A doctor in a protective chamber takes a swab from a man to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a newly installed Walk-In Sample Kiosk (WISK) in a government-run hospital in Chennai, India, April 13, 2020. REUTERS/P. Ravikumar - RC2N3G9XHW3Z
India's total Covid-19 cases crossed the 26,000-mark today, with the death toll jumping to 824. Of the total 26,496 cases, 19,868 are active while 5,803 have been cured. The figures come amid a stringent lockdown in the country till May 3 to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Delhi government would not allow any more relaxation in the ongoing lockdown than those permitted by the Union home ministry, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today and stressed on bringing down the number of Covid-19 infections in the national capital. Addressing an online media briefing, the chief minister said his government was implementing the Centre's guidelines on opening of neighbourhood and standalone shops during the lockdown till May 3.
No markets and malls will be allowed to open in the national capital and all shops in COVID-19 containment zones will remain shut, he said. "The government will maintain status quo and will not relax lockdown restrictions till May 3, except those permitted by the Union home ministry," he said.
"We are going through difficult times. We will have to continue our efforts to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections in Delhi," he said. The chief minister said the novel coronavirus doesn't discriminate between any religion. "We need to work together. Plasma of Muslim can be used to treat Hindu patient and vice versa," he added.
The Centre is planning to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad once the May 3 lockdown ends, top government sources have said. The government is reportedly in touch with all states to seek details of their citizens abroad and is likely to announce the final plan soon.
The Centre will reportedly tell states to arrange quarantine facilities for the citizens so that they don’t mix with the locals. Authorities will map citizens to their respective states and flights will directly land there. Officials in the PMO have already spoken to some chief ministers for the arrangements and they have promised all help.
In what is touted to be the biggest airlift, Indian missions abroad are already working on the plan and are in touch with local authorities for help in movement after May 3 when the lockdown ends.
India imposed one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world to arrest the spread of novel coronavirus, barring movement of flights and trains. There have been demands from various states to bring back their nationals stranded abroad and the government had indicated earlier that such movement would be given a relook once phase 2 of the lockdown ends.
The novel coronavirus has led to over 2 lakh deaths worldwide while infections are likely to cross 30 lakh in the coming days. More than half of the fatalities have been reported in the United States, Spain and Italy.
The first death linked to the disease was reported on January 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 1,00,000 and a further 16 days to reach 2,00,000, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments.
By comparison, there are an estimated 4,00,000 deaths annually from malaria, one of the world's most deadly infectious diseases.
The United States had reported more than 52,400 deaths as of Saturday morning, while Italy, Spain and France have reported between 22,000-26,000 fatalities each.
Of the top 20 most severely affected countries, Belgium has reported the highest number of fatalities per capita, with six deaths per 10,000 people, compared to 4.9 in Spain and 1.6 in the United States.
Around 8% of all cases reported in the US have been fatal, while more than 10% of cases reported in Spain and Italy have resulted in deaths.
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