Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Pune district reported 342 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 9,307, a health official said on Saturday. The death toll due to the pandemic reached 407 with six persons succumbing to the infection, he said.
Bihar reported 233 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as its tally for the dreaded disease shot up to 4,831, the health department said.
The Haryana government has decided to allow reopening of places of worship and shopping malls for public in a regulated manner across the state from June 8, except in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts worst-hit by COVID-19, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 232 new infections and 15 deaths, taking total number of cases to 9228 and death toll to 399, reports ANI.
Mumbai on Saturday reported 1,274 fresh cases and 57 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 47,128 and toll to 1,575, ANI quoted the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation as saying.
An NDRF personnel tested positive for COVID-19 positive on June 4 in West Bengal. The person was a part of the team which went to the state for restoration. All the team members have been quarantined at the NDRF's quarantine center at Mundali Battalion in Cuttack, Odisha, a NDRF official told ANI.
Maharashtra on Saturday reported spike of 2,739 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall case count to 82,968 while the death toll rose by 120 to 2,969, state Health department said. A total of 2,234 patients were discharged in the day, pushing the tally of the recovered cases to 37,390 so far, a statement said.
The enforcement directorate headquarters in New Delhi was sealed on Saturday after 3 officials and two contract workers tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reported.
Tamil Nadu on Saturday reported 1,458 cases - of which 1,423 were from the state while the remaining had returned from abroad or from other states- taking the total number of cases in the state to 30,152. The state also reported 19 COVID-19 casualties today taking the number of deaths related to the disease to 251. Chennai, which accounts for 20,993 cases and 197 deaths, recorded 1,146 new cases, according to data released by the state health department.
Kerala on Saturday registered as many as 108 new cases, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 1,807. The number of active cases in the state stands at 1, 029, said the state health department.
Two Vistara pilots have tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing flight simulator training, the airline said on Saturday.
Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Saturday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University.
The number of coronavirus positive cases in Uttar Pradesh crossed the 10,000 with 370 fresh cases reported on Saturday even as the number of casualties rose to 268, reports PTI.
All asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and those having mild symptoms are to be discharged from hospitals within 24 hours of admission, and district surveillance officers should be reported, according to a Delhi government order dated 4 June.
The number of confirmed cases in Assam on Saturday rose to 2,324 after 81 more tested positive. State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 38 more patients were also discharged following their recovery.
Over 58 lakh migrant labourers have reached their native states so far, said Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman Railway Board on Saturday. As many as 4,286 Shramik special trains have plied to help the migrant workers return to their home states, said the Indian Railways official.
"The demand for these trains has decreased from 250 to about 137 per day. We operated 56 trains in the last two days, he further added.
The Punjab government on Saturday issued guidelines on reopening of of places of worship, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services from 8 June. It said restrictions will be on 'dine-in' restaurants till further orders but permitted home delivery of food and take-aways till 8 pm.
In a bid to tackle the rising coronavirus cases in West Bengal, the state government has included eight more hospitals from various districts to its list of 69 dedicated COVID-19 care centres.
The state has also augmented the number of hospital beds and escalated levels of another 14 hospitals across various districts.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the widespread complaints and issue of black-marketing of beds in hospitals earmarked for COVID-19 patients.
Odisha on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases after 173 more people tested positive for the disease, taking the total in the state to 2,781, a health department official said.
Of the 173 cases, 150 were in quarantine centres, where people returning from different states are staying. Twenty-three others were detected with the infection during contact-tracing exercises, he said.
The Tamil Nadu government sets the price limit for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals at Rs 15,000 per day in Intensive care unit (ICU), PTI reported. In the general ward, the charges have been limited Rs 7,500 per day.
In the past 24 hours, two Maharashtra Police personnel have succumbed to the novel coronavirus, said the police force on Saturday. However, no cops have tested positive for the viral infection in the past 24 hours.
"Total number of police personnel who have tested positive for the virus is at 2,561. While, the toll stands at 33," said the Maharashtra Police.
