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Panic buying to mitigation efforts: Covid-19 news from India
Here’s a list of top stories from Hindustan Times newspaper
Cities across India saw a rush to buy grocery and other essential items on the first day of a nationwide lockdown on Wednesday even as Covid-19 infections rose to 606, including 10 deaths. With stories of hardship and anxiety pouring in — of the plight of migrant labourers and of apprehensions that some pharmacies in Delhi might run out of stock — the government stepped in to ensure essential services are not interrupted.
Coronavirus update: Scramble for supplies on Day 1 of three-week lockdown in India
Long queues, crowded markets, and harassment of e-commerce and food delivery people by police departments seemingly unaware of what was allowed and what wasn’t, marked the first day of the three-week lockdown to cease the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), although by Wednesday evening, some sense of order emerged. Read more
Covid-19: What you need to know today
The US finally agreed on a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest ever in the country’s history – for comparison, India’s GDP is roughly $2.7 trillion – to help individuals and companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Coronavirus update: Containing spread of Covid-19 in clusters could help flatten the curve
Since March 2 when the second wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases was reported in Delhi and Hyderabad, India has not reported any case of community transmission, but the government is working to control cases of focal outbreaks in some states. Read more
Coronavirus update- Take care of 9 families in 21 days: PM Modi’s appeal to citizens
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens on Wednesday to help to nine families during the 21-day national lockdown and warned of strict action against those misbehaving with people on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
India under Covid-19 lockdown: All about the disaster management law
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day national lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 by invoking the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The law gives the Central government powers to take quick policy decisions and impose restrictions on people to manage a disaster. Here’s an explainer on what the law entails for people and governments in these difficult times. Read more
Coronavirus update: ICMR nod to 3 more private testing labs, total 29 now
New Delhi The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country’s apex biomedical research body, on Wednesday approved three more private laboratories to test for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), taking to 29 the number of private facilities that can collect samples at 16,000 centres. Read more
Coronavirus update: Delhiites rush to buy essential items, queue up outside shops
It took Ravi Kumar, a resident of Mayur Vihar Extension in east Delhi, nearly two hours to buy groceries at a retail chain store in the neighbourhood on Wednesday. The long wait was not due to the crowd but due to the safety and social distancing measures being taken by store in-charges in view of the Covid-19 outbreak. Read more
Ghazipur slaughterhouse shut, Delhi zoo scouts for other supplier
The Delhi zoo may have to look for alternative sources for procuring meat meant for its animals, after the 21-day nationwide shutdown announced Tuesday pulled the shutters down on the Ghazipur slaughterhouse, which supplies meat to the zoo daily. Read more
5 more coronavirus cases in Delhi, says Arvind Kejriwal; follows up with a request
Five more people have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen in national capital Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday evening, reiterating his appeal to people to stay at home as part of the nationwide lockdown. Read more
Govt announces e-passes for essential services, helpline for harassment complaints
With long queues at police stations for “curfew pass”, the Delhi government on Wednesday announced it would issue e-passes to those delivering essential services within and outside city limits. It also announced a helpline for those who have been “harassed” by state enforcement agencies, including police, to register their complaint. Read more
Smoother delivery across Delhi, cops assure e-tailers amid Covid-19 pandemic
Delivery of essential items ordered online could become a reality once again after days of customers having to put up with abrupt cancellations and e-commerce ground staff facing harassment at check posts where police personnel seemed unaware of who was allowed to function despite the lockdown and who wasn’t. Read more
Coronavirus update: Delhi’s Mayur Vihar had locked its gates after first Covid-19 case
For nearly a week, the neighbourhoods of east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar Phase-1 have locked their gates to outsiders. The security guards of all apartments have been given strict instructions to not allow in any visitors, house helps or vendors distributing newspapers. Read more
Coronavirus update: Borders shut, migrant workers look for refuge in shelter homes
With rail and interstate bus services suspended due to Covid-19 outbreak, these labourers – most of them migrants – can neither return to their villages and towns, nor afford to pay for their food and shelter without work. Read more
Coronavirus update: Police up vigilance, say fewer trying to enter, leave Delhi
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a “complete lockdown” in the country for 21 days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, Delhi Police fanned out across the city on Wednesday in an attempt to keep people indoors. Read more
Coronavirus update: Supply chain hit, medicines might run out due to lockdown, says pharmacies
Small pharmacies in the city may soon run out of medicines and other essential medical supplies, say drug distributors in Delhi, who are unable to maintain a continuous supply chain since the lockdown has been imposed in phases since Sunday. Despite the government saying that people working in essential sectors be allowed to travel, staff from warehouses and stores have not been able to reach their workplace. Read more
How to cope with lockdown: Fix routine, stay connected
Living in lockdown can expose people to stress, anxiety and boredom, especially when the lockdown period is a few weeks long, shows research on the psychological impact of pandemics. While the disruption of routine exposes most people to anxiety, among the most vulnerable are front-line health workers who work through the lockdown and can develop depression, anxiety, hostility and somatisation (physical symptoms associated with mental distress). Read more
