08:36 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates
30,000 tickets issued to 54,000 rail passengers in three hours
With passenger train services set to begin from Tuesday, the Indian Railways on Monday said reservations were issued to more than 54,000 passengers within three hours.
Within minutes after booking started, all tickets across the three AC classes were sold out for Mumbai Central-New Delhi special train till 18 May, The Times of India reported.
Initially, the Railways announced booking of tickets on the IRCTC website on Monday from 4 pm, but the website did not respond due to huge traffic of prospective passengers. The services of the portal resumed around 6 pm.
08:19 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates
Lockdown likely to extend beyond 17 May, no easing of restrictions on public transport, say media reports
During his fifth meeting with the chief ministers of States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at a possible extension of coronavirus lockdown. He had asked for suggestions on easing of economic activities before 15 May, CNN-News18 reported.
Majority of CMs were in favour of relaxation in lockdown restrictions but raised concerns over reopening of public transport.
07:55 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates
Centre releases Rs 6,195.08 cr to 14 states as per recommendations of 15th Finance Commission
The government released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant on Monday.
"This would provide them additional resources during the coronavirus crisis," the finance ministry said in a statement Monday.
The grant was recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, and an equal first installment of the grant was issued by the Centre to states on 14 March.
On Monday, the Centre released advance payments of over Rs 1,276 crore to Kerala, followed by over Rs 952 crore to Himachal Pradesh and over Rs 638 crore to Punjab. Assam received Rs 631 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 491 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 423 crore, and West Bengal got Rs 417 crore.
07:47 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak Latest Updates
We have seven to eight top candidates for COVID-19 vaccine: WHO chief
The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told in a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing that as per initial presumption two months ago it might take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. But he said an accelerated effort is under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organizations and banks for research, treatment and testing.
"We have good candidates now," Tedros said. "The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates."
He said the $8 billion will not be enough, and additional funds will be needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough "to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone — (and) there’s no one be left behind."
07:33 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates
Mumbai reports 14,355 cases of Maharashtra's total at 23,401
Of the total 23,401 COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, over 14,000 were reported in Mumbai alone. With 791 fresh cases as of Monday, the total number of infected patients in the city climbed to 14,355.
Moreover, with 20 more deaths, the toll increased to 528, said Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai.
In addition to this, 57 more confirmed cases in Dharavi, the largest slum area in the city, took the total number of COVID-19 patients in the area to 916. The toll stood at 29.
07:26 (IST)
Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates
23,401 COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra with 868 deaths
After reporting 1,230 fresh COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Maharashtra reached 23,401 on Monday. Along with that, the toll in the state increased to 868 after 36 more fatalities were registered, said a health official.
Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: The government released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant on Monday.
"This would provide them additional resources during the coronavirus crisis," the finance ministry said in a statement Monday.
The grant was recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, and an equal first installment of the grant was issued by the Centre to states on 14 March.
On Monday, the Centre released advance payments of over Rs 1,276 crore to Kerala, followed by over Rs 952 crore to Himachal Pradesh and over Rs 638 crore to Punjab. Assam received Rs 631 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 491 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 423 crore, and West Bengal got Rs 417 crore.
As India registered a record jump of 4,213 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual interaction with chief ministers said that the biggest challenge for the country will be to ensure that the infection does not spread to rural India and that the country will have to devise a "balanced strategy" to deal with the pandemic and step up the economic activities in a gradual manner.
Separately, the Union health ministry observed that some relatively large outbreaks have been noticed in particular locations and it is important to focus on containment efforts to ensure that the country does not reach the community transmission stage.
Representational image. PTI
The government also said the coronavirus tracking app Aarogya Setu is secure as it was designed keeping in mind privacy of people and is playing a crucial role in India's fight against COVID-19.
Record jump in number of cases takes total infections to 67,152
In a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country,the health ministry said that a record number of 4,213 COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours ending 8 am, taking the total cases to 67,152 and death toll to 2,206.
As many as 20,917 COVID-19 patients have been cured till now, taking the recovery rate to 31.15 percent. Also 1,559 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, the highest number of recoveries in one day, the ministry said.
According to the health ministry data, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of infections (22,171) and fatalities (832) with Gujarat following with 8,194 cases and 493 deaths.
However, a PTI tally of figures reported by different states and Union Territories, as of 9.10 pm, put the nationwide tally of confirmed cases much higher at 70,480, showing an increase of more than 6,000 cases since Sunday morning. It showed 2,217 deaths and more than 22,000 recoveries so far.
Maharashtra reported 1,230 new cases, taking the state tally to 23,401, while its death toll rose to 868 after 36 more fatalities. Tamil Nadu reported 798 new cases and six more deaths on Monday. Mumbai's case count reached 14,355 with 791 new cases detected on Monday, while its death toll is 528 now with 20 more fatalities. At least 57 new cases were reported from the city's Dharavi slums.
Gujarat saw 347 fresh cases and 20 more fatalities, including 268 cases and 19 deaths in Ahmedabad itself. In the National Capital also, more than 300 new cases were detected.
