Coronavirus Updates: Total Cases In India At 13,835; Death Toll At 452

A total of 3,19,400 samples have been tested so far, ICMR Chief Epidemiologist RR Gangakhedkar has said.

On Thursday, 28,340 tests were done, out of which 23,932 tests were done by 183 labs under ICMR network. The other 4,408 tests were done by 80 private labs.

The health ministry today said that India's doubling rate—the number of days in which total cases double—has come down since the nationwide lockdown was put in place.

Before the lockdown, the doubling rate of cases was nearly 3 days, joint health secretary Lav Agarwal said in a press briefing. In the last 7 days our doubling rate is at 6.2 days, he said.

“The doubling rate shows how we are managing things at the field level,” Agarwal said.

Delhi police intercepted a truck carrying 37 migrant labourers to Haryana's Palwal town during lockdown early Friday and sent them to a shelter home, officials said.

Around 1.30 am, police stopped a truck bearing a Haryana registration near Okhla T-point and found 37 labourers inside. The contractor told the police he was ferrying the labourers to Palwal Mandi from Okhla Mandi in Delhi for work.

The contractor is a resident of Lakhi Sarai district in Bihar and had been staying in Palwal, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) RP Meena.

The labourers were staying in Chhatarpur, he added.

All of them have been booked under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and section 3 of the Epidemic Act.

Another seven migrant labourers trying to travel to their home district Vaishali in Bihar were intercepted by a police team in South Extension. They had hired an SUV of a Trilokpuri resident for Rs 37,000, said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).

The vehicle was seized and the seven labourers were sent to a shelter home.

Source: PTI

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday asked all guardian ministers to ensure smooth distribution of food grains to the poor during the Covid-19 lockdown so that the government is not defamed unnecessarily.

According to an official statement issued on Friday, Pawar, who is also the state's Finance Minister, wrote to the guardian ministers asking them to immediately address complaints raised by beneficiaries of the public distribution system.

In a letter to the ministers, Pawar informed that the PDS food stock had been increased from 3.87 lakh metric tonnes to 7.74 lakh metric tonnes.

As many as 1.52 lakh metric tonnes of grains were made available for the needy, he stated.

"There is a need to ensure that the poor get adequate food grains and they are distributed in a streamlined manner so that no one goes hungry (during the lockdown period)," Pawar said in the letter.

There should be no irregularity in the distribution of food grains and if there is any complaint, it has to be addressed immediately, Pawar directed.

"See that the government is not defamed unnecessarily. Guardian ministers should personally pay attention to this," he added.

He praised the state administration for doing a "good job" at all levels during the health crisis.

The state's food and civil supplies department was providing wheat and rice at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg respectively for three months to 7 crore people through fair price shops, he said.

The 5 kg free rice announced by the Centre for ration card holders is also being distributed, he said, adding that wheat and rice at Rs 8 and Rs 12 per kg respectively will be distributed to the poor, he added.

Source: PTI

The state of Gujarat added 92 new cases in the last 12 hours, taking its tally to 1,021, a state official said.

Out of the 92 new cases reported during the last 12 hours, the highest, 45,were from Ahmedabad, followed by 14 in Surat, 9 in Vadodara, 8 in Bharuch and 5 in Narmada, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

Other districts where new cases have emerged include Botad (3), Panchmahal (2) and one each in Anand, Chhotaudepur, Dahod, Kheda and Mahisagar, she said.

This makes it the latest state with more than one thousand coronavirus cases. Other include Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. However, the latest figures will be updated on the central Health Ministry website by 5 p.m.

The government on Friday removed restrictions on exports of formulations made from Paracetamol amid outbreak of Covid-19.

However, restrictions on exports of Paracetamol active pharmaceutical ingredients will continue on, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

"...The formulations made from Paracetamol (including fixed-dose combinations)...are made free for export with immediate effect. However, Paracetamol APIs will remain restricted for export," it said.

The government on March 3 had put export restrictions on 26 pharma ingredients and medicines, including paracetamol.

Source: PTI

There are five states with more than 1,000 confirmed cases with another trailing close, according to the state-wise data provided by the ministry. The number of cases in Maharashtra have crossed 3,200 as of 8 a.m. today.

• Maharashtra: 3,205 cases ‬
• Delhi: 1,640 cases
• Tamil Nadu: 1,267 cases ‬
• Rajasthan: 1,131 cases ‬
• Madhya Pradesh: 1,120 cases‬

Gujarat - with 930 cases - is likely to be the next one to join the club.

Source Health Ministry

The police in neighbouring Navi Mumbai have identified around 1,600 senior citizens who live alone and need help during the Covid-19 lockdown, an official said on Friday.

The police have set up a help desk to check in on at least 24 elderly persons every day and provide any possible help to them during the lockdown, senior inspector Meera Bansode said.

The desk with around six officials was set up on March 30 and has identified 1,600 senior citizens in the area, who need help getting essentials and medicines, she said.

Police personnel have also helped the elderly, most of whom are over 80, with bank work and doctor visits.

In a related development, general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Summan Agrawal donated two hot-water dispensers to the Thane Civil Hospital, where Covid-19 patients are being treated.

Source: PTI

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The United States has provided nearly $5.9 million in health assistance to India to slow the spread of Covid-19, the State Department said Thursday.

The amount is being used to help India hinder the spread of the disease by providing care for the affected, disseminating essential public health messages to communities and strengthen case-finding and surveillance, the State Department said.

The assistance is also being used to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms for emergency preparedness and response to this pandemic.

"This builds on a foundation of nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance, which includes more than $1.4 billion in health assistance, the United States has provided to India over the last 20 years," it said in a update of the U.S. efforts in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have now committed nearly $508 million in emergency health, humanitarian, and economic assistance.

This is on top of the funding the U.S. has already provided to multilateral and non-governmental organizations that are helping communities around the world deal with the pandemic.

In South Asia, America's Covid-19 assistance has gone to Afghanistan ($18 million), Bangladesh ($9.6 million), Bhutan ($500,000), Nepal ($1.8 million), Pakistan ($9.4 million) and Sri Lanka ($1.3 million).

Source: PTI

At the same time, more than half of the Covid-19 patients in Kerala have recovered, according to state government data.

Of the 394 total cases in the state, 245 have recovered—a recovery rate of 62 percent.