Coronavirus: The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been rising
India reported 3,967 cases and 100 deaths due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours, government data shows. The total cases in the country reached 81,970 and so far 2,649 have died. Some 27,920 have recovered from the highly infectious disease. The centre is considering easing lockdown guidelines in a graded manner. The projection of "normalcy on ground" will be the focus of the extended lockdown, which kicks in from May 18. One of the first areas where relaxation will be allowed wherever possible is public transport, including flights, a senior Home Ministry official told NDTV, asking not to be named. The pointer to the ground situation, sources said, will be data crunched by the Home Ministry, a copy on which is with NDTV.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday discussed the global response to COVID-19, and the importance of global coordination in scientific innovation and research to combat the pandemic. "Had an extensive interaction with @BillGates. We discussed issues ranging from India''s efforts to fight coronavirus, work of the @gatesfoundation in battling COVID-19, role of technology, innovation and producing a vaccine to cure the pandemic," PM Modi tweeted.
Violence erupted in the town of Sendhwa, located on Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, on Thursday as thousands of migrant workers went on warpath after traffic was jammed on the National Highway 3. The migrants alleged that Madhya Pradesh government has made no arrangement of food or transportation for them.
The very first passenger train from Delhi to Bengaluru since the beginning of the nationwide lockdown reached the southern city on Thursday morning. But soon there were arguments and chaos as many of the over 800 passengers refused to go into quarantine. Ultimately - many decided to go back - and an extra carriage was attached to the evening's Rajdhani Express.
The Delhi government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the centre on lockdown relaxations after May 17 and suggested the opening of markets, shopping complexes and operation of buses and metro services with strict social distancing norms.
A Supreme Court judge and his family have gone into self-quarantine in Delhi after their cook tested positive for coronavirus. The cook was tested for COVID-19 after returning from leave and may have contracted the highly contagious disease while he was away, sources said. The judge and his family have been put under quarantine as a precautionary measure, they added.
People involved in essential services will be allowed to travel between Delhi and Haryana, the state government said on Thursday after the Delhi High Court asked it to remove special restrictions on its borders imposed during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
Maharashtra, which has the maximum number of coronavirus cases and a proportional amount of people in quarantine, is planning to extend the lockdown. "They don't want to allow any inter district movement as of now or offices to open," an official told NDTV. A few industries, he said, might be allowed in orange and green zones.
Gujarat has the second highest number of coronavirus cases. With 9,268 people testing positive and 2,08,537 people in quarantine, the state wants to resume all economic activity in all major urban centres. But almost 80 per cent of cases are clustered in the state's urban centres – Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara with 70 per cent of the cases being in Ahmedabad.
Apart from Delhi, states that have suggested opening up many sectors include Andhra Pradesh Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat. Of these Kerala, with its stellar record of containing the coronavirus, has the brightest prospect of getting most of its wish list.
The novel coronavirus has killed more than three lakh people globally, mostly in Europe and the US, since it emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
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