COVID-19 Cases, India: Forty-eight deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
India recorded 1,463 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 28,380 including 886 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. Sixty deaths linked to the highly contagious illness were reported from different parts of the country in the last 24 hours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Chief Ministers via video conferencing this morning where nine of them spoke. PM Modi indicated that the lockdown could continue beyond May 3 in parts of the country worst affected by the pandemic a.k.a hotspots or "red zones". This is the third time that the Prime Minister interacted with the states since the countrywide lockdown started on March 25. Addressing worries that the extended lockdown would come at a great cost, the Prime Minister told the Chief Ministers: "There is no need to worry on the economy front, our economy is good."
Here are top 10 developments on coronavirus cases in India:
In a video meeting with Chief Ministers, PM Modi called for an exit plan from each state based on red, orange and green coding of districts according to the number of COVID-19 cases. But even as the districts with fewer cases reopened for business, the PM said, masks and "Do gaz doori (six feet apart)" would continue to be a way of life for times to come.
The Supreme Court heard a petition asking it to direct the centre and states to allow migrant workers left stranded - many without jobs, money, food or shelter - amid a nationwide lockdown to return home if they test negative for the COVID-19 virus.
E-commerce giants Amazon India and Flipkart have urged the government to let them sell non-essential items during the lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus in India. The request came after the centre allowed neighbourhood shops selling non-essential items to open in a late-night order on Friday.
In India, the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients is 3.1 per cent as compared to 7 per cent globally, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday, news agency PTI reported. The doubling rate of coronavirus cases has been showing regular improvement and stands at 10.5 days when seen over a period of three days, he said. "It is 9.3 days seen over a period of seven days and 8.1 days over a period of 14 days. These indicators may be taken as positive effects of the countrywide lockdown along with the cluster management and containment strategies," he said.
Across the country, 283 districts have not reported any case of coronavirus infection, the government said on Sunday. Also, 64 districts have not reported any new case in the last seven days while 48 districts have not reported a fresh case in the last 14 days.
Nearly 68 percent of the COVID-19 cases have been reported from 27 districts, the government data shows, indicating that the virus is spreading in clusters. These "high load districts" are spread across the states and union territories worst hit by the outbreak - Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, among others.
In Maharashtra, the state with the highest number of coronavirus cases in India, 80 per cent of the patients have been asymptomatic (did not show symptoms), Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday. "The national lockdown, which has been extended till May 3, will be reviewed once we get stock of the situation next week. We will decide our next steps on relaxation of the lockdown after that," he added.
In Delhi, which has recorded nearly 3,000 COVID-19 cases so far, two hospitals have been sealed over the last two days after staff members - doctors and nurses - tested positive for coronavirus.
Worldwide, over 2 lakh people have died due to the novel coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December; nearly 3 million have got infected so far. Hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan out of mosques and avoiding large family meals to break the fast because of sequestration and social distancing policies.
The World Health Organization warned on Saturday that people who test positive and survive infection cannot be certain they will not be hit again by the coronavirus. The warning came as some governments study measures such as "immunity passports" for those who have recovered as one way to get people back to work after weeks of economic shutdown.
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