As the number of coronavirus cases crossed 4,000, millions of Indians across the country on April 5 switched off lights at their homes and lit candles and diyas or turned on mobile phone torches on Sunday night, responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to show the nation’s “collective resolve and solidarity” in its fight against coronavirus with this symbolic gesture.
The Hindu has brought out a multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information, in addition to covering the developments related to the coronavirus pandemic as it unfolded.
Here are answers from experts on your queries about the virus, a list of State Helpline numbers, a State-wise tracker for COVID-19 cases, deaths and testing, and a map of confirmed cases in India.
Numbers to note:
24/7 national helpline can be reached at 1075, 1930, 1944 (dedicated to Northeast), 1800-112-545 and 011-23978046.
WhatsApp helpdesk number: 9013151515.
Email: ncov2019-at-gmail.com.
Here are the latest updates:
12.10 pm | Maharashtra
Maharashtra tally climbs to 781
The number of Covid-19 cases continued to surge in Maharashtra, with 33 new cases being reported in the State over a 12-hour span, taking the tally of positive cases to 781.
Pune witnessed a surge of 19 fresh cases while 11 more have been reported from Mumbai, and a fresh case each from Satara, Ahmednagar and Vasai. Till date, the State has reported 45 deaths, with 30 of these from Mumbai alone.
–Shoumojit Banerjee
12.00 pm | Madhya Pradesh
4 persons, including 2 health officials, test positive in Bhopal
Four persons, including two health officials, tested positive for COVID-19 in Bhopal, taking the tally to 50 in the city, said an official of the district administration.
So far, 21 health officials have contracted the disease in the city.
–Sidharth Yadav
11.55 am | Andhra Pradesh
14 new cases reported in A.P.
Fourteen new positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in the State overnight, taking the total count to 266.
Visakhapatnam has reported five positive cases while Anantapur and Kurnool reported three each, Guntur reported two and West Godavari reported one new case. With 56 positive cases, Kurnool district has the highest number of cases among all the districts in the State.
So far, three people have succumbed to the virus in State.
–Tharun Boda
11.45 am | West Bengal
Kolkata police arrest 98 for bursting crackers during ‘9 pm-9 minutes’
The Kolkata police have arrested 98 people from different parts of the city for burstin