Coronavirus cases in India near 1,400-mark; Toll 35

NEW DELHI, Mar 31: The number of coronavirus cases in India have reached 1,397 on Tuesday, says Health Ministry. Out of these, 38 cases are being assigned to states to initiate contact tracing. Out of these positive cases, 49 are foreign nationals.

Over 200 cases related to COVID-19 infection reported from the various states, the highest for a single day so far.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 also surged to a new-single day high as 11 people succumbing to infection in last 24 hours. The death toll in the country has risen to 35. Fresh deaths were reported from Telangana, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 124 coronavirus patients have been cured and discharged, including one migrated patient. At present, there are over 1,238 active COVID-19 cases in the country.

"Till now we have tested 42,788 samples, including 4,346 samples that were tested yesterday. It represents 36% of our capacity. 123 labs have been made functional, 49 private labs have been given permission. Yesterday 399 patients were tested in private labs," said R Gangakhedkar of ICMR.

According to fresh reports, at least 24 coronavirus cases and hundreds with the symptoms have been detected after a mosque event took place in Delhi's Nizammuddin area.

Talking about the event, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said during press briefing, "With respect to the Nizamuddin area, we all need to understand and appreciate that this is not the time to do fault finding. What is important for us is to take action as per our containment process in whatever areas we find a case."

On Monday, Kerala saw a huge spike in coronavirus count as the state reported more than 30 new COVID-19 patients. There are 234 cases of coronavirus in Kerala, highest in India.

Maharashtra reported three fresh deaths on Monday, taking the toll in the state to 9. The number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra has now surpassed 216 positive cases.

Delhi recorded 25 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the highest in a single day. The virus has infected 97 and claimed two lives in the national capital. On Sunday, Delhi witnessed 23 new COVID-19 cases.

Globally, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 800,000 people and killed over 38,540 worldwide, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the most confirmed cases globally at over 160,500. More than 3,000 people have died in the US — over 1,200 in New York State.

USA's Coronavirus Death Toll Exceeds Official China Tally as Global Fatalities Surge Past 40,000

NEW DELHI, Mar 31: A total of 40,057 deaths have been recorded across the world, including 29,305 in Europe, with Italy registering 12,428, followed by Spain with 8,189, USA with 3,415, and China with 3,305.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 40,000 people worldwide, with nearly three-quarters of the deaths in Europe, according to an AFP tally released on Tuesday using official figures.

According to another tally published by the Johns Hopkins University, the number of deaths in the United States from the coronavirus has surpassed those reported by China, where the pandemic began in December.

A total of 40,057 deaths have been recorded across the world, including 29,305 in Europe, with Italy registering 12,428, followed by Spain with 8,189, US with 3,415, and China with 3,305.

The Baltimore-based university said there are 1,75,067 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, the most of any country in the world.

Since the virus emerged in China in December, 8,03,645 global infections have been confirmed, more than half of them in Europe, which has 4,40,928.

Coronavirus epidemic ‘far from over’ in Asia: WHO

GENEVA, Mar 31: The coronavirus epidemic is “far from over” in the Asia-Pacific region, and the current measures to curb the spread of the virus are merely buying time for countries to prepare for large-scale community transmissions, a WHO official said on Tuesday.

Even with all the measures, the risk of transmission in the region will not go away as long as the pandemic continues, said Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director for the Western Pacific at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Preparations for a large-scale transmission must reach everyone, Kasai said at a virtual media briefing.

Kasai warned that for countries that are seeing a tapering off of cases, they should not let down their guard, or the virus may come surging back.

441 Have Coronavirus Symptoms after Delhi Mosque Event

NEW DELHI, Mar 31: Delhi Chief Mininster Arvind Kejriwal today said 441 people from the mosque in Delhi where a religious gathering earlier this month has caused a huge coronavirus scare have shown symptoms linked to the highly contagious virus. Twenty-four people have tested positive for COVID-19, he said, adding that there was a possibility of many more confirmed cases.

Over 1,500 people staying in "Markaz Nizamuddin", the Delhi headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group, have been quarantined.

"It was a highly irresponsible act," the Delhi Chief Minister said, adding that of the 97 coronavirus cases in the capital, 24 were from the same mosque complex.

"The world over people are dying and at this time, when all religious places are deserted, they committed such a serious violation."

Close to 2,000 people had been staying at for a gathering organized by the Tablighi Jamaat in March 8-10. Many of them went on to visit different states.