Fresh cases were reported from various other states as well including Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Bihar and Odisha
Health ministry advocates strong containment measures
Asked if there has been community transmission of COVID-19 in India, joint secretary in the Union health ministry Lav Agarwal said "Some clusters have been found here (in the country), and in some cases in some particular locations relatively large outbreaks have also been noticed," adding that it was important to focus on containment measures so that the country does not reach the stage of community transmission.
Agarwal said the government's focus is on identifying pockets which have been reporting a larger number of cases so that strong containment measures can be implemented.
He also said that people who develop coronavirus symptoms should not go into hiding and come forward to report so that they get timely treatment and also do not spread the infection to their family members and others.
Ajay Sawhney, Chairman, Empowered Group 9, which deals with technology and data management, said the Aarogya Setu app has been developed to alert people before they come in contact with infected patients and to alert the health system. Information about 697 potential COVID-19 hotspots was generated through the app and it is secure,used only for health interventions and does not reveal identity of people, he said. Around 1.4 lakh Aarogya Setu users have been alerted via Bluetooth contact tracing about possible risk of infection due to proximity to infected patients, Sawhney said.
States demand greater freedom in deciding lockdown guidelines
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the fifth virtual meeting with chief ministers of states to discuss strengthening the containment strategy and gradual resumption of economic activities as the third phase of the nationwide lockdown draws to an end on 17 May.
Economic activities in India are set to "gather steam", Modi told the chief ministers, while asserting that the country will have to devise a "balanced strategy" to revive the economy and deal with COVID-19 with a sharp focus on ensuring that rural areas remain free from the pandemic, sources told PTI.
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, the prime minister also asserted that the world has fundamentally changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the new way of life would be on the principle of “Jan Se lekar Jag Tak”, from an individual to the whole of humanity.
"Even as we look at the gradual withdrawal of the lockdown, we should constantly remember that till we do not find a vaccine or a solution, the biggest weapon with us to the fight the virus is social distancing," he said.
Modi also thanked the chief ministers for their proactive role in the country’s fight against the pandemic and asked chief ministers to share by 15 May a broad strategy on how they want to deal with lockdown regime in their states.
"I am of the firm view that the measures needed in the first phase of lockdown were not needed during the 2nd phase and similarly the measures needed in the 3rd phase are not needed in the fourth," he said.
Chief ministers of at least three states demanded that states be given greater freedom in deciding lockdown guidelines. Some chief ministers also sought measures to expand the testing infrastructure, while many of them also demanded fiscal support for the states due to the pandemic having hit hard various revenue-generating economic activities
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy backed by economic empowerment of states to save lives and secure livelihood. The decision on designating red, orange/yellow and green zones should be left to the states, which are more cognizant of the ground realities, he said.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel reiterated the demand that states be allowed to determine green, red and orange zones and the level of economic activity permissible in the state. He also demanded Rs. 30,000 crore for implementing relief and welfare schemes.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asked for the resumption of economic activities in all parts of the National Capital barring the containment zones.
Economic activities should be allowed to resume in all parts of Delhi except containment zones: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during video conference meet with PM Modi today #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/AP0AJCvGTp
— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2020
During the meeting, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said that a cautious approach must be taken while making any decision on the lockdown as the infection was expected to peak in May or June. He also demanded that central armed forces be deployed in the state as the police were under a lot of pressure and there were rising number of cases among police personnel. Thackeray also suggested that local trains be restarted for those providing essential services.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that states face different challenges and therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines. He also demanded that states be allowed to resume metro ail services in cities, apart from those in the red zones.
States face different challenges & therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines relating to the lockdown: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during video conference with PM Narendra Modi today #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Vto44faona
— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2020
However, the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Telangana opposed the resumption of train services from Tuesday and asked the Centre to push it back.
"We know from media that regular train service to Chennai (from Delhi) and from Chennai will commence from 12 May. As the positive cases in Chennai are showing an increasing trend, don’t permit train service up to 31 May in my state," Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami told Modi during the virtual meeting.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on one hand, the Centre wants strict enforcement of the lockdown, on the other, it is resuming train services.
According to the statement, Modi said that the resumption of rail services was needed to rev up economic activity, but all routes will not be opened.
The Home Ministry earlier said that only asymptomatic people with confirmed tickets will be allowed to travel in 15 trains to be operational from Tuesday. Online bookings began for these trains on Monday evening, after some delay due to a technical glitch, and some routes got fully booked within ten minutes.
The Railways have been running 'migrant special' trains for ferrying migrant workers since May 1, but this will be the first time in nearly 50 days that the general public can also undertake train journeys even though flight and inter-state bus services remain suspended as of now till May 17, when the third phase of the lockdown is scheduled to end.
The first phase of the nationwide lockdown began on 25 March, which was supposed to be of 21 days, but it got extended later till 3 May and then further till 17 May with some relaxation.
With inputs from agencies
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3fF9Ljd
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