Odisha became the first state in the country to extend the lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic till April 30 as the number of patients infected by the novel coronavirus continue to rise across the country. Seventeen people, who had tested positive for the coronavirus, died across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the number of dead to 169 in India. The number of people infected with COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus, rose to 5,865 on Thursday, government data showed. A novel virus is one that has not been previously identified in humans. PM Modi, in a video meeting with leaders of all parties, has suggested that the lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus will be extended and restrictions will not be lifted in one go after April 14.
Several hotspots have been singled out in cities across the country for greater effort on isolating them completely. In Delhi, 20 coronavirus hotspots in Delhi - including the famous Sadar Bazar -- will be sealed, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced at an emergency meeting held at the Chief Minister's residence.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus Pandemic:
Police filed an FIR against a person for not informing the authorities after his return to Prayagraj from the Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin's Markaz in Delhi, reported ANI.
"We got information that a professor in Govindpur had returned from Delhi. On interrogating him, we got to know that he had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event from March 6-10. FIR was lodged against him as he didn't inform us earlier about it" said Superintendent of Police, Prayagraj. He, along with his wife, has been quarantined.
A COVID-19 patient died at a hospital in Pune, taking the total death toll to 25 in the district, reported ANI.
"A COVID-19 positive person has passed away at Sassoon hospital in Maharashtra's Pune, taking the total death toll to 25 in the district. There are 209 positive cases in Pune, till now," said District Health Officer (DHO).
Of all the positive cases in the district, Pune Municipal Corporation has reported 175 cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation 22 cases and Pune Rural 12 cases.
Uttarakhand government on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the next of kin of officials, employees and people who have lost their lives while carrying out their duties during coronavirus outbreak, reported ANI.
No positive case of COVID-19 was reported from the state on Thursday, reported ANI.
"No positive case was found in Uttarakhand today. A total of 35 cases have been reported in the state till date, including the five discharged) the Directorate of Health Services said.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) has put in place a set of national guidance norms to ensure adequacy and safety of blood, given the restrained gathering and social distancing norm in force currently.
The development comes after the government had received several requests from various stakeholders regarding the concerns for maintaining safety and adequacy of blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBTC has issued interim recommendations for blood transfusion services to maintain a safe and adequate blood supply amid the coronavirus crisis.
ANI Input
A 62-year-old doctor, who had tested positive for coronavirus, died in Madhya Pradesh's Indore today, taking number of deaths due to the deadly virus in the city to 23.
Three people undergoing treatment at a state-run Delhi cancer hospital have tested coronavirus positive. The medical centre - Delhi State Cancer Institute - had been shut by the authorities this month after a doctor was found to be infected.
Police cases were filed against 60 people in Punjab's Jalandhar after they allegedly tried to obstruct the cremation of a person who was COVID-19 positive, fearing further spread of the disease, sources said. Several such instances have already been reported from the state and two state ministers today attended cremations to bust the myth.
The Rajasthan government on Thursday barred schools in the state from taking any fee from students for next three months in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
It also directed the schools to promote students, except those of classes 10 and 12, to the next standard.
According to an official release, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took the decisions at a video conference with officials and state ministers Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Govind Singh Dotasara and Subhas Garg.
The schools will suspend the recovery of any amount pending since March 15 and will not take the present and advance fee for the next three months, the release said.
Gehlot said online classes and e-learning should be arranged by schools and colleges for the continuity of education, according to the release.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday said the state government will provide employment oppurtunity to families of doctors, nurses and other health workers if they die due to COVID-19 while on
official duty.
Mr Deb, who is also the health minister of the state, visited the state-run Gobinda Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital and Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital earlier in the day to review their preparedness for tackling coronavirus cases.
The IT department of AIIMS Raipur has developed a software that will help the medical staff and state health department in getting desired information about a particular sample test report within seconds.
The software can be used to search for any particular information among over 3000 sample test reports.
Initially, the task was quite daunting as collecting a sample, testing it and communicating the test report to concerned health department officials usually took three to four days.
ANI Input
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to draw his attention towards the plight of Indian migrants in UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kerala Chief Minister has requested PM Modi to take up this matter with the UAE Government.
In a bid to dispel fears that one may contract COVID-19 by attending the last rites of an infected person, two Punjab ministers took part in the cremation of a 55-year-old man in Rupnagar district on Thursday.
Maharashtra registered 25 new deaths linked to COVID-19 on Thursday in its sharpest spike yet amid the global pandemic which took the total number of fatalities to 97. With 229 more people testing positive, the number of coronavirus cases in the state reached 1,364, a health official said.
"Both the number of new patients and that of deaths are highest for a single day so far," the official said.
With 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases, Jawaharpur village of Dera Bassi in Punjab's Mohali district has become a new coronavirus hotspot in the state, news agency PTI reported quoting officials on Thursday.
Overall, Mohali district has topped the COVID-19 tally in Punjab with 37 cases.
