Coronavirus India Roundup, May 2: Aarogya Setu compulsory for employees, working hours extended to 12 in some states

According to the Health Ministry’s latest press briefing, there are now 37,776 cumulative cases in the country, and 1,223 people have lost their lives. ‘Shramik special’ trains have been dispatched to transport stranded migrants back to their home states. [caption id=“attachment_8284511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Image by Raam Gottimukkala from Pixabay.[/caption]

Aarogya Setu app made compulsory for government and private workers 

The Union Health Ministry said yesterday that 100% of all government and private employees must have the Aarogya Setu app. The Aarogya Setu app traces the movement of people and informs them if they are close to a containment zone or if they are in an area where a case was recently confirmed. According to the guidelines, it is on the organisation of respective firms to ensure that all employees download the government app. Following yesterday’s announcements, most commercial and private offices can open with 33% capacity - the rest will work from home. Further, all those in containment zones are required to download the app as well.

Six states order longer work hours 

Since offices and industries can only function at limited capacity, for now, six states have passed laws to extend working hours from 8 to 12. The states include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. In some states, the extra hours will be counted as overtime and in others, the remuneration will be the same as regular hours. Workers, however, must get a break after six hours of work.

Himachal Pradesh has not reported a new case in nine days

According to local health authorities, HP has not recorded a new case in nine days; over 350 samples were tested yesterday and they all returned negative. Of the 41 total cases reported so far, only five are active, and the state has seen a total of only two deaths since the beginning of the outbreak.

All of Delhi’s 11 districts in will remain in red zone until the end of the extended lockdown 

The Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the entirety of the region will remain in the red zone until May 17. Delhi has reported over 3,700 cases so far and 61 deaths. The increasing number of cases in the national capital has led neighbouring Gurgaon and Faridabad to seal state borders, only allowing essential goods and services vehicles and government authorized people to enter from the Delhi side.

Indian-made rapid test kits falter in initial tests

HLL Lifecare, a state-owned entity based in Kerala had developed rapid test kits that were set to hit the markets after an internal audit. However, the test kits failed an initial test after a survey of 100 kits showed that the test had accuracy problems. A second batch has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for testing. A total of 100,000 test kits were supposed to be procured by the state to conduct rapid antibody testing to check the spread of the disease, but it looks like this will be delayed for the time being. For more information, read our article on When is an area considered a hot spot? Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.