Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10am on Tuesday, the last day of 21-day nationwide coronavirus lockdown, amid indications that the shutdown could be extended by another two weeks with certain relaxations to boost economic activities.
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10am on 14th April 2020,' the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
With most states favouring the lockdown to be extended at least by two weeks beyond April 14, the government is broadly focusing on a two-pronged action plan—containing the spread of Covid-19 in the country and staggered resumption of economic activities—according to an official.
An indication that while the lockdown maybe extended to ensure social distancing, some relaxations would be made to push economic activities also came from the Prime Minister, who during a meeting with chief ministers on Saturday via video conferencing, said it was important to save lives as well as livelihoods.
'While announcing the lockdown, I had said 'jaan hai to jahan hai' (health is wealth)... Most people in the country understood it and discharged their responsibilities by remaining indoors. And now it is imperative to focus on both aspects, 'Jaan bhi, jahan bhi' ((lives as well as livelihoods), for India's bright future, and prosperous and healthy India,' Modi had said.
At least seven states—Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—have already announced extension of the lockdown till April 30.
Meanwhile, several Union ministers resumed work from their respective offices from Monday as part of government's plan to revive economic activities.
The government in an order last week had also asked all officers of the joint secretary level and above to be present in the ministries along with one-third of the essential staff from Monday.
According to sources, the government is also looking into various recommendations and suggestions made by states, experts and other stakeholders.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recommended that certain identified industries and services should be allowed to resume limited activity with 'reasonable safeguards'.
In a number of recommendations to the ministry of home affairs (MHA), the department said these new activities in wide-ranging spheres are essential in any lockdown exit plan to improve the country's economic activity and provide liquidity in the hands of the people.
There is also a suggestion to divide the country into three zones—red, orange and green—based on the number of Covid-19 cases in those areas, and allow some industrial activity in orange and green areas, where there are no Covid-19 hotspots, while maintaining standard operating procedures of social distancing.
All inter-state public transport, including buses, trains, has been stopped. There is also a ban on domestic and international air travel to prevent the spread of the virus.
Last month, the Prime Minister had addressed the nation twice—March 19 and March 24.
Death toll rises to 308, cases now 9,152
The death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 308 on Monday after 35 new fatalities were reported, while the number of cases climbed to 9,152, according to the Union health ministry.
The number of active coronavirus cases stood at 7,987, as many as 856 people have been cured and discharged, while one had migrated. The total number of cases include 72 foreign nationals, according to the ministry data.
Thirty-five deaths have been reported since Sunday evening, of which 22 were reported from Maharashtra, five from Delhi, three from Gujarat, two from West Bengal and one each from Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
Of the total 308 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 149 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 36, Gujarat at 25 and Delhi at 24. Punjab and Tamil Nadu have registered 11 deaths each, while Telengana reported nine fatalities.
Seven people have lost their lives in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh each, while six deaths were reported in Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh has reported five fatalities, Jammu and Kashmir has four, while Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each.
Two deaths have been reported from Kerala and Jharkhand. Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.
However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Sunday showed at least 327 deaths. There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures compared to the number of cases announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.
According to the ministry's data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1,985, followed by Delhi at 1,154 and Tamil Nadu at 1,043.
- Rajasthan: 804
- Madhya Pradesh: 564
- Telangana: 504
- Uttar Pradesh: 483
- Kerala: 376
- Andhra Pradesh: 427
- Gujarat: 516
- Karnataka: 232
- Jammu and Kashmir: 245
- Haryana: 185
- Punjab: 151
- West Bengal: 63
- West Bengal: 152
- Bihar: 64
- Odisha: 54
- Uttarakhand: 35
- Assam: 29
- Himachal Pradesh: 32
- Chhattisgarh: 31
- Chandigarh: 21
- Jharkhand: 19
- Ladakh: 15
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: 11
- Goa: 7
- Puducherry: 7
- Manipur: 2
- Tripura: 2
- Mizoram: 1
- Arunachal Pradesh: 1
'State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation,' the ministry said on its website. The figures are according to the ministry update at 8am.
Family members clean grains inside their house during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Surat, Sunday, April 12, 2020 PTI
Bengal transport workers living in buses
Transport workers in West Bengal, who could not get back home amid the lockdown, have urged the state government to make arrangements for their meals and medical assistance, as many of them remained cooped up in buses in the absence of a shelter.
Drivers and helpers, some of them residents of neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand, have made buses their temporary homes, and were surviving on food distributed by local NGOs or samaritans, Rahul Chatterjee, the general secretary of All Bengal Bus Minibus Samannoy Samity, said.
Long-distance buses that left for their destinations on March 20 or 21 could not return to their depots owing to the announcement of the statewide lockdown order on March 23, a day after the nation observed Janata curfew.
