Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Lt Governor Anil Baijal has overruled the AAP government’s order to reserve Delhi government-run and private hospitals in the national capital for Delhiites, news agency PTI quoted its sources as saying. The lieutenant governor is also the Chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
The move may trigger a confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the LG office. On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the hospitals run by the Delhi government and private entities will only treat Delhiites during the coronavirus crisis.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been displaying symptoms of fever and cough since yesterday afternoon, will undergo a Covid-19 test tomorrow morning. Kejriwal has isolated himself after doctors advised him to wait for a day before testing for coronavirus. Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 2.56-lakh mark today after the biggest single-day spike of 9,983 cases, even as the government relaxed a number of curbs after over two months of lockdown and opened malls, restaurants and places of worship. The total number of deaths due to the pandemic are 7,135, Union health ministry data shows. The total number of cases is 2,56,611 of which 1,24,095 have recovered and 206 people died in the last 24 hours.
A token system for regulated entry and no physical offerings like ‘prasad’ at temples will be some of the norms as shopping malls, religious places, hotels and restaurants are set to reopen in most states from today after over two months that could pose new challenges to check the spread of the coronavirus. As India prepares for a calibrated exit from the lockdown by easing more restrictions, Unlock-1 kicks in at a time when the country recorded a daily jump of Covid-19 cases by over 9,000 for the fifth straight day on Sunday and also crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time. It is the first of the three-phase plan for reopening of prohibited activities in non-containment zones with a stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which will be in place till June 30.
India registered its highest single-day spike of 9,971 new infections taking the total to 2,46,628 and 287 deaths in the 24 hours since Saturday morning, the Union Health Ministry said. The death toll stood at 6,929, it said. According to a PTI tally based on reports from states, the daily rise crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time to touch 10,218. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,20,406 while a total of 1,19,292 people had recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry added. Around 48.37 per cent of the patients have recovered so far, a senior ministry official said. The new phase is especially challenging for the five worst affected states, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the total coronavirus cases, and nearly 78 per cent of the deaths.
Maharashtra (85,975 cases), Tamil Nadu (30,152), Delhi (28,936), Gujarat (20,097) and Rajasthan (10,599) were the five worst affected states. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh inched towards the 10,000 mark. There also has been an uptick in cases in states like West Bengal which recorded the highest single-day spike for the third day in a row with 449 cases taking the tally to 8,187. Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir also registered a record daily rise.
Maharashtra, which reported 3,007 new cases, on its own has surpassed China which accounted for 83,036 COVID-19 infections to be in the 18th position in the global country tally. However, there was some good news from Mumbai’s Dharavi, believed to be Asia’s largest slum and also a hotspot.
In signs that could point to the flattening of the coronavirus curve in Dharavi, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said the slum cluster has not reported a single COVID-19 death in the last six days while 939 of the total 1,899 patients have recovered.
A visit to the shopping malls, hotels and restaurants and religious places will no longer be the same like before the lockdown imposed on March 25 after the Union Health Ministry issued the SOPs for strict adherence to contain the spread of COVID-19.
In the malls, cinema halls, gaming arcades and children play areas will continue to be in the prohibited segment. The SOPs are advisory in nature and the Centre has left it to the states to finetune the details. The Punjab government for example provides for a token-based entry to malls as part of its guidelines.
In Gujarat, some of the religious places have decided to organise prayers in shifts and even start a token system to specify time slots to devotees for visits in a bid to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the hospitals run by the Delhi government and private entities will only treat Delhiites during the coronavirus crisis while the city’s borders with UP and Haryana will be reopened from Monday.
Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said hospitals run by the Centre will have no such restriction, and if people from other states come to the national capital for specific surgeries, they can also get medical treatment at private hospitals.
He also said hotels and banquet halls will remain closed as the authorities may need these facilities to convert them into hospitals.
The Centre, meanwhile, defended the timing of the imposition of the lockdown and rejected as “baseless” media reports expressing concern that it did not take inputs from technical experts while drawing up its COVID-19 strategy.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
Comments
0 comment