51 Coronavirus Deaths In India In 24 Hours, Highest Jump Yet
NEW DELHI : Monday marks Day 20, the penultimate day of the 21-day COVID-19, 324 people have died of coronavirus in India with 51 deaths in the last 24 hours, making it the sharpest spike yet. The highly infectious novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has infected 9,352 people in the country, according to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry
Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country, followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. India’s financial capital, Mumbai, has emerged as the epicentre of coronavirus spread in the country. The biggest challenge in Mumbai is containing the spread of coronavirus in Dharavi, considered one of the largest slums in the world.
The Health Ministry had on Sunday said that the government is ‘over prepared’ as there are more than a sufficient number of hospital beds available compared to the number of positive coronavirus cases in the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed that in the last five days, the average number of samples that have been tested is 15,747 per day and the average number of samples which tested positive is 584. It further informed that more than 40 vaccines are under development but none have reached the next stage of testing.
I have given the proposal that – Other than red zone areas like Mumbai and Pune, industries in other districts should be allowed to continue production: Subhash Desai, Minister for Industries and Mining, Maharashtra.
The government, meanwhile, has revealed a plan to colour-code all districts in the country during the extended period of the lockdown- red for areas with over 15 positive cases, orange for those below that threshold and green for districts that have not reported any infection.
The colour coding is likely to result in almost half the country being coloured either orange or red, after it emerged on Sunday that over 50 per cent of all districts have reported COVID-19 cases. 364 districts have been affected by the outbreak currently; this number was 284 on April 6 and 160 on March 29.
During his meeting with the Chief Ministers, PM Modi had indicated that the nationwide lockdown would be extended by two weeks but that there will be relaxations in certain areas and cases to ensure the survival of the economy as well.
States that have the most coronavirus cases are Maharashtra (1,985), Delhi (1,154), Tamil Nadu (1,075), Rajasthan (804) and Madhya Pradesh (532) ad Gujarat (516). In Delhi, 10 new coronavirus hotspots were announced on Sunday evening, taking the total number of hotspots in the national capital to 43.
Senior officials i.e., from the rank of Joint Secretary and above, will report to work as usual from today, sources said, adding that a third of all essential staff had to be present. Junior officials will continue to work on rotation basis. Each ministry has also been told to plan for post-lockdown and come up with ideas to kick-start the economy.
The coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown has put a severe stress on the economy. The World Bank has predicted that India will see growth of just 1.5-2.8 per cent in its current financial year — down from an expected 4.8-5.0 per cent for the year just ended.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the world’s biggest financial institutions, also warned of a global recession, and said the pandemic is causing an economic crisis unlike any in the past century and will require a massive response to ensure recovery.
(With Agency Inputs ).
