Extra focus on hygeine, mandatory thermal screening, compulsory face masks — these are some of the instructions the Union Health Ministry has issued as a part of reopening India's economy, even as coronavirus infections continue to spike in the country.
As per latest update, India stands seventh among the nations worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic after the U.S., Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.
Here are the latest update:
Telangana has stopped screening domestic passengers
In Telangana, while international visitors at airport are being sent for mandatory institutional quarantine in the designated hotels, domestic passengers are being checked for temperatures with thermal screeners and allowed to go.
“Only those found symptomatic among the domestic arrivals or departures will be handed over to the health authorities concerned as per the government orders and till date there is no such case,” informed airport sources, when asked.
GPs, dentists resume practice, hike consultation fees
Your next trip to the dentist or even your neighbourhood general practitioner is likely to cost more. While they have been gradually opening their clinics and restarting practice for limited hours a day, many have increased consultation fees. Some stand-alone clinics in Benglauru have raised their rates by as much as 30%.
Medical professionals justify this saying they are not only more vulnerable to exposure to the coronavirus but have to invest in safety measures for their staff and patients. This includes buying face shields, gloves, masks and sanitisers. Dentists are investing in all of the above as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they are at a higher risk of contracting the virus given the nature of their job.
Life resumes on a cautious note in Mumbai
Under the ‘Mission Begin Again’, outdoor physical activities like cycling, jogging, and walking in open public spaces like beaches and playground are allowed in Mumbai from today. These activities can only be carried out between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., with no permission for group activity or the use of indoor facilities.
People exercise and walk along the Marine Drive after Maharashtra government announced that physical activity in open space will be allowed from May 5. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre
Maharashtra has allowed all markets, market areas and shops, except malls and market complexes, are allowed to function with the condition that shops on one side of a road or lane will open on odd dates and the other side on even dates. They can only operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chamarajanagar only district in Karnataka to remain COVID-19 free
Even three months after SARS-CoV-2 entered Karnataka, Chamarajanagar is the only district in Karnataka to have continued to remain COVID-19 free.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar, who is the district in charge Minister for Chamarajanagar, told The Hindu that it was possible because of excellent teamwork and coordination between departments of Health and Revenue apart from the district administration. The district borders Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Telangana not screening passengers arriving by train
TS health officials have stopped testing domestic passengers once the railways started running more special trains from different parts of the country June 1 onwards. | Photo Credit: NagaraGopal
At the Secunderabad railway station, Telangana medical and health department officials used to take down details of every passenger coming through the special trains and stamp ‘home quarantine’ on the hands.
However, the practice has been dispensed with once the railways started running more special trains from different parts of the country June 1 onwards!
“We are only screening the boarding passengers for temperature checks. There has been no sign of the TS health officials for last couple of days; so there is no surveillance of the passengers arriving here,” informed senior railway officials, on condition of anonymity.
Five COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in Puducherry on Friday. The active cases stand at 62. The cumulative total is 104 with 42 discharged. - Dinesh Verma
Shops in Karnataka told to check visitors for quarantine stamp
The Karnataka government has directed all shops, commercial establishments, offices, factories, religious places, hotels and other businesses to check for quarantine stamp before letting customers in.
They should not allow those with stamps to enter before the end of the quarantine period or till they get a COVID-19 negative report, said an order issued by Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar. Owners have to inform the police [at 100] if they find anyone entering their premises before the end of their quarantine period.
20 Delhi Metro employees test COVID-19 positive
Twenty employees of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have tested positive for COVID19, according to officials.
The affected include operation and maintenance staff, among others.
Metro officials said that 20 out of 14,500 employees is almost equivalent to the percentage of people infected in Delhi in comparison to its total population.
For kin of officers who died of COVID-19, other worries pile up
Assistant SI Shesh Mani Pandey died due to COVID-19 on May 30 and on Wednesday, his wife and younger son tested positive for the virus. According to his elder son, the pitiable condition of LNJP Hospital has added to their miseries. Mr. Pandey was posted at the fingerprint bureau of the Crime Branch.
The Hindu spoke to families of three such policemen who died of COVID-19 and they shared their stories in the aftermath.
130 new cases in Odisha
Odisha registered 130 COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing its tally to 2,608. One more person dies taking the total to 10 – eight of COVID-19 and two of other ailments.
The number of active cases stand at 1,117, and recoveries at 1,481, say officials.
After 11 bank staff die, employees ask govt. for transport, insurance
With at least 11 bank employees losing their lives to COVID-19 in Mumbai and adjoining areas, bank unions have demanded transportation for staff and implementation of safety measures.
In a communication to the Ministry of Finance, the United Forum of Bank Employees (UFBU) — the umbrella body of nine bank unions — said most bank employees working in branches in Mumbai live in the suburbs, and many commute from beyond city limits.
Bhubaneswar BJP MP fined ₹300 for violating norms
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Bhubaneswar Aparajita Sarangi was slapped a fine of ₹300 on Thursday for violating social distancing norm and not wearing a mask in public.
The city police collected the fine (₹100 for violation of social distancing rule and ₹200 for not wearing mask) from Ms. Sarangi and 20 other BJP members for violating the COVID-19-19 rules, a senior police officer said.
India's COVID-19 tally reaches 2.26 lakh with record spike of 9,851 cases
India saw a record single-day jump of 9,851 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths on Friday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,26,770 and the death toll to 6,348, according to the Union health ministry.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 1,10,960, while 1,09,461 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.
“Thus, around 48.27% patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. - PTI
Authors pull controversial Lancet study flagging hydroxychloroquine risks
The Lancet on Thursday retracted a study that raised safety fears over the use of a drug favoured by President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19, after the paper's authors said they could no longer vouch for its underlying data.
It was soon followed by the withdrawal of another coronavirus paper in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that was not linked to hydroxychloroquine but relied upon the same healthcare company's patient database.
The unfolding research scandal threatens to undermine confidence in two of the world's top medical journals in the midst of a pandemic.
Brazil’s official coronavirus death toll passes Italy
Brazil's total COVID-19 death toll blew past that of Italy on Thursday, as the Health Ministry reported 1,437 deaths in the last 24 hours and 30,925 additional coronavirus cases.
Novavax gets U.S. defense funding for its COVID-19 vaccine
Novavax Inc said on Thursday the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will give the late-stage biotech company up to $60 million to fund the manufacturing of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S.-based company said the deal includes the delivery of 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine - NVX-CoV2373 - to the DoD this year.
The announcement of Novavax's vaccine trial came last month as drugmakers pause clinical trials on drugs for other ailments to focus on COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus that has resulted in more than 386,379 deaths globally.