"One more positive case in Jawaharpur," police official Girish Dayalan tweeted on Thursday.
The Rajasthan government on Thursday made it mandatory to wear face masks in all urban areas and agriculture mandis of the state, an official statement said.
Through video conferencing, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot directed officials to ensure compliance of the state government decision which will be applicable in all 196 urban local bodies of the state and in agriculture mandis (wholesale markets).
"The decision was taken to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the state," the statement quoted Mr Gehlot as saying.
PTI Input
A day after the UP government sealed off coronavirus hotspots in 15 districts of the state, the authorities on Friday stepped up vigil in the areas allowing only the doorstep delivery of essential services and ensuring that people stay at home.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to further divide the hotspots into sectors and appoint a magistrate for each of the area to keep tabs on the situation, an official spokesperson said.
All business and other establishments will remain closed in the hotspots and the doorstep delivery of essential commodities will be strengthened, the spokesman said.
The Meghalaya government is likely to keep its international and interstate borders sealed till April-end, as part of its precautionary measures to check the spread of COVID-19, officials said on Thursday.
The hill state, along with Nagaland and Sikkim in the northeast, has not reported any COVID-19 case so far.
As many as 190 cases were registered and 3,954 people detained in the national capital on Thursday for violating government orders during the lockdown imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, police said.
According to the data shared by the police, 190 cases were registered under section 188 (for disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code till 5 pm on Thursday.
Punjab witnessed a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases on Thursday with 24 more people contracting the infection, pushing the total count to 130 in the state.
Besides, two more COVID-19 related deaths were reported in the state, taking the toll count to 10, officials said.
As the number of coronavirus cases keeps rising, the infection has now marked its presence in 17 districts in the state with Muktsar and Sangrur reporting cases for the first time.
PTI Input
Delhi government on Thursday removed GB Pant Hospital from the list of designated COVID-19 hospitals, keeping in view the difficulties faced by general patients who are receiving treatment at the super speciality streams of the hospital.
As the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, four areas in Dehradun, two areas in Haridwar and one in Nainital have been sealed in the state as COVID-19 cases were found in these areas.
The Uttar Pradesh too had taken similar steps on Wednesday and sealed all COVID-19 hotspots in 15 districts of the state, including Ghaziabad, Noida and Meerut.
Heath Secratary Luv Aggarwal said that as many as 1.7 crore oders have been placed for PPEs. He also said that 20 companies have been identified to produce PPEs in the country.
Health Ministry on Thursday said that the personal proptective equipment kits are being provided in adequate quantity to the state. Health Secratary Luv Aggarwal said that the kits are not required by everyone and they should be used only when needed.
With the help of drones, the special coronavirus treatment ward at the Madurai Government's Rajaji hospital was disinfected by spraying of an antiseptic liquid solution using drones on Thursday.
Mr Ranjit, the drone operator, speaking to news agency ANI, said: "As outsiders cannot enter the coronavirus treatment ward at the hospital, the municipal cooperation has decided to use drones as a medium to spray disinfectants in and around the hospital."
"We are currently doing it at this hospital but we have also been directed to use drones at various other government buildings as well," he added.
ANI Input
With four more persons testing coronavirus positive, the numbers of COVID-19 patients
in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh has gone up to five, news agency PTI reported on Thursday.
A 62-year-old doctor, who had tested positive for coronavirus, died in Indore on Thursday, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh to 22, an official said.
Indore's chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Dr Praveen Jadia, said that the victim, who was a general physician, breathed his last at a private hospital in the morning.
"It appears that he had come in contact with a coronavirus patient during treatment. We are trying to trace the source of infection," he said.
This is probably the first case of a doctor succumbing to coronavirus infection in Madhya Pradesh.
Mom Dad all set to fight #COVID2019 .
- Pankhuri Pathak पंखुड़ी पाठक پنکھڑی (@pankhuripathak) April 9, 2020
More power to all our #CoronaWarriors .
They are the #RealHeroes ! pic.twitter.com/Uz4o3If24D
Please help our Circus Artists stuck in Mumbai because of the Coronavirus Lockdown. Know more about our fundraiser on Ketto: https://t.co/GlNIqHWGjy pic.twitter.com/xon4kgZ6uy
- #SaveRamboCircus (@RamboCircus2) April 4, 2020
Our First of it's kind #COVID19 Sample collection Booth has been set up in our #Tiruppur GH premises ! Patients screened at the #Covid booth / #Covid 19 fever clinic at the entrance shall be guided here for the sample. #IndiaFightsCorona #திருப்பூர் pic.twitter.com/NFzwEhGUGi
- Vijayakarthikeyan K (@Vijaykarthikeyn) April 8, 2020
Delhi's GB Pant Hospital removed from list of designated #COVID19 facilities. pic.twitter.com/h2Rc36lLTy
- NDTV (@ndtv) April 9, 2020
We waived off two months of electricity bills to avoid queues and chaos. General promotion was given to the children of class 8th-9th and 11th. We home delivered meals for anganwadi children: @bhupeshbaghel
- Congress (@INCIndia) April 9, 2020
CM @ArvindKejriwal & @LtGovDelhi chairing the State Disaster Management Task Force Meeting amid the #coronavirus crisis.
- AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 9, 2020
Dy CM @msisodia, Health Minister @SatyendarJain and Transport Minister @kgahlot also present at the meetimg. pic.twitter.com/wJA9ScRYDI
Haryana: Family members of farmers in Rohtak are helping them to harvest crops, due to lack of labourers amid #COVID19 lockdown. Hemchandra, a farmer says, "Crop is ready, so we are taking help of our family members to harvest it. Still we need labourers as the work is very slow" pic.twitter.com/AMHsHbZt14
- ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2020
Odisha Cabinet headed by CM @Naveen_Odisha decided to extend the state lockdown till April 30th & recommended Union Government to extend the national lockdown till then. CM requested the GoI not to start train & air services during the lockdown. #OdishaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/2hjTGqR0y6
- CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) April 9, 2020
The Resident Doctors' Association at AIIMS Bhopal has written a letter to the Director of the institute regarding "abusive behaviour and physical assault by policemen on resident on-duty doctors".#MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/sTtKLjIWHf
- ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2020
A new coronavirus scare has emerged in Delhi after 35 workers were found on the rooftop of a pastry shop at Bengali Market, a popular family haunt in the heart of the capital."
- A good initiative has been launched today between the government of India and state of TN
- Arogya Setu IVRS have been launched
- This is the creation of department of telecommunication, BSNL and Government of TN, IT department and IIT Madras all played very significant role
- This will be operated by a miss call
- Other states will also launch it soon
- Arogya Setu and Arogya Setu IVRS will run in combination to help affected and symptomatically people
- I would like to thank to PM for his guidance
- People should wait for PM's announcement
- Saving lives is our utmost priority
- We will overcome from it soon
With one Positive case from Kulgam. Citizens are requested not to panic. Every possible step will be taken to contain the spread of Covid-19. People are requested to come forward if any contact history and stay at home.
- District Police Kulgam: official (@policekulgam) April 8, 2020
@SPKulgam
A total of 162 new cases, including 143 from Mumbai, have been reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours. The state is the worst-hit state in the country with 1,297 people testing positive for COVID-19.
- Mumbai - 143
- Pune - 3
- Yavatmal - 1
- Aurangabad - 3
- Pimpri chinchwad - 2
- Thane - 1
- Navi Mumbai - 2
- Kalyan Dombivali - 4
- Meera bhaidar - 1
- Vasai virar - 1
- Sindhudurg - 1
- Entire affected street near Gandhi Park, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi
- Entire affected street of Gali number 6 , L 1 Sangam Vihar, New Delhi
- Shahajahanabad society, plot number 1, Sector 11, Dwarka.
- Dinpur Village
- Markaz Masjid and Nizamuddin Basti
- Nizamuddin West (G and D block) areas
- B Block Jhangirpuri.
- House number 141 to house number 180, Gali number 14, Kalyanpuri Delhi
- Mansara Apartments , Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi
- Three Galis of Khichirpur including Gali containing house number 5/387 Khichirpur, Delhi
- Gali number 9, Pandav Nagar , Delhi 110092
- Vardhaman Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase I Extension, Delhi
- Mayurdhwaj Apartments, IP Extension, Patparganj, Delhi
- Gali number 4, from house number J- 3/115 (Nagar Dairy) to house number J- 3/108( towards Anar wali Masjid Chowk), Kishan Kunj Extension, Delhi
- Gali number 4, from house number J- 3/101 to house number J - 3/107 Krishan Kunj Extension Delhi.
- Gali number 5, A Block ( From H No. A- 176 to A-189), West Vinod Nagar, Delhi-110092
- J, K , L and H pockets, Dilshad Garden
- G, H, J blocks, Old Seemapuri
- F- 70 to 90 block, Dilshad Colony
- Pratap khand, Jhilmil Colony
Indian Railways has introduced time-tabled Parcel Trains for nationwide transportation of essential commodities&other goods. Proper connectivity has also been ensured to Guwahati, to ensure supplies in the North-eastern region of the country: Ministry of Railways
- ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2020
Watch | 20 #coronavirus hotspots sealed in Delhi, masks made compulsory
- NDTV (@ndtv) April 9, 2020
Read here: https://t.co/r87njo5HI3 pic.twitter.com/OkV3Y288xB
Punjab: A disinfection tunnel installed at the entry of Amritsar's vegetable wholesale market amid #coronavirusoutbreak.
- NDTV (@ndtv) April 9, 2020
(Photos: ANI) pic.twitter.com/Ov5OLApsRm
Bihar's East Champaran district to seal its border with Gopalganj district at Sattar Ghat and Dumariya Ghat, after a COVID19 positive case has been reported in Gopalganj.
- ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2020