'Around four to five thousand transport workers have been spending their days in difficulty across the state. They need ration and immediate medical help. We urge the government to send mobile medical units for their health check-up,' Chatterjee told PTI.
Owners of some buses have come forward to help these workers with money and other provisions, but that is not enough for their sustenance, given that the lockdown has been extended by another two weeks, he stated.
Gujarat defers payment of schools fees
Private schools in Gujarat will not hike fees in the coming academic year and will offer flexibility to parents to pay March-May fees over six months at their own convenience, a senior state government official said in Ahmedabad on Monday.
The decision was taken after state education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama held a meeting with representatives of the associations of private schools, Ashwani Kumar, secretary to the chief minister, said.
Kumar said it was decided in the meeting that private schools will not raise annual fees and will offer flexibility to economically weaker parents to pay fees for the months of March to May as per their convenience.
Odd-even days for Delhi veggie hubs
The Delhi government will implement odd-even rules in all wholesale markets in the city, under which traders will sell vegetables on alternate days, development minister Gopal Rai said on Monday.
Speaking to PTI in Delhi, the minister said that the government has also decided to stagger the timings for the sale of vegetables and fruits in these mandis to ensure social distancing.
'Vegetables will be sold from 6 am to 11 am and fruits from 2 pm to 6pm in all wholesale markets in Delhi,' Rai said, adding that the decisions were taken at a high-level meeting chaired by him.
There are five major wholesale vegetable and fruit markets in the national capital, including the Azadpur mandi, the Ghazipur mandi and the Okhla mandi. Also, there two wholesale “anaj mandis” in Najafgarh and Narela.
The minister also said that the Delhi government has formed four special task forces to ensure effective social distancing in the mandis in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Over 1,000 lockdown violation cases in Bhopal
The Bhopal Police have so far registered over 1,000 cases related to violation of lockdown, which is in force since late last month in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Monday.
A Bhopal police spokesman said a total of 1,017 cases were registered till Sunday evening for violation of the lockdown in the district.
These cases related to defying government orders issued for compliance of the lockdown, implemented to halt the spread of the deadly viral infection, he said.
Most of these cases were registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).
'Besides, some people were booked under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act (invoked to deal with the pandemic), the spokesman said.
In some of the cases, people were booked under the Excise Act, in addition to relevant IPC sections, for possession of liquor, he said.
The Bhopal Police spokesman said most of the people were booked for roaming on roads without any valid reason or opening shops not covered by lockdown exemption.
Odisha govt to relax lockdown norms for agriculture, fisheries sector from April 15
The Odisha government on Monday announced relaxation of some restrictions for agriculture, fisheries and allied activities during the second phase of lockdown in the state from April 15, a senior official said on Monday.
However, there will be no such relaxation in Bhubaneswar since it has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot in the state, special relief commissioner P. K. Jena said.
Forty-one of the total 54 Covid-19 positive cases in Odisha have been detected in Bhubaneswar alone.
The government will have separate relaxation guidelines for Bhubaneswar. The state capital will not be given relaxation as there is no agricultural activity or MGNREGA work in Bhubaneswar,' Jena said.
Maintaining that social distancing will be strictly implemented during farming activities, Jena said, agriculture and allied activities such as movement of agri machines, opening of cold storages and application for crop loan are exempted from lockdown norms.
'All kinds of fisheries, allied activities and veterinary activities would continue during the second phase of the lockdown,' he said.
The Odisha government was the first state to have extended the ongoing lockdown till April 30 to effectively contain the spread of coronavirus.
The government has also allowed plantation and related activities and construction and repair of water bodies in forest and sanctuaries area, drinking water pipelines and tube well repair work, Jena said.
Activities of 'Mission Shakis' by women self-help groups (SHGs) will also continue as earlier, the SRC said.
Roadside eateries like Dhabas will operate to ensure that drivers of vehicles carrying essential items do not face food scarcity.
However, people cannot eat sitting at roadside eateries, but can carry the food and consume it somewhere else, he said.
Relaxation will also be available to home delivery of items through e-commerce platforms and online platforms, he said.
Forest dwellers who eke out a living by collecting kendu leaves will be allowed to do so, the SRC said.
However, collectors of the districts concerned can take a decision in this regard taking into account the situation prevailing in the districts.
The SRC said, people can also participate in MGNREGA activities by maintaining social distancing.
Face cover mandatory in Bengal
The Bengal government on Sunday made covering the mouth and the nose mandatory for everyone, especially when in public places, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
An order issued by chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said: “Mouth and nose should be covered by facial masks or any other available piece of cloth which may even include a properly folded or rolled dupatta, gamchha, handkerchief or any such material that acts as a protective cover…. It shall be mandatory to use this cover always, especially when in public places.”
The order does not mention any penal measures.