Air India sold over 22,000 tickets for west-bound Vande Bharat fights from 5 pm on Friday till 8 am on Saturday after the airline's website experienced 6-7 times more activity.
Under the third phase of Mission Vande Bharat, Air India opened bookings for select destinations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe at 5 pm on Friday.
Of the total 45,24,317 COVID-19 samples tested so far, 1,37,938 were tested in the past 24 hours, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday.
Another official at the Enforcement Directorate tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of infections to six on Saturday, NDTV quoted sources as saying.
The headquarters in Delhi at the Lok Nayak Bhawan in Khan Market has been sealed till Sunday.
The Enforcement Directorate office has been shut until Sunday after five employees were found to be infected with coronavirus. The officials who have tested positive are - Special Director (HIU), Staff in Legal Section and Intelligence section, IO handling Aviation Scam.
India registered a total of 9,887 new COVID-19 cases and 294 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the health ministry on Saturday. This takes the total confirmed cases to 2,36,657 nationwide.
Of the total 2.36 lakh COVID-19 cases, 1,14,072 people have been cured of the infectious disease as of Saturday, said the health ministry. This takes the COVID-19 recovery rate to 48.20 percent.
Surpassing Italy, the number of coronavirus cases in India climbed past 2.35 lakh on Friday, taking the country to the sixth spot worldwide, according to the data released by John Hopkins University. India on Friday registered 9,332 new COVID-19 cases and 297 deaths. The total stood at 2,36,047, including 6,647 deaths.
In terms of cases, India had crossed China - where the virus emerged late in 2019 - for the ninth spot just a week ago.
As India moves towards relaxing a two-and-half month-long stringent lockdown under a systematic unlock plan by the home ministry, COVID-19 cases have been rising exponentially with a jump of nearly 61,000 cases in the past one week. Medical experts feel that if the situation spirals out of control, the lockdown may have to be reimposed.
India saw 9,851 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths on Friday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,26,770 and the toll from the deadly virus to 6,348, according to the Union health ministry. There has been a record spike in cases for three consecutive days now.
Representational image. AP
A 'failed' lockdown?
Most countries like Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, lifted their respective lockdowns and curbs when their COVID-19 graphs either flattened or dipped, according to statistics shared on Twitter by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
India's COVID-19 curve has been steadily rising throughout the lockdown period with a massive spike in cases in the fourth phase of the lockdown that ended on 31 May and afterwards.
The fourth phase of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, which began on 18 May, saw 85,974 COVID-19 cases till 8 am on Sunday, according to health ministry data.
The lockdown 1, which was first clamped on 25 March and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on 15 April and stretched for 19 days till 3 May, saw 31,094 cases.
The third phase of the lockdown that was in effect for 14 days ending on 17 May, recorded 53,636 cases till 8 am of 18 May.
Last Friday, the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 1,65,799, while a week before that on 22 May, there were 1,18,447 cases. Therefore, the spike in the last one week has been of 60,971 cases, while the increase in the number of infections in the week before that was 47,352.
At present, India is the world's seventh-worst hit nation in terms of overall case count, after the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy. When the lockdown started, India was nowhere on the chart and had just a 100 cases.
Experts say re-imposition of lockdown may be necessary
"Whenever lockdown is opened in phases, there will be a spurt in cases. A lockdown basically is used to prepare for the pandemic and halt the spread," said Dr Vikas Maurya, director and head of the Department of Pulmonology and Sleep Disorders at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.
"Increase in cases will be there when unlocking is done in phases, but what is important is to be mindful that the situation should not spiral out of control, as if it does, then lockdown will have to be re-imposed," Maurya told PTI.
Noted lung surgeon Dr Arvind Kumar said that it was important to ensure that people continue to have a "self-imposed" lockdown and follow the "four golden principles" — don't go out unless necessary, always wear a mask, keep distance and keep washing hands.
"Right now the situation does not warrant a re-imposition of the lockdown, but if the situation spirals out of control, then we would have to go back to a lockdown," he told PTI.