In this case, Kejriwal said, several of those who attended the event went to different parts of the country. "How many people may have been harmed, the very thought scares me," he remarked.

"I appeal to all religious leaders, whatever be one's religion, one's life is most precious."

A police case has been filed against the mosque administration. Several states are trying to track down members who attended the meet and could be vectors for a larger spread.

Members of the Tablighi Jamaat travelled to various parts of the country like Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir. Members also returned to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Andamans. Six people have died in Telangana and one man died in Srinagar. Ten more, who returned to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, have tested positive. More than 100 people from Kashmir attended the gathering and a massive exercise is on to track them down.

On Monday, the Ministry of Health updated the number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,251. The figure includes 1,117 active cases, 101 cases of recoveries and 32 deaths.

Kerala accounts for the maximum number of Covid-19 cases in the country with over 200 patients, Maharashtra closely follows.

As many as 87 people have been tested positive of coronavirus in the national capital. Two people have died from the infection while 6 people have made a recovery, as per the health ministry’s data.

Coronavirus Cases Cross 0ver 1,000 in India

NEW DELHI, Mar 29: The nationwide tally of confirmed coronavirus cases crossed the 1,000-mark and the death toll reached 27 on Sunday even as the central government ordered the sealing of all state and district borders to check community transmission of the deadly virus by migrant workers and asked those having already left to be quarantined for 14 days.

Delhi alone reported 23 fresh positive cases, taking its count to 72, while more people tested positive in adjoining Noida as also in Maharashtra and Bihar, among other states.

The new cases included a SpiceJet pilot with no history of international travel as well as a doctor and a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army. The colonel-rank doctor is serving at the Command Hospital in Kolkata while the JCO is posted at an Army base in Dehradun.

Sources said the Army has traced all those who have come in contact with the two persons and the duo has been quarantined. The two are understood to have visited an Army facility near the national capital earlier this month.

The total number of positive cases has increased by 106 in the last 24 hours to reach 1,024 and eight more persons died in this period to take the nationwide toll to 27, according to the latest official figures released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As the 21-day lockdown entered its fifth day, the exodus of migrant workers from big cities continued, with people desperate to return to their villages after being left jobless and many of them without food or shelter. Charitable organisations, volunteers, religious institutions and government bodies, including the Railway Protection Force, fed tens of thousands across the nation but many more remained outside the safety net.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast, sought the nation's forgiveness for the hardships caused by the lockdown, saying it was necessary because the country was fighting a battle between life and death. However, he expressed confidence that "we will definitely win the battle" against the coronavirus menace and praised the front-line workers as well as countless workers delivering the essential services.

The government announced some more exemptions to the lockdown by allowing movement of all goods, irrespective of those being in essential or non-essential categories.

But a panic-like situation emerged due to the mass exodus of migrant workers from various parts of the country, including Delhi, Maharashtra and Kerala, where a large number of people came out of relief camps and demanded being allowed to go back to their homes.

A migrant worker reportedly died of heart attack in Uttar Pradesh after walking more than 200 km on the way to his hometown in Madhya Pradesh from Delhi.

Hundreds of migrant workers also gathered again near the Anand Vihar terminus near the Delhi-UP border, hoping to board buses to their villages but were turned back by police. Large numbers were seek walking in groups on highways and even on railway tracks.

Concerned over such movements causing the risk of a community spread, the Centre asked state governments and Union Territory administrations to effectively seal all state and district borders and said those having already left be quarantined for 14 days.

In a video conference with chief secretaries and the director generals of police (DGPs), Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla directed them to ensure there is no movement of people across cities or on highways.

"There has been movement of migrant workers in some parts of the country. Directions were issued that district and state borders should be effectively sealed," an official statement said. Only the movement of goods and of those involved in delivery of essential services is allowed during the lockdown.

States have been also told to ensure timely payment of wages to labourers at their place of work during the period of lockdown without any cut.

House rent should not be demanded from the labourers for this period. Action should be taken against those who are asking labourers or students to vacate the premises, the government statement said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackeray, among other state leaders, asked migrant workers in their respective states to stay put and promised them food and other facilities.

The Indian Railways said it will now run special trains of parcel vans to ferry essential commodities.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Modi, saying the sudden lockdown has created immense "panic" and "confusion". He called for steps other than a total lockdown announced by some developed nations to tackle the deadly disease.

