 "Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Maharashtra govt to accommodate people from Mumbai's densely populated areas in govt schools, fire brigade to sanitise community toilets")
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Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: “People are facing difficulty in staying home in densely populated areas of Mumbai because as many as 15 people live in a 10×10 feet room. So, we are planning to accommodate them in schools in order to ensure social distancing,” said Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope. “Cleaning community toilets in densely populated areas in Mumbai is a challenge as around 200 people use a toilet seat throughout the day. So, we are deploying fire brigade to sanitize such community toilets every hour with speed jet pumps,” he added. Members of the Wadhavan family of the DHFL group have been placed under institutional quarantine by local police in Mahabaleshwar after they visited the town, violating the lockdown. The process to file a complaint has been initiated at the local police station. The BMC said that nine people who had tested positive for COVID-19 lost their lives in Mumbai on Thursday, all of them had comorbidities and age-related factors. Total number of coronavirus positive people who have lost their lives in the city stands at 54. The statement also said that 79 more COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Mumbai, taking the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the city to 775. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope was quoted by ANI as saying that there are 1,346 active cases of COVID-19 in Maharashtra out of which 746 patients are in Mumbai. “We are planning to deploy the State Reserve Police Force in congested areas for effective enforcement of coronavirus lockdown,” he said. The first case of coronavirus was reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh on Thursday, ANI reported. Reportedly, the patient is a 22-year-old man and is a resident of Firozabad. He had travelled to Aligarh on 12 March to attend a Jamaat event in the city. He has no connection to Jamaat event in Delhi, Aligarh District Magistrate CB Singh said. He and nine others were placed under home quarantine on 30 March. The others have tested negative but he tested positive. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that as long as the coronavirus pandemic lasts, those who are involved in care, treatment or testing of COVID-19 patients, will be paid double the amount of their salary. Uttar Pradesh government said that 12,236 FIRs have been registered against 39,857 people under Section 188 of IPC for violating the coronavirus lockdown. 78 cases have been registered in connection with circulation of fake news related to COVID-19. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh DGP HC Awasthi said, “We are making all provisions to provide necessary items like milk, vegetables at the door steps of people living in the sealed areas. Entry and exit of vehicles and people have also been stopped in those areas. Police patrolling has been increased in those areas.” The MCGM on Thursday said that three hospitals in Mumbai — Jogeshwari Trauma Care hospital, Rajawadi hospita, and Kurla Bhabha hospital — shall be used as designated coronavirus centres in the city. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, taking note of the incident when two female doctors of Safdarjung Hospital were allegedly assaulted by their neighbour in Gautam Nagar, said, “I’d like to warn people who misbehave with doctors/nurses that it won’t be tolerated. They’ll be given strictest punishment.” Reports said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore for India’s ‘COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday said that 1,30,000 samples have been tested for coronavirus so far. Of these 5,734 samples tested positive for the infection till date. “Positivity rate ranges between 3-5 percent in the last 1-1.5 months. It has not increased substantially. Yesterday we tested 13,143 samples,” the statement added. A 70-year-old coronavirus patient in Mumbai’s Dharavi passed away on Thursday, ANI reported quoting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This is the second death due to COVID-19 in the densely-populated area in Mumbai, which has emerged as the worst-affected city across India, with 839 total cases. The Union health ministry said that the total coronavirus cases in India rose to 5,734, with 549 new cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 473 people have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals so far. The total toll is 166 across the country, and 17 deaths have been reported since Wednesday. With 184 cases of coronavirus in the Worli Koliwada and Prabhadevi areas of the GS ward in Mumbai, it’s the worst-affected area in the city, the BMC map showed on Thursday. The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea have tested positive again, Bloomberg quoted Korea’s CDC as saying. Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC. The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea have tested positive again, Bloomberg quoted Korea’s CDC as saying. Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC. Two women resident doctors of Safdarjung Hospital were allegedly assaulted on Wednesday by a 42-year-old man who accused them of “spreading” COVID-19 in Gautam Nagar area, Safdarjung RDA president said. The man has been booked by the Delhi Police. Odisha extends lockdown till 30 April, becomes the first state in India to do so. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made the announcement through video conferencing and also said that all educational institutions will be closed until 16 June. A doctor who tested positive for COVID19 passes away on Thursday, taking the toll in Indore to 22. The total number of positive cases in Indore stand 213, PRO, MGM Medical College, Indore, Madhya Pradesh told ANI. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday announced that ‘Till now there have been 669 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Delhi, including 426 from the Nizamuddin gathering.’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said, ‘The India-US partnership is stronger than ever. India shall do everything possible to help humanity’s fight against COVID-19. We shall win this together.’ Modi was responding to a tweet by Trump in which the US President had thanked India for the decision on Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) export. Nine more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Kerala, taking the tally of coronavirus cases in the state to 345, including 259 active cases and 13 recoveries. A doctor, a member of nursing staff and a sanitation worker at Delhi State Cancer Institute test positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, as a total of 21 healthcare workers in Delhi have tested positive. ICMR on Thursday reported that there was an increase of 540 new COVID19 cases and 17 deaths in last 24 hours. India’s total number of coronavirus positive cases now climbs to 5734, which includes 5095 active cases, 473 cured/discharged and 166 deaths, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Five more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Jharkhand, taking the total number of cases to nine in the state, said an official on Wednesday. A trader, who runs a shop at the masala market in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, has tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Wednesday. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday that 32 people have died and 773 persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in India since Tuesday, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 to 149 and cases to 5,194 so far. Going by the health ministry’s data, the increase in the number of cases between 9 am on Tuesday and 9 am on Wednesday is the highest in a 24-hour period. [caption id=“attachment_8230841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country is facing a “social emergency” like situation as well as serious economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After an interaction with Modi via video conference, several political leaders said that the lockdown might not be lifted completely after 14 April. “Prime Minister Modi made it clear that the lockdown is not being lifted and also that the life pre-corona and post-corona will not be same,” Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra told PTI.
