India’s Covid-19 count crossed 3,000 on Friday, primarily driven up by the detection of hundreds of patients who attended Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat’s gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in March. At least 647 people among the thousands who attended the congregation have been found Covid-19 positive, the government said. With the virus having a deep impact on the economy, businesses are expecting the government to roll out a fiscal package of the same magnitude as the one unveiled by the US (equivalent to around 10 per cent of GDP). They are also hoping the Centre and states, various administrative departments and companies and utilities owned by states will expedite payments owed to them.
India’s Covid-19 cases go up to 3k, largely driven by Tablighi Jamaat attendees
The jump in infections – from 2,520 on Thursday to 3,066 on Friday – is largely driven by the diagnosis of hundreds of patients who attended the congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary group, in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin last month in a violation of several restrictions. Read more.
PM Modi pushes symbolic measure to deal with Covid-19, government does substantive review
In a symbolic move on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday gave a call to citizens to switch off the lights in their homes and light oil lamps, candles, and flash their mobile phone torches on April 5 at 9pm, for nine minutes. Read more.
Scientists, regulators do double shifts to keep up
{{/usCountry}}Scientists, regulators do double shifts to keep up
{{/usCountry}}In February, a small team of 24 people in the R&D division of Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions started working 24x7 to develop a kit to test for Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (Covid-19), when it became obvious that no country would escape unscathed. Read more.
Covid-19: What you need to know today
On Friday, news reports in the US said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was considering asking all Americans to wear masks, even if made only of cloth, when they went out. Read more.
As states struggle to distribute ration, demand for work surges
Sita Kumari, 26, visits the local ration shop daily to get her family’s share of government-subsidised foodgrains under the public distribution system. Everyday she returns home empty-handed. Although the Jharkhand government has announced the distribution of subsidised rations for April and May together, her family hasn’t received theirs even for March. Read more.
900k people, 241 zones: Mumbai’s mega plan to fight Covid-19
The worst Covid-19-affected city in India has activated 474 teams across 241 containment zones and checked at least 900,000 people as part of its plan to stop the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus through human-to-human contact. Read more.
Amid Covid-19 crisis, Indian firms hope for quick payments of dues by govt
India’s businesses are expecting the government to roll out a fiscal relief and stimulus package of the same magnitude as the one unveiled by the US -- equivalent to around 10% of GDP -- but are also hoping the Centre and states, various administrative departments, state-owned companies and utilities will accelerate payments owed to them as they battle an economic crisis of never-seen-before proportions. Read more.
Coronavirus-infected woman delivers healthy baby boy at AIIMS Delhi
A woman diagnosed with Covid-19 on Thursday delivered a healthy baby boy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Friday afternoon. She is married to a 28-year-old senior resident from the physiology department, who also tested positive for the viral infection on the same day. Read more.
Lockdown does what decades of schemes couldn’t: Clean Ganga
The nationwide 21-day lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is doing what ambitious schemes could not do over the decades—cleaning the Ganga. Read more.
Anxiety and a lot of time to study for students stuck in coaching hub Kota
Rashi Todani, 19, one of the around-40,000 students stranded in the coaching hub of Kota, sees a silver lining to the nationwide lockdown. Read more.
Covid-19 update: How offices, malls have turned sleepy due to lockdown
Indians have reduced visits to recreational and retail spots such as restaurants, malls and movie theatres by 77% following the lockdown over the Covid-19 pandemic, movement at mass transit stations has dropped 71% while movement in places of residence has increased by 22%, according to an analysis of location data published by internet search giant Google on Friday. Read more.
‘Action will follow if platforms don’t act against fake news’: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has warned of strict action against those spreading fake news about the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Prasad also spoke about the 21-day lockdown imposed to halt the pandemic, delivery of essential supplies and other related issues. Read more.
From Joginder Sharma to Gagan Ajit Singh: Former India athletes on COVID-19 frontline
Former boxer Akhil Kumar was sitting in his official vehicle on the Delhi-Jaipur highway when he noticed a family of migrant workers walking with their luggage on their heads. Apart from the luggage, the man was also carrying his daughter in his arms. Read more.
Centre releases Rs 17,287 crore to states
The Union government on Friday released Rs 17,287 crore to the states a day after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video conference on which cash-strapped states urgently sought funds to combat the disease coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and its aftermath. Read more.
Coronavirus in Kerala: How a young IAS officer helped Pathanamthitta fight Covid-19
Pathanamthitta, a hilly district in central Travancore region in Kerala and home to the Sabarimala shrine was among the first sites in the country where coronavirus spread after a family that had returned from Italy tested positive for Covid-19 in early March. Read more.