Coronavirus Updates: Covid-19 Cases Surge To 38,000 Mark Even As India Extends Lockdown Till May 17

India reported 2,411 new Covid-19 cases, 71 deaths and 953 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the health ministry as on May 2, 5 p.m.

Active cases: 26,535
Total cured/discharged/migrated: 10,018
Total deaths: 1,223

The data shows in these states cases are doubling at a pace higher than the national average of 11 days.

• Punjab: 2 days
• Chandigarh: 4 days
• Bihar: 7 days
• Jharkhand: 8 days
• Gujarat: 10 days
• Maharashtra: 9 days

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The BMC has informed that Dharavi added a total of 127 new cases between Friday and Saturday.

The total number of cases registered so far from Dharavi now stand at 496 with the death toll rising to 18.

The BMC also informed that as of today, a total of 79,000 people have been screened in Dharavi.

Jammu and Kashmir reported 27 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the total number of infected persons in the Union Territory to 666, officials told PTI.

The officials said 25 cases were reported from Kashmir Valley, and two from the Jammu region. Of the total number of cases reported so far in the Union Territory, 606 are from Kashmir and 60 from Jammu, they said.

Over 71,800 people have been put under surveillance, including those who are either in government-established quarantine facilities or in home isolation.

The number of Covid-19-positive personnel in a Delhi-based battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country's largest paramilitary force, has risen to 135, officials told PTI on Saturday.

A total of 480 samples were taken from the unit, out of which 458 results have come and 22 are awaited.

These huge numbers in a single battalion (of over 1,000 troopers) has rung alarm bells in the establishment after it was found that ‘dichotomous’ orders were issued to check the spread of Covid-19.

CRPF officers said it recently came to light that the medical wing of the paramilitary issued a separate order in April stating that doctors and paramedics can be taken off the quarantine if they do not show any symptom after five days.

The first 'Shramik Special' train to Bihar, carrying 1,187 stranded migrant labourers, reached the Danapur railway station here from Rajasthan's Jaipur on Saturday afternoon after a 16-hour journey.

The 24-coach train left Jaipur at 10 P.M. on Friday and reached the Danapur railway station around 2 pm, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO), East Central Railway, Hajipur, Rajesh Kumar told PTI.

Disinfectants were sprayed in and around the railway station before the arrival of the train, Agarwal said.

Around 100 buses have been stationed at the Danapur railway station to send these people to their home districts, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a series of meetings with key ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and officials of economic ministries to firm up the second stimulus package for sectors impacted by lockdown to curb spread of coronavirus, sources told PTI.

Sources said the government is considering to announce a second dose of relief measures for the segment and a stimulus package for India Inc shortly.

Beginning May 4, the government has decided to ease certain restrictions including opening of industries for green and orange districts which either have nil or low number of cases. The easing of restriction in specified districts is till May 17 with strict vigil by local administration.

As many as 56 Covid-19 patients, including a three-year-old girl, were discharged at the same time from a civic-run hospital in Mira-Bhayandar township in Thane district of Maharashtra after recovery, an official said.

“As per the latest report, a total of 161 persons have tested coronavirus positive in the township. Of them 41 were discharged till a couple of days back. On Saturday, 56 others were discharged at after their repeat samples tested negative,” the official said.

MLA Geeta Jain said it was perhaps the first time in the state that so many Covid-19 patients were discharged at once.

The civic body in Ahmedabad has arranged for 300 additional beds at three hospitals, a senior official said on Saturday.

A 100-bed COVID-19 centre at the trust-run Al Amin Garib Nawaz Hospital will provide free treatment to patients, while 100 beds have been put up at Infectious Diseases Hospital in the city's south zone, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said.

A similar arrangement was also made at Chhipa Welfare General Hospital for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, he added.

At present, the city has 2,659 active cases, of which 808 patients were being treated at the civil hospital and 541 at SVP Hospital, PTI quoted Nehra as saying.

The way all of us conduct during lockdown 3.0 will lay the ground for further course of action aimed at returning to total pre-corona normalcy, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu wrote in a Facebook post.

The modalities of lockdown 3.0, Naidu said, are a clear acknowledgment of the need to balance the twin concerns of lives and livelihoods by kick-starting the economy.

At the same time, he asserted that people do not lower the guard in the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of the disease while taking the economy out of freeze.

But the battle is still to be won and we need to persist it as the disease is forecast to live with the humans for a longer period, he cautioned.

All 11 districts in the national capital will remain in the red zone till May 17, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday.

"A red zone is an area where there are more than 10 (coronavirus) cases. The relief measures announced by centre will be made available to people," he told reporters.

Till Friday, the national capital had recorded 3,738 cases of coronavirus and 61 fatalities. On Friday, 223 new cases were reported.

Around 1,000 migrant labourers, mostly from northern parts of India, came on to the streets in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district to demand that arrangements be made for their return to the native places, police said.

The incident took place around 9.30 a.m. at Ballarpur in the district, an official told PTI.

More than 1,000 labourers, mostly staying at a construction site in a government medical college, hit the streets and demanded that arrangements be made for their return, the official said. The stranded migrants tried to block the highway and started walking towards the railway station, he said.

Police personnel rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control. The police offered food to the migrants and returned them to their local residence.

(Source: PTI)

The Centre has made it mandatory for government and private sector employees to use Aarogya Setu mobile application to bolster the efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The home ministry also said the mobile app will be compulsory for people living in coronavirus containment zones.

Organisation heads will be responsible to ensure 100 percent coverage.

India added 2,411 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours taking the total tally to 37,776.

• Active cases: 26,535
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 10,018
• Deaths: 1,223

Source: Health Ministry (As of May 2, 5:00 p.m.)

Districts have been identified as red, orange or green zones based on the status of the Covid-19 outbreak there. Green zones are with no confirmed cases in the last 21 days. Red zones are the ones with the most active cases and a faster doubling rate. Orange zones fall under neither of the two categories.

The classification will enable the resumption of some economic activities in areas that are relatively less affected by the incidence of Covid-19. It will also ensure that caution is exercised in these areas so that they remain coronavirus-free, the home ministry said.

However, irrespective of the zones, there are some activities that will continue to remain prohibited across the country. This includes:

• Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road
• Running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions
• Hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants
• Places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc
• Social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings
• Religious places/places of worship for public.

The movement of individuals, too, will remain strictly prohibited between 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

All movement of goods will be permitted. No states or union territories shall prohibit the movement of cargo, the home ministry said.

Read what activities are allowed in Red, Orange and Green zones here.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India rose past the 37,000-mark on Saturday even as the government said it will extend the nationwide lockdown beyond May 4 for two more weeks.

The home ministry has issued an order to extend the lockdown. However, there will be considerable relaxations in districts where there are no active cases.

India reported 2,411 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 37,776, according to the health ministry’s 5 p.m. update. This includes 10,018 patients who've been discharged and 1,223 who’ve died.

Over the last 24 hours, India has seen 953 recoveries and 71 deaths.

Stay updated with all the latest coronavirus updates from across the globe here.