India’s Covid-19 tally nears 50,000; Lockdown 3.0 Day 2 sees huge case spike in Maharashtra, Gujarat

STATES HIKE FUEL, LIQUOR TAX

The economic cost of the pandemic also began to hit the people with a sharp increase in fuel prices. Looking to shore up their dwindling resources, more states announced higher taxes on liquor sales.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday hiked petrol and diesel prices and also asked tipplers to shell out more. Petrol will cost Rs 2 more for a litre and diesel Re 1. UPiites will shell out between Rs 5 to Rs 400 more per bottle of liquor, depending on its size and the category of the drink.

Prices of liquor will be raised by a maximum of Rs 20 from May 7 in Tamil Nadu. Karnataka, too, hiked excise duty on liquor by 11 per cent to mop up revenues.

Petrol and diesel prices in Chandigarh will go up by nearly Rs 3 per litre.

Meanwhile, Punjab pegged its overall revenue loss for the month of April at 88 per cent due to all its tax revenues having dried up and only 1.5 per cent the industry being operational.

AHMEDABAD SHUTS DOWN FULLY FOR 1 WEEK

To control the spread of coronavirus in Ahmedabad city, civic authorities on Wednesday ordered the closure of all the shops except those selling milk and medicines for a week.

As per the order, shops will remain closed from May 7 midnight till 6 am on May 15.

While milk outlets and medical stores can remain open, all other shops, including those selling fruits, vegetables and grocery items, will remain closed, the order said.

INDIA REGISTERS NEARLY 50,000 CASES

While the Union Health Ministry stopped giving an evening update of the COVID-19 tally from Wednesday, its morning update showed the death rising to 1,694 and the number of cases climbing to 49,391, registering an increase of 126 deaths and 2,958 cases since Tuesday morning. It also showed more than 15,000 people having recovered, giving a recovery rate of nearly 29 per cent.

While Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases and fatalities, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab are among other major states affected badly by the virus.

Kerala also has reported more than 500 confirmed cases so far, but it did not report a single new case on Wednesday and the state government officials said the number of active patients is now only 30 as a big majority of COVID-19 patients have recovered.