The Prime Minister's Office said Modi is interacting with over 200 people on a daily basis to get a first-hand feedback on India's fight against the coronavirus crisis. These include phone calls to governors, chief ministers and state health ministers, as also with doctors, nurses, health workers and sanitation staff in various parts of the country.

The PMO also constituted 10 different high-level committees to suggest measures to ramp up healthcare, put the economy back on track and reduce misery of people as quickly as possible post the 21-day lockdown period.

In its latest update on Sunday evening, the Health Ministry said the death toll has risen to 27 and the total number of positive cases has risen to 1,024. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country was 901, while 95 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated.

So far, Maharashtra has reported six deaths, Gujarat five, Karnataka three, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir two each, and Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh one each.

The ministry also issued guidelines on disinfection of public places including offices and the standard operating procedure for transporting suspect and confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Several ministers and various government departments announced donations towards the coronavirus fight, while a number of corporates declared their contributions to relief funds. The government said such contributions by companies would qualify as their statutory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending.

Globally the death toll crossed 31,000 on Sunday, with more than 20,000 deaths in Europe itself, while Spain and Italy have reported more than 800 deaths in a day.

Nearly one-third of the world population is under lockdown to check the spread of this virus with jobs, manufacturing and all economic activities coming to almost a standstill. The confirmed infections worldwide has topped 6,67,000, with the US on top of the list with more than 1,04,000 cases.

India forms empowered groups, task force to deal with Covid-19 outbreak

NEW DELHI, Mar 29: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Sunday formed 10 empowered groups and a strategic task force comprising senior civil servants to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak and its aftermath.

The setting up of the groups and the task force, which together have 68 bureaucrats, is an attempt to forge a planning and implementation machinery that acts in concert to minimise the impact of the disease the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic.

It underlines the recognition by the Narendra Modi government of the need for a more comprehensive approach towards tackling the outbreak, which has posed an unprecedented public health crisis, and its aftermath, expected to bring wide-ranging social and economic consequences.

The groups will consult frequently over video conferencing or meetings to provide suggestions to the government. They will also monitor their areas of ambit daily and are empowered to take decisions, indicating the pace with which the Centre wants these groups to act.

The six-member strategic task force will deal exclusively with issues related to the lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for three weeks starting March 25. Dr. VK Paul, a member of the policy think tank Niti Aayog; home secretary Ajay Kumar Valla; secretary (coordination) VP Joy and three officials from the Prime Minister’s Office —AK Sharma, Arvind Srivastava and Abhishek Shukla —will be part of the team.

The first empowered group will oversee “the medical emergency management plan” and is headed by VK Paul. It also has four other members—representatives of the health ministry, the National Disaster Management Authority and the department overseeing direct benefit transfer.

The second group will look into “availability of hospitals, isolation and quarantine facilities, disease surveillance and testing and critical care training”. Headed by CK Mishra, secretary of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change, the panel comprises Vinod Yadav, chairman of the Railway Board; Dr. Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; and one senior official each from the defence and health ministries.

All the 10 empowered groups have a representative each from the cabinet secretariat as a member.

The biggest group will deal with “facilitating supply chain and logistics management for availability of necessary items such as food and medicine”, indicating the importance of the supply chains in making the lockdown successful. Headed by Parameswaran Iyer, secretary of the department of drinking water and sanitation, the panel has 10 other members including consumer affairs secretary Pawan Agarwal; Guruprasad Mohapatra, secretary of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade; textiles secretary Rajeev Kapoor and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the ministry of external affairs,ministry of health and department of health research.

With a large section of the political establishment worried about the social and economic fallout of Covid-19 —as evident from tens of thousands of migrant workers heading home from the cities and the shutdown of commercial and industrial establishments —the government has also formed a separate group on “economic and welfare measures.”

It is headed by Atanu Chakraborty, secretary of the department of economic affairs. Expenditure secretary TV Somnath, labour secretary Heeralal Samariya and rural development secretary Rajesh Bhushan are its members along with officials from the PMO and the financial services department.

Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises Arun Panda will head a panel on “augmenting human resources and capacity building” and information and broadcasting secretary Ravi Mittal will preside over a group on “information communication and public awareness”.

Ministry of electronics and information technology secretary Ajay Sawhneyleads the panel on technology and data management and Amit Khare, secretary of the human resources development, the panel on public grievances and suggestions.

Achiransu Acharyya, economist with Viswa-Bharati, said, “The government forming so many empowered group of secretaries indicate that they want a more coordinated approach among different ministries on issues to tackle. I must say this could have happened earlier and also a mechanism should be set up with the states.”

