Coronavirus India Updates: Confirmed Covid-19 Cases Rise To 4,281; Death Toll At 111

The total number of Confirmed Covid-19 cases in India has risen to 4,281 with 3,851 of them being active cases. The death toll has risen to 111, while 319 people have been cured and discharged. This is as per the Health Ministry update at 6 p.m.

India added 693 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours as well as reported the most number of deaths at 32.

The pandemic has now infected more than 1.3 million people worldwide with the death toll surpassing 70,000. Germany and Spain reported lower number of new cases, a tentative sign that the lockdown measures are easing the outbreak.

A man who escaped from a Coronavirus quarantine centre in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district was booked by the police after being brought back to the facility, reports PTI.

A case has been registered against the man at Ramgarh police station. Officials said that despite knowing that the disease can be fatal, the man deliberately left the quarantine centre, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.

Gujarat reported 16 new cases on Monday, taking the statewide tally to 144, according to a health department official, as reported by PTI.

Ten of the 16 new cases have a direct or indirect link to the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin last month.

Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said that so far 11 patients have died while 21 have been discharged after recovery.

The number of Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra has risen to 781 with the addition of 33 new cases on Monday, PTI reported.

Among the new cases reported, 19 were from Pune City, 11 from Mumbai and one each from Satara, Ahmednagar and Vasai, according to a health ministry official.

The state so far has reported 45 deaths due to the pandemic.

The death toll due to the Covid-19 pandemic rose to three in Andhra Pradesh, with two more deaths reported in Amravati on Monday, the government told PTI.

The tally of positive cases in the state has also risen to 266 with the reporting of 14 new cases. 258 of them are active cases, according to a bulletin issued by the state Medical and Health Department.

Kurnool district tops the state list with 56 cases, followed by Nellore with 34.

PepsiCo India along with its parent company's philanthropic arm PepsiCo Foundation will provide 25,000 Covid-19 testing kits and over 5 million meals to support families impacted by Covid-19, the company said on Monday.

The company has partnered with the Akshaya Patra Foundation for distribution of cooked meals and with the Smile Foundation for providing dry food ratio to support meals for over 8,000 vulnerable families.

The initiative is part of the parent company's global programme called ‘Give Meals, Give Hope.’ It has partnered with non-profit organisation Foundation of Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) for providing 25,000 COVID-19 testing kits.

To further mobilise funds, PepsiCo India said it has launched a double matching gifts programme which involves its employees also lending their support to communities that are impacted by COVID-19.

As part of the programme, PepsiCo Foundation will match all employee donations by two-fold and give the total accumulated fund to the NGO partners working with the company.

The death toll in Gujarat due to Covid-19 rose to 12 after a 62-year old woman died on Monday. The woman had a travel history to Sri Lanka, as reported by PTI.

She fell ill on March 18 and was admitted to Vadodara's SSG hospital where she later tested positive for Covid-19. She was part of a group that had travelled to Sri Lanka.

Another member of the same group had died on April 2, according to Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Nalin Upadhyay.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is among the countries which understood the pandemic's seriousness and took various timely decisions to combat the virus.

Addressing BJP workers to mark the 40th foundation day of the party, he said that India's efforts to combat the virus have set an example.

The Prime Minister also appreciated the maturity shown by the people during the lockdown, describing it as unprecedented. “We got to see our collective strength on Sunday evening,” he said.

He also urged BJP workers to follow a five-point agenda including working towards ensuring that no poor goes hungry.

He also urged party workers to donate and encourage others to contribute to the PM-CARES fund.

The University Grants Commission has directed all universities and colleges to set up mental health helplines to address psychosocial concerns of students during the 21-day lockdown imposed to combat Coronavirus, as per PTI.

The commission has suggested that there should be regular mentoring of students through interactions and appeals to remain calm and stress-free.

The Union health ministry has launched a toll-free helpline (080-46110007) for people who may face mental health issues due to the ongoing 21-day countrywide lockdown.

Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had on Sunday said that a decision would be taken on reopening schools and colleges on April 14 after reviewing the situation.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh reached 294 on Monday after 16 people tested positive, according to local health officials.

Six positive cases were from Lucknow, eight from Sitapur and two were from Agra, as per PTI, quoting an official statement from the KGMU.

Nearly half of the cases reported from the state till Sunday had links with the Tablighi Jamaat Congregation in Nizamuddin.

The state has reported three deaths so far.

Liquor maker Bacardi said that it will produce 70,000 liters of hand sanitisers, for distribution to district government hospitals, to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

The company has started production of hand sanitisers at its co-packing facility in Telangana, it said in a statement.

Recently, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had directed the state governments to grant licenses to distilleries and sugar companies to manufacture hand sanitisers to meet the demand.

Karnataka reported 12 new Coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the overall tally in the stte to 163, health department officials told PTI.