A combination of pictures shot across India over the past three days shows people using different ways to mask themselves during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. PTI
Personnel minister, senior officials resume work from office
Union minister Jitendra Singh and senior officials of the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions resumed work from their offices on Monday, nearly a month after they were asked to work from home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Singh, minister of state for personnel, joined his office at North Block and took stock of the official work, they said.
A meeting was also held through video conference with senior officials of different departments under the personnel ministry, according to the officials.
All officers including secretaries, special secretaries, additional secretaries and joint secretaries of the ministry reported to work and are following the social distancing protocol issued by the government, they said.
However, some of the support staff faced difficulty in commuting to office, they added.
Besides the council of ministers, officers of the joint secretary-level and above were asked to resume work from Monday by the central government.
BSF jawan, kin booked for lockdwon violation
A Border Security Force sub-inspector and his family members were booked on Sunday for travelling from Indore in Madhya Pradesh to Ahmedabad in Gujarat during the lockdown without permission, Superintendent of Police Vinit Jain said.
The BSF officer did not stop the vehicle when asked to do so near Machhalia check post and was intercepted after officials relayed the information to personnel at Kalidevi police station ahead, said Jain.
'BSF sub-inspector Rajkishore Choudhary, a resident of Ahmedabad, and five of his family members were in the car. On a complaint by the tehsildar, those inside the car, except a three-year-old child, were arrested under IPC, Motor Vehicles Act and Disaster Management Act. They were later released on bail,' the SP informed.
Jharkhand reports 2 more cases
Two more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Bokaro district, taking the number of cases in Jharkhand to 19, an official said on Monday.
Deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar said two men, one aged 68 and another 45, tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday night.
The two, who hail from Bokaro district's Sadam village, are relatives of the 72-year-old man who died of the disease on April 8, he said.
With the two fresh cases, the total count in Bokaro went up to eight, Kumar said.
The state capital has reported eight positive cases, Hazaribagh two and Koderma one.
A 60-year-old man died due to Covid-19 in Bokaro on Sunday, the second death due to the virus in the state.
Jharkhand had registered its first positive case on March 31, when a 22-year-old Malaysian woman tested positive for the virus. She was staying at Ranchi city's Hindpiri locality.
15 new cases in Karnataka
Fifteen new positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of affected in the state to 247, the health department said on Monday.
'Fifteen new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon.... Till date 247 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 6 deaths and 59 discharges,' the department said in a mid-day situation report.
Among the 15 new cases, 13 are contacts of patients already tested positive, while one from Dodabballapura in Bengaluru Rural is with a travel history to Delhi, the other from Bengaluru city has Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).
Among the 13 contact cases tested positive four are from Hubballi in Dharwad district, three each from Malavalli in Mandya district and Raibag in Belagavi, two each from Bidar, and one from Mudhol in Bagalkote district.
Three out of 15 new cases are children- a 8 year-old girl from Malavalli in Mandya, 16-year old girl from Bidar and 14-year old boy from Raibag in Belagavi.
From across the state most number of infections have been reported in Bengaluru with 77, followed by Mysuru (48) and Belagavi (17).
A pilot operates a Japanese spray machine for sanitizing a locality near Rajendra Nagar Market, during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, in New Delhi, Monday, April 13, 2020. The machine can sanitize 20,000 sq metres per hour PTI
Punjab assistant commissioner of police tests positive
An assistant commissioner of police tested positive for novel coronavirus in Ludhiana in Punjab, a health official said on Monday.
Ludhiana civil surgeon Rajesh Bagga said the test reports of the officer, confirming him to be positive for the virus, came on Sunday night.
The ACP (North) was admitted to a local hospital, Bagga said, adding that the health teams were identifying his contacts.
Telangana inmates make masks, sanitisers
As the nation combats the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic, with increasing number of cases a cause for concern, inmates of prisons in Telangana are doing their bit to help, making thousands of masks and sanitisers for doctors, policemen, health workers and others in the frontline.
With increasing demand from health professionals and those in the field, as also from government departments and Information Technology firms, the Central Prisons and district jails in the state have ramped up manufacturing and supply of these items, officials said.
An added bonus is that the face masks are washable and reusable.
Both the masks and sanitisers are priced lower than products available in the market, they said.
The Telangana Prisons Department sells these products under the 'My Nation' brand and has also come out with a health and hygiene kit, comprising washable masks, hand sanitisers, handwash, bath soaps and phenyl, they said.
The inmates were trained by chemists on how to make sanitisers, while professional tailors at the prisons taught them how to stitch the masks.
'We did not have any prior exposure in manufacturing face masks and hand sanitisers, but in view of the crisis (coronavirus outbreak) we took the initiative by training the inmates,' the official told P T I.
Around 9,000 face masks and 3,000 litres of sanitiser are being produced every day at Chanchalguda and Cherlapally central prisons in Hyderabad and other district jails, the official said.
