Twenty-two deaths were reported since Wednesday evening, the ministry said in its updated data.Nine fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, five from Andhra Pradesh, three from Gujarat, two each from Delhi and Tamil Nadu and one from Karnataka, it added.Of the total 414 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 187 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 53, Gujarat at 33, Delhi at 32 and Telengana at 18,Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reported 14 fatalities each.

The pandemic and consequent lockdown have hit various sectors, including MSME, hospitality, civil aviation, agriculture and allied sector.

The government constituted an empowered group – headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty – which is entrusted with the task of suggesting measures that can bring back economy back on track quickly post the lockdown.

“Special teams have been formed which will work in containment zone and do contact tracing and house-to-house surveys. Cases of fever, cough and breathlessness will be identified in the survey and requisite action will be taken as per protocol,” Agarwal said, adding that there has been no community transmissions so far but some local outbreaks

India is doing lot of tests, but it is not enough compared to what the US and Singapore and other countries are doing, he said, adding, “much more testing needs to be done”.

In financial sector, the RBI, banks, ATMs, capital and debt markets as notified by SEBI and insurance companies will also remain functional, to provide liquidity and credit support to the industrial sectors.

According to the ministry’s data updated on Tuesday morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 2,334 followed by Delhi at 1,510 and Tamil Nadu at 1,173.

Noting that while India is still not officially calling the infections to be in the community transmission stage, the existing restrictions on movement are causing much more economic damage than anticipated.

The CBIC clarification comes at a time when sectors like aviation and hospitality are grappling with mass cancellation of bookings in view of the lockdown due to the pandemic. Rajat Mohan, Senior Partner at AMRG & Associates, said “this clarification would help worst-hit sectors of the business fraternity to claim a tax refund from the government, which would also have a ripple effect in the entire supply chain”.