Migrants along with their families wait outside a government school to get screened before boarding buses for their native places in east Delhi, Wednesday.
Coronavirus India Live Updates: The Health Ministry Wednesday said the Covid-19 recovery rate in India has improved to 39.62 per cent, adding that at least 42,298 people have recovered from the virus. “Globally, 62 people per lakh have been affected with Covid-19. Whereas in India, only 7.9 people per lakh population have been affected by the coronavirus,” Health Secretary Luv Agarwal said.
With 5,611 cases in the last 24 hours, India’s tally of coronavirus infections Wednesday rose to 1,06,750. At least 3,303 people have died due to the disease. While Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 37,136 cases and 1,325 deaths, Odisha is emerging as a point of concern with 978 cases and five deaths. Already fighting a surge in Covid-19 cases after the return of migrants, the Odisha government now faces the unique challenge of bracing for cyclone Amphan while keeping social distancing in mind.
Meanwhile, Kerala has added 139 Covid-19 cases in the last 10 days but the government has ruled out community spread of the virus based on random testing done on 5,630 samples, of which only four tested positive. In Delhi, the heath department has red-flagged the fact that even though coronavirus cases are rising in the city (10,054), the number of containment zones is going down. Gujarat, with the second highest number of cases and deaths at 11,745 and 694 respectively, has the most number of people living in containment zones, 31 lakh, across the state.
As the global toll of the coronavirus crosses 3,20,000, a resolution to probe the origin of the virus and to evaluate the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) was passed by an overwhelming support of around 130 countries, including India, at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Over 4.8 million people are infected with the virus worldwide, with the most number of fatalities in the United States (91,187), followed by the United Kingdom (35,422) and Italy (32,169).
Relaxation during the Lockdown 4.0. Salesmen at a showroom in Ludhiana on Tuesday.
Migrant workers wait at Kharadi for the special bus to their hometown in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
A man wearing a protective face mask walks in Rome, Italy, (Reuters photo)
The Centre on Wednesday said flight services would begin from Monday, laying the ground for gradual resumption of scheduled commercial flight operations that have been shut since March 25.
“Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday May 25, 2020. All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI,” Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted.
Till 12.30 pm, over 25 lakh tests done; yesterday for the second time we crossed one lakh tests: Dr R R Gangakhedkar, ICMR
Health Secretary Luv Agarwal says the Covid-19 recovery rate has improved to 39.62 per cent. "4.2 people per lakh population across the world have died due to Covid-19. In India it is 0.2 deaths per lakh population," he said.
Health Secretary Luv Agarwal: Globally, 62 people per lakh have been affected with Covid-19. Whereas in India, only 7.9 people per lakh population have been affected by the coronavirus.
He also said it is satisfactory to note that 42,298 people have recovered and the number of active cases are 61,149.
US President Donald Trump has said it is a "badge of honour" for America to "lead" the world with 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases since it means the US is testing more people for the disease that has killed over 300,000 people across the world.
The US has 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 91,000 deaths, both the world's highest.
"I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better," he said on Tuesday at the White House as he hosted his first Cabinet meeting since the COVID-19 outbreak began.
"By the way," he told reporters, "you know when you say that we lead in cases, that's because we have more testing than anybody else."
"So when we have a lot of cases," he continued, "I don't look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better."
He added: "So I view it as a badge of honour. Really, it's a badge of honour. (PTI)
Government allows states to hold board exams for Class 10 and 12. However, the centres can't be in containment zones. Use of masks and sanitisers mandatory. States to arrange transport.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on migrants: "We'll have to understand our responsibilities. They (migrant labourers walking to return to their native states)aren't just Indians but India's spinal cord. The country runs on their blood and sweat. It's everyone's responsibility. It's not the time for politics.
Public bus services resumed in Punjab on Wednesday almost two months after their suspension in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Buses of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) plied on select routes in non-containment zones within the state, officials said. The state government has said inter-state bus services will not resume till May 31.
Before the start of operations, all buses were sanitised. Passengers had to undergo temperature screening at bus stands before being allowed to board buses, officials said.
