Thursday 16 April 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Meghalaya reports two new COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 9; Donald Trump issues guidelines to reopen parts of US

08:31 (IST)

Coronavirus in india Latest Updates

RBI governor to address media at 10 am 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will address the media at 10 am on Friday. This would be Das' second press briefing since the COVID-19 outbreak began in India. In his previous address on 27 March, the RBI governor had announced a rate cut of 75 basis points.

08:28 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

68 medical staffers of Delhi hospital quarantined after patient suspected to have COVID-19 dies

Sixty-eight staff members including doctors and nurses of a Delhi hospital have been sent to home quarantine after a 25-year-old pregnant woman admitted there died possibly due to the novel coronavirus, officials said Thursday.

The decision was taken by authorities at the government-run Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital (BMH), who claimed that the woman did not disclose her travel history and or her 'home-quarantine' status to the hospital authorities.

08:10 (IST)

Coronavirus in Tripura Latest Updates

Tripura's tribal welfare dept donates over Rs 3 lakh to CM’s relief fund

As Tripura continues to fight the battle against COVID-19, the Officers & Staff of Tribal Welfare Department expressed their concern towards the challenges being faced by the state government and made a contribution to the chief minister’s relief fund (CMRF) on Thursday.

State minister Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia handed over a cheque of Rs 3,31,136 lakh to chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

07:47 (IST)

Coronavirus in United States Latest Updates

COVID-19 toll in US breaches 32,000-mark

The death count in the United States due to the novel coronavirus reached 32,917 on Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The toll as of 8.30 pm on Thursday marked an increase of 4,491 deaths in the past 24 hours, by far the highest daily toll in the pandemic so far.

07:37 (IST)

Coronavirus in United States Latest Updates

Trump issues guidelines on reopening states in three phases

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the US with over 32,000 deaths reported as of Thursday, President Donald Trump gave guidelines to the governors on reopening state economies in the coming months.

The guidelines for "Opening up America Again" outline three phases in which states can gradually ease their lockdowns. Trump promised governors they would be handling the process themselves, with help from the federal government.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 6,54,301 on Thursday.

07:31 (IST)

Coronavirus in Meghalaya Latest Updates

552 COVID-19 tests conducted so far in Meghalaya: CM 

Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday informed that 552 samples have been collected so far ro conduct COVID-19 tests in the state. 

"We have seven positive cases (six including the deceased patient) out of the 552 tests which have been collected," Sangma said in a video message in Shillong on Thursday. 

"The testing kits should be here very soon. The testing facilities in Neigrhims has been increased to almost 100 tests per day. We are thankful to the Assam government and institute of Assam which had given an additional of 50 more tests in a day. We now have a capacity of 150 tests in a single day," he said.

07:19 (IST)

Coronavirus in Meghalaya Latest Updates 

Two new COVID-19 cases in Meghalaya; both family members of first patient

Meghalaya has reported two more positive cases of the novel coronavirus and both of them are family members of the first COVID-19 patient, who died early on Wednesday morning and was laid to rest at the Riatsamthiah Prebyterian Church Cemetery at Lawmali on Thursday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Meghalaya stood at nine.

07:12 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak Latest Updates 

Zoom rolls out guidelines after security fears mount

Videoconferencing platform Zoom is rolling out a number of measures meant to stem criticism over how it has handled security as users flock to the application during the coronavirus pandemic.

Zoom chief executive Eric Yuan laid out steps Wednesday that the company is taking against problems such as data hacking and harassment by individuals who crash sessions in what is referred to as "Zoombombing."

By week's end, paid account holders will be able to select which regions their data is routed through during their sessions in a move apparently aimed at concerns over information passing through China where it might be subject to snooping.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Meghalaya has reported two more positive cases of the novel coronavirus and both of them are family members of the first COVID-19 patient, who died early on Wednesday morning and was laid to rest at the Riatsamthiah Prebyterian Church Cemetery at Lawmali on Thursday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Meghalaya stood at nine.

