The country is under a 21-day lockdown which has been imposed to check the spread of coronavirus which originated from China’s Wuhan. India is still witnessing a rise in COVID 19 cases.
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19:31 IST: All Tablighi Jamaat returnees traced, except 160-170 people: Telangana Health Minister
Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender said that with the exception of 160 to 170 people, everybody who returned to the state after participating in the Tablighi Jamaat at New Delhi’s Nizamuddin last month, have been identified.
“We have identified most of them (who returned from Tablighi Jamaat), but there are 160-170 people more. We will trace them also by today evening,” Rajender told ANI on Wednesday. Rajender shared that over 1,000 people from the state had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in the national capital.
The state minister further stated that there is no case community transmission in Telangana. So far, six people in Telangana have died due to coronavirus.
19:28 IST: Rajnath directs organisations to ‘redouble’ efforts to assist civilian authorities in tackling COVID-19
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held a review meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, service chiefs and other officials to take stock of the ministry’s preparedness to tackle the coronavirus.
Minister of State for Defence Ministry Shripad Naik, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane, along with other officials also attended the meeting through video conferencing. General Rawat informed the Defence Minister that several hospitals have been identified to exclusively deal with COVID-19 and more than 9,000 hospital beds have been made available.
“Defence Minister appreciated the efforts being made by various services, organisations and DPSUs in terms of evacuation, provision of healthcare in quarantine facilities and research and production of medical equipment such as sanitisers, facemasks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),” an official statement said.
Singh also directed all the organisations to “redouble” their efforts and work in close coordination with other ministries and organisations of central government in the crucial time.
18:51 IST: Mobile phones of people under home quarantine will be tracked: Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Police has been ordered to track mobile phones of people under home quarantine to check their movement and ensure no violations, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.
“We handed over a list of 11,084 phone numbers to police yesterday and 14,345 phone numbers today of people who have been asked to remain in home quarantine. The police will track if they are following the instructions on home quarantine or not,” Kejriwal said at a press conference here. He said the decision was made in a meeting with the Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal.
The chief minister said the tracking was being done to ensure people do not violate the quarantine and also identify how many people they contact. He said police will take strict action against those who do not follow the government’s orders.
18:46 IST: 13 more test positive for COVID-19 in Jaipur
Thirteen more positive cases of COVID-19 were reported from Ramganj Bazar in Jaipur on Wednesday, according to the Rajasthan Health Department.
Al thirteen are the contacts of the first COVID-19 positive patient in Ramganj Bazar. Earlier, 37 people, who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area have been traced and placed under quarantine in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan Chief Medical Health Officer Pratap Singh said.
The Tablighi Jamaat event has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases across India were linked to the gathering, including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.
18:30 IST: ICMR conducts 47,951 tests for coronavirus till date
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday said it has conducted 47,951 tests for coronavirus till date.
“We have conducted 47,951 tests to date. There are 126 labs in ICMR network. The number of private labs that have been approved is 51,” R Ganga Ketkar, ICMR, said at a press briefing here. In India, there are a total of 1,637 cases of COVID-19 as of now, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
17:29 IST: Coronavirus cases in Pakistan rise to 2071, death toll stands at 27
As many as 27 people have died after being infected with the deadly coronavirus in Pakistan so far. The virus has infected several thousand people worldwide.
Even as the number of confirmed cases in Pakistan has reached 2071, some reports suggest that medical professionals refuse to work on the forefront…and clerics are refusing to close mosques, blatantly disregarding what health experts have repeatedly said is key to curb the spread of the virus – social distancing. Punjab leads with 740 confirmed cases, followed by Sindh at 676 cases, KPK-253, Balochistan-158, Islamabad-54, Gilgit-Baltistan- 84, and PoK-6.
17:08 IST: Recent rise in COVID-19 cases is due to travel by Tablighi Jamaat members: Govt
The Centre on Wednesday said one of the main reasons that the number of positive coronavirus cases increased as compared to the previous day is due to the travel by members of Tablighi Jamaat.
However, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal, said that the recent rise in cases does not represent a national trend. Speaking at a press conference, Agarwal said, “In India, as of now there are a total of 1,637 cases of COVID-19. 386 new positive cases have come from yesterday till now. 38 deaths have been reported and from yesterday till now, three deaths have been reported. 132 COVID-19 cases have recovered.”
“The number of positive cases have increased as compared to yesterday. One of the main reasons for this is the travel by members of Tablighi Jamaat,” he said.
“1,800 people in Delhi, who have been related with this Jamaat, are now shifted in nine quarantine centres. The recent rise in cases does not represent a national trend,” he added.
Agarwal also gave the break-up of the new COVID-19 cases in various states and Union Territories.
“From Jammu and Kashmir, there are 23 new cases of COVID-19, from Telangana it is 20, Andhra Pradesh 17, Andaman and Nicobar Islands nine, Tamil Nadu 65, Delhi 18 and from Puducherry, two cases have been found from this transit-related history,” he said.
He said that Railways is preparing to set up 3.2 lakh isolation and quarantine beds by modifying 20,000 coaches. “Modification of 5,000 coaches has begun. Lifeline flights have been started to transport essential commodities like testing kits, medicines and masks,” he added. The states are arranging food and shelter for the migrant workers, 21,486 relief camps have been set up where 6,75,133 people have been given shelter, said Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Home Ministry.
16:01 IST: 5 coronavirus cases in Assam: State Health Minister
A total of five COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Assam, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.
