Social distancing became the ‘it’ thing in the nation on Thursday as Indians settled into the second day fo 21-day lockdown

Social distancing became the ‘it’ thing in the nation on Thursday as Indians settled into the second day fo 21-day lockdown. Several interesting cases of social distancing means came forward, while good samaritans made headlines for helping out poor and needy during the lockdown in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The central and states governments continued to make efforts to sort of glitches in the home delivery services for essential goods like groceries and dairy. MPs and MLAs cutting across party lines, celebrities, business heads and Bollywood celebs came forward to pitch in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 22,000 people across the globe.

Fresh casualties reported from Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan took India’s total toll to 17, while the number of cases confirmed as positive for Covid-19 reached 694. It is a jump of 88 cases in one day. During the lockdown, heartbreaking reports of migrant labourers leaving for their homes on foot have emerged. Chief ministers of different states have pleaded others to help these migrants in times of crisis.

The health ministry said that the lockdown has been successful in breaking the chain of transmission as is ‘evident from the stability in the rate of increase in numbers’. However, a ministry official said, that everyone will have to stick to lockdown guidelines issued by the government to ensure that we come out of the lockdown victorious.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a G20 meet via video conferencing. During the meeting, PM Modi pitched for developing a new crisis management protocol to deal with the global health crisis and urged the powerful G20 grouping to work towards addressing shockwaves triggered by the pandemic. As per MEA briefing, G20 leaders have agreed to take all necessary measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and protect people.

Total number of cases

The number of coronavirus cases climbed to 694 in India on Thursday. According to the ministry data, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 633, while 44 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated.

The total number of 694 cases included 47 foreign nationals, the ministry data said.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 124, including three foreign nationals, followed by Kerala, where the number of cases has climbed up to 118, including eight foreign nationals, according to the ministry data.

The number of cases in Karnataka has gone up to 55 while cases in Telangana rose to 44, including 10 foreigners.

The number of cases in Gujarat has climbed to 43, including a foreigner.