On Thursday the World Bank approved $1 billion in emergency financing for India to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, while warning the world that the impact of the pandemic would hit economies hard
New Delhi, April 3:
Fifty-six people have died after being infected by the novel coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry said today, with six of those deaths being reported in a 24-hour period. Across the country the number of confirmed cases is now 2,301, with 336 new cases detected in the past 24 hours. A total of 157 people have been discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment. This morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation, via a brief video message, for the second time since a nationwide 21-day “total lockdown” was initiated. Worldwide the number of COVID-19 positive cases has crossed 1 million, with over 50,000 dead. On Thursday the World Bank approved $1 billion in emergency financing for India to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, while warning the world that the impact of the pandemic would hit economies hard.
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A 35-year-old doctor from Mumbai’s Dharavi, which is Asia’s largest slum, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. This is the third case of novel coronavirus infection from Dharavi in as many days, raising fears of a new virus hotspot. Over a million people live in the five square kilometre slum that has a maze of dirty lanes, cramped huts and community toilets, making it a challenge to check the spread of a virus that spreads easily from person to person.
A resident doctor from Delhi’s prestigious AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) tested positive for the coronavirus, sources said Thursday. His wife, who is also a doctor and is nine months pregnant, tested positive too. Sources added that neither had any travel history and contract tracing is underway. So far seven Delhi doctors have tested positive for the highly infectious virus; two of them work at the national capital’s Safdarjung Hospital, which is directly opposite AIIMS in one of the city’s busiest localities.
This morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation via a brief video message, in which he urged people, once again, to stay inside their homes during the lockdown. “The only way to break the chain of coronavirus is to maintain social distancing,” he said, adding, “Please do not go out on to the roads, lanes in your localities. (Limit yourself to) the doorstep or balconies of your own homes”.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi are the worst-affected with 335,309, 286 and 219 confirmed cases, respectively. A total of 23 people have died from these four states, with 16 in Maharashtra alone. Tamil Nadu has seen a massive spike with 75 new cases reported. Much of the spike in the southern state ~CHECK~ and those in others such as Assam and Andhra Pradesh, has been linked to a controversial religious gathering in south Delhi’s Nizamuddin this month, which has been declared a coronavirus hotspot.
The World Bank has approved $1.9 billion in aid for 25 countries. The largest chunk of this – $1 billion – will come to India and should be used for “better screening, contact tracing and laboratory diagnostics, (buying) personal protective equipment and setting up new isolation wards”, the global financial institution has said. Other South Asian countries to receive aid include Pakistan ($200 million), Afghanistan ($100 million) and Sri Lanka ($128.6 million).
On Thursday the Prime Minister held a video conference with chief ministers of several states – his first since the lockdown was started – to discuss containment protocols and how to lift the lockdown in a phased manner. “It is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends,” PM Modi said, according to a statement giving details of the interaction.
States have been told told to crack down on those violating the lockdown or obstructing officials; such people should be sent to jail for one or two years, the government said, directing stern action under existing laws after reports of doctors or health staff being attacked.
In a shocking video from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, healthcare workers and civic officials were attacked by a mob and needed police intervention to save them. Two women doctors were injured. Earlier a video of doctors being harassed at the Ranipura area of the city had come to light and others had allegedly been attacked at a hospital in Hyderabad.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world soared past 1 million and deaths have topped 50,000, news agency AFP reported Thursday. The United States has reported the highest daily death toll of any country so far and accounts for around a quarter of all known infections. About 6,000 have died in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University, with over 1,000 dying in the past 24 hours. Around 85 percent of Americans are under some form of stay-at-home order.
The ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research), the government’s nodal body for virus tests, has recommended that every resident in a coronavirus hotspot be tested with a fast-track Rapid Antibody test. Antibody tests are similar to blood tests and the results will be available within 30 minutes.
Courtesy: NDTV