Social distancing norms were followed and it was ensured that passengers wore masks and their hands sanitised, they said. (PTI)
Around 1,600 migrant workers boarded train to Patna from Vadodara railway station on Wednesday. (Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)
Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Wednesday said the health department had increased the bed capacity at its designated COVID-19 hospital from 60 to 170 in view of the rise in cases of novel coronavirus. Goa has witnessed a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases, with 41 people testing positive in the state till Wednesday morning.
The bed capacity of ESI Hospital was increased from 60 to 170, with a back-up of another 30 beds, the minister said.
"I would like to congratulate Dr Ira Almeida, medical superintendent of Hospicio Hospital, director of Health Services Dr Jose D'Sa, dean of Goa Medical College Dr Shivanand Bandekar and secretary health Nila Mohanan for increasing the bed capacity overnight," he said in a statement. (PTI)
Noida-Delhi borders will remain sealed, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration said Wednesday as it released guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown.
According to officials, a clarification regarding movement between Delhi and Noida has been sought from the state government and the rules will be in place till directions are received.
As per the guidelines, a Noida resident can have two persons besides the driver in a private vehicle. In a three-wheeler public transport, only two persons besides the driver to be allowed as per the order. Read the full guidelines here
Violence broke out at Delhi’s Salahpur Majra village on the Delhi-Gurgaon border Wednesday morning, when workers from Delhi looking to reach industries and factories in Gurgaon were stopped at the border by Gurgaon Police due to restrictions on inter-state movement. According to police, the incident occurred around 9 am.
“There was a large crowd of people who had gathered at the border because they wanted to cross into Gurgaon the reach their workplaces. However, they could not be allowed to enter because of the border sealing and the additional restrictions, since they did not have the required passes. An argument broke out over this, with the workers eventually getting violent,” said Subhash Boken, PRO of Gurgaon Police.
“There was some amount of stone pelting that took place, but none of the police personnel sustained any serious injuries. Further action will be taken as per the law,” he said.
New Delhi has recorded the highest single-day spike in Covid cases today with 534 fresh infections in the last 24 hours. At least 10 more people have died from the disease, taking the toll to 176.
In phase 3 of Operation Samudra Setu, the Indian Navy will begin bringing home Indian nationals from Sri Lanka. INS Jalashwa will make its first voyage to Colombo and return on June 1, 2020.
In our special series on Covid-19 fighters, Tora Agarwala writes on how an Assam lawyer became the source of reprieve for thousands of stranded migrants during the lockdown. Aatifur Hussain, 27, has provided thousands of people with basic rations, so many that he has lost count. On his phone, contacts are saved as ‘Kerala’, ‘Noida’, ‘Mhr’ (Maharashtra) — “I don’t even remember their actual names now,” he says.
Around 500 personnel from the Kolkata Police Combat Force staged a protest in Kolkata on Tuesday against deployment in Covid-19 containment zones, as the chances of contracting the disease were high. According to a report in PTI, the protesters vandalised the vehicle of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Combat Battalion, Col Nevendera Singh Paul after he tried to converse with them.
“We are being sent on duty in high-risk areas. There are several policemen who have been infected with the virus. This cannot go on,” a police officer of the Combat Force told PTI.
The 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) took place virtually from May 18-19. During the session, countries, including India, accepted a resolution asking for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to the pandemic as well as the identification of the “zoonotic” source of the coronavirus. Why is this resolution important? Click here to read
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has advised healthcare professionals to adopt a non-invasive autopsy technique which handling dead bodies, as the coronavirus can survive in a body for a certain period of time. The virus's survival gradually decreases with time, but the specific duration is yet to be ascertained. ICMR on Tuesday released its 'Standard guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in COVID-19 deaths in India 2020'.
Here are some Covid-19 updates from across the country:
The Biplab Deb-led Tripura government has claimed it has the highest recovery rate of coronavirus in the country as 116 out of the 173 Covid-19 patients in the state have been treated and discharged from isolation. Four new positive cases were identified in Tripura today, taking the total number of infections to 173. Tripura Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said while the national average for recovery rate is currently 39 per cent, Tripura stands at 68.83 per cent.