India registered 826 new cases and 28 new deaths on Thursday with the total number of confirmed cases climbing to 12,759. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh crossed the 1,000 mark in their tally of COVID-19 patients.

According to data from the Union health ministry, India has 10,824 active patients while 1,514 have been cured/discharged after testing negative of the virus while one patient has migrated. The toll due to the virus is 42o.

Indian municipal workers spray disinfectants in Jammu. AP

Indian municipal workers spray disinfectants in Jammu. AP

As of Thursday evening, Maharashtra with 2,919 patients remained at the top, followed by Delhi at 1,578 and Tamil Nadu at 1,242. The number of cases in Madhya Pradesh rose to 1,120 cases.

Madhya Pradesh now also accounts for 53 deaths, the second highest toll due to COVID-19, in India. Maharashtra leads in number of deaths with 187 patients succumbing to the virus in the state.

In Rajasthan, the total number of confirmed cases is now at 1,023 with three deaths so far.

Globally, according to estimates by the Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed two million on Thursday and 1,39,419 people have died so far. The US is the worst-hit with more than 6,40,000 COVID-19 cases and 31,000 deaths.

Amidst this, a UN report said that the coronavirus pandemic could push an estimated 42-66 million children into extreme poverty and the economic downturn resulting from the outbreak could result in hundreds of thousands of additional child deaths in 2020.

State figures put India's tally above 13,000

While the health ministry put the number of confirmed cases at 12,759 as of Thursday, according to a PTI tally based on reports from the states, the total number of cases was 13,201 while 1,594 patients had recovered. The death toll stood at 444.

Coronavirus cases crossed 1,000 in Madhya Pradesh (1,164) and Rajasthan (1,131) taking to five the states which have surpassed this mark.

Maharashtra topped the tally at 3,262 with Mumbai (2,043) being the worst hit, followed by Delhi (1,578) and Tamil Nadu (1,267). The cases in the country's commercial capital have doubled in six days.

According to data from the health ministry's website, there are  871 COVID-19 patient in Gujarat and 773 in Uttar Pradesh.

Telangana has 698 cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 534 and Kerala at 388.

The number of novel coronavirus cases has risen to 315 in Karanataka, 300 in Jammu and Kashmir, 271 in West Bengal, 205 in Haryana and 186 in Punjab.

Bihar has reported 74 COVID-19 cases, while Odisha has 60 coronavirus cases. Thirty-seven people were infected with the virus in Uttarakhand, while Himachal Pradesh has 35 cases and Assam and Chhattisgarh have registered 33 cases each.

Jharkhand has 28 cases, Chandigarh has 21 cases and Ladakh has 17, while 11 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya, Goa and Puducherry have reported seven COVID-19 infections each, Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

According to the health ministry, of the total 420 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 187 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 53, Gujarat 36, Delhi 32 and Telengana 18.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reported 14 deaths each while Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka 13 deaths each.

West Bengal has reported seven COVID-19 fatalities.

Four persons have lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir while Kerala, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each. Jharkhand has reported two deaths.

Meghalaya, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to health ministry data.

ICMR defends India's testing rate

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday also defended the Central Government's testing strategy in the wake of fresh criticism, saying the testing ratio is not low, adding there has been no COVID-19 infections in 325 of the 736 districts.

"In countries like Japan, one out of 11.7 tests turns out to be positive, which is among the highest in the world. Italy tests 6.7 persons for one positive test while the USA tests 5.3 persons and the United Kingdom 3.4," said Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the ICMR.

"Taking their population base into consideration, it is difficult to comment about our testing rate. In India, we are conducting 24 tests out of which one comes out to be positive. Also, we have huge population and not all people belong to vulnerable groups. Hence, one can't say our testing ratio is low," he told the daily press briefing.

Endorsing the official's assessment, Lav Agarwal, the joint secretary in the health ministry, said data can be interpreted in many ways and the government's effort is aimed at ensuring not a single positive case is missed out.

