Coronavirus India Updates: Total Cases Near 50,000; Death Toll At 1,694

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India are likely to reach 50,000, as states and the central government struggle to find a balance between lives and livelihood.

The country reported 2,958 new cases over the 24 hours preceding the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update, taking the total tally to 49,391. This includes 14,183 patients who’ve been discharged and 1,694 who’ve died.

India saw its highest-ever one-day recoveries at 1,456, while 126 died in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra revoked its decision to open liquor stores last night after people crowded in lines outside alcohol shops across the country through the day, without much thought for social distancing. Telangana extended its lockdown to May 29.

India has reported more than 15,000 new infections in just the first six days of May.

Global Update:

The U.K.’s coronavirus death toll soared passed that of Italy, making it the worst-hit country in Europe. Hong Kong moved to ease restrictions, and the state of Bavaria set out plans to reopen its economy in what may serve as a blueprint for the rest of Germany.

Total confirmed coronavirus cases across the world crossed 3.6 million, while more than 2,55,000 people have died, according to John Hopkins data.

Track all the news updates on the coronavirus situation in India here:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has Railways, Ports, Army, Navy and other central government undertakings to make their facilities available across Maharashtra for Covid-19 containment.

This underscores the health crisis that the state, which has over 15,000 cases and over 600 deaths, is facing.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has given administrative heads of civic wards the power to take over private hospitals and nursing homes to fight the pandemic.

The city has the most number of cases in India.

Find out more details on the orders here.

The Delhi government on Wednesday launched a Twitter handle for addressing Covid-19 related queries and complaints of the people.

The handle @DelhiVsCorona will ensure authentic information about the disease and serve as a one-stop solution for all the Covid-19 related queries and complaints, the government said in a statement.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has formed a team to monitor this Twitter handle. The team will gather live status of the situation in the government hospitals and provide authentic information on Covid-19, it said.

"The team will also respond and solve the issues of patients and doctors in the Delhi government hospitals."

Twitter users can tag @DelhiVsCorona and tweet with their queries regarding ration, checkups, hospital-related queries or any other Covid-19 related questions, the statement read.

"The team of representatives will ensure swift and speedy action on the issues related to Covid-19 treatment raised on Twitter. This will help reduce panic and anxiety amongst the citizens of Delhi," added the statement.

Source: PTI

Kerala has only 34 active cases and no new Covid-19 patient reported in two days now. Yet, as per the central government’s zoning plan, social and commercial activity remains restricted across most of the state as 12 of 14 districts are either red or orange, only two are green.

“We have been trying to tell Delhi that there is a lot of flexibility required,” Thomas Isaac, Kerala’s finance minister said even as he described the flexbility the state has given to local governments in managing health and social services. “We cannot be micromanaged from Delhi,” he told BloombergQuint when asked how states would administer the centre’s new zoning policy.

Read the full conversation here.

Domestic manufacturers have reached the capacity of producing nearly 2.5 lakh PPE and 2 lakh N-95 masks per day which is sufficient to meet the country's requirement in dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic in the near future, the Group of Ministers on Covid-19 has been informed.

The GoM, which held its 14th meeting under the chairmanship of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday, discussed various aspects pertaining to the performance, impact and benefits of the Aarogya Setu application.

It also highlighted the need for ensuring stringent measures for quality control of personal protection equipment, masks, ventilators among others.

The GoM was informed that close to 9 crore users had downloaded the Aarogya Setu app as on May 4.

Source: PTI

A Shramik Special train carrying nearly 1,200 migrant workers left from neighbouring Navi Mumbai for Rewa in Madhya Pradesh in the wee hours of Wednesday, the Central Railway said.

The train left from Panvel station of Navi Mumbai at 12.45 am, carrying passengers "registered and nominated by the state government", the Central Railway (CR) informed on its Twitter handle.

Nearly 1,200 migrants boarded the 24-coach special train while maintaining the physical distancing norms, a CR spokesperson said.

On Tuesday night, the Central Railway operated two Shramik Special trains from Kalyan junction in neighbouring Thane district.

One of them, carrying nearly 1,200 migrants, left for Darbhanga in Bihar at 8.37 p.m.

The other train, carrying nearly 930 migrants, left for Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh around 11 p.m., railway officials earlier said.

Since May 2, the Central Railway has so far operated five Shramik Special trains from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Panvel stations for Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Source: PTI

These three states account for more than half of India’s total coronavirus cases.

• Maharashtra : 15,525 cases
• Gujarat : 6,245 cases
• Delhi : 5,104 cases

Authorities reported 2,958 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 49,391, according to data made available by the Health Ministry as of 8 a.m.

• Active cases: 33514
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 14183
• Deaths: 1694

The country saw 1,456 recoveries and 126 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Seven persons, six of whom recently returned from Gujarat and West Bengal, tested positive for Covid-19 in Odisha on Tuesday, taking the number of cases in the state to 176, an official said.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in the state now stands at 115.

Of the seven new cases, three hailed from Balasore, one from Ganjam, one from Rourkela in Sundergarh district, one from Jajpur district and another from Cuttack district, the official said.

The latest case was detected in Jajpur district with a 58 year-old man who returned from Kolkata testing positive. He was in quarantine after returning from the neighbouring state.

With this the total number of Covid-19 cases in Jajpur mounted to 53, the official said.

In Rourkela in Sundergarh district, a 49-year-old man tested positive for the deadly virus after he returned from Kolkata. The new cases in Cuttack and Ganjam districts are of two people who recently returned from Surat in Gujarat. Cuttack district had last reported a Covid-19 case on April 3 while Ganjam falls in the orange zone. In Balasore district, the three new patients comprised two men aged 50 and 26 years and a 40-year-old woman. The two men had recently returned from West Bengal.

Contact tracing and follow-up actions are being undertaken in the three districts, the official said.

Source: PTI

• Government Extends GST Annual Return Deadline For 2018-19
• India’s Jobless Rate Jumps To 27.1% As Lockdown Hurts
• Mumbai Shuts Liquor, Non-Essential Shops
• Luxury Home Prices Will Fall Sharply, Knight Frank Says
• How Different States Complied With The 40-Day Lockdown
• Lockdown In Telangana Extended Till May 29
• 1918 Pandemic Linked To Rise Of Nazis, Study Shows
• Coronavirus Impact: How To Deal With A Pay Cut