Coronavirus India Updates: Total Covid-19 Cases Reach 3,072, Death Toll At 75

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in India rose to 3,072 on Saturday as the country saw another record one-day spike in infections. This includes 213 cured or discharged and 75 people who succumbed to the respiratory illness.

India added 525 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to health ministry data. Cases have more than tripled in the last seven days. Today is the eleventh day of the 21-day lockdown, slated to end on April 14.

The spike shows how quickly cases have multiplied in India. The country reported its 1,000th Covid-19 case on March 29—nearly two months after reporting its first case. The next thousand cases were added in merely four days. It took just two more days to add the third thousand.

India’s health ministry today said that 30 percent of the cases have been linked to a religious gathering of Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi between March 13-15. Total number of positive cases linked to the event is at 1,023 spread across 17 states, joint health secretary Luv Agarwal said in a daily press briefing.

The health ministry today released an analysis of age profiles of Covid-19 patients in India, suggesting higher incidence in younger people.

Globally, coronavirus cases crossed the one million mark while the death toll stood at 58,000, according to the latest available data from Johns Hopkins.

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

Seven people have tested positive for coronavirus in Goa so far, according to the state’s health minister, Vishwajit Rane.

The seventh person, a man from St Estevam village, 20 kilometres from Panaji, had recently returned from abroad, he said. "After he showed symptoms of Covid-19, he approached the Goa Medical College and Hospital and a test was conducted. His reports confirmed that he is coronavirus positive," Rane said. The patient has been admitted to a specially-designated Covid-19 hospital in South Goa.

"This is the seventh case in the state," the minister said. Five of the earlier six patients had worked on a ship abroad before returning to the state.

Source: PTI

A 60-year old woman who tested positive for coronavirus, but with no travel history, died at a hospital in Rajasthan's Bikaner on Saturday, an official said. The state reported 17 fresh cases of infection, taking the total tally to 196.

"A 60-year old woman admitted at a government hospital at Bikaner for last four days died today. She had no travel history. She was handicapped and on ventilator," Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said.

Of the 17 new cases, eight can be linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in mid-March, he said. The entire state has been in a lockdown since March 22 and massive survey and screening is underway to trace possible infected people.

Source: PTI

With two more people having succumbed to Covid-19 in Madhya Pradesh, the death toll in the state reached 10 on Saturday, officials said.

"A 36-year old government employee, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Chhindwara town of Madhya Pradesh two days back, died on Saturday morning," an official said. His father also tested positive.

The other death was reported from Indore, a health official said, "The 42-year old resident of North Hathipala area was undergoing treatment at government-run MRTB hospital. He was obese. Apart from breathing problems, he was also suffering from high blood pressure and had a fever."

Earlier, five people died of Covid-19 in Indore, two in Ujjain and one in Khargone, an official said.

Source: PTI

Muzaffarnagar police will register cases against people found violating the lockdown restrictions imposed across the country, and copies of the FIRs will be delivered at their doorsteps, a senior official said on Saturday.

SSP Abhishek Yadav told reporters that the violators will not be arrested during the first instance, but police will arrest them the second time.

Source: PTI

Another 16 Covid-19 positive cases were reported in Andhra Pradesh overnight, taking the total number of patients in the state to 180.

The Medical and Health Department on Saturday said in its latest bulletin that four fresh cases were reported each in Kadapa and Krishna districts, three each in Guntur and Kurnool and one each in Chittoor and Prakasam districts. All these cases relate to the Tablighi Jamaat.

Of the 180 cases of infection reported in Andhra Pradesh, four patients recovered and were discharged from the respective hospitals. A 55-year old man, father of a Jamaat participant who tested positive, was the only Coronavirus-related death in the state.

Flipkart assured employees that it will not slash salaries and will honour the job offers extended, even as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts businesses in the country.

In the quarterly townhall, virtually conducted on Thursday, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy assured staff that the company remained committed to its employees, vendors and seller-partners, according to sources. "We are honouring all commitments, campus placements and also looking at innovative ways of virtual inductions and onboarding," he was quoted as saying.

Flipkart had temporarily suspended operations last week and later resumed services the same day, after assurance of safe passage of its supply chain and delivery executives by local law enforcement authorities. However, many of the household items still remain unavailable on the platform.

Source: PTI

Ten more people tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat on Saturday, taking the state tally to 105, an official said.

Five of the fresh cases are from Ahmedabad, two each from Gandhinagar and Bhavnagar and one from Patan, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanthi Ravi said. "Most of these are local transmission cases," she said.

With the five new cases in Ahmedabad, the number of Covid-19 patients in the city went up to 43, the highest in the state.

Source: PTI

A 93-year old man, India's oldest Covid-19 survivor, and his wife were discharged from the government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam on Friday, days after they fully recovered, officials said. The case is being dubbed by the medical community as a "miracle cure".

Thomas Abraham and 88-year old Mariyamma recovered after days of life-and-death battle against the deadly coronavirus since their admission to the hospital on March 9, state Health department officials said. A nurse, who contracted coronavirus while taking care of the elderly couple at the hospital, also recovered and was discharged on Friday, they said.

The couple hailing from Ranni village in Pathanamthitta district had contracted the virus from their son, daughter-in-law and grandson who returned from Italy last month. They too were discharged from a hospital in Pathanamthitta after recovering from Covid-19.

