New Delhi,
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 824 and the number of cases climbed to 26,496 in India on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry
The death toll increased by 45 and the number of cases has gone up by 1,554 since the ministry last updated its data on Saturday evening
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 19,868 while 5,803 people were cured and discharged, and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.
The total number of cases includes 111 foreign nationals.
Of the 45 deaths reported since Saturday evening, 22 are from Maharashtra, seven from Madhya Pradesh, six each from Rajasthan and Gujarat and one each from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Tamil Nadu.
Of the total 824 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 323 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (133), Madhya Pradesh (99), Delhi (54), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (27).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted people to shun complacency on the assumption that the pandemic will not affect them as it has so far not spread to areas they work or live in, saying "we have to continue being careful and taking the right precautions". Addressing his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' programme, he also said that India's fight against the novel coronavirus has become people-driven wherein every citizen is playing his or her part
COVID-19 test kits should be made available urgently at the lowest possible price so that the virus can be controlled and people's health can be safeguarded at a time when the country was facing an "unprecedented medical crisis", the Delhi High Court has said. Justice Najmi Waziri issued the direction to three private companies which had entered into an agreement to import 10 lakh test kits from China and distribute them here at a cost of Rs 600 each, the rate approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The court said that in the "present extraordinary circumstances" when the country was going through an "unprecedented medical crisis",with a disquiet over one's safety and the economy at a standstill, the public interest must outweigh the private. "The lis (litigation) between the parties (the three companies) should give way to the larger public good. In view of the above, the kits/tests should be sold at a price not beyond Rs 400 each," it said.
Supply chain movement
Supply chain movement, permits for enterprises and passes for workers are the key hurdles for industry to restart operations, industry body CII said in a survey. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) based its views on findings of a nation-wide survey conducted by it on 180 companies. The survey indicates that permits for enterprises, passes for workers and supply chain movement are the key hurdles for industry in exit from lockdown.
"For facilitating restart of economic activities, CII has suggested that in non-containment zones, businesses should be allowed to function without requirement of permits and only through intimation to local authorities. Moreover, workers can be permitted to commute on the basis of a letter issued by the employer organisation, with the facility to travel on their own vehicles," said the industry body's Director General Chandrajit Banerjee. The survey was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the exit from lockdown in specified zones and sectors, and elicited responses from across the country, covering many sectors and enterprises of all sizes.
MP Happiness Dept to help COVID-19 patients, health workers
The BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government has decided to have a separate 'Happiness Department' and use its services to reduce the stress of coronavirus patients and boost the morale of those at the forefront of the battle against the disease. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during his previous tenure, set up the 'Anand Vibhag' (happiness department) in 2016. But, after the Congress came to power in the state in 2018, it merged the happiness department with the 'Adhyatmik Vibhag' (spiritual department). Now, Chouhan has directed the state officials to demerge it, and engage the Happiness Department in the fight against COVID-19.
The death toll reached 27 in Uttar Pradesh, 26 in Telangana, 23 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said
Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir six, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each
Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data
According to the health ministry data, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 7,628, followed by Gujarat (3,071), Delhi (2,625), Rajasthan (2,083), Madhya Pradesh (2,096) and Uttar Pradesh (1,793)
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,821 in Tamil Nadu, 1,061 in Andhra Pradesh and 991 in Telangana
The number of cases has risen to 611 in West Bengal, 500 in Karnataka, 494 in Jammu and Kashmir, 457 in Kerala, 298 in Punjab and 289 in Haryana
Bihar has reported 243 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 94. Sixty-seven people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 48 in Uttarakhand
Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, while Chhattisgarh and Assam have registered 36 infections each
The Union Territory of Chandigarh has 28 cases, while there are 33 COVID-19 patients in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Twenty coronavirus cases have been reported from Ladakh, 12 from Meghalaya, while Goa and Puducherry have registered seven COVID-19 cases each
Manipur and Tripura have two coronavirus patients each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each
India is currently under a nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the deadly virus. The lockdown, which began on March 25, has been extended till May 3.