Women in masks celebrate the Ram Mandir foundation day in Chandigarh. (Express photo: Jasbir Malhi)
With 52,509 new Covid-19 cases and 857 deaths, India’s coronavirus tally on Thursday reached 19,08,255, including 5,86,244 patients who are undergoing treatment for the disease, 12,82,216 who have recovered and 39,795 fatalities, The last 24 hours marked the seventh consecutive day that Covid-19 cases increased by more than 50,000 in the country.
A total of 51,706 patients have recuperated from Covid-19 in India in a span of 24 hours, the highest in a day, pushing the recovery rate to 67.19 per cent, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 2.09 per cent, the Union health ministry said. The recoveries have surged to 12,82,215, a number more than twice the active cases , it said.
Here are some of the interesting stories on day 5 of Unlock 3.0:
Kolkata: Municipal Corporation keeps ashes of Covid victims for families to collect later
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Wednesday said that ashes of people who have died of COVID-19 are respectfully kept in designated crematoriums for the family members to collect later anytime.
According to the protocol, family members of Covid victims cannot attend the cremation and thus they are not able to collect the ashes then, a member of the KMC Board of Administrators was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“The authorities follow all the rituals while cremating a body in the presence of a priest. The ashes are preserved in urns. Family members of the diseased can collect the urn any day after cremation, even after 14 days of their quarantine period,” the official said.
The KMC has two designated places where bodies of COVID-19 patients are consigned to flames. One is the Nimtal crematorium in north Kolkata, while the other one is Dhap crematorium in the eastern part of the city.
Octogenarian with comorbidities beats Covid-19
An 86-year-old man with underlying health conditions has recovered from Covid-19 and was discharged from a hospital in Maharashtra. The patient was admitted in a hospital 18 days ago and shifted to an isolation ward after he tested positive.
The senior citizen had comorbidies like blood pressure and a kidney disorder, hospital superintendent C D Moses told news agency PTI.
He also said that the patient was put on ventilator for 12 days, adding that the octogenarian was given anti-viral drugs to which he responded well.
On Ram Temple foundation day, Lockdown in Bengal hampers sweetshop owner’s plans
The complete lockdown in West Bengal Wednesday coincided with the laying of the foundation for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, giving a blow to sweet shops in the state as they were forced to cancel orders and remain closed in keeping with the protocol.
“We had received orders to make a variety of sweets to be themed on the Ram Temple Bhoomi Pujan. The clients were expecting that the lockdown date will be changed by the government. When it became clear that this is not going t happen, they cancelled the order,” one of the owners of a decades-old shop told PTI.
The in-charge of an outlet of Bhikharam Chandmal, a known brand that sells north Indian variety of sweets, said the lockdown has affected the delivery of sweets to celebrate the Ram Temple foundation.
“On Tuesday, around 20 people bought large ladoos and peras from our outlet. The quantity could be anywhere from 600-800 grams to eight kg for a buyer. But with the shops closed and restrictions imposed on people’s movements on Wednesday due to the lockdown, over-the-counter sale is no possible,” he said.