Malls and shopping centres have opened in Delhi as the city eases lockdown restrictions (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Coronavirus India LIVE news updates: With India reporting 9,985 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of infections crossed the 2.7 lakh-mark to reach 2,76,583 on Wednesday, including 7,745 deaths and 1,35,205 people who have been treated and discharged so far. According to the data on the health ministry website, the number of recoveries crossed the number of active cases in the country by 1,573 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, one of DMK’s tallest leaders in the Chennai region, J Anbazhagan died on Wednesday morning at a local hospital weeks after he tested positive for Covid-19. His condition had been critical and he was on ventilator support. Anbazhagan died on his 62nd birthday.
Several states have shown in the last few days, indicating a surge in future tally as well. Maharashtra’s Covid-19 case load has surpassed 90,000 with 120 deaths recorded across the state — the highest so far in a single day, on Tuesday. Mumbai recorded 1,015 new cases with the totally tally reaching 51,100. On the other hand, Delhi has projected an exponential growth in the city’s numbers to 5.5 lakh by July end. Despite the upward trend in total cases, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured that India is better positioned in the fight against COVID-19 compared to other nations, however, adding that there is no space for complacency.
Meanwhile, Parliament may go for a hybrid monsoon session, with some members being physically present in the House and others attending on a virtual platform, sources said.
Globally, as many as 7,244,108 people have been infected by the pandemic so far, and 4,11,217 have died. As the world struggles to flatten the curve of the virus, a Harvard study suggested that the coronavirus hit Wuhan far earlier than reported-a report China dismissed as “incredibly ridiculous”.
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: A boy at Delhi's Sarojini market after the easing of lockdown restrictions (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: Community transmission or spread is said to be taking place when the source of the contagion is not known. In pic: Cops get their temperature tested
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: A lab technician extracts portions of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center, run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. (AP)
L-G Anil Baijal's directives will be implemented in letter and spirit, this is not the time for disagreements or arguments: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on LG over-ruling Delhi cabinet's decision of reserving hospitals for residents
Data shows COVID-19 cases will significantly increase in Delhi in coming days; we have a big challenge ahead, says Kejriwal
"Of the 31,000 COVID-19 cases reported in Delhi, 18,000 are active. For everyone's safety, promoting social distancing and usage of masks has to be a people's movement... just like the odd-even scheme," says Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference a day after his coronavirus test came negative. "My COVID-19 test result has come negative. I thank everyone for their good wishes and blessings," he says.
Rajasthan seals borders with other states in view of surge in coronavirus cases; permits will be required for movement.
Junior doctors at Hyderabad’s Gandhi General Hospital, the nodal hospital for treating Covid-19 patients in the state, squatted outside the hospital building and staged a protest late Tuesday evening after attendants of a deceased patient allegedly beat up junior doctors on duty with office furniture. The alleged attack was following the death of one of the patients, a 55-year-old Covid-19 patient, at around 6.30 pm. The protests went on till 3 am and the doctors resumed the sit-in protest from 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The patient, according to doctors, was severely hypertensive and had uncontrolled diabetes for the last two days of his hospitalisation. He was on a non-invasive ventilator. The junior doctors say they had explained the bad prognosis, very little chance of recovery, to the attendants and advised the patient not to leave the bed. The patient was found collapsed near the toilet, and despite CPR, he could not be revived.
Most of India’s top higher education institutions have slipped in the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) released on Wednesday, including at least 10 which had been marked out by the government under the Institution of Eminence (IoE) scheme. Among the IoEs that have fallen in rank over the past 12 months are IIT-Delhi, IIT-Madras, IIT-Kharagpur, IISc-Bangalore, Delhi University, Hyderabad Central University, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS-Pilani), Anna University and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) (see box). Read More
Parliament may go for a hybrid monsoon session, with some members being physically present in the House and others attending on a virtual platform, sources said. After assessing the physical and digital infrastructure for the options to conduct Parliament sessions amid the pandemic, secretaries-general of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have reported to the presiding officers that the facilities are inadequate for a full virtual session or a physical session.
Sources said that the chambers face space constraint, given the physical distancing norms, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that provides cyber infrastructure for the Indian government cannot enable capacity for virtual participation of all members.
One of DMK’s tallest leaders in the Chennai region, J Anbazhagan died on Wednesday morning at a local hospital weeks after he tested positive for Covid-19. His condition had been critical and he was on ventilator support. Anbazhagan died on his 62nd birthday. Anbazhagan was taken to Dr Rela Institute & Medical Centre with severe acute respiratory distress. Although he initially managed with oxygen therapy using a face-mask, he was put on ventilator support as his respiratory distress worsened and his condition remained unchanged.
Dr Shashank Joshi, an endocrinologist, is Dean, Indian College of Physicians, Mumbai, speaks to Anuradha Mascarenhas:
As novel coronavirus disease cases continue to rise, only the most needy would be admitted in hospitals. Cities like Mumbai are already facing a shortage of hospital beds. This is likely to become even more acute in the coming days. In such a situation, most of the infected people, those who do not require immediate medical attention, would have to recover at home.
But home recovery does not mean just remaining confined within your home and waiting for the quarantine period to get over. Some good practices followed during home quarantine can expedite the recovery process, while protecting other people in the family. Even simple things like the right diet, eight hours of sleep, adequate hydration, and maintaining a positive attitude can help in the recovery process.