Maharashtra continues to lead among states
New cases were reported from Maharashtra (including in Mumbai’s densely-populated Dharavi slums), Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, among other places. Ladakh’s Lok Sabha member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said the virus spread has been successfully contained in the Union Territory, while Sikkim government said not a single case has been detected so far in the state. The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1,018, followed by Tamil Nadu at 690 and Delhi with 576 cases. Telangana has reported 364 COVID-19 cases followed by Kerala at 336. Rajasthan has 328 cases, Uttar Pradesh has 326 and Andhra Pradesh reported 305 coronavirus cases. The novel coronavirus cases have risen to 229 in Madhya Pradesh, 175 in Karnataka and 165 in Gujarat. Haryana has 147 cases, Jammu and Kashmir has 116, West Bengal has 99 and Punjab has 91 positive patients so far. Odisha has reported 42 coronavirus cases. Sixteen deaths were reported from Maharashtra, two each from Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh. In total, Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 64, followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh at 13 each and Delhi at 9. Telengana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have reported seven fatalities each.
Modi interacts with Opposition leaders, other parties
Interacting with floor leaders of Opposition and other parties via video conference, Modi said states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the ongoing lockdown beyond 14 April to contain the spread of the virus. Modi told the leaders that the country is facing “serious economic challenges as a result of COVID-19, and the government is committed to overcoming them.” After the meeting, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said around 80 percent of political parties suggested extension of the lockdown. The leaders were told by the prime minister that he is receiving requests for extending the lockdown and will talk to chief ministers and experts before taking a decision in the nation’s best interest, Azad said. Modi is scheduled to interact with all chief ministers on 11 April. Uttarakhand and Goa joined several other states to favour extending the lockdown, while Punjab Government said it will take a call on 10 April on whether to extend the ongoing curfew in the state beyond 14 April. Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa told PTI that his government is in favour of lifting the lockdown in districts which have remained free of the infection, subject to approval from the Centre. He also said that the state intends to relax liquor sales, stopped since the 21-day lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, after 14 April in a bid to increase state revenues.
Doctors are warriors, have to be protected: SC
Doctors and healthcare professionals are “warriors” in fight against coronavirus and have to be protected, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday even as the Centre assured that it is doing its best by providing them personal protective equipment (PPE) and other facilities. The apex court suggested that the government should create a mechanism to solicit suggestions from people about how to go ahead on the issues related to COVID-19, including on providing treatment, regulatory mechanism for people working from home and also on lockdown. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Ravindra Bhat, hearing through video-conferencing three petitions seeking protective kits for doctors and healthcare workers amid coronavirus pandemic, was informed by the Centre that PPE kits and other requisite things are being arranged and it is taking steps in this regard.
Analyst predicts significant economic damage
An adverse impact of the pandemic on economic activities was reported from various segments. Global financial giant Goldman Sachs said the Indian economy might see a GDP growth of just 1.5 percent in the current fiscal. Indian Railways, which was on its way till February to not just meet but surpass its freight loading target, will end 2019-20 with 15.7 million tonnes less than the previous financial year’s 1,212.56 million tonnes, official figures showed. As business has dried up due to the pandemic with operations having been virtually shut down, earnings from freight loading have also plummeted – from Rs 1,25,354 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,23,225 crore in 2019-2020 fiscal, a loss of Rs 2,129 crore.
Sizeable chunk of hydroxychloroquine bought by US came from India: Trump
A sizeable chunk of the 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine bought by the US to combat the coronavirus pandemic is from India, President Donald Trump has said as he acknowledged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “great” when he sought his help to allow the sale of the anti-malaria drug to treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients in America. Trump and Modi spoke over the phone last week. During the call, Trump requested Modi to lift the hold on the American order of hydroxychloroquine, of which India is the major producer. Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York. Anticipating that it will work, given initial positive results, Trump has bought more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for potential treatment of COVID-19 patients. “I bought millions of doses (of hydroxychloroquine). More than 29 million. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi, a lot of it (hydroxychloroquine) comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it? He was Great. He was really good,” Trump told Sean Hannity of the Fox News on Monday night. Late on Wednesday, Trump also tweeted thanking the Indian government. “Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten!” Trump said, thanking Modi as well. With inputs from PTI
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