Coronavirus pandemic: Death toll in India rises to 62, cases surges past 2,500

New Delhi, April 3

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Death toll from coronavirus rose to 62 on Friday from 2,547 infections, the Union Health Ministry said .

The figure includes 55 foreign nationals.

Some 647 COVID-19 positive cases found in 14 states in the last two days are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, the Union health ministry said on Friday.

Out of the 12 deaths reported in the last 24 hours some are related to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said in a daily media briefing.

The congregation took place early last month in the national capital’s West Nizamuddin area.

The joint secretary said: “647 positive cases of the coronavirus have been found in the last two days that are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, and these were reported from 14 states (and union territories) Andaman and Nicobar, Delhi, Assam, Himachal Pradesh,  Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,  Telangana Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh”.

“If we see the rise in cases in the last few days, it has primarily been due to an increase at a particular level,” Agarwal said in an apparent reference to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

He said because of the lockdown and “our efforts to promote social distancing, cases were being reported but there was no sharp rise”.

There are 182 labs in the country for COVID-19 diagnosis, out of which 130 are government labs, an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) official said.

The official said about 8,000 samples were tested on Thursday for COVID-19.

Agarwal also said that 30 lakh have downloaded the government’s ‘AarogyaSetu’ mobile app to help people assess risk of COVID-19.  

Cases

The 2,547 figure includes 55 foreign nationals.

Generally there is a lag between the ministry data and the figures reported by different states due to some procedural delays in assigning individual figures to states.

The highest number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection was reported from Maharashtra at 335 followed by Tamil Nadu with 309 infections and Kerela with 286 cases.

The number of cases in Delhi has gone up to 219, in Uttar Pradesh to 172, in Rajasthan to 167, in Telengana 158 and Andhra Pradesh to 132.

The cases in Karnataka have risen to 124, Madhya Pradesh has reported 104 cases so far, Gujarat 95 while Jammu and Kashmir has 75 positive patients.

The number of cases have risen to 63 in West Bengal. Haryana has reported 49 cases of COVID-19 so far followed by Punjab with 48 cases.

Bihar has 29 cases, Chandigarh 18, Assam 16 and Ladakh has reported 14 cases so far.

Ten cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Uttarakhand has reported 10 cases while Chhattisgarh has nine positive patients.

Goa and Himachal Pradesh have have reported six coronavirus cases each. Odisha  and Puducherry have five cases each. Jhakhand and Manipur have reported two cases each while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

“Remaining 77 cases are being reassigned to states for contact tracing,” the health ministry said on its website.

Maharashtra also reported the highest deaths at 16.

Gujarat follows Maharashtra at eight deaths, followed by West Bengal and Telangana (7 each), Madhya Pradesh (6), Punjab (5), Delhi (4), Karnataka 3, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir (2).

Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu all reported one deaths each.

The highest number of confirmed cases of the pandemic was reported from  Maharashtra at 335, followed by Tamil Nadu with 309 infections and Kerela with 286 cases so far.

Live updates:

8:30 pm: FinMin releases Rs 17,287 cr to states to fight pandemic

The Ministry of Finance released  Rs 17,287 crore on Friday to states to enhance their financial resources during the COVID-19 crisis.  Of this amount, Rs 11,092 crore is towards State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) to all states

5:55 pm: 5,500 km international borders in NE region shut during lockdown

The 5,500 km-long international borders in the Northeastern region has been effectively closed during the 21-day lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus, Union Minister Jitendra Singh was told on Friday.

5:20 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 102 more COVID-19 cases, total 411

As many as 102 people on Friday tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu, taking the total number of cases in the state to 411, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said. A bulk of those who have tested positive for the virus are those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation held in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area last month.

3:26 pm: Haryana sees 8 coronavirus cases; total rises to 43

Officials said five patients, including four foreigners, were those who came to the state after attending a religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin.

3:10 pm: COVID-19 cases rise to 172 in UP

There has been a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh with at least 46 fresh cases being reported in the last 24 hours, taking to 172 the total number of coronavirus patients in the state as on Friday, a senior health official said.

2:46 PM: COVID-19 patient in Odisha recovers, discharged from hospital

Odisha’s first COVID-19 patient, a 33-year-old Italy-returned researcher, was on Friday discharged from the hospital, having recovered from the viral infection, a state health department official said.

2:33 pm: 5 arrested, 15 booked for attacking cops who were enforcing lockdown restrictions Muzaffarnagar

2:30: Five persons have been arrested and a case registered against them and 10 others for allegedly attacking a police team that was trying to enforce lockdown restrictions at Morna village in Bhopa police station area here, police said on Friday.

2:24 pm: Centre tells SC that it will publicise notification to control prices of masks and sanitizers.

