COVID-19 Daily Update - April 28

Karnataka reports 11 new cases today and the state economy might see some respite, with shops and industries opening up in green zones. At the centre, the Niti Ayog has sealed its premises, after a director-level officer was tested positive.
All this and more on the daily update with Suraksha

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TRANSCRIPT

Hello. This the daily Covid update from Deccan Herald. I’m Suraksha. On the bulletin today:
Karnataka reports 11 new cases of Covid-19, states are returning the rapid test kits and cancelling the outsatnding orders,
Niti Ayog has been sealed after the detection of a positive case. But, first let’s look at the national numbers…

As we go into this recording..
Over 30,000 cases have been reported in the country so far.
More than 22,000 people are active carriers of the virus.
Over 7000 patients have recovered since they were first tested and...
The country has registered 975 covid-related deaths so far.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has tested more than 7 lakh samples so far.

A look at the various states...
Maharashtra still leads in the number of positive cases in the country,
with Mumbai alone reporting 393 fresh cases today.
Dharavi has emerged as a major hotspot and has reported 42 new cases and 4 deaths.
The number of cases in the area alone has crossed 300.
Gujarat has reported 226 new cases and has close to 3200 active cases.
Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are close behind.

Karnataka recorded 11 new cases today and has 295 active Covid-19 cases. Of these 7 are in the ICU.
207 people have recovered and have been discharged so far.There has been one death in the state today.
Out of 11 new cases, 6 are from Kalaburgi, all contacts of P425. 3 are from Bagalakote and one each from Gadag and Bengaluru.
The case from Bengaluru is from the containment area of ward - 135, Padarayanapura.
P-422, a 57 year old male, a resident of Kalaburagi, passed away yesterday.
He was admitted on April 21st with complaint of SARI. He had a history of Chronic Liver Disease.

A day after ICMR asked the states to discontinue the antibody test kits, Tamil Nadu has said that
it is returning 24,000 rapid test kits received from the Chinese firm, Shan Biotech.
This was the first set of total 50,000 kits, ordered by the state.
It has also cancelled all procurement orders. Health Minister C Vijayabaskar has said that the government is returning the kits
as per orders from ICMR, on whose recommendation the rapid test kits were bought.

Citing the Delhi High Court order that capped the price of each testing kit at Rs 400, rather than Rs 600 approved by the ICMR,
the opposition has questioned the state as to why the kits were bought from an intermediary company and at a higher price.

Karnataka too has found that the rapid antibody test kits supplied by the Centre to have only 47% sensitivity.
Sensitivity is the ability of a test to identify the true-positives in a population. The state will be returning all 11,400 kits to the ICMR.
It has also cancelled the orders given to Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics for one lakh kits.
The state is also facing a shortage of RT-PCR kits, which might run out in the next 8-10 days.
The officials hope that the new consignment ordered will arrive before the current lot runs out.

Meanwhile, China is not very happy with the return of faulty test kits.
A spokesperson for the Chinese government has called the return ‘unfair’, ‘irresponsible’, and ‘prejudiced’.

Moving on to news from across the country...,

The NITI Ayog headquarters in Delhi has been sealed for two days after a Director-level officer tested positive for Covid-19.
It is just 500 metres away from Parliament House. Disinfection and sanitisation of the building are underway.
Contacts of the person have been asked to go on self-quarantine.

Even as states are asking recovered patients to donate blood for plasma therapy, the Centre has a word of caution.

The Centre has warned against indiscriminate use of convalescent plasma therapy to treat seriously-ill Covid-19 patients.
The states have been reminded to strictly follow ICMR guidelines on plasma therapy,
and that all granted approvals have been only on an experimental basis.

The Union Health Ministry has issued new guidelines for home isolation of those with very mild symptoms of coronavirus.
According to a new set of guidelines issued on Monday, any patient who has been clinically assigned as a very mild case
or pre-symptomatic case by the treating medical officer,
can opt for home isolation if they have the requisite self-isolation facility at their residence. So that the contact with other family members can be avoided.
The patient is expected to regularly inform his health status to the district surveillance officer
for further follow up by the surveillance teams. Also, the caregiver and all close contacts of such cases
should take Hydroxychloroquine as a preventive medication according to the protocol,
and as prescribed by the treating medical officer. According to these new guidelines,
a caregiver should be available to provide care on a 24x7 basis. A communication link between the caregiver and hospital is a prerequisite
for the entire duration of home isolation.

