The Covid-19 tally in India inched towards the 82,000 mark on Friday. (Express photo/Pradip Das)
Coronavirus (Covid-19) India Live Updates: The Assam government on Friday urged the Centre to extend the lockdown for another 14 days after May 17 to contain the spread of coronavirus which has infected nearly 82,000 across the country so far. The state governments were scheduled to share their draft proposals on post May-17 strategies with the Centre today.
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, refused to entertain a public interest litigation seeking the top court’s intervention in the movement of migrants across states. Stating that it is not possible for it to keep an eye on labourers on the road, the court left it upon the states to take the final call.
With nearly 4,000 fresh cases, the total number stood at 81,970 at 8 am, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The World Bank today also approved a special economic package worth $1 million to support India’s fight against the pandemic. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also scheduled to address the media at 4 pm.
Of the total, there are 51,401 active cases while 27,919 cases have been discharged or cured. The death toll also rose from 2,549 to 2,649 while one person has migrated. Globally, over 4.4 million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, while the number of deaths have crossed 3 lakh. The World Health Organisation has warned that the new coronavirus may never go away.
Without a vaccine,it could take years for the population to build up sufficient levels of immunity to it.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
A manufacturing technician assembles kits for COVID-19 virus testing at a Mesa Biotech Inc. facility in San Diego, California, (Bing Guan/Bloomberg)
Nirmala Sitharaman lists out what has been done last two months for fisheries.
Nirmala Sitharaman lists out what has been done last two months for animal husbandry.
FM lists out what has been done last two months for agricultural sector
Nirmala Sitharaman: During Covid-19 lockdown, the demand for milk reduced by 20-25%. A new scheme to provide interest subvention at 2% per annum to dairy cooperatives for 2020-21. The scheme will unlock Rs 5000 crore additional liquidity, benefit to 2 crore farmers
Nirmala Sitharaman: I will be announcing 11 reforms today -- eight related to strengthening infra, logistics, storage; three on governance administration and reforms. During lockdown period Minimum Support Price purchases of amount more than Rs 74,300 crore; PM Kisan fund transfer of Rs 18700 crore
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her press briefing said today's announcements will focus on agriculture and allied activities
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has appealed to all the states and Union Territories to ban sale of smokeless tobacco products and spitting in public in line with the orders of the Rajasthan and Jharkhand governments to prevent the spread of coronavirus, PTI reported. In a letter to all state health ministers, Vardhan said smokeless tobacco users have a habit to spit in public places and therefore, increase health risks especially those of spreading contagious diseases like COVID-19, tuberculosis, swine flu, encephalitis and others. "Use of smokeless tobacco also creates an unhygienic environment which further spreads the diseases. Large gathering at the retail outlets where smokeless tobacco products are sold, also pose the risk of spread of COVID-19," he said.
425 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Delhi in the last 24 hours. Total number of cases have reached 8,895 and 123 deaths have been reported so far. (File image)
The Supreme Court Friday asked the government not to take any coercive action till next week against the companies and employers who are unable to pay full wages to their employees during the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported PTI. There may be small companies which are not earning and are hence unable to pay, the top court observed. A bench of Justices L N Rao, S K Kaul and B R Gavai, hearing multiple petitions on the issue through the video conferencing, observed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) circular of March 29, directing companies to make payment of full wages to workers, was an omnibus order and there was a larger question involved which needs to be answered.
A community quarantine centre in Imphal East district in Manipur was sealed after a man there tested positive for COVID-19, an official told PTI on Friday. Imphal East Deputy Commissioner Rangitabali Waikhom said the Jamia Galina Aziz Girls School which was a designated quarantine centre was declared a "containment zone" and the building "completely sealed" as per the Manipur Epidemic Diseases COVID-19 Regulations 2020. The order issued by the deputy commissioner said "the said building is completely sealed and any person/institution/organisation found violating any of the containment shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code."
According to Karnataka Health Department, all the 90 Covid-19 patients who were undergoing treatment in Mysuru District Hospital have been discharged after being cured.
Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar has said there is no trace of COVID-19 community transmission in Karnataka. “25% of cases trace back to domestic & international travel history and 7% cases have comorbidities. Average daily growth in state is 5.4% while its 11.8% for the country.“
Speaking on the 'Shramik Special' trains, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said, “It pains me that several states such as West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are not giving enough permission for ‘shramik special’ trains to enter their states.” Watch here:
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has appealed to all states and Union Territories to ban sale of tobacco products and spitting in public places in line with the orders of the Rajasthan and Jharkhand governments to prevent the spread of Covid-19. In a letter to all state health ministers, Vardhan said smokeless tobacco users have a tendency to spit in public places or otherwise and therefore, increase health risks especially those of spreading contagious diseases like COVID-19, tuberculosis, swine flu, encephalitis and others. "Use of smokeless tobacco also creates an unhygienic environment which further spreads the diseases. Large gathering at the retail outlets where smokeless tobacco products are sold, also pose the risk of spread of COVID-19," he said.
The Supreme Court today also stayed the Madras High Court order which had asked the Tamil Nadu government to close state-run liquor vends. Following the stay on the high court order by the apex court, the state-owned liquor shops may reopen in the state. A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, S K Kaul and B R Gavai stayed the May 8 order of the High Court after taking note of the appeal of government firm Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) which sells alcoholic beverages in the state.
The total number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka breached 1,000 mark, with 45 people testing positive, the state health department said on Friday. Total number of positive cases in the state stood at 1,032. With 35 deaths and 476 discharges, there were 520 active coronavirus cases, the department said in its mid-day situation update. The new cases include- 16 from Dakshina Kannada, 13 from Bengaluru Urban, five from Udapi, three each from Bidar and Hassan, two from Chitradurga, and one each from Kolar, Shivamogga and Bagalkote districts. Twenty of them are with travel history to Dubai, four to Mumbai and three returned from Chennai. One patient has a history of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and another was from containment zone in Bidar.
The Maharashtra government has set up two committees at state and district level for better coordinationbetween public and private hospitals in tackling the spread of Covid-19. The decision to constitute the coordination panels was taken on Thursday after a meeting between representatives of the Indian Medical Association (and Maharashtra Chief secretary Ajoy Mehta, according to the government. A Government Resolution (GR) issued on May 14 said the committees will ensure all government decisions regarding steps being taken to control the pandemic and medical protocols are made available to all concerned. The panels will see that PPE kits, gloves and masks are made available to medical workers in private hospitals. The committees will also work out steps to be taken to ensure medical workers have social security and are treated with respect and dignity, the GR said.
Faridabad recorded it’s fifth Covid-19 death on Thursday after a 17-year-old girl succumbed to the infection. "The patient had tested positive two days ago. However, she was also suffering from two other ailments. She had been undergoing treatment for Tuberculosis for the last three months and also had blood cancer. She passed away at the ESIC Hospital on Thursday,” said Deputy Commissioner Yashpal Yadav. The district has so far recorded 137 cases of Covid-19.
The Assam government has recommended an extension of the lockdown by two weeks to the Centre, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.