Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked states to urgently strengthen the surveillance of international travellers who entered the country before the lockdown as there appeared to be a "gap" between the actual monitoring for Covid-19 and the total arrivals.
In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, Gauba said such a gap in monitoring of international passengers for coronavirus "may seriously jeopardise the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19", given that many amongst the persons who have tested positive so far in India have history of international travel.
"As you are aware, we initiated screening of international incoming passengers at the airports with effect from January 18, 2020. I have been informed that up to March 23, 2020, cumulatively, Bureau Of Immigration has shared details of more than 15 lakh incoming international passengers with the States/UTs for monitoring for COVID-19.
"However, there appears to be a gap between the number of international passengers who need to be monitored by the States/UTs and the actual number of passengers being monitored," Gauba said in his letter.
The government had started monitoring of all international passengers who have arrived in India in last two months in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Gauba said, "it is important that all international passengers are put under close surveillance to prevent the spread of the epidemic."
He said the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has repeatedly emphasised the importance of monitoring, and requested the states and UTs to take immediate steps in this regard.
"I would, therefore, like to request you to ensure that concerted and sustained action is taken urgently to put such passengers under surveillance immediately as per MoHFW guidelines," he said.
The cabinet secretary also urged the chief secretaries to actively involve the district authorities in this effort.The screening of international incoming passengers at airports was done from January 18 in a phased manner.
The Central and state governments have unleashed unprecedented and extraordinary measures to contain the spread of the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has already infected more than 700 people in the country and claimed at least 17 lives.
A nationwide lockdown was also announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for 21 days.
Will fly migrants to Patna if govt allows: SpiceJet
SpiceJet has offered services of its aircraft and crew members to the government for any humanitarian mission during the 21-day lockdown and the airline is ready to operate some flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Patna to alleviate the suffering of migrant workers, especially those from Bihar, its CMD Ajay Singh said on Friday.
While domestic and international passenger flights have been banned till April 14 midnight, IndiGo and GoAir have also offered their aircraft and crew and staff members to the government for any mission required to contain the spread of coronavirus.
"We have offered our aircraft and crew for any humanitarian mission that the government needs us to fly. We are already flying food, medicines and medical equipment for government every day (on our freighter aircraft)," Singh told PTI.
"We would like to alleviate the suffering of the migrant workers, especially those from Bihar, by flying some flights between Delhi/Mumbai and Patna," he added.
SpiceJet has five B737 freighter aircraft in its fleet and they are operating normally. However, the airline's entire commercial passenger aircraft fleet of 82 Boeing 737, two Airbus A320 and 32 Bombardier Q-400s is currently grounded.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is yet to give permission to airlines to conduct flights using their commercial passenger aircraft with just cargo in their belly.
A vegetable vendor pushes his bicycle loaded with vegetables on an empty street during a complete lockdown amid growing concerns of coronavirus in Noida, outskirts of New Delhi, India, on Tuesday. AP
Deaths touch 19; 48 fresh cases
The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 17 in the country on Friday and the number of coronavirus cases climbed to 724, according to the health ministry.
In its updated figures at 9.15am, the ministry stated that four deaths were reported from Maharashtra while Gujarat had registered three deaths.
Karnataka has reported two deaths so far, while Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have reported one death each. However, after the ministry's update, two more deaths were reported — from Rajasthan and Karnataka.
While a 60-year-old man died in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, a 65-year-old was the third fatality in Karnataka.
According to the data, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 640, while 66 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated.
The total number of 724 cases included 47 foreign nationals, the ministry said.
Six more test positive in UP; count rises to 49
Six more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, taking the number cases to 49, a top official said on Friday.
"Six fresh cases were found positive for coronavirus in the state on Friday," Principal Secretary Health Amit Mohan told reporters here.
"While four cases were found positive in Noida, two cases were found positive in Ghaziabad," Director Information Shishir told PTI.
So far, Agra has reported nine cases, three from Ghaziabad, 18 from Noida, eight cases from Lucknow, two each in Ghaziabad and Pilibhit and one each in Baghpat, Lakhimpur-Kheri, Moradabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Jaunpur and Shaml.
The state has so far recorded 49 cases, of which 14 have been cured and discharged from hospitals.
Those cured include seven from Agra, two from Ghaziabad and four from Noida and one from Lucknow.
Cases in Maharashtra climb to 147
With 12 people in Sangli testing positive for coronavirus, the total number of patients in Maharashtra rose to 147 on Friday, an increase of 17 within a day, health officials said.
Earlier in the day, four persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Nagpur and another in Gondia, both in eastern Maharashtra.
In Sangli, the number of COVID-19 patients is now 24.
All the infected persons in Sangli district are related to or had come in contact with a single family. Some members of this family had returned from Saudi Arabia and later tested positive for the virus.
An employee takes protection while giving medicines to customers, during the nationwide complete lockdown in view of the coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi, Thursday, March 26, 2020 PTI
IAS officer booked for violating quarantine instructions
A young IAS officer in Kerala has been booked by police after he left the state violating instructions to remain under home quarantine following his recent return from honeymoon abroad, officials said on Friday.
