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While some positive news came in from Kerala with no new infection detected despite the state being among the first to witness the spread, Maharashtra reported a record daily increase of more than 1,200 in its number of cases. The economic cost of the pandemic also began to affect people with a sharp increase in fuel prices.
Seeking to shore up its increasingly scarce resources, more states announced higher liquor sales taxes, while Punjab estimated its overall loss of income for April at 88 percent as all of its tax revenue has been depleted and only 1.5 percent of the industry is Operational.
Industry sources in various parts of the country said they were wary of opening their plants and offices due to concerns about the movement of their staff, suppliers, carriers and vendors until the national shutdown, which has been in effect since March 25. , stand up completely.
In announcing the third phase of the shutdown until May 17, the government gave several relaxations to restart industrial and agricultural activities, but not much has changed on the ground with only a few companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, resuming operations in in a limited way
The country’s largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki India, said on Wednesday it will resume operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana starting May 12.
There is widespread fear that the spread of the virus may worsen with the reduction of closure measures still, as the number of cases has continuously increased in most of the country’s main urban centers.
While the Union Health Ministry stopped giving an evening update of the COVID-19 count as of Wednesday, its morning update showed that death rose to 1,694 and the number of cases rose to 49,391, registering an increase of 126 deaths and 2,958 cases since Tuesday morning. It also showed that more than 15,000 people had recovered, giving a recovery rate of almost 29 percent.
However, a PTI count of the figures reported by the different states and territories of the Union up to 9 p.
While Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases and deaths, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, and Punjab are among other major states affected by the virus.
Kerala has also reported more than 500 confirmed cases so far, but did not report a single new case on Wednesday, and state government officials said the number of active patients is now only 30, as the vast majority of COVID patients -19 have recovered.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also expressed concern about the high death rate among COVID-19 patients in some districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat and called on states to focus on early surveillance, tracking aggressive contact and early diagnosis to reduce the number of deaths in the areas.
Maharashtra reported 1,233 new cases of COVID-19, a new high in a single day, bringing its count to 16,758, while 34 more deaths brought the number to 651, a health department official said. Mumbai only has more than 10,500 cases now.
Gujarat reported 380 new cases and 28 more deaths during the day, bringing its total case count to 6,625 and the number of deaths to 396. This included 291 new cases and 25 more deaths in Ahmedabad alone, where civic authorities have ordered the closure from all stores except those that sell milk and medicine for a week.
Separately, the Union Home Office wrote to the West Bengal government that the state’s COVID-19 response was characterized by a very low test rate and a very high death rate of 13.2 percent, which He said it was by far the highest. for any state
The ministry also reported cases of overcrowding in markets, free movement of people in large numbers without masks, bathing of people in rivers, people playing cricket and soccer, serious laxity in the application of blockade measures in containment areas. , use of rickshaws without any restrictions, saying These were serious violations of the closing instructions and the rules of social distancing.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her government identified more than 92,000 cases of influenza-like illness and 870 people with severe acute respiratory illness across the state, findings that serve as “early warning signs” in the fight against COVID-19.
Banerjee said the results were the result of his government’s extensive door-to-door surveillance over the past month, covering more than 5.5 million homes, and the exercise will continue “until the virus is defeated.”
Official sources said around 548 doctors, nurses and paramedics across the country have tested positive for the virus so far. This includes 69 doctors in the national capital. However, this figure does not include field workers, neighborhood children, sanitation workers, security guards, laboratory assistants, laborers, laundry and kitchen staff, among others, and the figures may be much higher after keep these people in mind.
In addition, at least 154 members of the Border Security Force (BSF) staff have tested positive for coronavirus, including 85 cases that were detected on Wednesday. These include more than 60 deployed for law enforcement in the Jamia and Chandni Mahal area of the national capital, and six from the escort team of the Central Inter-Ministerial Team (IMCT) that traveled through West Bengal to verify COVID containment measures- 19 in the state.
At least 37 infected people are from the Tripura border of the force.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has ordered the release of 4,000 Tablighi members who have completed the required quarantine period in the centers of the national capital, the sources said. A large congregation of ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ in the Nizamuddin area of Delhi in early March was seen as an important point for the spread of the virus, after which there were also several cases of Muslims who were attacked and accused by the pandemic.
Subsequently, thousands of Jamaat members were tracked down in various parts of the country and quarantined, including around 4,000 in Delhi itself.
While almost 900 of those released from quarantine are from Delhi itself, the rest are from other states and would be sent back to their home states. Most of them come from Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
This story has been published from a cable agency source without modification to the text. Only the owner has been changed.
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