India Coronavirus Cases: More than 46,000 cases have been reported so far.
India recorded the biggest single-day jump in the number of coronavirus patients and deaths linked to the illness as 3,900 new cases were reported, 195 COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours. This takes the total to 46,433 COVID-19 cases in the country, including 1,568 deaths. About 12,727 patients have recovered so far, 82,792 patients were tested on Monday; the recovery rate stood at 27.4 per cent this morning, said the Union Health Ministry. Lockdown restrictions have eased in many parts of the country as the third phase of the nationwide shutdown - which began on March 25 - kicked off on Monday even as India continues to see a daily spike in cases. Yesterday, 2,573 new cases, 83 deaths were recorded in a span of 24 hours. On Sunday, 2,487 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported.
Here are the top 10 developments on coronavirus cases in India:
The worst-affected state in the country - Maharashtra - has reported 1,567 COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours. 527 fresh cases have been recorded from Tamil Nadu. Gujarat recorded 29 deaths on Monday.
The restrictions in the country after May 3 should not be seen as an extension of the lockdown but a lifting of it, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. "Call it Exit 2.0, not Lockdown 3.0," Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal told reporters, adding that the coronavirus "curve is relatively flat now".
According to sources, the centre is going on a massive policy initiative to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and the lifting of the lockdown. A huge internal exercise is underway to prepare an action plan for the next two months. Every ministry has been asked to prepare a roadmap and give a presentation, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to personally see.
Amid attacks by the opposition parties, the central government on Monday said that it had never talked about charging the train fares from migrants stranded due to lockdown. "We have given the permission to run special trains on states' request. We are dividing the cost in 85-15 per cent (railway: states) as per the norms. We never asked states to charge money from the stranded labourers," Lav Agarwal told reporters.
At least three states - Delhi, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh - have hiked the cost of liquor as alcohol shops opened after 40 days on Monday and long queues were seen outside outlets, triggering fears of violation of social distancing norms amid coronavirus pandemic.
The Delhi government will charge 70 per cent extra tax on liquor from today amid the coronavirus pandemic. Calling the new tax "special corona fee", the Arvind Kejriwal government in a late night order on Monday said the police should allow the shops to remain open from 9 am to 6:30 pm. In Andhra Pradesh, prices have been hiked by 25 per cent; 30 per cent additional sales tax will be charged in Bengal.
West Bengal has registered a sharp increase in the number of containment zones. The number rose to 516 on Monday, a sharp rise of 168 containment zones as compared to 348 containment zones on April 28. Most of these neighbourhoods are in Kolkata, the state's capital. The city has 318 of them, 91 more that the last week.
Indians stranded abroad because of the coronavirus pandemic will be brought back from Wednesday (May 7) in a "phased manner", the government said on Monday. "Government of India will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. The travel would be arranged by aircraft and naval ships. The Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) has been prepared in this regard," an official statement read.
Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian said on Monday the GDP growth in the first quarter (April to June) this fiscal is likely to range between 1-2 per cent due to the COVID-19 led health crisis and subsequent lockdown which brought economic activities to a virtual standstill, news agency ANI reported.
Worldwide, more than 250,000 people have died due to coronavirus. The US is the country that has recorded the most deaths, with 68,689 fatalities, while Europe is the hardest-hit continent with 145,023 confirmed deaths.
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