Coronavirus India Updates: Total Cases At 18,985, Death Toll At 603

Confirmed Covid-19 cases in India climbed closer to the 19,000-mark on Tuesday evening with the death tally cross 600.

India reported 1,329 new cases over the last 24 hours taking the total to 18,985, according to health ministry data. This includes 3,260 recoveries and 603 deaths.

Over the last 24 hours, India witnessed 44 reported deaths and 418 recoveries.

Track latest news updates and developments on how the coronavirus situation is evolving in India here:

Global Update:

More signs emerged that the coronavirus outbreak is slowing in hard-hit areas, with the U.S., Italy and U.K. showing smaller gains in new cases. China reported its sixth straight day without a fatality.

Globally, total cases topped 2.4 million and deaths exceeded 170,000, according to John Hopkins data.

The Maharashtra government has withdrawn relaxations to lockdown in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune Metropolitan Region.

This has been done as a large number of people had started commuting due to the relaxations that were issued on April 17, the government said in a statement.

The relaxations will stay in other parts of the state.

Highlights From Order:

• E-commerce companies: Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions. E-commerce delivery of essential commodities, food, pharmaceuticals and medical equipments will be permitted.
• Print media is exempted from the lockdown from April 20, 2020.
• Door to door delivery of newspapers and magazines is prohibited in Mumbai and Pune, and in all containment zones as may be decided by the District Magistrates.
• In these areas they may be sold through establishments that are exempted under the order dated April 17.

India added 1,329 cases over the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 18,985.

• Active cases: 15,122
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 3,260
• Deaths: 603

Source: Health Ministry (As of April 21, 5 p.m.)

• A total of 3,252 patients have recovered so far.
• Yesterday 705 patients recovered and it takes out recovery percentage to 17.48 percent.
• 1,336 new cases have been reported yesterday, this takes the total toll to 18601
• Health ministry has asked hospitals to assign Hospital Infection Control Committee in non-covid hospitals to monitor and ensure health workers follow infection, prevention and control guidelines, identify positive cases and update it to the local health authorities.

The ICMR has tested 4,49,810 samples so far, said RR Gangakhedkar, Chief Epidemiologist, of which 35,852 samples were tested yesterday. 29,776 samples were tested by 201 ICMR labs, and 6,076 samples were tested in 86 private labs, he added in today’s press conference.

On Rapid Test Kits Complain

• One of the states complained about lower detection. We also reached to three other states if they are facing any issues. Based on that, we have realised that there is a lot of variation in positive samples.
• We are advising states to not use rapid tests kits of two days. ICMR teams to investigate rapid tests kits at field level.
• We ask states to not use rapid tests kits for two days.

Alkali Manufacturers Association of India on Tuesday stressed on the need to exercise caution while using disinfection chemicals directly on human beings as it could be harmful.

AMAI is the representative body of the entire the alkali industry in India that produces chemicals like sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, bleaching solution/powder, used for disinfection.

The industry body said that there have been recent reports in the media on chemicals like sodium hypochlorite solution and hydrogen peroxide being used for disinfection on human beings to control the spread of coronavirus disease.

"Sodium hypochlorite is a strong disinfectant to be used in recommended dilution to disinfect surfaces and objects that are contaminated or infected. Contact with skin can cause itching and irritation leading to skin problems," AMAI said in a statement.

Similarly, hydrogen peroxide is a strong bleaching agent and its use should be restricted to objects and surfaces, the association said.

"The use of these chemicals on the face is even more harmful with chances of ingress into eyes, nostrils and mouth, causing health issues," AMAI said.

The industry body said that there are also instances of special chambers being erected that spray a mist of disinfectant chemicals on people passing or walking through them.

"We are liaising with the government and civic bodies for safe usage of these disinfectants”, said Jayantibhai Patel, President, AMAI.

During these challenging times, AMAI said that its members have stepped up their efforts to maintain adequate supply of disinfection chemicals to supplement the efforts of the government in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"However, chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide and bleach solutions should be handled with utmost care, avoiding skin contact. In case of contact with skin, the exposed part should be thoroughly washed with a running stream of water," IMAI said.

It recommended that alcohol-based sanitisers should be used to clean hands. Any other part of the body should be cleaned using ordinary soap and water only.

