Coronavirus India Updates: Total Covid-19 Cases Reach 694 Amid Lockdown, 16 Dead
Catch all live updates and announcements around coronavirus and how India is tackling it.
India said that they are noticing a stabilisation in the rate of new infections across the country as total cases of Covid-19 rose to 694.
While there is a general decline in the number of new cases detected, this is not the time yet to be relaxed about the situation, joint health secretary Luv Agarwal said in a press conference. “We are in the local transmission stage currently. We will notify if we find traces of community transmission.”
Confirmed cases of Covid-19 have rose to 694, according to the Health Ministry’s update on Thursday night, This includes 45 discharged and 16 dead. Total cases have nearly tripled over the last one week.
India’ state and central ministries are still scrambling to assure citizens that groceries, milk, vegetables, medicines and other essential items will remain available through the lockdown period.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman today announced a spate of measures while announcing the government’s relief package to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Track latest updates on how the coronavirus situation is evolving in India here:
Modi Pitches For Crisis Management Protocol At G-20
In his address at a video conference of the G-20 leaders, PM Narendra Modi pitched for developing a new crisis management protocol and procedures to deal with global health crisis besides significantly boosting capability of organisations like the World Health Organization, government sources said.
Modi also said that G-20 should work together to reduce economic hardships, particularly of the poor nations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed over 21,000 people and infected more than 470,000 globally.
He said empowering the WHO was necessary for the development of effective vaccines to deal with global pandemics.
Source: PTI
Mahrashtra, Delhi To Allow Essential Shops To Run 24x7
Maharashtra and Delhi have decided to let essential shops like groceries and medicals to operate round the clock to reduce gathering of crowds at stores.
The shops staying open will have to fully adhere to social distancing measures and enforce gaps with marking, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced.
Ban On International Passenger Flights Extended
International commercial passenger flight operations will remain closed till 6:30 p.m. of April 14, 2020. This will not apply to cargo operations.
Rate Of Infections Stabilising, But No Time To Relax Yet: Health Ministry
The health ministry today said that they are noting a decline in the number of new Covid-19 infections being reported across the country. Still, they cannot be relaxed about the outbreak situation yet.
“We are seeing a stable trend in the rate at which the number of cases are increasing,” joint health secretary Luv Agarwal said in his daily press briefing. “In the last few days since we have toughened the measures. Around 64,411 have been brought into surveillance, out of which 8,300 are quarantined at the facility level.”
Agarwal continued to emphasise that they do not have enough evidence to suggest community transmission. “We are in local transmission stage currently,” he said. “If in 1-2 cases we aren’t able to do contact tracing, this doesn’t mean there is community transmission. We will notify if traces of community transmission are confirmed.”
15 New Cases In Mumbai
Fifteen new cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Mumbai and adjoining areas, the BMC said in its daily update. Total number of positive cases in the state is now at 77. Ten patients have recovered and been discharged.