He added that four patients have been shifted to Gauhati Medical College, whereas one has been moved to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Earlier on Tuesday, the Minister had stated that scores of Assamese people, who were at Tablighi Jammat’s Markaz in Delhi, are still in the national capital.
The Markaz came in the spotlight on Monday after 24 men evacuated from the building were tested positive for COVID-19.
15:55 IST: 3 test positive in Andhra Pradesh, state tally at 87
Andhra Pradesh saw an exponential rise in the number of COVID-19 positive patients, with 43 confirmed cases noted on Wednesday. All these patients earlier attended the religious meeting at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi.
Till a couple of days ago, the state witnessed a handful of COVID-19 positive patients; however, the situation changed on Monday night with 17 people testing positive. On Tuesday evening, four more novel coronavirus cases were detected, increasing the state tally to 44. All were from Visakhapatnam and had a travel history to the Delhi Markaz event.
On Wednesday morning, a surge in the COVID-19 positive numbers was further witnessed with 43 testing positve and doubling the state tally of patients infected by the deadly virus.
15:43 IST: Two doctors of Safdarjung Hospital test positive for COVID-19
Two resident doctors of Safdarjung Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
Of the two doctors who were tested positive, one is a male posted at COVID-19 unit and the other is a female third-year post graduation student from the Biochemistry Department, officials said. According to officials, the student has a past travel history to a foreign nation.
“Both the doctors have been admitted to the isolation ward,” hospital officials said while adding that contact tracing of these two doctors is being done.
Earlier today, a doctor of the Delhi State Cancer Institute was confirmed positive for COVID-19.
14:48 IST: UP reports first death from COVID-19
First death due to coronavirus was reported from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
“First death due to coronavirus reported in Uttar Pradesh,” informed a government official. There are at least 101 positive cases of coronavirus in the state.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 1,637 after 240 new cases were reported in the country, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Wednesday.
12:38 IST: Egypt Air airlifted stranded Americans from Delhi
A special flight of Egypt Air carrying 215 stranded United States nationals on-board departed from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Delhi Airport a day earlier, an airport official said on Wednesday.
The flight will reach Salt Lake City in Utah, western United States, via Cairo in Egypt. The Trump administration had last month said that it is coordinating with the Indian government to evacuate stranded American citizens from the country who have expressed interest to return to the US, amid the rapid spread of coronavirus pandemic that has upended life, disrupted travel and killed over 37,500 people.
The development, especially after India, suspended all international flights from landing at any airport in the country in view to curb the further spread of the contagious virus that infected 1,396 people in India.
12:22 IST: 65-year-old COVID-19 patient dies in Indore
A 65-year-old man who had tested positive for COVID-19 passed away in Indore on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Indore had climbed to 63 after 19 new cases emerged. Out of the 19 new cases, nine have been reported from a single-family which includes three children and six women.
The total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 85 in Madhya Pradesh. Five people have died due to COVID-19 till now in the State.
12:27 IST: 43 more COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh, count reaches 87
With 43 new COVID-19 positive cases, the total number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh has reached 87, informed the state Nodal Office on Wednesday.
The 43 new coronavirus positive cases were reported between March 31, 9 pm and April 1, 9 am. A total of 373 samples were tested during this time period and of these samples, 330 were negative and 43 came out to be positive. The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 1397 on Tuesday.
11:50 IST: Gujarat reports 8 new coronavirus positive cases, total 82
With 8 new COVID-19 positive cases, Gujarat’s tally has reached 82. However, as of now, only three patients are on ventilator support, informed the state Health Department on Wednesday.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1397 on Tuesday after 146 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours across the country. The death toll due to the COVID-19 rose to 35 while 123 cases were cured or discharged after treatment, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
10:18 IST: 60 people from Pune connected with Nizamuddin Markaz gathering quarantined
Pune District Collector, Naval Kishore Ram on Wednesday said that till now 60 people from Pune have been put under quarantine in connection with the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi, which was attended by over 130 people from the State.
“Nobody has the symptoms and samples are being sent for testing. Tracing for others is on,” said Ram. “The total number of people from Pune who attended the event at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi is more than 130. Many of them are either not in Pune or are untraceable. The search for them is underway,” he added.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the officials are not certain of the accurate number of people who participated in the event but it is being estimated that 1,500-1,700 people had assembled at the Markaz building.
The religious gathering was held at the Markaz building in Nizamuddin between March 13-15.
10:00 IST: 18 new coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, count reaches 320
Sixteen more COVID-19 cases have been reported in Mumbai and two more cases from Pune, taking the total number of cases in the state to 320.
A total of 12 people have died due to coronavirus in the state till now. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 1397 on Tuesday. Maharashtra tops the list of states which have been affected the most by the virus with 320 positive cases.
The country is under a 21-day lockdown which has been imposed to check the spread of coronavirus which originated from China’s Wuhan
09:54 IST: Local oil refineries in Pakistan close as demand slumps during COVID-19 lockdown
Attock Refinery Limited has closed down its largest plant, which is capable of refining a minimum of 26,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), over the lack of demand in the country.
The refinery’s top management, in a letter written on Monday to Secretary Petroleum Division, Mian Asad, informed the government that oil marketing companies (OMCs) have not bought products from the refinery, forcing ARL to close the plant, The News reported. A copy of the letter, cited by The News, said that the refinery, which earlier closed down two of its smaller units, has now made the smaller plants partially operational to refine 12,000-13,000 barrels per day for the next two to three days.
The government in the wake of a massive cut in the demand of petroleum products because of countrywide lockdown, had imposed a ban on OMCs from importing petrol and crude oil by refineries from April onward.
