Coronavirus Live Updates: 478 New Coronavirus Cases In 24 Hours Take India Count To 2,547; 62 Dead

Puducherry Chief Minister urges people to respond to PM's call

Coronavirus News: Chattisgarh's First COVID-19 Patient Recovers, Discharged From AIIMS In Raipur
A 24-year-old woman, who was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Chhattisgarh, was discharged on Friday evening from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur, a senior official said.

She was the fourth person to be discharged in the state, leaving the number of active COVID-19 cases at five, they said.

"The woman had returned from London on March 15 and got admitted in AIIMS on March 19 after she tested positive for the virus. Her two tests were negative after which a decision was taken to discharge her. She will have to follow mandatory quarantine," PTI quoted AIIMS Director Nitin Nagarkar as saying.

Coronavirus News: Maharashtra Village Scrambles To Trace Contacts Of Man Who Tested Positive For Virus

The man, whose swab sample was collected at a hospital in Mumbai, allegedly flouted the quarantine protocol and returned to Dhanuri, his native village around two days back.

However, he received a call from the hospital authorities in Mumbai that his samples have tested positive.

"That person came to know about his report through a phone call on Thursday night. He immediately conveyed it to the village panchayat and steps were initiated to take him to a hospital in Lohara. Our entire Thursday night was spent in finding out who had come in his contact ever since he arrived in the village," Ganesh Jadhav, a resident of Dhanori told PTI.

"The village has a population of around 4,000 people. When the residents came to know about his coronavirus positive status, they went in a state of shock," he said.

"After we alerted the officials of the health department and the police, their teams reached the village and he was quarantined at a government hospital in Lohara," he added.

"We immediately sealed our village after that to stop the entry or exit of people. Before his report came, the COVID-19 patient had visited different places in the village. He had also gone to the nearby villages to buy necessary things for farming," Mr Jadhav said.

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Coronavirus News: BJP Sets Up 35 Control Rooms Across States, Union Territories To Combat Coronavirus
BJP has set up 35 control rooms across 35 states and Union Territories to help the needy amid nationwide lockdown over coronavirus.

Meanwhile, BJP president JP Nadda on Friday held interaction with party leaders in Uttar Pradesh and reviewed the actions being taken in combating the coronavirus, reported ANI.

Mr Nadda said that in this hour of crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government has taken several steps for the welfare of the villages, poor, farmers and women of the country.

"To strengthen the economic condition of the country, the central government has taken many decisions which everyone is appreciating but the Congress party does not see it because they are blindfolded," Mr Nadda said.

UP govt to set up Rs 1000 crore corona care fund

Coronavirus Uttarakhand: 6 New Cases In State Take Total Count To 16
Six more have tested positive for the coronavirus in Uttarakhand on Friday, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 16, officials said.

This is the first time so many people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the state in a single day, reported PTI.

Five of the positive cases were reported from Dehradun and one from Udham Singh Nagar district, officials at the COVID-19 control room said.

Coronavirus News: 15 Admitted To Hospitals In Nashik Over Suspected Coronavirus Infection
Fifteen people were admitted in various hospitals in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Friday over suspected exposure to novel coronavirus, health officials said.

Their throat samples have been sent for testing to NIV in Pune and results are awaited, reported PTI. The district has one COVID-19 patient as on Friday, they said.

Coronavirus News: Eastern, South-Eastern Railways Convert Over 650 Coaches Into Quarantine Units
The Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway are converting more than 650 coaches into quarantine units amid the coronavirus
outbreak, officials said on Friday.

While the Eastern Railway is modifying 338 coaches as part of its COVID-19 preparedness, the South Eastern Railway is converting 329 coaches at various workshops, they said, reported PTI.

Coronavirus News: Poll Body Further Defers Rajya Sabha Elections To 18 Seats Over Pandemic
The Election Commission on Friday said it is using its constitutional powers to defer Rajya Sabha polls to 18 seats beyond the terms of the retiring members, keeping in mind the health hazard involved amid the coronavirus pandemic and the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Last month, the poll panel had deferred the March 26 Rajya Sabha elections citing threat of coronavirus, saying a decision will be taken after reviewing the situation.

While 17 members from six states are retiring on April 9, one from Meghalaya is retiring on April 12.

The 18 seats are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Meghalaya, reported PTI.

Coronavirus News: 53 Oman Nationals Stranded In Kerala Airlifted Today
53 Oman nationals, stranded in Kerala due to COVID-19 lockdown in the country, were airlifted today from Cochin International Airport by Oman Air.

India has curtailed all international flights and later extended that suspension on domestic flights as well to curb the spread of coronavirus, reported ANI.

Coronavirus Telangana: State Reports 75 New Cases, 2 Deaths
75 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Telangana. 2 more have died from the contagious virus.

Coronavirus Maharashtra: 67 New Cases In State
67 test positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra taking the state's total to 490, reported PTI.

Coronavirus News: Over 4 Crore Women With Jan Dhan Account Receive First Installment Of Rs 500
The centre has credited the first installment of Rs 500 to over four crore Jan Dhan accounts of poor women on Friday as part of a relief package in view of the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Rural Development Ministry said.

The amount is being released by the ministry and will be credited to more than 20.39 crore Jan Dhan accounts of women by the end of April first week, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Coronavirus Update: BS Yediyurappa Directs Officials To Deposit Addition Rs 1,000 Into Accounts Of 15 Lakh Construction Workers
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday directed the labour department to deposit an additional Rs 1,000 into the bank accounts of 15 lakh construction labourers in the state, who have been hit by the 21-day national lockdown to check COVID-19 spread.

He gave the direction during a high-level meeting of ministers and officials to review the measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 and implementation of lockdown in the state, reported PTI.

The government has already deposited Rs 1,000 into the accounts of 15 lakh construction labourers and the chief minister asked the Labour department to deposit additional Rs 1,000 to their accounts, an official statement said.

Coronavirus News: 335 Parliamentarians Contribute Rs 365 Crore From MPLADS Funds To Fight COVID-19
339 MPs from both houses of the parliament have so far contributed Rs 365 crore from their MPLADS funds to the central pool for use in measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Rajya Sabha Secretary PPK Ramacharyulu said, among the 339 MPs, 74 are from the Rajya Sabha and 265 from Lok Sabha, reported PTI.

While the Rajya Sabha MPs have made a total contributions of Rs 100 crore, the Lok Sabha members have contributed Rs 265 crore, he said.

Coronavirus News: Dr RML Hospital, Safdarjung's Super Speciality Block Converted Into COVID-19 Isolation Wards
The trauma centre at the Dr RML Hospital will function as a dedicated COVID-19 isolation ward while the Safdarjung Hospital's super specialty block has been converted into a state-of-the-art isolation management centre in Delhi, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

He made these announcements after visiting the Dr RML Hospital and the Safdarjung Hospital. The minister was at the health facilities to review their COVID-19 preparedness, reported PTI.

Coronavirus cases in national capital spirals to 386

J&K Lieutenant Governor asks Red Cross to scale up activities
The LG chaired a meeting with functionaries of the IRCS, Jammu Region, at the Raj Bhavan to take stock of activities being carried out by the society in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the region, news agency PTI reported.