India registers 179 new cases; Takes total to 918

NEW DELHI, Mar 28: India on Saturday reported 179 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest in a single day, taking the total count to 918. The death toll due to the highly contagious disease climbed to 19, as the government made efforts to increase healthcare infrastructure, including procurement of more ventilators.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special contributory fund, amid looming fears of the entire country entering the third stage of community transmission. Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar was one of the first to contribute Rs 25 crore to the Prime Minister’s new relief fund.

The Centre asked the state governments and Union Territory administrations to utilise Rs 29,000 crore worth of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for providing food and shelter to migrant workers hit by the nationwide 21-day lockdown.

The Indian Railways has manufactured a prototype of an isolation ward for treating coronavirus patients by converting non-air-conditioned train coaches into a sort of medical facility for patients.

The armed forces are keeping ready 28 service hospitals to provide treatment to Covid-19 patients apart from five hospitals which are carrying out laboratory tests for the infection.

The Union health ministry said out of a total 918 cases, 819 were active Covid-19 cases, while 79 people were either cured/discharged and one had migrated. According to the ministry, the total number of cases on Friday, a day earlier stood at 724.

“Till the time we see a significant number of cases to indicate community transmission, let us not over interpret things,” Raman R Gangakhedkar, head of the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at ICMR said.

According to the health ministry, deaths have been reported from Maharashtra (5), Gujarat (3), Karnataka (2), Madhya Pradesh (2) and one each from Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

As per officials in Kerala, the state reported its first Covid-19 death on Saturday after a 69-year-old man being treated for the virus died at Ernakulam Medical College Hospital, but it was not included in the central data. Kerala has reported 187 positive cases.

The man was admitted to the isolation ward on March 22 after his return from Dubai, the government hospital said in a statement. Maharashtra has reported 210 cases including 25 who were cured and five deaths.

At a press briefing on the current Covid-19 situation in India, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Lav Agarwal said the government is working with states on health infrastructure preparedness and the focus is having dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and blocks in every states and arrangements are being made to ramp up isolation wards and ICU beds and other required logistics.

Seventeen states have so far started work on this, Agarwal said, adding doctors and nurses are being provided online training from AIIMS, New Delhi on the management of COVID-19 patients. A 24x7 national tele-consultation Centre at AIIMS has also been launched through which doctors in other hospitals and medical colleges will be provided clinical guidance.

According to officials, 111 government laboratories are currently functional across the country and with the private sector being roped in, it has been increased.

Defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited has been given the task of manufacturing ventilators while premier defence research laboratory DRDO is producing protective gears for medical personnel and supplying hand sanitizers and face masks to various agencies involved in patient care.

The health ministry has already asked hospitals and medical education institutions to procure sufficient number of ventilators and high-flow oxygen masks to be prepared for any possible influx of patients. It has also asked hospitals to postpone all non-essential surgeries.

Modi announced the creation of the “Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund” where people can contribute and help in the government’s fight against coronavirus.

Emphasising that the fund will go a long way in creating a healthier India, PM Modi on Twitter said, “People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India’s war against Covid-19” and it has been constituted respecting that spirit.

“It is my appeal to my fellow Indians, kindly contribute to the PM-CARES Fund. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead,” he said.

A statement posted on his official website said the prime minister is the chairman of the new public charitable trust and its members include Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman.

Several states across the country are also ramping up medical facilities and ordering more equipment especially ventilators.

Private hospitals like Apollo and Max are forming teams and dedicated wards to deal with any possible surge in Covid-19 cases.

More than 600,000 coronavirus cases recorded globally

PARIS, Mar 28: More than 600,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been officially recorded around the world since the outbreak of the epidemic, according to an AFP tally at 1045 GMT on Saturday.

There were 605,010 cases of infection with 27,982 deaths in 183 countries and territories.

The United States had 104,837 cases of which 1,711 were fatal. Italy had the highest number of deaths at 9,134 and a total of 86,498 cases.

China, the epicentre of the outbreak, had 81,394 cases and 3,295 deaths.

The figures represent only a fraction of the number of infections as many countries only carry out tests on suspected cases if they are hospitalised.

Coronavirus cases in India climb to 724, death toll at 17

NEW DELHI, Mar 27: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has climbed to 724 today. More than 85 cases were reported from the various parts of the country on Thursday — highest official single-day count so far. Out of the total patients, 677 are Indians and 47 are foreign nationals.

