Coronavirus cases in India crosses 2,500 mark, 157 cured and 56 dead

• The Ministry of Health data shows that there are 2,514 infected people, out of which 157 recovered and 56 died.
• The World Bank approved $1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
• Five people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 29.
• The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed a state government decision to issue special passes to tipplers.

It is day ten of a 21-day lockdown here in India. As the country entered the critical phase of Coronavirus pandemic, the number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 2,500 mark.

The Ministry of Health data shows that there are 2,514 infected people, out of which 157 recovered and 56 died.

The total number of active cases stands at 2,301, which includes 55 foreign nationals.

Coronavirus toll in Gujarat touches 8, a 7-year-old among new patients

A 78-year-old man from Godhra died on Friday due to the coronavirus infection, taking the death toll in Gujarat to 8. Till Friday, total 95 persons were found positive in the state, including a seven-year-old among the new cases.

The man from Panchmahals was admitted in the Savita hospital, Vadodara for the pandemic infection.

"A female (60), a male (35), female (30) and a 7-year-old girl, all from a single family have been found positive from Bhnderi Pol in Kalupur area of Ahmedabad. All of them getting infected from a single source. A 68 year old male from Kalupur with a travel history to Delhi have also been found positive. All of them are admitted in the SVP Hospital. A male (62) and another male (17) both from Bapunagar admitted in the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital," said Jayanti Ravi, Gujarat principal secretary, Health and Family welfare Department.

Prime Narendra Modi urges people to light candles, torches on April 5 at 9 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that no one is alone at home during the lockdown in a speech today. He requested Indians to light candles, torches and mobile lights on balconies or windows for nine minutes on April 5 (Sunday) at 9 pm, after switching off all electric lights.

“During this, people should ‘not’ gather together while doing this. No one should not break the principle of social distancing, which is the only way to break the chain of COVID-19,” he insisted.

Misbehavior with nurses in Delhi

On April 1, some of the participants of Tablighi Jamaat, who have been put in quarantine facilities in Delhi, have been misbehaving with healthcare staff and spat at the doctors and nurses.

Quarantined migrants breach lockdown in UP

Upset over being kept away from their families, migrant workers who have been quarantined in various districts in Uttar Pradesh, have now started running away from shelters.

Reports coming in from districts say that an increasing number of quarantined workers are escaping the shelters, said IANS report.

Officials, however, deny such reports and say that all is well with the quarantined.

On Wednesday, 26 persons escaped from the shelter home in Faridipur in Sultanpur district where a total of 112 workers had been quarantined.

Four of them were caught and brought back while 22 have not been traced yet.

On the same day, in Hathras, 35 migrants, who had returned to the district in the past 15 days and were quarantined at Bisawar Primary School, escaped from the government facility at night.

World Bank approves $1 billion emergency fund for India

The World Bank has approved $1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 76 lives and infected 2,500 people in the country.

“In India, $1 billion emergency financing will support better screening, contact tracing, and laboratory diagnostics; procure personal protective equipment, and set up new isolation wards,” the World Bank said after its Board of Executive Directors approved the first set of emergency support operations for developing countries around the world, using a dedicated, fast-track facility for COVID-19 response.

Third coronavirus case found in Asia’s largest slum Dharavi

A 35-year-old doctor who has a clinic on the main road in Dharavi area of Mumbai tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, a civic official said.

This is a third COVID-19 case where the patient has a connection with Dharavi, considered to be Asia’s biggest slum with a high population density.

An official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said a doctor who had a clinic on Dharavi’s main road and who was also attached as a surgeon to a prominent private hospital tested positive for the virus.

“The building where he lives will be quarantined, and all high-risk contacts will be traced,” the BMC official said.

Bihar reports five new Coronavirus cases; total at 29

Five people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 29, an official said.

According to state epidemiologist Ragini Mishra, two women from Gaya, the wife and the mother of a coronavirus patient with travel history to Dubai, and as many men from Gopalganj, both of whom returned from the Middle East recently, tested positive.

A resident of Saran district, who had recently travelled to the UK, also tested positive, she said.

“Altogether, 1,973 samples have been tested in the state so far, of which 29 have tested positive,” Mishra told PTI.

9,000 Tablighi Jamaat members, primary contacts quarantined in the country: MHA

About 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their primary contacts have been quarantined till now in the country after the government undertook “massive efforts” as part of steps to check the spread of the novel coronavirus, a senior home ministry official said on Thursday.

Hospital staff complain against Jamaat members’ ‘obscene behaviour’

Following complaints of “objectionable behaviour” by many members of Tablighi Jamaat -- in some instances singing obscene songs before the nursing staff — a joint probe by Ghaziabad police chief and Additional District Magistrate has been ordered.

In a complaint, some Tablighi followers who were rounded up and taken by bus to Ghaziabad on Tuesday-Wednesday for a medical check-up after they had been to the Markaz headquarters — said to be the new coronavirus epicentre in the national capital — allegedly spat on police personnel and government officials.

A section of staff in Ghaziabad-based M M G Government Hospital wrote in a complaint on Wednesday to the Chief Medical Superintendent that “many Jamaat members admitted in the isolation ward of the hospital were misbehaving with the employees and the nursing staff”.

The Jamaat members, many of whom are corona suspects, were seen roaming around semi-nude in front of female nursing staff and singing obscene songs, the complaint said.

Now, globally students can take TOEFL, GRE exams at home except China and Iran

Global exams like TOEFL and GRE will be taken at home except in mainland China and Iran in view of the COVID-19 situation across the globe, according to the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The tests had been suspended across the globe following coronavirus outbreak.

Shillong hospital to admit only critically ill non-COVID19 patients from other states

A premier hospital of Shillong has decided that it will admit non-COVID19 cases from other states only if they are critically ill and certified so by the health authorities of the patients’ states, an official said on Friday.

This is part of a precautionary protocol adopted by the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), an autonomous institute under the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

The protocol, drawn up following a direction from the state government on Thursday, will be in force until the COVID-19 pandemic is over, NEIGRIHMS Director DM Thappa said.

“Only critically ill non-COVID19 patients certified by the state health authorities concerned can seek treatment at the NEIGRIHMS, and only one attendant will be allowed to accompany the patient. However, such a person will have to be quarantined for 14 days as per government directives,” Thappa said.

Kerala HC stays special passes for tipplers

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (April 2) stayed a state government decision to issue special passes to tipplers, who have withdrawal symptoms and doctor’s prescription to purchase liquor from the Excise department.

SEE ALSO:Coronavirus News and Updates
Indian Prime Narendra Modi urges people to light candles, torches, and mobile flashlights on April 5 at 9 pm⁠— as a symbol of a unified fight against novel coronavirus