10:30AM
5 positive cases reported in Indore; India’s tally jumps to 570
More reports of positive cases pour in as Indian enters into a 21-day lockdown. Indore has detected five cases, while Bihar has added one more to its tally. The person who died yesterday in Delhi was COVID-19 negative. India comes to a halt with the lockdown, assured by the government that essential commodities will be available. The number of positive cases in India soars to 570.
10.10 AM | MADHYA PRADESH
Four persons in Indore and one in Ujjain test positive for COVID-19, taking the count in Madhya Pradesh to 14.
Three new COVID-19 cases in Telangana, total mounts to 39
ThreefreshcasesofCOVID-19have been reported inTelangana, taking thetotalnumber of people infected with the virus in the state to39, according to a bulletin issued by the state government late Tuesday night.
9.55 AM | NEW DELHI
MHA asks private security agencies to not lay off security guards as malls, shops and other establishments are shut. “This is the time for the private security industry to adopt a humane approach and protect its staff and members from lay-offs”.
9.50AM
Railways exploring manufacture of medical items
The Indian Railways is exploring the possibility of manufacturing select essential medical items such as hospital beds, medical trolleys and sanitizers at its various production units. In a communique to general managers at its production units, the Railway Board on Tuesday asked them to “assess the feasibility to manufacture these items in large quantities [as may be required] at short notice. Items identified thus may be communicated to the Board along with its likely production rate.”
9.45AM
Data | How prepared are India’s States in health infrastructure to tackle COVID-19
The chart plots the number of COVID-19 sample testing centres against the average number of people served by one testing centre across States. While Maharashtra has the highest number of testing centres and relatively better coverage, the State is still under-equipped to detect cases as one testing centre is available for 1.02 crore people.
9.40AM
Second COVID-19 death from Delhi negative, says Home Ministry; revised toll at 9 in India
The Home Ministry on Wednesday clarified that the second death reported in Delhi was COVID-19 negative. Ten deaths so far have been reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh. According to the data, the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 512 while 41 people have been cured/discharged or migrated. The figure includes 43 foreign nationals, the Health Ministry said.
9.30AM
Sensex falls 200 points; Nifty below 7,800
The Sensex fell 191.60 points to 0.72 percent to 26,482.43 and the Nifty was down 49.40 points or 0.63 percent to 7,751.65 at 10 AM. About 435 shares have advanced, 699 shares declined, and 63 shares are unchanged.
9.20AM
BigBasket services impacted
Alibaba-backed online grocer BigBasket said its services had been impacted. “We are working with the local authorities for the passes and permits that allow movement of personnel and vehicles involved,” BigBasket said in a statement. The company also said it was booked for the next seven days in almost all the cities it operated in, highlighting stockpiling by customers.
9.20AM
33 year old in Lucknow becomes first case of contact transmission
A 33-year-old resident of Pilibhit has been tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. “He doesn’t have any travel history, it is a confirmed case of contact transmission,” Dr Sudhir Singh, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow told ANI.
9.15AM
MHA asks states to check rumours about shortage of food, essential commodities
In the wake of the 21-day lockdown period, the Union Home Ministry has asked state governments to check the spread of rumours about the shortage of food and other essential commodities.
In a communication to chief secretaries and DGPs of all states, the ministry asked them to take action to allay apprehensions and maintain peace and tranquillity, and inform people about the availability of food, medicine and other essential commodities.
The ministry said that in the wake of the orders issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (for lockdown), there were possibilities of rumour-mongering, including those about a shortage of food and other essential services and commodities.
9.00AM
US newspapers urge China not to expel their journalists
The publishers of three major American newspapers have written an open letter asking China to reverse its recent decision to expel many of their correspondents working in the country.
The letter posted online on Tuesday referred to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying the expulsions threaten access to information at a time when it is needed most. It was signed by the publishers of The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
“This move ó made in retaliation for recent expulsions by the United States government ó is one that we would protest under any circumstances,” they wrote.
8.50AM
COVID-19 epicentre Wuhan resumes bus services, China reports 47 new imported cases
Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus pandemic, on Wednesday resumed bus services within the city for the first time since the nine-week lockdown even as 47 new imported cases were reported from the country, threatening the second wave of infections.
China on Tuesday decided to lift the three-month lockdown on more than 56 million people in the central Hubei province. However, the prolonged lockdown of Hubei’s capital Wuhan will end on April 8, lifting the mass quarantine over the city with a population of over 11 million.
While Hubei and Wuhan have not reported any new COVID-19 case, four people died in the city taking the death toll in China to 3,281, the National Health Commission (NHC) said.
China on Wednesday said that no new domestically transmitted case was reported on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday.
8.45 AM | NEW DELHI
No shortage of essential items, reiterates Centre
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday release a GO reiterating that there will be no shortage of essential items during the 21-day lockdown. It asked the States to publicise that food, medicine, civil supplies and essential items will be available, amid possibilities of “rumour mongering” that there is a shortage.
8.30 AM | NEW DELHI
Govt gives power to zonal DCs to take strict action against landlords evicting doctors
The government on Wednesday gave power to zonal Deputy Commissioners to take “strict penal action” against landlords who have been forcing doctors and paramedical staff, engaged in fighting COVID-19, to vacate their rented premises.
According to a government notification, such behaviour “not only strikes at the root of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also tantamount to obstruction of duty of essential services”.
4.30 AM | JODHPUR
277 Indians returned from Iran by Mahan air
All 277 passengers who returned from Iran and tested COVID-19 negative were sent to be quarantined at Jodhpur’s army quarantine facility.
They flew early morning by two special Air India flights at 3.30 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. from Delhi to Jodhpur in the last domestic flights before lock down.
The first flight was commanded by Capt M.S. Zaheer and Co-pilot Tulunga and Second flight commanded by Capt. Radheyshyam Arora and Co-pilot G. Singh.
3.30 AM | NEW DELHI
Govt bans export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government on Wednesday banned export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine, with immediate effect to ensure sufficient availability of the medicine in the domestic market.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava had on Monday recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.
2.00 AM | CHENNAI
TN records first death of COVID-19 patient
Tamil Nadu recorded its first death of a patient, who had tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The 54-year-old man, who tested positive on March 23 and was undergoing treatment at Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, died. At 2:02 a.m. on Wednesday, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar tweeted, “Despite our best efforts, the COVID-19 positive patient in Madurai Rajaji Hospital passed away a few minutes back. He had medical history of prolonged illness with steroid dependent Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseas, uncontrolled diabetes with hypertension.”