COVID-19 claimed its first life in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, taking the total toll in the country 17. On Thursday, India has recorded highest number of deaths in a single day. Deaths have been reported from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh.

At present, there are 640 active coronavirus patients in the country. A total 67 patients have been cured or discharged so far, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With 19 fresh cases recorded on Thursday, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Kerala has surged to 137. The state has now highest coronavirus cases in India. Maharashtra comes close second with 130 active cases reported so far.

A total of 43 people tested positive in Gujarat. The state witnessed two deaths in last 24 hours. Telangana has 45 COVID-19 cases in the state. Karnataka on Thursday reported second COVID-19 death and four more positive cases, taking the total number of cases in the state to 55.

Delhi has so far witnessed 35 COVID-19 cases while Haryana has recorded 16 coronavirus cases. The total number of coronavirus patients stands at 13 in Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh has also reported 13 cases.

The number of coronavirus patients in Madhya Pradesh has climbed to 20 after five more people from Bhopal diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday. As many as 40 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection in Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh has confirmed 12 coronavirus cases.

Bihar has confirmed six coronavirus patients while West Bengal has reported ten COVID-19 positive cases. There are four coronavirus patients in Uttarakhand, seven in Chandigarh, three in Goa and six in Chhattisgarh. Mizoram and Manipur have recorded one COVID-19 case each.

On Thursday, Andaman and Nicobar Islands confirmed its first coronavirus case.

More than 500,000 people around the world have now contracted the new coronavirus. Over 83,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the US, higher than China, Italy or any other country has seen. The US has recorded 1,178 deaths, while the global death toll stood at 23,293.

Starting from Tuesday midnight, India is under 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of novel coronavirus. Only the essential services like grocery shops, medical outlets remain functional during the lockdown.

After Prince Charles, British PM Boris Johnson tests positive for covid-19

LONDON, Mar 27: Coronavirus outbreak is an equalising contagious disease that has negatively impacted every strata of the world. This ruthless virus had only recently impacted British royalty, Prince Charles and has now also taken PM Boris Johnson in its grasp.

British Prime minister Boris Johnson recently announced that he has been tested positive for coronavirus in a video clip. He shall remain in isolation in the Downing Street.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “After experiencing mild symptoms yesterday, the Prime Minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty”.

Even while in self-isolation the prime minister shall continue to ‘work from home’ and lead the government in the fight against coronavirus.

Although taking into consideration Johnson’s coronavirus treatment, Downing street has bestowed the responsibility of the UK government on the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.

G20 Pledges $5 Trillion To Revive Global Economy; Modi Calls For WHO Reform

NEW DELHI, Mar 26: The G20 group of nations on Thursday pledged a "united front" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and said they were injecting $5 trillion into the global economy to counter the impact of the crisis.

In the first ever video conference of G20 of leaders held today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the alarming social and economic costs of the pandemic and called for a concrete action plan including reforming the World Health Organisation (WHO), sources said.

"Combatting this pandemic calls for a transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale and science-based global response in the spirit of solidarity," the G20 said in a statement after the emergency online summit chaired by Saudi Arabia's King Salman and attended by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin among others.

The group of 20 most industrialised nations said they were injecting over $5 trillion into the global economy "to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic". The countries also agreed to work together to find a vaccine for coronavirus.

According to sources, Modi asked for the G20 to freely and openly share medical research and said that international organisations like WHO, built on models of the previous century, need to be strengthened and reformed.

WHO initially did not have the mandate to deal with a pandemic of this sort, which is why empowering of WHO is necessary, be it in terms of its capacity of early warning or development of effective vaccines, he said.

As concerns mount for poorer countries without access to capital markets or adequate health facilities, G20 leaders also pledged to work with bodies such as the International Monetary Fund to deploy a "robust" financial package to support developing nations.

Sources say the G20 leaders said the ongoing restrictions across many countries have a finite timeline, though they can't say exactly till when.

There was no discussion on the origins of the virus and ascribing blame to China. Officials say the emphasis was on cooperation between countries.

On the fight against the novel coronavirus, the leaders committed to a number of measures including sharing research and data, strengthening health systems, and expanding manufacturing capacity to meet demand for medical supplies.

"To safeguard the future, we commit to strengthen national, regional, and global capacities to respond to potential infectious disease outbreaks," the statement said.

NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were also present during the conference.

