JOIN USIndia records more than 3000 new cases in 24 hours, the highest ever increase so far. Karnataka reports 22 new cases and sees angry workers break out in protests, asking to be sent home. Evacuation begins for stranded citizens across the world.
All this and more on the daily update with Akhil Kadidal and Suraksha Pinnu.
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This the daily Covid update from Deccan Herald.
On the bulletin today: Karnataka reports 22 new cases of Covid-19…India prepares to evacuate stranded citizens from around the world and Karnataka halts inter-state movement of migrant labour. But first, a look at the national numbers.
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More than 33,000 people are active carriers of the virus.
Just over 14,000 patients have recovered since they were first tested and...
The country has registered 1,686 covid-related deaths so far.
The country is edging towards the 50,000 mark in the number of cases reported.
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The Indian Council of Medical Research has tested nearly 12 lakh samples from across the country.
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Maharashtra reported 841 new cases, and an additional 143 - as part of a data cleaning process.
Gujarat reports 441 new cases and 49 deaths - both are the highest single day spikes so far.
Tamil Nadu has 508 new cases. The state government has offered home isolation for those with very mild symptoms, as the surging numbers have led to overcrowding in hospitals.
Madhya Pradesh has recorded 107 new cases today...that’s an addition of more than 2000 cases from just these four states.
Tripura now has the highest number of active cases in the North-East after 27 BSF men in the state’s Dha-lai districted tested COVID-19 positive in the past 72-hours.
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Karnataka has reported 22 new cases today. A total of 673 cases have been reported, out of which 312 are still active. 6 patients are in ICU and 331 patients have been discharged so far. There have been 2 deaths in the state today and 29 deaths overall.
Out of 22 new cases, 12 are from Davanagere. All of them are contacts of Patient-556 and 581. Among three cases reported from Bengaluru,Patient-653 is a direct contact of Patient-420, Patient-654 has Influenza-like-Illness. Contact tracing for Patient-652 is underway. Both the cases from Bagalkote are direct contacts of Patient-367 and 368. Cases from Haveri and Dakshina Kannada too are contacts of previously diagnosed patients. One case each from Ballari and Dharwad had travel history to Uttarakhand and Mumbai respectively. Patient-659 from Uttara Kannada has presented with Influenza-Like-Illness.
There have been 2 Covid-related deaths today. Patient-640, a 62 year-old woman from Vijayapura passed away today. She had Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and Bronchial Asthama. She was admitted with a complaint of breathlessness and passed away due to cardiac arrest.
Patient 662, a 50 year-old woman from Davanagere passed away today. She was diagnosed with SARI.
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In national news, India has begun a large-scale operation to bring back its citizens stranded abroad by involving navy ships and aircrafts. Reportedly, two ships are already moving towards the Maldives and another to the United Arab Emirates -- home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community, who make up around 30 percent of the Gulf state's population.
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Air India will also operate 64 flights between May 7th to May 13th, to bring back stranded Indians stuck abroad.
Those arriving by repatriation flights will be screened and placed under 14-day quarantine. Those availing the service will be charged and private airlines may join the effort after May 13th, according to the civil aviation minister. Among the flights, most are from the UAE, followed by the UK and the USA.
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The dates for the Joint Entrance Exam and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test have been announced. The JEE Mains examinations will be conducted from July 18th to 23rd, while the NEET 2020 examinations will be held on July 26.
JEE Advanced will be conducted in the month of August and the date of the exam will be announced in the due course of time.
According to the HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, the dates of other exams including UGC NET will also be announced shortly, other examinations will be conducted anytime after June 15.
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The Supreme Court has refused to consider at least 4 cases, saying petitioners must approach the government.
In the first case, a PIL was filed by a former ACP, Maharashtra against the salary cut and lack of Personal Protection Equipments for police personnel who were on the frontline in fight against Coronavirus. The Court has said that these are policy matters and it can't issue a direction to the government. A plea by TMC MP Mohua Moitra asking that CM Relief funds must be allowed to accept donations from corporate social responsibility funds was also not considered, the bench asked her to raise the issue before the Parliament. A PIL by MP Jairam Ramesh asking for universal food coverage for all during the pandemic was also not heard. The bench asked Ramesh to make a representation to the Union Government.
