Coronavirus cases in India now stand at 85,940. This figure includes 30,152 recoveries, 2,752 casualties and one migration. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, more than 70 per cent of novel coronavirus patients in India who succumbed to the infection died due to comorbidities.
Two days before the end of the present phase of the lockdown, the number of Covid-19 cases in India surpassed that of China that has reported a total of 82,933 cases as of May 16.
An official statement from the centre is awaited on Sunday about guidelines that will have to be followed during the fourth phase of the lockdown that is all set to begin from May 18. Sources in the government said that schools, colleges, malls and movie theatres are unlikely to be allowed to resume operations anytime before May 31. However, shops and public transport could be given the green light in red areas following the announcement on April 17.
Auraiya tragedy
In the early hours of Saturday morning, a DCM lorry carrying migrant workers collided with a truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya district. While 25 migrants lost their lives, 36 sustained injuries. All of the lorry’s passengers were natives of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. They had been working as migrant labourers in Rajasthan and were returning to their native homes when tragedy struck.
Another incident was reported from Sagar district where a truck carrying migrant workers overturned on Saturday, killing five and injuring at least 20. The truck was headed to Chhatarpur.
PM Modi thanks President Trump
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s decision to donate ventilators to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked his American counterpart. In a tweet, the PM wrote, “Thank you @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. This pandemic is being fought collectively by all of us.”
Punjab lifts curfew, retains lockdown
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in a public address on Saturday evening, said that the Punjab government has decided to lift curfew restrictions currently in force across the state. He, however, added that the lockdown will continue in Punjab till May 31.
All cities in the state will be allowed so that businesses can resume operations with the sole exception of containment zones, CM Singh added. The state government’s new guidelines also mention that only areas/localities where authorities detect the presence of coronavirus patients will be sealed.
Shramik Specials to the rescue
The Indian Railways on Saturday issued a statement that 1,074 Shramik Special trains have been used to ferry over 14 lakh migrants back to their home states until now. Uttar Pradesh has given the most approvals to facilitate the return of natives followed by Bihar, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said.
Data also shows that out of the 501 fresh cases of Covid-19 reported by the Bihar Health Department between May 3 and May 15, 391 or 78 per cent were related to migrants. As many as 122 of these cases are linked to migrants who returned to Bihar from New Delhi sometime in the last two weeks.
Now, over 30,000 cases in Maharashtra
With 1,606 new cases of infection, Maharashtra on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in new cases of the novel coronavirus. The state also recorded 67 new casualties within 24 hours. Mumbai accounted for 41 of these deaths. Now, a total of 30,706 cases in Maharashtra include 7,088 recoveries and 1,135 deaths. Mumbai alone has 18,555 confirmed cases and 696 casualties to date.
Delhi, on the other hand, now has 9,333 confirmed cases. This includes 129 casualties. Uttarakhand also recorded its highest single-day spike in new cases, 88, taking the number of active cases in the state to 36 as of April 16.
Between Friday night and Saturday evening, Rajasthan reported 213 new cases, Gujarat’s tally surged past 10,000, and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir recorded 72 fresh cases of infection.
The Health Ministry has identified 30 municipal areas that are contributing to 80 per cent of the novel coronavirus cases in India.
Covid-19 cases surge in Delhi, Jaipur prisons
As many as 15 inmates and a prison official tested positive for Covid-19 at Delhi’s Rohini jail on Saturday. Similarly, Jaipur district jail accounted for 116 of the 177 new cases of infection reported from Rajasthan on May 16.
Ban on export of non-surgical, non-medical masks lifted
The government of India on Saturday passed an order lifting the ban on export of non-surgical and non-medical masks. “All other masks falling under ITCHS code, including the HS codes, would continue to remain prohibited for the exports,” read the order from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
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