"WHO recommends use of disinfection chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, bleach solution (in recommended dilution) for disinfecting surfaces and objects," AMAI said.

To maintain personal hygiene, WHO also recommends frequent washing of hands with soap and water, it added.

Source: PTI

Here’s the Health Ministry’s advisory against the use of disinfectants on humans.

Mumbai Police have registered cases against 1,330 citizens for not wearing masks at public places in violation of the order issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the last 13 days of the coronavirus lockdown, an official said on Tuesday.

The BMC had made wearing of face masks/clothes compulsory from April 8 in view of surge in the number of coronavirus positive cases in Mumbai, which is worst-hit by the outbreak.

The civic body had warned of action under section 188 (Disobedience to the order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code if people are found roaming without masks in public places like streets, hospitals, markets, offices etc.

"Till Monday (April 20) night, police had booked 1,330 people for flouting the order. Most of these cases are registered in Central, West and North Mumbai regions," the official said.

Meanwhile, police have registered 4483 cases against 8679 people for violation of prohibitory orders amidst the lockdown and made 5,505 arrests, who were later released on bail, he said.

While 2020 people were served notices for flouting of norms, 1154 others are shown as wanted at various police stations, the official added.

Of the total 4,483 cases, 3,230 offences pertained to unlawful assembly. Majority of these cases were registered in Central, Eastern, Western and Northern Mumbai regions, he said.

Source: PTI

Nineteen nurses and six other paramedical staff members of the Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Tuesday.

All of them are currently asymptomatic and stable, Ruby Hall Clinic's Chief Executive Officer Bomi Bhote said.

Last week, a nurse working in the general ward of the leading private hospital here in Maharashtra tested positive for Covid-19.

The hospital subsequently screened 1,000 of its staff members.

"The test reports of 19 nurses and six other staff members, including clinical assistants, came out positive. All of them are asymptomatic and absolutely stable," Bhote said.

All the staff members who have tested positive for Covid-19 have been quarantined at an isolation facility and all their primary contacts have been traced and tested.

"As a precautionary measure, we have dedicated an entire building within the hospital only for potential Covid- 19 cases. Our collective, coordinated and comprehensive approach has ensured that not a single (non-coronavirus) patient in the hospital got infected," he added.

"This highlights that thevirus lurks at large amidst us even without obvious visible symptoms. These persons have now been isolated from potential contacts to further break the chain of coronavirus spread," Bhote said.

Source: PTI

The TMC on Tuesday dubbed as "adventure tourism" the visit of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams to West Bengal to monitor some districts over coronavirus cases and questioned why teams were not sent to states with much higher number of cases and hotspots.

Addressing reporters through a zoom conference, TMC MPs Derek O' Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was informed about the team's visit three hours after its arrival which was unacceptable.

"The ICMT team is on an adventure tourism. The CM was told about the team's visit three hours after the team landed," said O' Brien.

He also questioned why central teams did not visit states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh with higher number of coronavirus cases and many more hotspots. Bandyopadhyay said that 425 tests are conducted everyday and from Tuesday the number the number of tests conducted daily would be increased to 600.

Both the leaders said that it was not a question of "state vs state" and appealed to the Centre to cooperate with the states.

They said once proper protocols are followed, then the state would be happy to coordinate with the government.

The Union Home Ministry had on Monday announced that six inter-ministerial central teams will visit identified areas in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan within the next three days to make on-the-spot assessment of coronavirus situation and lockdown measures and recommend remedial measures in a report to the Centre.

Source: PTI

A research scholar waiting to meet his newborn baby, a graduate worried about the job offer in Bangalore and a pregnant woman whose four-day work trip now stretches interminably are among the at least 220 Indians stranded in Japan and getting increasingly desperate to return home.

Stuck in a foreign land as Covid-19 tightens its grip on many countries, dwindling financial resources and expired medical insurances are adding to their tensions.

The group of 220 Indians, including 92 dependants, have collectively reached out to the Indian Embassy in Tokyo asking to be evacuated to India, which has been under lockdown since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on March 24.

In a signed letter, the stranded Indians have also assured that they will quarantine themselves when back and cooperate with authorities.

