New Delhi: India will remain under lockdown till May 3 to contain COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday. The 21-day lockdown, which was announced by the Prime Minister last month, was slated to end today.
With 121 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Maharashtra, the total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 2,455. While 92 positive cases have been reported in Mumbai, 13 were reported in Navi Mumbai, 10 in Thane, five in Vasai Virar and one in Raigad.
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19:39 IST: India witnesses sharpest ever spike in COVID-19 cases with 1,463 new infections reported in last 24 hrs
With the sharpest ever increase of 1,463 new positive COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus cases in India on Tuesday climbed to 10,815, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The COVID-19 figure includes 9279 active cases, while 1190 patients have been cured and discharged or migrated as of Tuesday. The total deaths due to the infection stood at 353. As per the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra with 2337 confirmed cases has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the country, followed by Delhi (1510) and Tamil Nadu (1173). Fresh cases on Tuesday were reported from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, among other States and UTs. The highest number of deaths — 160 — has also been reported from Maharashtra in the country. At the regular media briefing on Tuesday, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said coronavirus tests are being done in over 220 labs and there are 602 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals having 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds across the country.
17:50 IST:Uttar Pradesh COVID-19 tally reaches 657
A total of 657 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the state, said Amit Mohan Prasad, State Principal Secretary (Health). Of these cases, 49 patients have been cured and discharged while eight have succumbed to the deadly virus.
17:34 IST: There are 602 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in country: Health Ministry
There are 602 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals having 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds across the country, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Tuesday. “Prime Ministry Narendra Modi has asked us to improve health care infrastructure. We have readied 602 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals having 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds in the country with the help of state government,” said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. He said PM Modi has asked the support of all for seven things: Take good care of the old and sick person. Follow COVID-19 guidelines, social guidelines. Increase immunity by following tips by Ayush Ministry. Download AarogyaSetu mobile app. Donate and care to poor people. No layoffs. Respect the doctor, nurses, police.
17:14 IST: India’s current stock of RT-PCR kits is more than sufficient: ICMR
With another instalment for RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) kits, India has a sufficient number of RT-PCR kits, said ICMR’s head scientist Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar said at the daily media briefing on COVID-19 situation.
16:33 IST: Combating COVID-19: Nepal extends lockdown till April 27
Nepal has decided to extend its nation-wide lockdown imposed in view of surging coronavirus cases for 12 more days till April 27. The decision taken during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday comes after a sudden rise in coronavirus cases in the Himalayan country. This would be the third extension to the lockdown that was first imposed on March 24. The Council of Ministers’ meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli decided to extend the lockdown till April 27. Earlier meeting of the Cabinet had extended the lockdown till April 15, which was set to end on Wednesday mid-night. The Nepali government has also decided to ban all commercial international flights till April 30. Two more people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the national capital. They had a travel history to the United Kingdom.
15:44 IST: Maharashtra’s Aurangabad reports second COVID-19 death
A 70-year-old man has died of COVID-19 in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad, city’s Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele said here on Tuesday. This is the second coronavirus related death in the district. “The deceased person’s son was found positive for COVID-19 a few days ago, following which he was admitted to the hospital,” said Ghodele. Later, the swab samples of his family members were tested following which the deceased person was tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, the Mayor informed. So far, 2334 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Maharashtra.
14:54 IST: 2 deaths, 34 more cases of COVID-19 reported from Andhra Pradesh
Two deaths related to COVID-19 and 34 more cases of coronavirus have been reported on Tuesday from Andhra Pradesh, state’s COVID-19 Nodal Officer informed.
“34 more COVID-19 cases (16 in Guntur, 8 in Krishna, 7 in Kurnool, 2 in Anantapuram, and 1 in Nellore) and 2 deaths related to the virus have been reported in Andhra Pradesh. Total coronavirus cases in the state at 473, including 14 discharged and 9 deaths,” said state’s COVID-19 Nodal Officer.