With India reporting 9,985 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, India's tally crossed the 2.7 lakh-mark to reach 2,76,583 on Wednesday, including 7,745 deaths and 1,35,205 people who have been treated and discharged so far. According to the data on the health ministry website, the number of recoveries crossed the number of active cases in the country by 1,573 on Wednesday.
Ticket checking by Railway Protection Force (RPF) constables at stations or technicians on trains, the station master doubling up as a signalling technician, merging of the jobs of guard and loco pilot — these are some of the changes the Indian Railways is considering as part of a proposal to merge 19 job profiles with the objective of “multi-skilling” the bulk of its 13-lakh-strong workforce.
The proposal, mooted by the ministry last month, is aimed at providing a leaner organisation in the long run, sources said. An eight-member committee of joint-secretary-level officers has been tasked with working out the modalities in consultation with zonal railways for final consideration of the Railway Board.
Amid a row over its decision, since overruled by the Centre, to reserve beds in coronavirus hospital facilities in the Capital for Delhi residents, the Kejriwal government Tuesday projected an exponential growth in the city’s numbers. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the number of cases will soar to 5.5 lakh by the end of July, with around 80,000 hospital beds needed, even as the government warned that in around half the current cases, the source of infection is unknown. Delhi’s Covid dashboard shows it has 8,975 beds across state-run, Centre-run and private hospitals, of which 4,840 are currently occupied. Another 11,259 patients are in home isolation.
Turkey’s president on Tuesday revealed new plans to ease restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including the July 1 reopening of theaters, cinemas and other entertainment centers. In a televised addressed following his first face-to-face meeting with Cabinet members _ after almost three months of teleconference meetings _ Recep Tayyip Erdogan also announced that marriage registration halls will reopen for large gatherings on June 15 while wedding party halls will resume operations on July 1.
Population-wide facemask use could push COVID-19 transmission down to controllable levels for national epidemics and could prevent further waves of the pandemic disease when combined with lockdowns, according to a UK study published Wednesday.The research, led by scientists at the Britain's Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but that even homemade masks can dramatically reduce transmission rates if enough people wear them in public."Our analyses support the immediate and universal adoption of facemasks by the public," said Richard Stutt, who co-led the study at Cambridge. -- Reuters
Alarmed at the massive spike in deaths in Malegaon in Nashik district, and amid concerns that many of those might have been undetected Covid-19 fatalities, last month the local and civic administration had decided to conduct a random testing of family members of all those who died after April 10.
A month later, however, officials say none of those tests came Covid positive. Nashik district administration officials maintain only 44 Covid deaths occurred in Malegaon in May. Yet, Malegaon Municipal Corporation records show there were 752 deaths last month, an increase of 157 per cent over the same month last year when the city registered 292 deaths. Read more here
Maharashtra’s Covid-19 case load surpassed 90,000 on Tuesday with 120 deaths recorded across the state — the highest so far in a single day. The state recorded 2,259 new cases with the total touching 90,787. Mumbai recorded 1,015 new cases with the totally tally reaching 51,100.
Of over 90,000 cases, 44,849 remain actively infected. Thane has 14,063 cases, followed by Pune with 10,073 cases. Read more here
At 118, L ward comprising Kurla region has highest number of containment zones in slums and chawls in the city. When it comes to highest number of residential buildings sealed, R-Central (Borivali West) has maximum (345) buildings sealed after Covid-19 cases were found in individual buildings.
According to BMC guidelines, a containment zone is set up in a slum or chawl after a number of positive cases come up. Entry and exit points are sealed and most shops are kept shut, sometimes even essential services. A sealed building means sealing a small area, for instance a floor, after a positive case comes in a building. Read more here
As the number of coronavirus cases in Gurgaon continues to rise steadily, the Deputy Commissioner of the district has directed the health department to procure 20 more ambulances for patients.
According to officials, the health department of the district currently has 17 ambulances, of which four have been earmarked for use by coronavirus patients and 13 are meant for other patients. In addition, officials said, four more ambulances have been received by the health department under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the recent past which are being used for Covid patients. Officials said that, furthermore, two more ambulances that had been received through CSR and sent to Nuh, have now been brought back to Gurgaon, bringing the total number of vehicles currently available in the district to 10. With 20 more being procured over the coming days, 30 ambulances will be available for Covid patients.
“Of the 20 ambulances that will be procured, 16 will be equipped with Basic Life Support facility while the other 4 will have Advanced Life Support. These additional ambulances are being arranged so that COVID affected patients in the district do not face any difficulties in reaching the hospital,” said a spokesperson of the district administration.
“The number of coronavirus affected patients in the district is steadily increasing and, although most of them are asymptomatic, some may be suffering from severe illnesses or may be elderly persons, and it will then be important to get them to the hospital as soon as possible. Keeping this in mind, the Deputy Commissioner has directed the health department to make arrangements for 20 more ambulances,” he said.
Officials said that all 20 vehicles will be taken at rates set by the National Health Mission. Apart from procuring these vehicles, officials said the district administration has also strengthened the ambulance helpline facility, so that it will take patients lesser time to get healthcare.
“The ambulance helpline number 108 has been strengthened…This helpline has been shifted from the civil hospital to the ground floor of the mini secretariat, and the number of operators on it have also been increased to 12. This will help ensure that there is no delay in providing an ambulance to anyone who requires it, and in transporting them to the hospital at the earliest,” said the spokesperson.
Sakshi Dayal reports from Gurgaon