The talks come amid criticism that the G20 has been slow to address the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left more than 21,000 dead worldwide according to official data, and triggered financial shock waves as more than three billion people are locked down.

On Wednesday, the financial ratings agency Moody's estimated the G20's overall gross domestic product would contract by 0.5 per cent this year, with the US economy shrinking by 2.0 per cent and the eurozone by 2.2 per cent.

Coronavirus cases in India rise to 694, death toll at 16

NEW DELHI, Mar 26: Amid the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country, the number of confirmed cases in India rose to 694 on Thursday. 88 new virus cases was reported in India today, the highest in a single day. Out of these cases, 47 are foreign nationals, said the Union Health Ministry. There have been 16 deaths so far in the country. Currently, as per the orders of the government, India is in a complete lockdown for 21 days that began from 25 March.

The number of active cases are 633. Maharashtra is the most affected state with 124 positive cases, followed by Kerala with 119 cases (including eight foreign nationals).

Andaman and Nicobar reports its first positive case today. Along with that, Manipur, Mizoram and Puducherry also have one positive cases each.

In a press briefing toady afternoon, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said, "While the numbers of Covid-19 cases are increasing, the rate at which they are increasing appears to be relatively stabilizing. However, this is only the initial trend."

The ministry also added that 43 fresh cases and four deaths related to coronavirus have been reported in the last 24 hours.

Out of these, 45 cases have been cured or discharged, the ministry informed.

The ministry also spoke about community transmission phase and said, "Community transmission phase will start if the community the government don't work collectively and follow guidelines. But it would never happen in India if we follow social distancing and treatment properly."

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh registered its first death due to coronavirus when a 65-year-old woman from the major pilgrim town Ujjain died on Wednesday afternoon.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan chaired a GoM meeting to assess the situation in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. According to officials, the ministry of home affairs is monitoring the lockdown through a control room.

Here is a state-wise count of coronavirus as per the health ministry:

Andaman & Nicobar: 1

Andhra Pradesh 11

Bihar 6

Chandigarh 7

Chhattisgarh 6

Delhi 36

Goa 3

Gujarat 43

Haryana 30

Himachal Pradesh 3

Jammu & Kashmir 13

Karnataka 55

Kerala 118

Ladakh 13

Madhya Pradesh 20

Maharashtra 124

Manipur 1

Mizoram 1

Odisha 2

Puducherry 1

Punjab 33

Rajasthan 41

Tamil Nadu 26

Telangana 44

Uttar Pradesh 41

Uttarakhand 5

West Bengal 10

Following government guidelines on imposing a 21-day country-wide lockdown, Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the suspension of international flights to and from India to 14 April.

Pune-based Mylab becomes first Indian company to get commercial approval

PUNE, Mar 25: A Pune based molecular diagnostic company has become the first one to develop a diagnostic kit for coronavirus testing. The kit called Mylab PathoDetect Covid-19 qualitative PCR kit is the first one to receive commercial approval from Indian FDA/central drugs standard control organisation. It also received recommendation from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

The company called Mylab Discovery and Solution which works in molecular diagnostics has also received clearance from Drugs Controller General of India to manufacture these kits.

Since the country currently ranks lowest in terms of testing done per million population, the kit has brought a ray of hope. The company has also declared that it will be sold at an affordable price.

Covid-19 infects over 600 in India

NEW DELHI, Mar 25: The number of people infected by coronavirus in India crossed the 600 mark on Wednesday with Maharashtra recording the highest rise of 16 new cases followed by Karnataka with 10 while Mizoram recorded its first positive case.

By the end of Wednesday the count of infected people stood at 606. Two casualties were reported – one each from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

There were nine new cases in Kerala , seven in Haryana, six in Madhya Pradesh, five in Delhi, four each in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, two each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and one in Uttarakhand.

Despite being the state with the highest number of infections, there was some cheer for Maharastra as a Pune couple – the state’s first coronavirus patients - returned home on Wednesday after 17 days of hospitalisation to a rousing welcome from members of their residential society.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed the people of his constituency in Varanasi through a video link, reiterated that social distancing and staying indoors were the only way out and the best option to deal with coronavirus.

“People should focus on how deadly this virus is. This disease doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor,” Modi said, a day after he announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to break the chain of transmission of coronavirus that has affected more than 4.3 lakh people across the world in three months.

Modi underlined the enormity of challenge facing the country. He invoked the Mahabharata, and said the epic war was won in 18 days and his government’s effort is to win the war against coronavirus in 21 days.