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi had slammed the government saying the scale of testing in India has been low so far at 199 per 10 lakh people — around 350 tests per district — which he said is not enough to tell which way the virus is moving.

Gandhi told reporters via video-conferencing that aggressive testing is the main weapon to defeat the coronavirus and it should be used strategically.

At the briefing, Agarwal also said that the implementation of containment strategies in some districts which earlier had reported COVID-19 cases have yielded positive results, he said. One such place is Mahe, an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala, where no case has been reported in the last 28 days.

There are 27 other districts in the country also where no positive case has been reported in a fortnight, he added.

The Centre on Thurday also declared 170 hotspots — 123 hotspot districts with large outbreaks and 47 hotspot districts with cluster — in 25 states and Union Territories.

Besides, it has identified 207 non-hotspot districts with clusters in 27 states which can be potential hotspots if there is no containment strategies.

India receives delivery of rapid testing kits from China

On Thursday, India also received the much-awaited five lakh rapid COVID-19 testing kits from China, the government said.

Gangakhedkar said the testing kits from China will be used for surveillance and to monitor whether coronavirus hotspots in the country are increasing or decreasing.

Reacting to reports suggesting that the Chinese kits could be faulty, Gangakhedkar acknowledged that the sensitivity and specificity of such kits are less.

"Rapid antibody tests are for monitoring surveillance, not for early diagnosis. Hence there is no concern with respect to the testing kits being faulty, that concern was with respect to immune response alone," he explained.

Delhi may do clinical screening of food delivery personnel

In Delhi, authorities are considering clinical screening of all food delivery personnel in south Delhi with scores being quarantined after a pizza delivery agent in the area tested positive for coronavirus.

The 19-year-old tested positive for the virus on 14 April. People in 72 households where he delivered pizza to have been put under home quarantine, said BM Mishra, district magistrate of South Delhi. The total number of people in the households was not immediately known.

"In view of this incident, we are considering that all those involved in home delivery of food are put through clinical screening so that those showing symptoms are stopped from visiting homes," Mishra told PTI.

The 17 first line contact of the infected man, including his colleagues, have been quarantined at an institutional facility at Chhatarpur, Mishra said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian economy, and discussed a possible second stimulus with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic.

Modi held discussions with the finance minister as the pandemic hit sectors from small industries to the aviation sector hard with millions of jobs at stake.

The finance minister last month announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus that included free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor for three months, and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens as it looked to ease the economic impact of the nationwide lockdown.

3,336 Indians abroad infected with coronavirus

Official sources said that a total of 3,336 Indians in 53 countries were infected by the coronavirus while 25 lost their lives due to the disease.

They said Indians stranded abroad will have to show patience as the government is not evacuating them as part of a larger policy decision to check spread of the virus in the country.

The sources said India has decided to supply anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to 55 countries on commercial basis as well as grants.

On sourcing medical equipment from abroad, they said India is procuring coronavirus testing kits from South Korea and China.

India is looking at procuring medical equipment from Germany, the US, the UK, Malaysia, Japan and France to fight COVID-19, they said.

COVID-19 pandemic could push 42-66 mn children into extreme poverty: UN

Meanwhile the United Nations said that an estimated 42-66 million children could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the coroanvirus crisis this year, adding to the estimated 386 million million children already in extreme poverty in 2019.

"Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims," said a new Policy Brief: The impact of COVID-19 on children' released by the United Nations on Thursday.

"This is a universal crisis of unprecedented scale. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are affected. However, some children are destined to bear the greatest costs. Among those who will be badly hit are children living in slums, refugee and displacement camps, and zones of active conflict. Children with disabilities. Children living in institutions and detention centres," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.

Urging nations to act now on the threats faced by children, Guterres said leaders must do everything in their power to cushion the impact of the pandemic.

With inputs from PTI



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