14:53 IST: 7 new COVID-19 positive cases in Nagpur, district tally at 42
Seven new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Nagpur city on Tuesday, a Nagpur Municipal Corporation official said. As many as 42 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Nagpur district, according to the medical education and drugs department of Maharashtra government on Tuesday morning. So far, 1,996 people have been infected by coronavirus in the state. However, Mumbai, Pune and Thane remain the hotspots in the state with 1298, 263 and 185 cases, respectively.
14:25 IST:11 more COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, state count reaches 258
11 more COVID-19 cases have been reported in Karnataka since 5 pm Monday, informed the state government on Tuesday. The total number of coronavirus positive cases in the state now stand at 258, including 9 deaths and 65 discharged. To check the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, the 21-day lockdown announced last month has been extended by the Centre till May 3.
14:19 IST:121 new COVID-19 cases reported in Maharashtra
With 121 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Maharashtra, the total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 2,455. While 92 positive cases have been reported in Mumbai, 13 were reported in Navi Mumbai, 10 in Thane, five in Vasai Virar and one in Raigad.
13:29 IST: Covid-19 cases in Afghanistan surge to 714, IMF gives debt relief
The Afghan Health Ministry said that 49 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, which led the total cases surge to 714 on Tuesday.
Kabul registered 18 new cases, maximum highest in the country, leaving behind Kandahar with 15 cases, Balkh 6 cases, Herat and Ghazni 4 new cases each, and Nangarhar 2 cases, according to the health ministry’s data cited by Tolo News. At least 40 people have recovered from the virus in the country while 23 have succumbed to the highly contagious infection, the Health Ministry spokesman said.
11:56 IST: More than 600 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, over 220 testing labs in India: PM Modi
Underlining that the government made rapid progress in ramping up the country’s health infrastructure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said coronavirus tests are being done in over 220 labs, while there are over 600 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.
“The country has ample reserves of medicines, food-ration and other essential goods, and supply chain constraints are continuously being removed,” Modi said while addressing the nation. “We are making rapid progress in ramping up health infrastructure as well. From having only one testing lab for COVID-19 in January, we now have more than 220 functional testing labs. Global experience shows that 1,500-1,600 beds are required for every 10,000 patients. In India, we have arranged more than one lakh beds today,” he said.
10:25 IST: Covid-19 affect: European countries tighten FDI rules to prevent hostile takeover by Chinese firms
West European countries including Italy, Spain, and Germany have tightened their Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules to prevent Chinese firms from taking over the domestic economies which are already suffering a slump because of coronavirus pandemic, according to online journal Tfipost.com. At a time when the rapid spreading contagion has brought on the worst public health crisis in modern history and making European economies suffer a devastating slowdown, China — where the virus is believed to have originated from, has returned to normal and opened up economic activities, wrote Amit Agrahari in an article published in Delhi-based Tfipost.com. In a bid to revive its economy, Beijing has also announced billions of dollars as stimulus to its companies, and therefore, coupled with a low policy rate, these companies have the leverage to spend money, the article said.
09:46 IST: 2 more COVID-19 cases in Mohali, district count reaches 56
Two more coronavirus cases have been reported from Mohali, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district to 56, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said.
“A 56-year old woman, a family member of an already positive case and a 38-year-old woman have tested positive for COVID-19,” Dayalan told ANI. According to the Health Ministry, a total of 167 cases of coronavirus have come to light in Punjab. Out the total, 14 people have been cured and 11 have died.
09:29 IST: India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 10,000 mark
With 1,211 new cases and 31 deaths reported in last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 10,363, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Out of the total number, 1,036 people have been cured/discharged/migrated and 339 persons have died. According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 8988 active patients in the country, while Maharashtra has the highest number of cases (2,334), followed by Delhi (1,510) and Tamil Nadu (1,173).
On the last day of 21-day nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation at 10 am. He announced the lockdown on March 24 as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.
