@CMOMaharashtra tweeted:

'Cluster containment action plan' has been activated in zones where Corona positive patients have been found.

Four policemen were injured when a group of people allegedly attacked them with stones after being asked not to gather for Friday prayers at a mosque in Hubballi in north Karnataka, a top police official said.

Some among the crowd also were injured in the incident, Hubballi Police commissioner R Dileep said without elaborating.

"Today the prayers were called in certain prayer halls and people had gathered there. Police on rounds requested them not to gather because of the order of the government and to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease but some people got sentimental about it," Dileep said.

The leaders of their community came there and persuaded the agitated people to exercise restraint saying police were performing their duties and they should not obstruct them.

"But in spite of it, some people got agitated and hurled some stones, in which four (police personnel) persons were injured. They got minor injuries. They are back on duty. There is nothing alarming and equally some people from their community got injured," the commissioner said.

Presently the situation was peaceful because of the efforts of police and community leaders, he said adding patrolling was on.  -- PTI

The Union government on Friday asked states and Union Territories to ensure smooth harvesting and sowing operations, saying agricultural activities were exempted from the 21-day lockdown enforced to combat coronavirus.

In a communication to all states and UTs, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the farming operations by farmers, farm workers and procurement of agricultural productions are exempted from the nationwide lockdown.

Bhalla said the home ministry has allowed agricultural operations, keeping in view the harvesting and sowing season.

He said though exceptions have been allowed for farming operations by farmers and farm workers, procurement of agricultural productions, operation of mandis, movement of harvesting and sowing related machinery, etc., however, as per information received, these exceptions have not percolated down at the field level.

"With a view to ensure smooth harvesting and sowing operations, while maintaining social distancing, it is requested that the exceptions allowed for agriculture sector must be communicated to all field agencies," he said.

The lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic.  -- PTI

The management of waste from COVID-19 isolation wards and quarantine camps is now part of 'essential services'.

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the central pollution watchdog CPCB has included the services of common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities (CBWTF) associated with management of waste from COVID-19 isolation wards and quarantine camps under 'essential services'.

"CPCB has received some references regarding difficulties in operation of handling bio-medical wastes," the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said.

"It is, therefore, advised that services of Common Biomedical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities (CBWTF) and staff associated with CBWTFs for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste generated from hospitals including COVID-19 isolation wards, quarantine camps etc. may be considered an essential service as part of health infrastructure," it said in a notification, adding that necessary action be ensured to facilitate smooth operations of CBWTFs.

Earlier, the pollution control body had issued guidelines for disposal of COVID-19 waste, asking all healthcare centres to keep separate colour-coded bins or containers in wards and maintain proper segregation of waste as per Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 as amended, and CPCB guidelines for implementation of BMW Management Rules.

The CPCB had said that the biomedical waste, if any, generated from quarantine centres/camps, should be collected separately in yellow coloured bags and bins.

In addition to mandatory labelling, bags/containers used for collecting biomedical waste from COVID-19 wards, should be labeled as 'COVID-19 Waste', the guidelines said, as the marking would enable of Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) to identify the waste easily for priority treatment and disposal immediately upon the receipt, it had said.   -- PTI

Air India on Friday said it has stopped bookings till April 30 and is awaiting a decision after April 14, when the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end.

Bookings have been stopped for both domestic and international routes. Domestic and international commercial flights in the country are suspended till April 14 amid the lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.

An airline spokesperson said bookings have now been closed till April 30 from Friday.

"We are awaiting a decision post April 14," the spokesperson added. On Thursday, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said airlines are free to take ticket bookings for any date after April 14.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown began on March 25.  -- PTI

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi over telephone to discuss various steps to deal with the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 50,000 lives globally.

The two leaders have been in touch ever since the coronavirus crisis started.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two discussed technological cooperation as well as the various steps to deal with the spread of the coronavirus," the Israeli PM's media adviser said in a statement.

Netanyahu had earlier reached out to Modi requesting him to approve and allow export of masks and pharmaceuticals to Israel.

The special request was made on March 13 after India decided to stop the export of these items to meet its own domestic requirements in view of the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

"I also spoke to the Prime Minister of India, my friend Narendra Modi. We are dependent on supply lines from various countries. We are looking into it all the time," Netanyahu had then said addressing a press conference.

