) in China, Iran, South Korea, Singapore, Iceland, France, Taiwan, Japan and the US.
With over 3,500 fresh cases, the Covid-19 tally in India crossed the 50,000 mark to stand at 52,952 on Thursday morning, according to the Health Ministry.
Continuing his virtual address, PM Modi said, "We will continue to serve everyone with perseverance and gain goodwill that will help us overcome the pandemic. I thank all who are working during these tough times. I salute you and I hope you are keeping yourself safe. I hope youre family is safe. I hope you keep serving humanity."
Participating in the virtual Vesak global celebrations on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said, "People who are always helping humanity are the true disciples of Buddha. India has helped and will be continue to serve all nations amid the coronavirus pandemic while folloowing our restrictions and keeping in mind our national interests. India will continue to help developments in the world using Buddha' teachings amid the corona crisis."
Forty-three days into the lockdown, Mumbai is reporting a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) positivity rate of about 15%, against a national average of 3%, sending alarm bells ringing. Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Wednesday reviewed the status of Maharashtra and Gujarat and asked states to focus on surveillance and contact tracing. The official position remains that there is no community transmission in the country. “The Mumbai situation is very worrying,” a source said. “Nationally, for about 12,76,781 tests, we have about 50,000 cases, which comes to a positivity rate of about 3%. Mumbai, on the other hand, has about 11,000 cases against about 73,000 tests done, which comes to a positivity rate of about 15%. This is way too high. There are also questions about where the samples are coming from and how effective the contact tracing is, given these numbers.”
As car dealerships across districts have started operations following the relaxation in norms by the government, car manufacturers have witnessed their first bookings and deliveries over the last 42 days at least. While Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has seen opening of at least 600 showrooms across the country, Hyundai Motors has seen opening of nearly 150 dealerships and close to 200 workshops. MSIL, on Wednesday, said it will restart production of vehicles at its Manesar plant from May 12. Shashank Srivastava, ED—marketing and sales, MSIL, told The Indian Express that while nearly 2,600 of Maruti’s dealer network of over 3,000 can be opened, “as of Tuesday, 600 dealerships have opened and we even witnessed fresh bookings for around 550 cars across our dealer network, through the online platform.”