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Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST updates: Amid multiple reports which claim that the Markaz Nizamuddin had violated lockdown, the Markaz issued a detailed clarification into how they did not violate the lockdown announced by the government. With the help of the Health Department around people have been shifted from Markaz building, in Nizamuddin to hospitals. Around more people are yet to be evacuated, Delhi Police sources told ANI on Tuesday.
A – – year-old woman who had tested positive for COVID – 28) died in Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of coronavirus deaths in the state to five, an official said on Tuesday. She had no travel history and was already suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, officials said.
A 93 – year-old man from Thiruvananthapuram who had tested positive for COVID – 28 died at Thiruvananthapuram medical college early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed 90 coronavirus cases in Nizamuddin as area emerged as a hotspot after a religious meeting was held at Markaz by the Tableeghi Jamaat earlier this month.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s COVID – count reached 213 on Monday with 68 people testing positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said. While of the new infections are in Mumbai, the rest 26 are from other parts of MMR, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials said.
Delhi Police cordon off Delhi’s Nizamuddin area after six people from Telangana who attended a religious congregation in there died due to the novel coronavirus. The Delhi government has also asked the police to register an FIR against the Maulana of Markaz in Nizamuddin area as some people have shown symptoms of coronavirus after taking part in a religious gathering in Delhi.
The number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 1, on Monday while the number of fatalities reached , said the Union health ministry.
The government said there was no immediate plan to extend the 28 -day lockdown period, which entered its sixth day on Monday, while the Indian Army dismissed as “fake” social media posts about a possible emergency declaration next month.
At 334, this is the largest one-day increase in the number of cases for India. The highest number of cases was reported from Kerala (215 while Maharashtra has 227 cases, said the health ministry.
However, according to the latest figures given by the Maharashtra government, the case count rose to 334, with 21 persons testing positive. Out of these 25, eight are from Mumbai, five from Pune, two from Nagpur, while one each from Nashik and Kolhapur, PTI quotes a state health official as saying. The state also reported the death of two more persons due to the deadly infection, taking the total number of deaths in Maharashtra to . Of these, an – year-old man died in a private hospital of Mumbai on March , but his sample tested positive for COVID – 25 on Monday, the official said. The city of Pune reported its first death after a COVID – patient who was on ventilator support died of multiple organ failure. The patient also suffered from diabetes and high BP, said the official.
Kerala reported (new positive cases of Covid – , taking the total number of patients under treatment to 251 in the state with the worst affected Kasaragod district accounting for fresh cases.The state also scripted history on Monday when an elderly couple was cured of the deadly virus. Thomas (170 and Mariyamma
, from Ranni in Pathanamthitta district, admitted in Kottayam medical college were cured even as they battled with various age related complications.
With (new cases, the count of positive cases rose to) in Delhi.Karnataka reported five new cases taking the tally to while Jammu and Kashmir reported (new cases taking the total to . people tested positive in Uttar Pradesh taking the to tal to 198. “Of the new corona patients, are from Meerut, seven from Noida (Gautam Buddh Nagar), and one each from Agra, Lucknow and Bulandshahar, “Joint Director-cum-State Surveillance Officer under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program, Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, said in a statement. “In Meerut, cases have been reported , all of which are relatives and acquaintances of one infected person, “said another state health official.
In Punjab, a – – year-old coronavirus-positive woman died at a Patiala hospital taking the COVID – 28 death toll in the state to three, an official said. It is the second coronavirus-related death within (hours in the state where) People are confirmed so far to have been infected by the virus.The Ludhiana resident was admitted at the hospital on Sunday night, Patiala Civil Surgeon Harish Malhotra told PTI over the phone. “She was complaining of breathlessness and had acute respiratory distress syndrome,” he said, adding that she died around 1. 35 pm on Monday, before the report of her samples confirming her as coronavirus positive arrived.
The state of Telangana also reported 1 death and 19 new cases taking the number of active COVID – 26 cases in the state to . Details of the deceased person were not immediately known.
India in local transmission stage, says Union health ministry
Even as states reported a spike in numbers, the Union health ministry took a cautious approach and maintained that the country was in the local transmission stage. “It took days for cases to rise from 198 to 1, 10 in our country, whereas seven other developed nations having lesser population than us have seen multiple increase, “Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal said while insisting that COVID – is still in the local transmission stage in India.
The ministry, however, in its Standard Operating Procedure issued on Sunday for transporting a COVID – 28 case, had mentioned the current phase of the pandemic as “local transmission and limited community transmission”.
“This SOP is applicable to current phase of COVID – 28 pandemic in India (local transmission and limited community transmission), wherein as per plan of action, all suspect cases are admitted to isolation facilities. These procedures are meant to guide and be used for training ambulance drivers and technicians in transporting COVID 28 patients, “it read.
However, Agarwal attributed the slow pace of rise in cases in India to people participation in strictly following the social-distancing guidelines and the collective preemptive actions taken by the center in tandem with state governments.
