As India is under lockdown for a week now, the government has said the 21-day period will not be extended. The country is seeing a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases, with Gujarat, Punjab, Telangana and West Bengal reporting deaths.
COVID-19 has claimed 54 lives in India, according to data from the Health Ministry and State governments. As many as 1,716 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.
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, and a map of confirmed cases in India.
The new 24/7 national helpline numbers are 1075, 1800-112-545 and 011-23978046.
Email: ncov2019-at-gmail.com.
The Prime Minister has announced a WhatsApp helpdesk number: 9013151515.
Here are the latest updates:
5.00 pm | New Delhi
CM Arvind Kejriwal on coronavirus situation in Delhi:
Community transmission has not started in Delhi.
Doctors and nurses working on the frontline are like soldiers and if anybody dies, their family will get ₹1 crore
Doctors have complained that many patients are getting aggressive and we have made arrangements with the Delhi Police to provide protection for them.
Doctors have said that there is a shortage of testing kits. I appeal to the Central government to provide testing kits.
We have identified 10 lakh people who may not have ration cards. They can go to the Delhi government website and apply for a ration card and we will provide ration as long as the coronavirus lockdown lasts.
Phone tracing will be done to ensure that people who are in quarantine do not step out.
Police will trace phones to ensure that people do not break quarantine.
4.30 pm | New Delhi
Till date 47,951 tests done, says ICMR chief Raman Gangakhedkar.
We have reached 38% capacity utilisation, he says. As many as 816 tests in private labs since yesterday, 126 ICMR labs are testing.
51 private labs have been approved for testing, he adds. – Jacob Koshy
PTI adds:
47,951 tests for COVID-19 conducted in country so far out of which 4,562 tests done at ICMR network labs on March 31
4.15 pm | New Delhi
21,486 relief camps have been set up across the country to lodge migrants and homeless, Home Ministry spokesperson says, adding that 6,75,133 persons are being sheltered there.
– Jacob Koshy
4.10 pm | New Delhi
India to get 80,000 isolation beds by modifying railway coaches
In his daily briefing, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal says, “India is preparing 80,000 isolation beds by modifying railway coaches.”
As many as 24 classes of medical devices will be regulated as drugs, he says. This would mean these devises cannot increase prices by more than 10%.
– Jacob Koshy
PTI adds:
Cases have increased due to Tablighi Jamaat congregation; it does not show national trend.
5,000 railway coaches have been modified to set up quarantine facilities.
States where cases have been reported asked to initiate rigorous contact tracing and containment strategies.
States asked to carry out intensive drives to ensure tests of those who came in contact with affected people.
We urge people to follow guidelines during lockdown period, avoid congregations and religious gatherings.
Railways setting up 3.2 lakh isolation and quarantine beds, 20,000 coaches being modified in process.
4.00 pm | Jaipur
89 cases in Rajasthan so far
Jaipur has reported 13 more COVID-19 positive cases today. All of them are contacts of the first person who was found infected in Ramganj locality.
The number of positive cases in Rajasthan has soared to 89. This is without taking into account Iran evacuees lodged in Army facilities – Mohammed Iqbal
3.15 pm | Guwahati
Fresh cases in Assam
Assam has reported four new cases. All of them have attended the Nizamuddin congregation, according to State Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
3.00 pm | Lucknow
Second death in UP due to COVID-19. A 72-year-old patient in Meerut has passed away, confirms R. C. Gupta, Principal, Meerut medical college.
The deceased,tested positive in March 29, was the father-in-law of an earlier positive case. The victim was also suffering from chronic pulmonary disease and was a diabetic, says Dr. Gupta. – Omar Rashid
2.15 pm | Chennai
TN CM requests Delhi meeting participants to come forward
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday reque