The Delhi government allowed veterinary services and self-employed individuals such as electricians, plumbers and water purifier repairmen to work from today.
A week before the scheduled end date of the lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Ministers for the fourth time since the COVID-19 outbreak on the exit strategy from the lockdown, among other things.
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 is a collection of our daily cartoons on COVID-19.
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.
Here are the latest updates:
India takes $1.5 billion loan from ADB
India takes $1.5 billion loan from Asian Development Bank for immediate reponse to COVID-19. The money will be spent to implement the containment plan and rapidly ramp up test-track-treatment capacity, as well as for providing social protection for 80 crore poor people over the next three months, says Finance Ministry.
5.00 p.m. | Uttar Pradesh
Positive cases in U.P. passes 2000
The total number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday crossed the 2,000-mark, with 57 fresh cases reported in the State, officials said.
The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the State stands at 31, while 400 patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals, they said.
“The total count of COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 2,043. These cases have been reported from 60 districts of the State,” Principal Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters.
The count of active cases in the State is 1,612, he said.
– PTI
4.40 pm | New Delhi
Plasma therapy is not proven till date
Plasma therapy is not proven till date; it is only in the experimental stage. Till the time it is approved, it should not be used as it would be harmful to the patients and it would be illegal, says Health Ministry spokesperson.
4.35 pm | New Delhi
The number of confirmed cases in 20 countries, as per WHO data, whose overall population is close to India’s, is 84 times more than the cases reported in India.
200 times deaths have been reported in these countries compared to India, says Health Ministry spokesperson.
This is because of proactive, pre-emptive and graded response in coordination with the States, and the strict adherence to lockdown measures by the people.
The doubling rate, which was around 3.5 before lockdown, is currently around 10.20, he adds.
4.30 pm | New Delhi
Health Ministry issues new guidelines on home isolation
People who are required to be kept in home isolation will have to submit an undertaking, they should be diagnosed as pre-symptomatic cases, they should have required facility for home isolation and should have a certified care giver.
The care givers and their close contacts will have to have HCQ, the patients will have to keep the district surveillance officer informed regularly. They need immediate medical intervention in case of breathing difficulty or other emergencies.
At home, they need to stay at an identified room, away from others, particularly from the elderly, use triple-layered mask.
The care givers and their close contacts will have to be kept on HCQ.
4.20 pm | New Delhi
In the past 24 hours, 1543 new cases reported, taking total to 29,435; 21,632 cases under active medical supervision; 684 patients cured in past 24 hours, taking the total to 6,868, overall recovery rate around 23.30%. In 17 districts, no cases reported in the past 28 days, says Health Ministry
Today, the Health Minister held videoconference meeting with Department of Bio-technology and its 18 autonomous bodies and chiefs of related PSUs to review the research initiatives on vaccine, anti-body detection kits and real-time PCR detection kits.
4.25 pm | New Delhi
Central teams visit Surat, Ahmedabad
At the daily COVID-19 press briefing, Home Ministry spokesperson says an inter-ministerial team toured Surat today.
The IMCT team in Surat found that the administration was using advanced technology for tracking suspect cases. Door-to-door survey was being carried out, data plotting on GIS maps is being done for monitoring, he adds.
The team surveyed hospitals, containment zones and shelter homes, it found that drones and CCTVs are being used for keeping watch in containment zones. However, to ensure that lockdown is observed in all the pockets, the team suggested that stringent measures need to be taken.
Another team visited Ahmedabad. The Ahmedabad Team also conducted surveys of entry and exit points of quarantined zones, it held meetings with various stakeholders, visited hospitals and interacted with relatives of the patients, found that arrangements were adequate. In rural areas of Ahmedabad, in all the panchayats, Gram Yoddha Samiti has been set up to ensure door-to-door supply of essentials, the spokesperson explained.
3.50 pm | Maharashtra
Maharashtra state headquarters Mantralaya and the new administrative building will be closed on April 29 and 30 for fumigation amid corona crisis, a government order said on Tuesday.
Four employees have reportedly tested positive.
3.45 pm | Bihar
Thirteen more cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Bihar taking the total number in the State to 359.
This includes six from Gopalgunj, four from Kaimur, and one each from Munger , Araria and Banka districts.
3.30 pm | Tamil Nadu
Only wholesale vegetable market to function at Chennai’s Koyambedu complex from Wednesday
The wholesale vegetable market alone wi