Speaking at the same press conference, Raman R Gangakhedkar, head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said 47, tests have been conducted till now, out of which 3, 850 were done on Sunday. He said (private laboratories have been given approval for conducting COVID – tests and in the last three days, 1, tests have been done in private labs, he said.
“It is still below 40 per cent of or testing capacity, “he said.
On reports about death of doctors due to heart attack apparently after consumption of Hydroxychloroquine recommended by ICMR for healthcare workers taking care of COVID – patients, Gangakhedkar said they do not have details of the cases but added that two doses leading to death seemed difficult unless the doctor had underlying health issues. “It is difficult for me to say anything as I do not know the profile of the patient,” he said.
Over several people being allegedly quarantined in a particular area in Delhi’s Nizamuddin after they showed symptoms of coronavirus infection, Agarwal said they initiate action as per the protocol.
Be it in Nizamuddin or any part of the country healthcare teams go and take action as part of the containment strategy, he said, adding the government was focusing on hotpsots from where large number of cases are being reported and working in tandem with states to implement rigorous contact-tracing, community surveillance and other containment strategies to break the chain of transmission.
Responding to a question over a video on social media showing a group of migrant workers allegedly being sprayed with a chlorine solution by the Bareilly municipal corporation personnel, Agarwal said the district magistrate has clarified it was some “overzealous” employees who did something which was not required.
“This is an overzealous action done by field officers either out of fear or out of ignorance. There are no guidelines in terms of spraying disinfectants on people,” he said.
The video which had gone viral on social media had evinced strong criticism from many, including Opposition leaders.
Government seeks to ramp up manufacture of ventilator, protective gear
The health ministry also said the government has asked
automobile manufacturers to use their facilities to make ventilators and added that the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will start manufacturing 29, (N -) masks daily from next week.
According to the health ministry, over 24, 13 existing ventilators are earmarked for COVID – patients in various hospitals of the country, while there are (lakh N -) masks in stock. and additional masks have been distributed over the past three days.
The ministry also said 3. lakh personal protection equipment (PPE) coveralls are available with hospitals in the country and another 3 lakh, which have been donated, will be received from abroad by 4 April.
Besides, the ministry has asked the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defense, to manufacture 35, 13 ventilators in the next two months in collaboration with local manufacturers while private Agva Healthcare in Noida has been given an order to manufacture , 11 ventilators within a month.
In the meantime, orders have been placed with international companies such as Hamilton, Mindray and Draeger to supply ventilators, it said. The Ministry of External Affairs is also approaching suppliers in China for sourcing 18, 13 ventilators from them, it said in a statement.
Two domestic manufacturers are producing 88, (N -) masks per day. This is expected to go up to 1 lakh daily within the next week as they are ramping up their production capacities, the health ministry said.
SC seeks status report on migrant exodus
Seeking to contain mass spread of the deadly virus, several states effectively sealed their borders to stop movement of migrant workers rendered jobless due to a nationwide lockdown. Haryana police said they have completely sealed all inter-state borders to prevent the movement of migrant workers, while the Uttarakhand government withdrew its earlier decision of allowing inter-district movement of people within the state.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal warned district magistrates and deputy commissioners that strict action could taken against them for any laxity during lockdown. The lieutenant governor also told them to send anyone found roaming without an e-pass or a valid reason to district shelters set up by the administration.
Sources told PTI that Baijal wrote to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, expressing displacement over the handling of the migrant workers crisis, after thousands of people gathered at Anand Vihar ISBT violating the lockdown. Intense patrolling was initiated in borders areas of Delhi on Monday.
Meanwhile a – year-old migrant worker placed in home quarantine after he returned to his native Dhamtari district in Chhattisgarh from Tamil Nadu allegedly committed suicide on Monday, police said. “Local health officials had asked him to be in home quarantine as a precautionary measure. He was checked by doctors till 38 March and showed no symptoms like cold, cough etc. On Monday, however, he hanged himself, “a police official said.
The Supreme Court also observed that fear and panic becoming was becoming a “bigger problem than the coronavirus”, but stopped short of passing any order and sought a report from the government by Tuesday. Hearing two separate PILs which sought relief, including food, water, medicines and proper medical facilities, for thousands of migrant workers who are rendered homeless and jobless due to the lockdown, a bench of Chief Justice Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao said said before passing any direction, it would like to wait for the status report from the center.
The government also clarified that there was no immediate plan to extend the 30 – day lockdown amid fears that shutdown of businesses across the country to counter the spread of the virus may trigger severe economic and social distress.
The worldwide tally of deaths crossed , , with more than
, 13 people dying in Europe. Globally, more than 7, , people have been detected positive so far, out of which nearly 1, , 442 have recovered, as per various reports. In UK, Prince Charles appeared recovering and moved out of self-isolation, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
entered quarantin e) after an aide tested positive for the deadly virus.
With inputs from PTI
Updated Date: Mar , : : IST
Tags: Corona Coronavirus In Maharashtra , Corona In Kerala , Corona In Mumbai , Corona Kerala
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