An FIR has been registered against Kollam sub-collector Anupam Mishra, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, based on a report from the Health department about the violation, Kollam superintendent of police T. Narayanan told PTI.
Describing the action of the officer as a "serious matter," district collector B. Abdul Nasser said Mishra had returned to Kerala on March 19 from his Malaysia-Singapore trip and was advised to remain under quarantine, as per the protocol for overseas returnees in the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak.
On his return to Kerala from the foreign trip, Mishra had undergone medical examination and did not show symptoms. His personal staff, including gunman, have also been kept under observation.
However, the officer had left for his brother's place in Bengaluru without informing anyone, Nasser said.
When the collector got in touch with him, Mishra informed him that he was in Bengaluru.
Kollam, is the only district in the state, which has not reported any positive case of COVID-19 so far. A total of 126 positive cases have been reported in the state so far.
Third death in Karnataka
In the third COVID-19 fatality in Karnataka, a 65-year-old man who tested had positive for the coronavirus infection died in Tumakuru on Friday, a senior district official said.
The person had no tavel history to any foreign country, but had gone to Delhi and returned by train earlier this month, following which he developed certain symptoms, the official said.
In a tweet, state health and family welfare minister B. Sriramulu confirmed the death was due to coronavirus infection.
He urged people to follow the lockdown and remain at home.
A 70-year-old woman and a 76-year-old man had died due to Covid-19 earlier in the state.
Prevent mass exodus of workers: MHA tells state govts
The Union home ministry on Friday asked state governments to prevent a mass exodus of migrant agriculture labourers, industrial workers and unorganised sector employees from their workplaces to hometowns amid a 21-day nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus.
In an advisory to all states and Union territories, the home ministry said they should also make arrangements for uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to hotels, working women hostels so that they continue to live in existing facilities.
"The home ministry has issued an advisory to States/UTs to prevent mass exodus of migrant agricultural labourers, industrial workers and unorganised sector workers, so as to prevent the spread of COVID19," an official spokesperson said.
People return to their native place on foot due to absence of any means of transportation during day-2 of a nationwide lockdown, imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Ghaziabad, Thursday, March 26, 2020 PTI
The states and UTs have also been advised to make these vulnerable groups aware of measures taken by the government, including provision of free food grains and other essential items through PDS, and streamline the distribution system.
"This would help prevent the exodus of such people," the spokesperson said.
The home ministry has also advised the states and UTs to ensure that hotels, rented accommodations, hostels etc., continue to remain functional and delivery of essential items is streamlined, so that students, working women hostel inmates etc., are allowed to continue in existing facilities observing precautions.
The coronavirus-enforced lockdown has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers across the country.
Earlier in the day, around 40 migrant labourers working in Mumbai were caught in Thane for allegedly trying to escape to Uttar Pradesh in a truck, police said.
Similarity, a GRP constable was suspended Friday for trying to ferry migrant workers to their hometowns in an empty train on March 26.
Prepared if cases rise: Kejriwal
Arrangements were in place to deal with the situation if the number of coronavirus cases went up to even 100 per day in the national capital, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday.
He also informed that a five-member panel of doctors, headed by Dr S.K. Sareen, had submitted its report, prescribing the standard operating procedure for dealing with the situation involving 100, 500 and up to 1,000 new coronavirus patients per day.
We are removing the shortcomings and making preparations to deal with a situation of up to 1,000 coronavirus cases per day. I, however, hope that the number of cases will come down in the coming days
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal
"We are removing the shortcomings and making preparations to deal with a situation of up to 1,000 coronavirus cases per day. I, however, hope that the number of cases will come down in the coming days," Kejriwal told a press conference.
He asserted that his government was fully prepared to tackle the situation if the number of coronavirus cases increased.
The chief minister said so far, 39 COVID-19 cases were reported in the national capital.
He said food was being provided to nearly two lakh poor people in the city and the number will be doubled to four lakh from Saturday.
Besides 224 night-shelters, 325 government schools will also distribute food, including lunch and dinner, among the poor and homeless people, Kejriwal said.
He added that the Delhi government will also take care of the people from other states living in Delhi, citing appeals by the chief ministers of several states, including Jharkhand and West Bengal.
60-year-old man dies in Rajasthan's Bhilwara
A 60-year-old man, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, has died due to co-morbid conditions of heart and kidney ailments, an official said on Friday.
With two of his relatives also testing positive for coronavirus, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state have risen to 45.
The patient had visited the private hospital in Bhilwara where doctors and nursing staff were first found to be coronavirus positive.
Co-morbidity refers to one or more diseases or conditions that occur along with another condition in the same person at the same time.
"The patient died on Thursday night. Doctors have attributed the death to his co-morbid conditions," additional chief secretary (health) Rohit Kumar Singh said.
This is the second death of a Covid-19 patient in the state, however, officials have said that the deaths were due to co-morbidity.
Earlier, an Italian tourist who was cured of the virus had later died of heart attack due to lungs and heart problem at a private hospital in state capital.