2:23 pm: Google Doodle shares tips to prevent spread of coronavirus.

2:20 pm: As the country battles a sudden surge in coronavirus cases, the government carries out a detailed review of the overall healthcare delivery system as well as situation arising out of the 21-day nation-wide lockdown, officials say.

2:14 pm: ICMR gives go ahead for COVID-19 testing in labs under DBT, CSIR, and DAE.

2:01 pm: Four Americans, nine British and six Chinese nationals were among the 960 foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists who were blacklisted and their tourist visas cancelled by the Union Home Ministry.

1:59 pm: 4 men slapped with NSA for attacking health workers 

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1:56 pm: Odisha to shut down Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak for 48 hours from 8 pm on Friday, only select pharmacies to be open

All shops selling essential commodities will remain closed during the period, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said.

Only select medicine stores will be open.

1:55 pm: 960 Tablighi Jamaat foreigner members including 379 Indonesians, 110 Bangladeshis blacklisted, visas cancelled: officials. 

1:54 pm: Kejriwal holds video conference meeting with party MLAs

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday held a meeting via video conference with all party MLAs to discuss the relief work carried out by them in their respective assemblies in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Kejriwal was joined by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain in addressing the party MLAs.

1:24 pm: SC seeks response from Centre on plea by activists for payment of wages to migrant workers.

1:23 pm: SC rejects plea for using hotels as shelters for migrant workers.

1:15 pm: US embassy employee tests COVID-19 positive in Delhi

“We are aware of reports of a COVID-19 case related to an Embassy New Delhi employee. We are working with Indian health authorities to ensure the employee receives proper treatment. Due to privacy concerns, we are not able to share additional information,” the Embassy said.

1:10 pm: ADB expects India GDP to slip to 4 pc in 2020-21; projects strong recovery next fiscal    

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12:51 am: Modi’s ‘light up lamps’ message disappointing, says NCP    

The NCP on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his message asking people to light up lamps to exhibit collective spirit to defeat coronavirus, saying it left citizens quite disappointed.

Maharashtra minister and NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik said it was expected Modi would speak about measures being taken to combat COVID 19, but people were instead told to light up lamps.

12:47 pm: No vision of future, Tharoor slams PM’s speech

Senior Congress leader and MP  Shashi Tharoor has slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on Friday morning in which he urged the people to light lamp on Sunday at 9 p.m.

Listened to the Pradhan Showman. Nothing about how to ease people’s pain, their burdens, their financial anxieties. No vision of the future or sharing the issues he is weighing in deciding about the post-lockdown. Just a feel-good moment curated by India’s Photo-Op PrimeMinister!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 3, 2020

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12:15 pm: NSA to be slapped against persons who attack policemen enforcing lockdown in UP    

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12:11 pm: 21 new corona cases in Rajasthan, tally up to 154 Jaipur

A total of 21 new coronavirus positive cases have been reported in Rajasthan on Friday taking the total tally to 154 in the state. 

11:58 am: 2 minors among 7 test coronavirus positive; Gujarat tally 95    

Seven more persons, two of them minors, have tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat, taking the number of infections in the state to 95, said officials on Friday.

11:54 am: COVID-19 cases rise to 134 in UP

The number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 134 in Uttar Pradesh with a total of eight fresh cases reported in Agra and Jaunpur, officials said on Friday.

While six cases were found to be positive in Agra, two positive cases were found in Jaunpur, they said.

11:51 am: 31 co-passengers of Manipur’s 2nd positive case asked to report to corona authorities         

The Manipur government has asked   31 people who had travelled in a flight from Delhi to Imphal on March 11 along with the states second COVID-19 case has been asked to report to the Control Room set up to deal with coronavirus cases.

11:48 am: A team from the World Health Organisation will visit Rajasthan’s Tonk district on Friday to conduct a survey in the wake of rising number of coronavirus cases in the state.

11:40 am: One more dies in Gujarat due to coronavirus; toll reaches 8               

11:30 am: Coronavirus cases shot up further in Andhra Pradesh by 12 overnight, touching an overall 161, while the third COVID-19 patient in Kakinada recovered on Friday.

11:16 am: ICMR recommends antibody test for speedy detection of COVID-19 cases.

10:54 am: Modi asks people to light up lamps on Sunday to display collective strength to defeat coronavirus.

10:20 am: 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, Educational Testing Service (ETS) says.

10:08 am: The Editors Guild of India says it is “deeply perturbed” over the government blaming the media in the Supreme Court for causing panic among migrant workersa mid the lockdown.

8:39 am: India’s economic growth is likely to slow down to 4 per cent this fiscal on the back of the current global health emergency, ADB says.