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However, the Union Ministry of Health said the recovery rate of patients with COVID-19 has also improved to almost 25.2 percent, from about 13 percent a fortnight ago.
As people waited for more clarity on the government’s next move in the national shutdown, the second phase of which ends this Sunday, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said India should open its economy in a measured way soon to save jobs and estimated that Rs 65 billion rupees would have to be spent to support the poor in the midst of the crisis.
Interacting with Congressman Rahul Gandhi via video conference, Rajan said “it is too easy to have a blockade forever”, but that is not sustainable for the economy and India does not have the capacity to support people in everything the spectrum for too long.
A national blockade has been in place since March 25. It was first announced for 21 days until April 14, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended it until May 3 to contain the coronovirus pandemic.
In its afternoon update, the Union Health Ministry said 1,075 people have died from COVID-19 across the country after 67 deaths were reported since Wednesday night. The number of cases increased to 33,610, including 1,823 new cases detected in the last 24 hours.
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However, a PTI count of the death toll reported by various states and Union territories, at 8:30 PM, showed that at least 1,137 people have lost their lives, while nearly 34,500 people have been infected as of moment.
Maharashtra only saw its account cross 10,000 with 583 new cases during the day, while 27 more people died. The state tops the national count with a total of 10,498 confirmed cases and 459 deaths so far. Mumbai alone now has 6,874 confirmed cases and 290 deaths.
Gujarat also saw its number of confirmed cases rise from 313 to 4,395, while 17 more people died on Thursday to bring the state’s death toll to 214. Only Ahmedabad has reported more than 3,000 cases and 149 deaths.
Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal also reported new cases.
There are more than 24,000 active patients across the country, while more than 8,300 people have recovered and one patient has migrated. The total number of cases includes 111 foreign citizens.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India is better compared to other countries on all fronts in its fight against COVID-19 and that it should be able to win this decisive war in the coming weeks.
Some 60,000 foreigners from 72 countries have also been evacuated from India, while the issue of evacuation of stranded Indians abroad is also under discussion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a press conference on the situation of COVID-19, the joint secretary of the Ministry of Health, Lav Agarwal, said that the current mortality rate among those detected is 3.2%, with 65% being men and 35% women.
“If we divide it according to age, 14 percent mortality has been seen in people younger than 45 years, 34.8 percent between 45 and 60 years old and 51.2 percent in people older than 45 60 years, “he said.
Agarwal further said that the recovery rate of COVID-19 has improved from 13.06 percent to over 25 percent in the past 14 days.
Agarwal also said that the doubling rate for COVID-19 cases has improved to 11 days compared to 3.4 days before the blockade was imposed.
Meanwhile, several states announced the steps they were taking to facilitate the movement of migrant workers and students, stranded in various cities due to the closure, to help them get to their respective places of origin, according to the guidelines of the Interior Ministry of the Union announced on Wednesday. Some states have already brought in some migrant workers from other places.
The Madhya Pradesh government said it has brought back more than 20,000 migrant workers, who were stranded in other states due to the closure of COVID-19.
Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath called on officials to prepare quarantine centers, foster homes and community kitchens as the state prepares for the return of stranded migrant workers in different parts of the country.
Maharashtra issued a notice designating all district collectors as the nodal authority for the movement of stranded people within or outside the state and also within the state, while the Gujarat government appointed 16 bureaucrats as nodal officers to facilitate the movement of such people across borders.
The Kerala government renewed its demand for special nonstop trains to transport those who wish to depart for their respective states. There are 3.60 lakh workers in more than 20,000 camps in the state and most of them, from West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, wanted to return to their homes.
Punjab Prime Minister Amarinder Singh also urged the prime minister to organize special trains for the transport of migrant workers, while ordering all deputy commissioners to prepare data on migrant workers stranded in the state due to the closure.
According to the Union Home ministry order, the buses would be used to transport stranded people and these vehicles would be disinfected and they would have to follow safe rules for social distance in the seats. A senior official said that all states and UTs should “strictly follow” these guidelines.
While the movement of trucks is already permitted for the carriage of goods during closure, the Ministry separately clarified that separate passes are not required for their interstate movement, even for those who carry goods or return after delivery, and the license of the driver is enough.
There have been reports that the movement of trucks is not freely permitted and local authorities insist on separate passes on interstate borders in different parts of the country.