Among the 12 new cases, seven were from Mysuru, Two from Bagalkote, one woman is a resident of Kerala with a travel history to Germany while two others are from Bengaluru.

The two cases from Bagalkote are the wife and brother of a 75-year old man who died on April 3.

The Department of Health Research has notified 10 dedicated laboratories in the state, supported by the ICMR.

Nine fresh cases were detected in Madhya Pradesh's capital city of Bhopal, taking the overall tally in the city to 50, according to the state Public Relations Department.

Among the nine fresh cases, seven are staffers of the health department.

During the past one week, among those who have been infected with the Coronavirus in the MP capital are two Indian Administrative Service officers in the health department, including its principal secretary.

BMC Health Officials said that three doctors and 26 nurses tested positive for the novel Coronavirus at the Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai Central. The facility has been sealed to prevent the spread of further infection.

No one is allowed to enter or exit the hospital according to a civic official.

Nine new cases were detected in Haryana on Monday, taking the total Covid-19 cases in the state to 87.

Seven of those tested positive were from Palwal district while the other two were from Nuh, a health department bulletin stated.

Out of the 87 total cases, six are Sri Lankan Nationals, one is from Nepal while 28 are from other states of India.

Officials said that majority of the fresh cases were from the Tabilghi Jamaat congregation.

The death toll in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic has risen to 109. 73 percent of these deaths have been in Males while the rest have been Female, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of the Health Ministry said in a press briefing.

Agarwal also said that Rs 3,000 crore have been additionally released for the State Disaster Relief Fund. This is in addition to the Rs 1,100 crore released last week.

47 percent of the cases were reported in people less than 40 years of age, 34 percent were between the age of 40-60 while 19 percent were above 60 years of age, Agarwal added.

63 percent deaths were in the age group of 60 and above. However, 86 percent of the deaths below the age of 60 were in people having Co-morbidity. "This implies that young people with co-morbidity are also at risk," Agarwal said.

Agarwal also added that there is not sufficient evidence to take it to the community transmission level. “Our actions and efforts are in a way so that we don't reach stage three.” he added.

More than 25,500 people associated with the Tablighi Jamaat have been identified and quarantined, according to Health Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava.

Srivastava added that five villages in Haryana where the Tablighi Jamaat workers of foreign origin stayed have been sealed and quarantined.

The ICMR has placed an order for 5 lakh rapid anti-body testing kits, according to chief epidemiologist RR Gangakhedkar.

“About 2.5 lakh kits will be delivered by April 8-9,” he added. While the total testing capacity is at 13,000, it can go up to 25,000 if it is done in two batches, according to Gangakhedkar.

The ICMR has also procured 10 lakh Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) kits used for diagnosis.

Walmart India which operates in the cash and carry format has said that it is encouraging members to buy online to avoid rush on the street.

However, it is facing challenges in getting sufficient supplies of the goods due to production shortages from the manufacturers and continued bottleneck in logistics and transportation due to the lockdown.

“We are seeing an increased number of orders through e-commerce and have added more capacity to serve orders placed on the best price website and app,” said Walmart India Spokesperson.

Walmart India owns and operates 28 best price wholesale stores and 2 fulfilment centres in India.

A 53-year old technician at Siliguri's diesel shed has succumbed to Covid-19. Following his death, at least 12 railway medical staffers, including two doctors and ten paramedical staff have been sent to home quarantine.

Officials told PTI that although his first two reports for Covid-19 returned negative, he was found positive after another test on April 4.

He was then shifted to the isolation ward of the North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMC&H).

ICMR has said that it is actively working to scale up the testing capacity to one lakh tests per day in the coming months. It is also in the process of identifying other government and private labs, research institutes and medical colleges which have the capability and infrastructure to undertake Covid-19 testing.

The ICMR has already approved over 200 labs, including public and private for testing through RT-PCR machines.

The ICMR will also collaborate with the World Health Organisation for a public health emergency solidarity trial which is an international randomised trial of additional treatments for Covid-19 in hospitalised patients.

Mumbai has reported 57 new cases on Monday, taking the total Covid-19 positive cases in the country's financial capital to 490, according to PTI, quoting the BMC.

Simultaneously, four more patients have died while undergoing treatment, taking the total death toll to 34.

“As part of the contact tracing efforts, the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) has surveyed 15 lakh population through health teams till date and identified 665 contacts which are referred for testing,” the release said.

It stated that 130 coronavirus positive cases have been identified after five teams had visited houses and collected 1,400 samples.

The total number of Covid-19 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh rose to 303 with the addition of 37 new cases.

State officials told PTI that Kurnool district added 18 new cases, taking the total tally to 74 while Nellore saw eight new cases, with the total rising to 42.

The state has reported three deaths so far.