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider the feasibility of 'temporarily' adopting the 'one nation, one ration card' scheme,
so that the migrant workers and economically weaker sections can get subsidised foodgrain during the lockdown.
The plea also sought directions to authorities, to ensure that the migrant labourers stranded in rented premises,
or in transit camps do not go hungry for want of identity cards, local or otherwise.

In an open letter to Ministries of Home, Finance and Social Justice,
over 2,100 people from the transgender community have demanded a special package for them,
which includes an assured subsistence income of at least Rs. 3,000 per month till the coronavirus crisis subsides.
They say that none of the schemes announced by the government since the lockdown are of their benefit
and the community is pushed into further vulnerability. They also demanded uninterrupted supply of all essential medication,
among other demands. The community has also urged the government to universalise the Public Distribution System to ensure food security to all needy citizens,
including transgender persons, and ensure monthly rations kits.

Centre has allowed software techies to continue working from home until July 31.
This was in response to a request by Karnataka Deputy CM and IT/BT Minister Dr Ashwathnarayana
to extend the work-from-home policy for another year.

Moving on to news from Karnataka..

In some respite for the state’s economy, the government conditionally opens up shops and industries in green zones.

According to an order by the Chief Secretary, the green zones of Chamarajanagar, Koppal, Chikmagalur, Raichur,
Chitradurga, Ramanagara, Hassan, Shivamogga, Haveri, Yadgir, Kolar, Davangere, Udupi and Kodagu will now see shops
and industrial activities start operations. In the green zones, standalone shops in the neighbourhood,
shops in residential complexes within the limits of municipal corporations can start operations with 50% manpower.
All preventive norms are to be observed as before. However, multi-brand and single-brand malls will remain shut across the state.
Industries operating in rural areas of these green zones, except Ramanagara, have been allowed to start.
Manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control in special economic zones and export-oriented units, industrial estates
and industrial townships will be allowed to operate.

Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar has ordered 100 samples of severe acute respiratory illness
and influenza-like illness patients to be tested for COVID-19 per day. The samples will be collected
for three days in coronavirus-free districts of Karnataka. Till date, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Haveri, Kolar,
Koppal, Raichur, Ramnagar, Shivamogga and Yadgir districts have not reported any cases of COVID-19.
In an order issued last Friday, the Chief Secretary ordered the tests for three days from Saturday to Monday.
Thereafter, he has asked the districts to test 50 samples per day. So far, none have been tested positive.
Results of around 1,485 people are awaited.

If you have been waiting for property registrations to resume in Bengaluru and Mysuru, the sub-registrar offices are all set to open from tomorrow.
Sub-registrar offices were open across the state, except in these two cities until now.
However, sub-registrar offices located in a one-kilometre radius of containment zones will remain closed.
Property registration is a crucial source of revenue for the government, fetching nearly 11,000 crore rupees in the last fiscal year.
The government aims to mop up 12,655 crore rupees this time around. This year, the government has decided to reduce the stamp duty from 5% to 2%
on first-time registration of apartments & flats costing less than 20 lakh rupees.

The lockdown has taken the fizz out of Bengaluru’s microbreweries. Staring at a heavy loss, the microbreweries are urging the state government
to waive the annual excise fees, which is now due in June. Around 67 licensed microbreweries in the city have been forced to spill all the beer down the drain,
due to the lockdown. A survey by the Craft Brewers Association has revealed that the breweries had nearly two lakh litres of unsold beer.

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And finally, at Deccan Herald we believe that there is kindness to be found even in these dark times.
With our Spread Kindness campaign, we hope to bring you stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary work.
Bengaluru’s Shubhajit Bhattacharya and Juli Aich have dipped into their savings,
to help migrant workers stranded in the city during the lockdown.
Shubhajit, a double amputee who lost both his arms in an accident more than 20 years ago, was moved by the plight of migrant workers.
While they started the work with their own money, social media has helped amplify their reach,
with friends donating towards their cause. So far, the couple has helped over 80 families over the past two weeks.
If you wish to help them, reach out to the number on your screen.

Before we go,
Amid the lockdown gloom, the acts of a few every now and then put a smile on your face.
These two youngsters from Baikampady near Mangaluru, hit the streets everyday to distribute packaged mineral water worth 2,500 rupees,
and Bananas to those in need. Samad and Yasir Angara-gundi have set aside personal problems to help,
everyday between 6am and 12pm, when the lockdown is relaxed.

That’s all we have for today. For the latest updates, log on to deccanherald.com.
Stay safe, stay indoors and we’ll see you tomorrow.