Sonowal seeks suggestions from journalists

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday held an interactive session with editors and senior journalists of 47 media houses in the state to seek their views and suggestions on the prevailing situation in the state during the lockdown.

He welcomed suggestions like non-conversion of schools into relief camps for flood-hit people during the forthcoming monsoon as students have already missed classes due to the lockdown.

He also appreciated suggestions like the closure of rural roads in bordering districts often taken by people of other states to sneak into Assam and testing of police personnel engaged in frontline work.

Sonowal thanked the participants for their suggestions which he said would help the state government chart its future course of action.

Terming the media as conscience keepers and opinion moulders of the society, Sonowal said the media's conscientious decisions will determine the direction the society will take.

He appreciated the role played by the media during the lockdown by disseminating correct information and generating awareness, besides acting as a bridge between the government and the people.

Sonowal, however, called on the media outlets to exercise utmost restraint while reporting about the administrative machinery engaged in the fight against Covid-19 as incorrect news could de-motivate frontline workers.

The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 1,306 and the number of cases climbed to 40,263 in the country on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry.

The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 28,046, while 10,887 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.

The total number of cases include 111 foreign nationals.

A total of 78 deaths were reported since Saturday evening, of which 36 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 26 from Gujarat, six from Madhya Pradesh, three from Rajasthan, three from Delhi, two from Telangana and one each from Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

Of the 1,306 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the maximum with 521 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (262), Madhya Pradesh (151), Rajasthan (71), Delhi (64), Uttar Pradesh (43) and West Bengal at 48 and Andhra Pradesh (33).

The death toll reached 29 in Tamil Nadu, 29 in Telangana, while Karnataka has reported 25 fatalities due to the disease.

Punjab has registered 21 Covid-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight, Kerala three, Bihar four and Haryana five. Jharkhand has recorded three Covid-19 deaths.

Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 12,296, followed by Gujarat at 5,054.

'124 cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing,' the ministry said.

'Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,' it said on its website.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

Students who were stranded in Kota due to nationwide lockdown arrive by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses at Kashmere Gate ISBT, in New Delhi, Sunday, May 03, 2020. PTI

CRPF HQ in Delhi sealed

The headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in New Delhi has been sealed after a personal staff of a senior officer tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Sunday.

A personal secretary of a special director-general (SDG) rank officer working in the headquarters has tested positive for the virus and hence the building has been sealed by the force, they said.

Officials working in the building will not be allowed inside the premises from Sunday, they said.

The force has informed the district surveillance officer for 'initiating required protocols' as per medical guidelines, for time-bound proper sealing of the building located in the CGO complex on Lodhi Road.

They said a contact tracing exercise has begun of all the personnel who came in contact with the staffer at the headquarter building.

The CRPF is the country's largest paramilitary force.

Armed forces honour frontline workers

Defence forces on Sunday expressed their gratitude to frontline workers, including doctors, nurses and police personnel, for their efforts in the nation's fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The armed forces conducted fly-pasts and showered petals in the honour of the frontline workers across various location in the country.

• Check pictures here.

OPDs to start from May 6 with 50 staff: Goa

All out-patient departments in hospitals in Goa, including the nodal GMCH, will be allowed to function from Wednesday with 50 per cent staff.

The decision to restart OPDs in community, primary and urban health centres, district and sub-district hospitals as well as Goa Medical College and Hospital was approved by state health minister Vishwajit Rane.

'We may open all OPDs, including GMC, with 50 per cent load factor from Wednesday. Protective gears and N95 masks to be provided to the doctors conducting OPDs,' Rane said in a noting moved to the health department.