Source: PTI

In a major relief during the Covid-19 lockdown, the Maharashtra police will now issue passes for inter-district travel to people in need.

In an order issued on Friday, Special Inspector General of Police Milind Bharambe directed all police units to issue inter-district travel passes to citizens who are in need. The order also directed officials not to intercept vehicles transporting commodities and to ensure their smooth movement.

Bharambe issued the order after observing the high demand for online passes at the Director General of Police's office. He directed concerned Superintendents of Police and Deputy Commissioners to issue travel passes after verifying reasons cited in the applications.

People who wish to travel outside the state will have to contact the DGP's office in Mumbai, the order stated.

Source: PTI

The government put curbs on export of diagnostic kits to ensure availability within the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"The export of diagnostic kits (diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, preparation diagnostic or laboratory reagents)... is restricted with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

Earlier, exports of these products were allowed without any restrictions. Putting them under the restricted category would mean that an exporter will now require a licence from the DGFT for outbound shipments.

With 47 fresh cases of coronavirus infection in Maharashtra, the total number of patients in the state jumped to 537 on Saturday, officials said.

There were 28 new cases in Mumbai in the last 12 hours, 15 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (excluding Mumbai), two in Pune and one each in Amravati and Pimpri Chinchwad, as per the public health department update.

Source: PTI

Another person tested positive for Covid-19 in Assam on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 25, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The new patient is from North Lakhimpur district and had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi, the minister tweeted.

All the positive cases in the state, except one, were linked to the religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin West last month, Sarma added. He appealed to all those who attended the congregation from Assam to call the helpline number 104 or contact health workers so that their samples can be tested and their contacts traced.

The Central government on Saturday issued an advisory asking people to wear "homemade face covers", particularly when they step out of their houses, in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

In the 'Advisory on the use of Homemade Protective Cover for Face and Mouth', the government said the use of such masks will help in protecting the community at large, and that certain countries have claimed benefits of homemade face masks for the general public.

Three people tested positive for coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, taking the number of cases in the Union Territory to 78, a government official said.

The fresh cases were reported from Narsoo village in Udhampur district of Jammu region, according to Rohil Kansal, Principal Secretary (Planning and Information). "All contacts of a patient from Udhampur with travel history abroad," Kansal tweeted.

Two patients died of the Covid-19 in Kashmir, while over 23,000 people are under surveillance. Over 1,218 tests have been conducted in the Union Territory so far, officials said.

A total of 34 hotspots have been identified in J&K. These include seven in Pulwama, five in Srinagar and four each in Bandipora and Budgam, two in Shopian and one each in Ganderbal and Baramulla in Kashmir division, and five in Rajouri, four in Jammu and one in Udhampur of Jammu division.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that lifting of lockdown in the state after April 14 will be dependent upon the compliance by people to the government directives.

He also said that no permission will be granted to any religious or sporting events in the state till further notice to avoid mingling of people amid coronavirus outbreak.

The CM also warned of strict action against those who spread communally divisive messages on social media.

Source: PTI

In a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in Mumbai, the local civic body has started ten Covid-19 clinics in the containment zones and densely-populated areas which are at the risk of rapid transmission, an official said on Saturday.

Screening for symptoms will be conducted in these clinics between 10 am and 1 pm every day, he said.

“A screening clinic is being opened in each zone of the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) and one more additional clinic will be opened in Zone -II, IV and V, where Covid-19 cases were observed in large numbers,” he said, adding that Municipal Commissioner Pravin Pardeshi issued instructions on Friday.

The official said that social distancing will be strictly adhered to at these clinics.

Source: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting of various empowered groups set up to respond to the coronavirus threat and directed officials to ensure sufficient availability of all essential medical equipment such as personal protective equipment, masks, gloves and ventilators.

In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister's Office said Modi reviewed the countrywide preparedness regarding the availability of hospitals, proper isolation and quarantine facilities as well as disease surveillance, testing and critical care training.

India’s health ministry today shared the age profile for Covid-19 cases in India that indicated a higher presence in younger people.

Here’s the age-wise split of positive cases in India:

• 0-22 years: 9 percent
• 21-40 years: 42 percent
• 41-60 years: 33 percent
• 60+ years: 17 percent

At present, there are 58 critical cases in the country, joint health secretary Lav Agarwal said in the daily press briefing. "We are dealing with an infectious disease. Every day is a battle," Agarwal said.

Agarwal also said that 1,023 positive cases across 17 states have been found linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi. That's a third of all cases in India.

Watch the press conference here.

Maharashtra added 47 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday taking the total tally of the state to 537.

India added 525 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday taking the total in the country to 3,072 infections.

• Active cases: 2,784
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 213
• Deaths: 75

The health ministry has issued guidelines for the states on the method of supplying oxygen to the medical facilities handling Covid-19 patients and said all hospitals and staff concerned must be told to ensure timely requisitions and payments so that there is no disruption in the oxygen supply.

In a letter to the additional chief secretaries, health secretaries and mission directors of the National Health Mission of all states and Union territories, the ministry said the COVID-19 pandemic is throwing up unique challenges for our health systems and also leading to challenges of not only ensuring an adequate oxygen supply but also regarding the protocols related to handling the major sources of supplies.

Source: PTI