Coronavirus India Updates: Total Covid-19 Cases Near 53,000; Death Toll At 1,783

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India soared past the 50,000-mark and inching closer to 53,000, all in the last one day.

India reported 3,561 new cases in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update today, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 52,952. This includes more than 15,267 people cured and nearly 1,783 people dead.

Maharashtra remained the worst affected state, having more than one-fourth of the total cases in India. Things continued to worsen in Gujarat as well with the state being forced to completely shut down two major hubs Ahmedabad and Surat.

The tally in Uttar Pradesh crossed 3,000 today. However, the state health department said Ghaziabad district became Covid-19 free. Kerala, once again, reported a day with no new additions with the total active cases now at 25.

Global Update:

The World Health Organization is considering a new mission to seek the source of the coronavirus in China. The U.K. is set to ease parts of its nationwide lockdown on Monday, with companies warning that continuing social distancing will hurt any economic recovery. Globally, more than 3.7 million people have been infected by the virus, of which more than 2,63,000 have died.

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

Personal protective equipment designed by the Indian Navy has now been tested and certified by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences to be mass-produced.

The Karnataka government has backtracked on its decision to cancel trains taking stranded migrant workers back to their home states.

The state government has now written to Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal and Rajasthan seeking their consent to operate trains to their states from May 8 to May 15.

To contain the spread of coronavirus in Surat, Gujarat, the city’s civic authorities on Thursday announced that all shops selling vegetables and fruits will remain closed in the city from May 9 - 14.

The announcement came a day after the Ahmedabad civic authorities ordered closure of all shops, except those selling milk and medicines, for a week.

In Surat, vegetable and fruit shops will remain closed from May 9 midnight to May 14 midnight, municipal commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said in an order, adding that such a step is necessary to contain spread of the viral infection.

Read more here.

Himachal Pradesh reported a fresh case of coronavirus on Thursday, taking the total number of virus cases in the state to 47, officials said.

A woman, whose 21 year-old son died of coronavirus on Tuesday, has tested positive for the virus, Mandi Chief Medical Officer Jeevanand Chauhan said. The woman was kept in quarantine at the Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla.

The woman's son was also suffering from renal problems and died at IGMC on Tuesday.

However, in a lapse, the man was taken to IGMC Shimla from Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College Nerchowk in Mandi in a normal ambulance instead of the ambulance earmarked for carrying suspected or confirmed Covid-19 patients.

The CMO said a lapse had occurred. However, he attributed the lapse to wrong information provided by the youth regarding his travel history. The youth had told the medical staff that he had returned from Delhi on March 23, he added.

Of the total 47 patients in the state, HP now has six active cases with two in Chamba and Mandi and one each in Sirmaur and Kangra districts. A total of 34 people have recovered while three persons have died.

Source: PTI

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said that 487 policemen have tested Covid-19 positive in the state ever since the nationwide lockdown came into force.

The lockdown was imposed on March 24 and has been extended till May 17 to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Taking to Twitter, Deshmukh said, "487 police personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 since the lockdown."

In a bid to keep an eye on asymptomatic coronavirus patients, the city civic body has improvised its already existing mobile app 'Indore 311' and added some new features to it which will also facilitate treatment of such patients at their homes, an official said.

An eight-member team of the Indian Medical Association engaged in the fight against Covid-19 here is helping the city administration in fine-tuning the app, and the new features have been added on its suggestions.

Indore, which is one the worst hit by Covid-19 in the country, has so far reported a total of 1,681 cases of the disease and 81 deaths, as per official figures.

"The app is already being used by lakhs of people in Indore since quite some time, but the new features added to it will be available only to the asymptomatic Covid-19 patients who have been advised by the health department to get treatment while remaining home isolation," IMA team member Dr Subodh Chaturvedi told PTI.

Such patients are being provided a pulse oximeter which would help in monitoring their oxygen level and pulse rate at home, he said.

Based on a pre-loaded questionnaire on the app, the patient or his caregiver will have to daily upload information, like if he has fever over 101 degree Fahrenheit and breathing problems. The patient will also have to answer certain other questions based on common symptoms of COVID-19," Chaturvedi said.

Doctors deputed at the IMA control room while constantly monitor the information provided by the patient and provide consultation accordingly. If required, the rapid response teams will shift the patient to hospital, he said.

A patient or his caregiver can also press the red button available on the app to seek medical help in case of an emergency, he said.

"If a patient does not follow the medical advice and steps out 100 metres away from his house, an alarm would ring at the IMA control room and the patient would be tracked through GPS and sent back home," the official said.

Source: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed people leading the fight against coronavirus and said India is standing firmly with those facing difficult times during the pandemic, both in the country and abroad.

He also said India's development will always aid global growth.

Speaking at a global virtual Buddha Purnima event, Modi said, "People world over working selflessly for others in these difficult times are worthy of praise."

Buddha Purnima celebrations are being held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event is being organised in the honour of Covid-19 victims and frontline warriors.

Source: PTI

There are now six states with more than 3,000 reported cases. These states - Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu - account for close to 75 percent of India’s total cases.

Uttar Pradehs is close to the 3,000 mark while Tamil Nadu is close to the 5,000 mark.

A total of 3,561 infectionshave been reported by authorities across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 52,952, according to the data made available by the Health Ministry at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

• Active cases: 35902
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 15267
• Deaths: 1783

The country has seen 1084 recoveries and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava has directed his officers and rank and file to disinfect police stations and take adequate precautions against coronavirus, officials said on Wednesday.

He held a video-conference meeting with his officials on Tuesday to review the force's preparedness to fight the coronavirus pandemic, they said.

He also enquired about the health of police personnel. After it was reported that nine more police personnel were found positive for coronavirus, he directed that staff who came in contact with them be quarantined.

He also directed that such police stations be properly disinfected and staff be briefed to take adequate precautions while discharging their duties, they said.

Source: PTI

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