“The war of Mahabharata was won in 18 days and our effort is to win this war against the coronavirus in 21 days,” he said.

In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated his appeal to people to stay at home as part of the nationwide lockdown as five more people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen.

In Odisha, the state launched a massive recruitment for thousands of doctors, nurses, paramedics and multipurpose health workers to join the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, while in Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to NRIs and corporate to donate funds to fight the pandemic.

Amid the 21-day lockdown, the Union home ministry has indefinitely suspended the exercise to update the NPR and collection of data for Census 2021.

With the lockdown beginning to hit the poor, the Jharkhand government has initiated several welfare measures, including low-price ‘Khichdi’ distribution centres and two months’ ration in advance to beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) to ease the economic burden on them.

Rahul Gandhi suggests cash help for poor, tax break for industries

NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi listed his suggestions to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, asking the government to provide daily-wagers immediate help through direct cash transfers in their accounts and free rations at a time when the country has imposed a 21-day lockdown.

“Many industries are struggling. Act quickly by announcing tax breaks & financial support to prevent massive job losses & reassure business owners that the Govt will support them through this crisis,” he posted on Twitter amid mounting worries over the economy.

India is fighting a war against the Sars-Cov-2 virus, he said, adding that the strategy to “minimise casualties in this war” should have two components — economy and tackling the disease.

“Isolate the virus and block its escape routes,” he said, calling for expanding tests to identify patients. “Create massive emergency field hospitals in particularly in urban areas with full ICU capability to provide care to patients,” Gandhi added.

Elaborating on the economy front, the former Congress president said, apart from direct cash transfers, the government must act quickly by announcing tax breaks and provide financial support to prevent massive job losses. Many industries are struggling, and the government has to ensure business owners that they will support during this crisis, he said.

With 738 deaths in a day, Spain toll reaches 3,434

MADRID, Mar 25: Spain's coronavirus death toll overtook that of China on Wednesday, rising to 3,434 after 738 people died over the past 24 hours, the government said.

Across the world, only Italy now has a higher death toll than that of Spain. In China, where the virus emerged late last year, 3,281 people have died.

The spiralling number of deaths came as Spain entered the 11th day of an unprecedented lockdown to try and rein in the COVID-19 epidemic that has now infected 47,610 people, the health ministry said.

As the authorities stepped up testing, the number of cases showed a 20 percent increase on the figures for Tuesday, while the death toll showed a 27 percent rise over the same period.

Despite the national lockdown imposed on March 14, which is to be extended until April 11, both deaths and infections have continued to mount, with officials warning this week would be particularly bad.

"We are approaching the peak," the ministry's emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon said in announcing the figures.

Health authorities are hoping it will soon become clear whether the lockdown is having the desired effect.

The Madrid region has suffered the brunt of the epidemic with 14,597 infections -- just under a third of the total -- and 1,825 deaths, or 53 percent of the national figure.

With hospitals on the brink of collapse from the surge in patients, troops have set up a massive field hospital in Madrid's vast IFEMA exhibition centre which currently has 1,500 beds but which could be expanded to take in up to 5,500 people -- making it the largest hospital in Spain.

And with the city's funeral services overwhelmed, officials have commandeered the Palacio de Hielo ice skating rink to serve as a temporary morgue.

India is locked down for 21 days to fight Corona Virus

NEW DELHI, Mar 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced complete lockdown of the entire country, as part of government’s stringent efforts to tackle coronavirus disease Covid-19.

“Today, I am going to announce a very important measure in our fight against Covid-19. The entire country will be under lockdown from today. The complete lockdown will come into effect from midnight tonight,” Modi said in his address to the nation.

This lockdown will be in place for 21 days and more stringent than Janta Curfew, he added.

The Prime Minister described the situation in different countries due to the pandemic that has infected more than 3.5 lakh people and killed over 16,000.

“This virus has been spreading very fast across the world. It spreads like wildfire. Looking at the experience of these countries, and what the experts say, the only successful way to tackle the spread of the virus is social distancing,” said the Prime Minister.

Some people believe that social distancing is only for those who are infected with the disease. It’s not true, and this thought will be detrimental for you, for me and for everyone. Social distancing is for everyone, even for the Prime Minister,” said Modi

This was the second time in a week when Modi addressed the country on the fast-spreading disease.

In a television address last Thursday, Modi had highlighted the threat posed by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, and appealed to people to practise social distancing and work from home.

