No Positive Case in 325 Districts; Patient Recovery Rate at 12 Percent in India

Health officials said on Thursday 105 new COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, taking the state tally to mount to 871 now.

Health officials said on Thursday that 105 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Gujarat, taking the state tally to mount to 871 now. With three more deaths due to COVID-19, the toll in the state has reached 36.

A report released by a volunteer groups attempts to highlight the scale of the hunger crisis that has gripped workers – specifically, migrants – across the country amid the nationwide lockdown.
According to the Stranded Workers Action Network, a group of 73 volunteers that helped 11,159 workers till April 13, only 4 per cent of them had received rations from the government, reported the Indian Express.
Nearly half (44 per cent) of the calls received till April 13 were SOS — people desperate for food or cash, the report added.

China has finally dispatched the much-needed testing kits to India, as the later is preparing to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Vikram Misri, Ambassador of India to the People’s Republic of China, in a tweet confirmed that a total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been dispatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to India.

#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India | #2019nCoV #StayHomeSaveLives @MEAIndia @HarshShringla @DrSJaishankar

— Vikram Misri (@VikramMisri) April 16, 2020

With 165 new COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, the state tally of confirmed coronavirus cases increases to 3,081, health officials confirmed on Thursday. With this, Maharashtra has become the first state to cross the 3000-mark, also making it among the worst hit by the virus outbreak in the country.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday came forward with a slew of suggestions for the Centre to adopt in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of virus-induced lockdown, Gandhi suggested creating a defensive package for MSMEs and protecting big strategic companies, which are registering huge losses.
He also added that the government must create a food net and implement NYAY-like scheme – a universal income scheme proposed by Congress ahead of 2019 general elections – to provide financial help to the poor.
According to him, Centre must push coronavirus testing aggressively, use testing strategically and assist states to fight COVID-19.

Recent events have made the apathy of India’s middle class and its antagonism towards weaker sections starkly apparent. The poor and other lower classes are a substantial percentage of India’s population. The lockdown has depleted their savings and the policy responses to their plight have been grossly inadequate.

However, as they demand relief, the middle class co-opted by neoliberalism has lost its voice. JNU’s Aashti Salman and Balu Sunilraj from Centre for Equity Studies, explores the reason behind this silence.

Over 24,000 healthcare workers from Max, BLK, and Nanavati Hospital in l Mumbai will be tested for COVID-19, reported The Week.
According to the report, Dr Sandeep Buddhiraja, clinical director, Max Healthcare, while citing a UK study of one-third of National Health Service staffers testing positive for COVID-19, had said that it was important for the doctors to be tested as they work in a high-risk zone.
According to the figures released by British government on Monday, among 16,888 people, who are tested, falling under the category of “key workers and their households”, 5,733 – or, 33 percent, were confirmed to have the virus so far, according to CNN.

Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary (Health), Bihar confirmed on Thursday two more COVID-19 positive cases in the state today, taking the total tally of positive cases to 74 now, according to  ANI.

The Gujarat government has decided to impose curfew in five densely populated areas of Surat from Thursday midnight to contain the spread of coronavirus, PTI quoted an official in the Chief Minister’s Office as saying.

These areas fall under the jurisdiction of Salabatpura, Mahidharpura, Lalgate, Athwalines and Limbayat police stations, CMO secretary Ashwani Kumar said.

The curfew will remain in force till April 22, and a three-hour relaxation will be given from 1 pm to 4 pm on these days, Kumar added.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday directed state waqf boards to ensure strict implementation of lockdown and social distancing guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan starting next week amid the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.
At a meeting via video conferencing, Naqvi asked the state waqf boards’ officials to create awareness among people to offer prayers and perform other religious rituals like iftar (breaking of fast) during Ramzan, which begins on April 24 or 25, staying inside their homes.
More than seven lakh registered mosques, eidgahs, imambadas, dargahs and other religious and social institutions come under state waqf boards across the country. The Central Waqf Council is the regulatory body of state waqf boards in India.

The Centre on Thursday directed all airlines to give full refunds to passenger who booked tickets during the first phase of the lockdown for travel up to May 3, if they ask for it.The Centre's direction comes of the nationwide lockdown was extended by another 19 days, till May 3.
Earlier,  PTI had reported that domestic airlines had decided not to refund the customers in cash for their cancelled flights and instead offer them rescheduling of tickets for a later date without any additional fee.

28 fresh cases of coronavirus infections have been reported in Rajasthan on Thursday, taking the state's count of confirmed cases to 1,104.

India has decided to supply anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to 55 countries, according government sources, PTI reported.

BCCI suspends Indian Premiere League (IPL) 2020 till further notice in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday confirmed that 15 lakh people had applied for ration cards in the wake of a nationwide lockdown that has left many homeless and hungry. Kejriwal also said that his AAP government is providing food to 10 lakh people everyday.

The number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai's Dharavi slum area reached 86, civic official confirmed on Thursday. The death till in the area, due to COVID-19, has rose to nine.

Coronavirus cases in Mumbai crossed the 2,000-mark as 107 new cases of the virus infections were reported, civic body officials confirmed on Thursday.