Coronavirus India Updates: Covid-19 Cases Top 70,000; Death Toll At 2,293

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India crossed 70,000 with nearly 2,300 dead, at a time when the country is trying to formulate a plan to reopen the economy.

India added 3,604 new Covid-19 cases over 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry’s 8:00 a.m. update on May 12. The total number of cases in India stands at 70,756. This includes 22,455 people who’ve recovered and 2,293 deaths.

India is now days away from the end of the lockdown’s second extension.

Looking at the geographical spread, five states -- Maharahstra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan -- account for more than 72 percent of India’s total cases.

In a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, state chief ministers asked for the flexibility to plan an exit strategy from the lockdown imposed amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, and allowing them to designate areas as red, orange and green zones.

At the same time, PM Modi said the fight against the virus will be more focused now that we have a fair evaluation of the geographical spread.

He is slated to address the nation tonight at 8.

Global Update

President Donald Trump said “we have prevailed” as U.S. deaths from the coronavirus exceeded 80,000, a remark he later said pertained only to testing for the infection. Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, reported its first new infections since the Chinese city ended its lockdown last month. The Philippines will extend some lockdowns scheduled to expire on May 15 because it can’t afford another wave of infections.

Globally, confirmed cases have topped 4.17 million while more than 2,85,000 are dead, according to John Hopkins data.

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

Preventing the spread of the coronavirus in rural areas following the return of lakhs of migrants will be the next big challenge for the state government, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Tuesday.

During an interaction with MLAs and MPs of Jaipur and Ajmer divisions through a video link, Gehlot said nearly 19 lakh migrants have registered to return home. Of them, 4-5 lakh want to go out of Rajasthan to various other states.

Calling on the lawmakers to make sure migrants are welcomed, he said they will have to be quarantined after their return to ensure the virus does not spread to villages.

It will be the next challenge, he added.

Source: PTI

Kerala's Kasaragod district, one of the first Covid-19 hotspots in India, turned coronavirus-free on Sunday. The north Kerala district, which lacked improved health infrastructure compared to others in the state, had witnessed zero death. But the relief was short-lived as fresh coronavirus cases were reported from the district on Monday.

Four people who had arrived from Maharashtra were found infected with the deadly virus, commencing the second wave of Covid-19 in the district.

However, top police official Vijay Sakhare, whose "triple lock" strategy helped the district keep the virus at bay, said there was nothing to worry as the situation could very well be managed by implementing the same strategy forcefully.

The triple lock involves a combination of technology and human surveillance and restricting movement of people in three stages. While Lock-I envisages broader restriction of movement of all people residing in the district, Lock-II is for people living in distinct geographical areas with positive cases and the third stage is targeted effort to keep primary and secondary contacts of Covid-19 patient in their homes.

The IG ranking officer who was deputed by Chief Minister Pianarayi Vijayan as COVID-19 special officer of Kasaragod on March 23, implemented the triple lock strategy and this effective policing measure helped arrest the spread of the virus. The same strategy was implemented in neighbouring Kannur district and earned positive results when it was turning to become another Covid-19 hotpspot.

In a note prepared by Sakhare on "triple lock strategy", he spoke of the new challenges after people returning through inter-state land borders, including those from red-zones have been permitted to undergo 14 day quarantine at their homes.

"The success of strategy can be gauged from the fact that it has brought weekly reporting of cases from 64 to barely 5 with in the span of three weeks - a reduction of 92 per cent. In succeeding three weeks, only 5,4 and 2 positive cases were reported and in last 11 days since 1st May, no positive cases were reported- which demonstrates the resounding success of the containment strategy," he claimed.

The last Coronavirus positive patient of the first wave of Covid-19 in Kasaragod recovered on May 10 and the district became Covid-free. But few hours later, the second wave of the disease has begun and the district is prepared to meet the challenge.

Source: PTI

West Bengal’s Health Secretary has been transferred to the to Environment Department and has been replaced by Narayan Swaroop Nigam, according to a notification.

Kumar's transfer to the Environment Department as secretary comes days after a row over the state's Covid-19 data, said official sources.

Nigam, who was the Transport Secretary, has been appointed as Kumar's replacement, as per a notification dated May 11.

West Bengal has so far reported 118 deaths due to coronavirus infection and attributed 72 other deaths to comorbidities -- cases where Covid-19 was incidental.

Source: PTI

With the Indian Railways all set to partially commence some train services from Tuesday to help those stranded at various places, the Kerala government plans to put in place airport-model Covid-19 screening at three railway stations, where trains will halt.

The stops are Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram railway stations. State minister V S Sunil Kumar said symptomatic passengers would be shifted to hospitals from the stations and others would be transported to their home districts in specially arranged Kerala State Road Transport buses.

"These special trains will have only three stops in Kerala--Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram. The Railways will provide us with the full address details of the passengers. We will segregate them according to their respective districts and finalise the list of people alighting at the three stations. Those who reach the state will be screened and tested for symptoms," Sunil Kumar told PTI.

Source: PTI

India will risk an economic ‘hara-kiri’ -- a ritualistic suicide -- if it extends the nation-wide lockdown for much longer, said veteran businessman Anand Mahindra, at a time when the state and central governments are struggling to strike a balance between lives and livelihood.

“A functioning and growing economy is like an immune system for livelihoods. A lockdown weakens that immune system and most hurts the impoverished in our society,” the Mahindra Group Chairman said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced a 21-day lockdown uptill April 14, which was later extended to May 3 and now May 17. In a meeting with state chief ministers yesterday, Modi asked them to submit plans to reopen their states by May 15. To be sure, the central government has allowed some sectors to resume to work starting April 20, but workers have mostly remained away. India now has more than 70,000 confirmed cases.

Mahindra too, said that India should expect a quick flattening in its infection curve.

While the lockdown has certainly helped save many lives and bought time to advance India’s medical infrastructure, the economy needs to be reopened, he said. He then went on to point out what India’s goals should be.

• Rapidly build field hospitals equipped with oxygen lines (ventilators aren’t critical now)
• Deploy widespread testing and tracing.
• Focus on containment not through zones but at sub pin code levels.
• Protect the elderly and the medically vulnerable.

Total confirmed cases in India cross the 70,000-mark today, with 3,604 of these cases reported in the last 24 hours, according to the data made available by the Health Ministry as of 8 a.m.

• Active cases: 46008
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 22455
• Deaths: 2293

Another 1538 people have recovered and discharged while 87 have succumbed to the virus, in the last one day.

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Some state chief ministers asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give them the flexibility to plan an exit strategy from the lockdown imposed amid the novel coronavirus outbreak and allowing them to designate areas as red, orange and green zones.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, in the meeting today with the prime minister, said the plan to exit from the lockdown should “focus on fiscal and economic empowerment of the states, which are responsible for the real action directly impinging upon the livelihood and social health of the common man”, according to a statement from his office.

The prime minister has asked the state leaders to share a broad strategy by May 15 on how each state would want to deal with the lockdown in their particular states, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.

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