He had also asked Indians to observe ‘Janta Curfew’, a self-imposed restraint measure to keep themselves and others in the society safe.

The Janta Curfew was in place for 14 hours on Sunday - from 7 am to 9 pm. And, as advised by the Prime Minister, people stayed off the roads and public places during this period.

Modi had also apprised the nation of an emergency task force to mitigate the economic challenges stemming from the crisis.

Beijing urges India not to call it 'China Virus'

BEIJING, Mar 24: Beijing has urged India not to use “China” to describe the novel coronavirus, saying it could stigmatise the country and would be detrimental to international cooperation.

During a phone conversation on Tuesday, state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi told counterpart S Jaishankar that China hopes that India was “opposed” to the “narrow mindset” of using the phrase “China virus”.

The coronavirus outbreak, or the Covid-19 disease, first emerged from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

The Chinese government has lately argued that it might have been found first in central China but there was no proof it originated there.

Chinese diplomats have led a worldwide campaign to convince host governments not to use the phrase “China virus”.

“Wang Yi said it’s not acceptable and detrimental to international cooperation to label the virus and stigmatise China, hope India oppose such a narrow mindset. Dr. Jaishankar agreed not to label the virus and the international community should send a strong signal of solidarity," the Chinese envoy to India, Sun Weidong said in a tweet on Tuesday evening.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokespersons in Beijing have also been vocal in its opposition against the use of the phrase, and have strongly criticised the US for using it.

“China has repeatedly reiterated that some individuals in the US have deliberately linked the new coronavirus to China and constantly stigmatised China. The Chinese people are strongly indignant and resolutely opposed to this. Both WHO and the international community are clearly opposed to linking viruses to specific countries and regions, and against stigma,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang said at the regular ministry briefing on Tuesday.

Tweeting about the phone conversation between Wang and Jaishankar, Ambassador Sun quoted the Chinese minister as saying that China was “…confident that India can handle and win the battle against Covid-19. China and India should support each other, and jointly safeguard global public health.

Wang expressed sympathy and solidarity with India in the fight against Covid-19. “China is ready to share our experience, provide assistance within our capacity and open its channel for procurement to India,” Wang was quoted as telling Jaishankar.

Jaishankar thanked China for its sympathy message and assistance of medical materials to India.

Grocery, milk booth, vegetable shops open during 21-day lockdown

NEW DELHI, Mar 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday evening ordered central departments and states to take “effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country”. Soon after Modi made the announcement of a complete lockdown in his 8 pm address to the nation, the Home Ministry ordered state governments to enforce a 21-day lockdown.

A set of guidelines circulated by the Home Ministry to the states made it clear that all government and private sector offices across the country will remain closed unless they have been specifically exempted. The guidelines have also ordered all educational institutions and places of worship to close and restricted the congregation at any funeral during the lockdown to a maximum of 20 people.

The home ministry also ordered all enforcement authorities to note that these strict restrictions fundamentally relate to movement of people but not to that of essential goods, Offices and services that remain open

Central government

Defence, central armed police forces, treasury, public utilities (including petroleum, CNG, LPG, PNG), disaster management, power generation and transmission units, post offices, National Informatics Centre and early warning agencies

State government

Police, home guards, civil defence fire and emergency services disaster management and prisons

At district level, district administration and treasury, electricity, water and sanitation. Staff of municipal bodies required for provision of essential services - sanitation and water supply - municipal bodies - will be required to work

Hospitals and medical establishments

Hospitals and medical establishments involved in manufacture and distribution such as dispensaries, hospitals, chemist and medical equipment shops will remain open. The transportation for all medical personnel, nurses, para-medical staff, other hospital support services will be permitted

Commercial establishments

Shops including ration shops, dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder. However, district authorities may encourage and facilitate home delivery to minimise the movement of individuals outside their homes.

Banks, insurance offices and ATMs. Print and electronic media Telecom, internet services, broadcasting and cable services and IT and IT enabled services can be open to the extent that they have to provide essential services.

Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce. Petrol pumps, LPG, petroleum and gas retail and storage outlets. Power generation, transmission and distribution.

Capital and debt market services notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India

Cold storage and warehousing services

Private security agencies. all other establishments may work from home only

Industrial establishments will remain closed except those producing essential commodities

All transport services remain suspended except transportation of essential goods and emergency services such as fire and law and order

Hospitality services to remain suspended except those accommodating stranded tourists and people due to lockdown and emergency staff.