The Supreme Court also refused to pass any order to the Centre on a plea for allowing travel of migrant workers to their native place, saying that all necessary steps were being taken by the Union and state governments.
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According to a new study conducted by an UN agency, India is likely to witness an additional 71,000 tuberculosis deaths for every month of the lockdown. More than 2 lakh TB cases are also likely to be added. The numbers might dip to approximately 45,000 deaths and 1 lakh 45 thousand cases in the months of restoration.
Globally 6.3 million more people will become ill with TB and 1.4 million will die from TB due to the lockdown, a bulk of which will take place in India.
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In news from Karnataka,
Bengaluru saw its first protest by migrant labourers last night. Angry workers from various parts of the country, protested at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre and demanded to be sent home. The workers had been re-routed from Chikkabanavara Railway Station, later to Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station and finally to the BIEC.
Workers complained that they had been without food and water. The demonstration became violent late in the night when no one from the government had addressed their complaints and they resorted to stone-pelting, resulting in several policemen being injured.
Surat saw a third wave of protests yesterday, by angry workers demanding to be paid and sent back home.
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According to a report by a citizens group called Naavu Bharatiyaru, the government lacks a proper database of the workers in the city, 5 weeks after the lockdown was announced. Government help has also not reached many migrant worker communities many of whom have run out of ration. Cooked meals that were being provided in some areas have also been stopped. Most workers are unable to communicate with helplines manned by the state government as they don’t speak Kannada. Relief from the helplines is erratic and only a portion of what is asked for is often received. The group has also highlighted the lack of information about the quantum of relief and the length of time for which the relief will be available, which would build confidence among the workers.
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The movement of migrant labourers from Karnataka to other states has been stopped by the state temporarily, as few North Indian states are yet to give consent.
The state has also suspended receiving online applications from migrants seeking to return to their native states. According to sources in Seva Sindhu, the government’s flagship online portal, the provision was suspended on Monday evening based on the directions by the State government.
Revenue Minister R Ashok said that the state government will convince labourers to stay back and ensure free food supply at their camps. The decision to convince them to stay back reportedly came after several major government and private projects were affected by the mass migration of labourers to their native districts and states.
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CM Yediyurappa has also urged the migrant labourers to stay back and return to the firms they were employed in. Since construction and economic activities have resumed outside the red zones, the labourers need not hurry back home. The CM’s request came following the meeting with The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India. During the meeting, the builders assured that all arrangements were in place for the labourers and their salaries were also paid.
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Moving on, the state government has issued a notification making wearing masks and social distancing mandatory in public places. When in public, citizens are expected to maintain a distance of at least 1 metre and their mouth and nose should be covered either by mask or a cloth. If found to be in violation of this, they will be fined 200 rupees on the spot in Municipal Corporation area and 100 rupees in other areas. The rules will remain in force for a period of one year, or until withdrawn.
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State Primary and Secondary education minister, S Suresh Kumar has announced that the SSLC examination is likely to take place in the second or third week of June. The time table will be announced in the next 20 to 30 days. He also said that the students will get at least 15 days after the announcement to mentally prepare for the exams. The department is also thinking of conducting SSLC exams for students who have shifted from hostels to hometowns at the nearest places, instead of forcing them to come back to the schools/hostels where they were studying.
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Several private medical colleges in the state are now trying to get "emergency" certification from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, to conduct tests for Covid-19.
As per available data, there are over 80 private laboratories, including those in private medical colleges, but only 8 of them have accreditation from NABL which is mandatory to conduct the PCR test.
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Three firms in Bengaluru have received import licences to import rapid antibody test kits from two Chinese and one Korean company. These three are among the 93 firms approved from across India to import rapid antibody test kits for COVID-19 testing. The use of the test kits that had been procured earlier from ICMR-approved companies, had been suspended after field variations were reported.
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Before we go,
NIMHANS will resume its OPD service for previously registered patients from May 6th, but through a IVRS based phone call...
Patients who have been undergoing treatment can call 080-2699 1699. They will be directed to enter the hospital number as mentioned on their card. These numbers begin either with the alphabet P or N, followed by a numeric code. Once the call is registered, NIMHANS will contact the patient within 5 days. The service will be available between 9 am to 12pm from Monday. through to Saturday.
For the latest updates, log on to deccanherald.com.