Japan's partial lockdown is also a source of worry with some saying they live in constant fear of getting infected with the coronavirus that has infected more than 2.4 million people and claimed over 1,70,000 lives.

Rahul Joe, a research scholar at the University of Hokkaido till his contract expired last month, was all set to move back to Ahmedabad to be with his pregnant wife. The date was set and the tickets booked.

“We were blessed with a baby girl two days back and I don't know when will I able to see my baby for the first time. My medical insurance expired with my contract and now I am scared that if I fall ill I will have no means to get myself treated," Joe told PTI over the phone from Tokyo.

With the number of cases rising in Japan, the country on April 16 expanded the state of emergency to the entire nation in an attempt to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading further and straining the healthcare system. The country has reported more than 11,000 cases.

However, it is not like the lockdown in several other parts of the world as Japan's post World War-II constitution lays out strict protections for civil liberties, Joe said.

"Public transportation is operating as normal. Most state of emergency measures are in form of requests and instructions. Violators cannot be punished unless they fail to comply with orders related to storage or shipment of emergency relief goods and medical supplies. So the risk is even higher. We are stuck inside and living in constant fear," Joe said.

For Kamal Vijayvargiya, a four-day trip to the country has taken on nightmarish overtones and he can't wait to get back home to Jaipur.

"I am in the business of tea and I come to Japan annually for business meetings. I came on March 18 and now I am stuck here. At present, I am staying in an office friend's single room but I cannot stay too long because herself she is a dialysis' patient and it is risky for me to be here,” he said.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman, from Ahmedabad like Joe, said she also went to Japan for four days and has no clue when she will get back home "I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy when I came to Tokyo in March. It was an official trip for four days but first the janta curfew and then the travel restrictions. It has been a month now, my office has arranged for accommodation and other necessities are being taken care of but it is depressing to be indoors all day in a foreign country without any clarity," she told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

Akhilesh Sharma, a Ghaziabad resident, has been in Tokyo since December for a project that was to end in March. He has been living off his savings since then.

"The embassy did help me with a discounted voucher to stay in a hotel but how long can that be managed?” A fresh graduate from Nihon University, who was supposed to join a firm in Bangalore from April 10, is now worried about the plans.

“My studies were over here. I had a job offer. I was supposed to join them in April. The offer has not been withdrawn yet but I am still worried considering all the news about layoffs and paycuts,” the young woman said, refusing to be identified.

According to Indian government officials, bringing back stranded Indians is an ongoing process.

“Some questions have come about Indians abroad. It is a situation where we cannot give a definite answer because the lockdown is still there. We need to assess the situation... it will be the government's decision on how we manage the return of Indians from other countries," Dammu Ravi, Covid-19 coordinator, said at press conference.

"Our ambassadors and high commissioners in all these countries are in regular touch with all Indians abroad and giving all support to them. The MEA Covid control room helplines are active, teams are taking calls and guiding them in these matters. The situation is under control. We will review at a later stage about their return," the MEA official said earlier this month.

Source: PTI

Two more Bhopal gas tragedy victims succumbed to coronavirus, taking the total number of such deaths in the Madhya Pradesh capital to seven, an official said on Tuesday.

A 70-year-old gas mishap survivor died on April 17 while another 60-year-old tragedy victim died on April 14, Rachna Dhingra, of the NGO Bhopal Group for Information and Actionwhich is working for the gas mishap victims, told PTI.

Samples of both the victims came out positive for coronavirus after their death, she said.

Survivors of the 1984 toxic gas tragedy are more vulnerable to the coronavirus infection and need special care, she said.

Earlier this month, five victims of the gas leak had died due to the coronavirus disease here.

The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center, a dedicated facility for the treatment of gas mishap survivors, was recently turned into a medical facility for coronavirus patients, causing hardship to these people.

However, after the outrage over the five deaths, the government against classified BMHRC as a facility for the gas tragedy victims.

Source: PTI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said his government will conduct Covid-19 test on mediapersons in the national capital, after 53 scribes tested positive for novel coronavirus in Mumbai.

Responding to a tweet in which a person requested the CM to arrange mass Covid-19 test for mediapersons in Delhi on the lines of the one carried out in Mumbai, Kejriwal said, "Sure. We will do that." However, the chief minister did not elaborate.

