Coronavirus cases in India rise to 12,380 with even as situation eases in Noida, Telangana and Maharashtra

• After a sudden spike during the last three days, the number of COVID-19 cases in Telangana showed a downward trend on Wednesday (April 15).
• In a breather to the residents of the area, Gautam Buddha Nagar on Wednesday (April 15) did not record a single fresh case of Coronavirus.
• In a sharp decline over the past few days, Maharashtra recorded nine COVID-19 deaths and 232 new positive cases in the last 24 hours, health officials said.

The total number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in India is now at 12,380, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday (April 16).

Of these, 10,477 are active cases of COVID-19, 1489 individuals have recovered and discharged, while one person migrated to another country. As many as 414 people succumbed to the disease.

Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with a total number of positive cases rising to 2,916, followed by New Delhi with 1,578 cases and Tamil Nadu, which has reported 1,242 cases, according to the Health Ministry data.

At least 1023 people are affected in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh reported 987 cases, UP reported 735 cases, Telangana reported 647 cases, and Andhra Pradesh reported 525.

Doctor tests positive for COVID-19 in Ghaziabad

A cancer specialist here has tested positive, taking the total number of infections in Ghaziabad to 32, officials said.

According to health officials, the doctor, a resident of Gyan Khand 2 in Indirapuram, works at Max Hospital, Saket in Delhi.

He is undergoing treatment at Max Hospital after testing positive for the dreaded virus. A team of the Health Department has sanitised the entire area of Gyan Khand 2, while the family members, including the doctor's wife, have been quarantined.

Delhi to try out plasma technique on critical COVID patients

Plasma technique will be used for the treatment of critical coronavirus patients here on a trial basis, Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal said on Wednesday (April 15).

"Delhi to use plasma technique for treatment on a trial basis to save the life of critical COVID-19 patients," Baijal said in a tweet.

According to a statement from the Raj Niwas, S.K. Sarin, Director, ILBS informed Baijal that the Delhi government has got approval to use convalescent plasma technique on a trial basis to save the life of critical COVID-19 patients.

Delhi government will be deploying it as per the protocol of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Sarin said.

In convalescent plasma therapy, the antibodies of a person who has recovered from the virus are taken and transfused into a sick person (having the virus) to help boost the person's immune system.

Telangana shows a downward trend with only six new cases

After the sudden spike during the last three days, the number of COVID-19 cases in Telangana showed a downward trend on Wednesday (April 15). Six new cases were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 650.

According to a medical bulletin released by the Health Department at 8.30 pm, eight persons were discharged from hospital after treatment. With this, the total number of recovered cases rose to 118.

No death was reported on Wednesday(April 15). The death toll stands at 18.

No new COVID-19 case in Noida in 24 hours

In a breather to the residents of the area, Gautam Buddha Nagar on Wednesday (April 15) did not record a single fresh case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). At the same time, the administration has screened over 10 lakh people so far, officials said.

The district administration said that so far, 24 out of 80 positive cases have been cured and discharged from the hospitals.

He said that a total of 1,595 samples had been collected for COVID-19 testing from the GB Nagar district.

Maharashtra records drop in COVID-19 deaths, new cases

Maharashtra recorded nine COVID-19 deaths and 232 new positive cases in the last 24 hours, health officials said.

This is a significant drop compared to the 18 deaths and 350 new cases announced on Tuesday (April 14). With this, the state saw 187 deaths and 2,916 COVID-19 cases.

Of the nine deaths, Mumbai notched two, including one in Dharavi, taking the city total to 114. Besides, there were six deaths in Pune and one in Akola, with six among all the victims succumbing to various other high-risk severe diseases.

The victims comprise three women and six men, with four aged above 60 years, three in the 40-60 age group and two under-40 years age.

Till date, 295 patients who recovered fully have been discharged, even as 69,738 people are in 'home quarantine' and 5,617 are in institutional quarantine.

72 South Delhi families told to self-quarantine after pizza delivery boy tests positive

Families in 72 houses in a locality in Delhi's South District were asked to have been told to observe self-quarantine after a delivery boy associated with a famous pizza chain tested positive for COVID-19, District Magistrate of South Delhi said.

According to B M Mishra, the delivery boy was from Malviya Nagar area. tested positive on Tuesday (April 14) After this, following which the authorities immediately decided to quarantine his 16 colleagues at the outlet. A detailed trail was followed to identify each house where food was delivered by the outlet.

"We have found that 72 houses had taken delivery from that outlet and hence everyone has been told to follow precautionary measures and be under self- quarantine," Mishra told IANS.

He added that there was no need to panic, as he had informed all the delivery boys to use masks and follow the safety measures while executing a delivery. But the decision to send all contact persons to quarantine was 'necessary' as a precautionary measure.

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