Kumar, who works at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, also asserted that it was too early to allow religious places and malls to open as there are not enough checks to ensure that people will not flout norms.
Religious places are likely to reopen in various places as the Central government readies to ease lockdown measures. AP
Dr Vivek Nangia, director and head pulmonology at Fortis Hospital in Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, also said that the rapid rise in cases was worrying.
It is still early to open malls and religious places as if congregations start to happen, then things could spiral out of control, he told PTI.
Despite this, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday issued standard operating procedures to be followed by religious places, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and offices to contain the spread of COVID-19 as India gears up to reopen the economy.
Businesses and shops reopened in many states as a three-phase plan to lift the nationwide coronavirus lockdown began despite an upward trend in new infections. AP
The preparations for reopening the economy, which has been severely hit by the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, from 8 June comes amid mounting cases and toll in the country.
Meanwhile, the health ministry data showed the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country at 1,10,960 while 1,09,461 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.
Thus, around 48.27 per cent patients have recovered so far.
The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on 30 January from Kerala after a medical student of Wuhan university, who had returned to India, tested positive for the virus.
Kerala's daily count touches three digit, UP, Tamil Nadu register spike in cases
For the first time, Kerala's COVID-19 daily figures touched three digits with the state recording 111 cases, prompting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to term the situation grim.
The surge in positive cases has pushed the infection count to 1,699 while 1.77 lakh people are under observation. On 8 May, Kerala had declared that it had flattened the coronavirus curve after reporting a solitary case and just 16 people under treatment. However, with more people coming to the state from abroad and other states, the cases have seen a sudden spike.
Likewise, Uttar Pradesh recorded its biggest single-day jump of 496 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 9,733, while 12 more people succumbed to the disease, a senior official said.
With the fresh deaths, the toll in the state has risen to 257, said principal secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad.
There are 3,828 active cases in the state, while 5,648 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, he said.
Maharashtra reported 2,436 new coronavirus patients on Friday, taking the tally of cases in the state to 80,229, a health department statement said. The state reported 139 COVID-19 deaths on Friday , taking the toll to 2,849.
Out of 139 deaths, 93 were reported from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) including 54 from Mumbai city. Mumbai accounts for 46,080 coronavirus cases and 1,519 deaths. The larger MMR has recorded 60,604 cases and 1,903 deaths.
Tamil Nadu also continued to witness a surge in COVID-19 infections with 1,438 cases and 12 deaths reported on Friday, taking the count to 28,694 and fatalities to 232. Of the fresh positive cases, Chennai alone accounted for 1,116 with the state capital's aggregate touching a whopping 19,826. Continuing with the trend of a new high everyday, Tamil Nadu on the sixth straight day Friday reported 1,000 plus cases and the newly infected include six people from Qatar, five from Dubai and one from Sri Lanka, a health department bulletin said.
In Gujarat, 510 new coronavirus patients were detected since previous evening, the highest increase in a single day, while 35 patients died, the state health department said.
Gujarat is the fourth worst-affected state in the country as per health ministry figures.
The total number of positive cases in the state has gone up to 19,119, while death toll due to coronavirus rose to 1,190, it said.
Nurses at Delhi's AIIMS threaten one-day walk out
Meanwhile, according to AP, nurses at a Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) threatened Friday to stage a one-day walkout next week if working conditions don't improve.
The nurses at AIIMS, a leader in treatment of COVID-19 cases, have been protesting since Monday over long shifts and the need to use congested cubicles to change in and out of personal protective equipment, a possible health risk.
More than 350 medical workers at AIIMS and 150 family members have been infected by the virus since March, the hospital's medical superintendent Dr DK Sharma told AP. He said about 60 percent have recovered.
“If day after day our health care workers are infected... we are going to face a big issue,” said Fameer CK, general secretary of the union that represents 5,000 nurses at AIIMS.
The union issued the threat to stay home from work next Wednesday after talks with the hospital administration on Thursday ended without agreement, he said.
Hospital authorities refused to comment on the protest.
With inputs from agencies