During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on April 16 and 17 for Covid-19 testing of scribes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had collected swab samples of 171 mediapersons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen.

"Out of the 171 mediapersons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus," BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said on Monday, adding that most of those who tested positive are asymptomatic at present.

On Monday, the total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi rose to 2081, with 78 fresh cases and two deaths being reported in a day.

Source: PTI

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat crossed the 2,000-mark and rose to 2,066 after 127 more people tested positive for the infection on Tuesday, a health official said.

Of the new cases, 69 were reported from Surat and 50 from Ahmedabad.

Besides, Rajkot and Valsad reported two cases each while Aravalli, Gir Somnath, Kheda and Tapi reported one case each, the official said.

Out of 1,858 active cases, 19 patients are on ventilator support, while the condition of 1,839 is stable, the official said.

So far, 131 patients from the state have been discharged after recovery.

Source: PTI

While the number of states with more than 1,000 cases hasn’t increased since the last two day, these seven states continue to add cases, arguably faster than the rest of the nation. Total cases in Delhi has crossed the 2,000-mark which Maharashtra is headed towards the 5,000-mark.

• Delhi - 2,081
• Gujarat - 1,939
• Madhya Pradesh - 1,485
• Maharashtra - 4,666
• Rajasthan - 1,576
• Tamil Nadu - 1,520
• Uttar Pradesh - 1,184

Seven states account for 83 percent of total Covid-19 deaths in India, accordign to the latest health ministry data. Maharashtra alone, accounts for 39 percent.

• Andhra Pradesh - 20
• Delhi - 47
• Gujarat - 71
• Madhya Pradesh - 74
• Maharashtra - 232
• Rajasthan - 25
• Telengana - 23

We have taken states which have reported more than 20 deaths so far.

Total coronavirus infection cases in India rose to 18,601 on Tuesday morning, according to the data made available by the Health Ministry. This includes 3,252 people who have recovered and hence been discharged, and 590 people who succumbed to the illness.

Increase In Last 24 Hours

• 1,336 new cases
• 47 deaths
• 705 recoveries

The number of recoveries between yesterday and today 8 a.m. reached a record 705, in some relief.

Of the 590 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 232 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 74, Gujarat at 71, Delhi at 47, Rajasthan at 25, Telengana at 23 and Andhra Pradesh at 20.

The death toll reached 18 in Uttar Pradesh while Tamil Nadu has reported 17 deaths so far.

Punjab and Karnataka have registered 16 deaths each. West Bengal has reported 12 fatalities.

The disease has claimed five lives in Jammu and Kashmir, while Kerala and Haryana have recorded three Covid-19 deaths each.

Jharkhand and Bihar have reported two deaths each, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry's data updated in the morning.

The data stated that the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 4,666 followed by Delhi at 2,081, Gujarat at 1,939, Rajasthan at 1, 576, Tamil Nadu at 1,520 and Madhya Pradesh at 1,485.

The number of Covid-19 cases has gone up to 1,184 in Uttar Pradesh, 873 in Telangana and 722 in Andhra Pradesh. Kerala and Karnataka have reported 408 cases each. The number of cases has risen to 392 in West Bengal, 368 in Jammu and Kashmir, 254 in Haryana and 245 in Punjab. Bihar has reported 113 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 74 such cases. Forty-six people have been infected with the virus in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand each. Himachal Pradesh has 39 cases, Chhattisgarh has 36 while Assam has registered 35 infections so far. Chandigarh has 26 Covid-19 cases, Ladakh 18, while 16 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has reported 11 cases, while Goa and Puducherry have seven cases each. Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website.

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An 80-year-old Covid-19 patient has succumbed to the respiratory illness in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district, according to Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar. This takes the death tally in the state to 17.

The elderly person was suffering from Parkinson's disease for the last three years and died at a hospital on Monday, the minister said in a tweet.

"The person had developed fever on Sunday and was admitted to the hospital. The patient passed away yesterday at 9 a.m. Last night at 9 p.m. the death report came, which confirmed that the person was Covid-19 positive," Sudhakar tweeted.

The total number of Covid-19 infections in the state has crossed the 400-mark, according to last evening's bulletin by the Karnataka health department.

Source: PTI