Israel has so far reported at least 38 deaths and more than 7,030 infections.  -- PTI

The Election Commission on Friday said it is using its constitutional powers to defer Rajya Sabha polls to 18 seats beyond the terms of the retiring members, keeping in mind the health hazard involved due to coronavirus pandemic and the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Last month, the poll panel had deferred the March 26 Rajya Sabha elections citing threat of coronavirus, saying a decision will be taken after reviewing the situation.

While 17 members from six states are retiring on April 9, one from Meghalaya is retiring on April 12.

The 18 seats are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Meghalaya.

In a statement, the Commission said the electoral process necessarily involves movement and gathering of polling officials, agents of political parties, support officials and members of respective legislative assemblies on the poll day, which may put public safety at risk and create public health hazard.

'The commission has reviewed the current unforeseen situation of public health emergency and the feasibility of completing the poll process for the aforesaid election.

'The commission, after taking all facts and circumstances in view, is of considered view that continuing electoral process in the current environment may not be feasible in view of the restrictions for the maintenance of public safety and avoiding health hazard...,' the statement said.

The EC said the elections to the 28 seats cannot be completed within its 'scheduled term'.

'Commission invoking its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India read with section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 has further extended the period of election beyond the prescribed term(s) of above mentioned seats,' it said.

Elections to fill up 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament were to be held on March 26 though 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest.  -- PTI

With 478 cases reported in the last 24 hours, the highest spike so far, India's tally of positive coronavirus cases on Friday rose to 2,547 including 162 cured/discharged and 62 deaths, as per the latest data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 647 positive coronavirus cases have been reported so far from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin, the Centre said on Friday.

"A total of 647 cases of positive coronavirus cases have been reported from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

"The cases can be traced in Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh," added Aggarwal.

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.

An FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, in the national capital. -- ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday approved release of Rs 11,092 crore to all states under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF) for setting up quarantine facilities and arranging other facilities for checking the spread of coronavirus.

The home ministry said the fund has been approved following assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chief ministers during his video conference on Thursday.

The home minister has approved the release of Rs 11,092 crore under SDRMF to all states, a ministry statement said.

The Centre has released in advance its share of the first installment of SDRMF for 2020-21 amounting to Rs 11,092 crore with a view to augment funds available with the state governments.

This fund is allowed to be utilised for setting up quarantine facilities, sample collection and screening; setting up additional testing laboratories, cost of consumables; purchase of personal protection equipment for healthcare, municipal, police and fire authorities; purchase of thermal scanners, ventilators, air purifiers, and consumables for government hospitals, the statement said.   -- PTI 

Filmmaker Ekta Kapoor on Friday said she will be letting go of her one-year salary of Rs 2.5 crores so as to provide financial aid to her co-workers in her company Balaji Telefilms.

In view of coronavirus outbreak, film shoots have been suspended, which has severely impacted the lives of the daily wage workers in the industry.

Several Bollywood celebrities have come forward to help daily wage workers and Ekta has decided to do her bit.

'The impact of corona crisis is huge, unprecedented and multi-pronged. We all need to do things that will ease the hardships of people around us and of our country at large.

'It is my first and foremost responsibility to take care of the various freelancers and daily wage workers, who work at Balaji Telefilms and who are going to suffer immense losses due to no shootings in the current scenario and uncertainty over the indefinite period to follow,' Ekta said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The producer announced that she will forgo her salary to help her co-workers financially in this time of crisis.

'I would thus forsake my one year's salary that is Rs 2.5 crore at Balaji Telefilms so that my co-workers don't have to take a hit during this period of crisis and complete lockdown,' she said.  -- PTI

Six Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel have tested coronavirus positive in Maharashtra, officials said on Friday.

The personnel were posted at Kharghar adjoining Mumbai, a senior official said.

Five CISF personnel had tested coronavirus positive earlier, he added.

As of now there are 14 COVID-19 cases in Panvel Municipal Corporation area.

Kharghar comes under the civic body's jurisdiction.  -- PTI

The government on Friday asserted that there is no shortage of medicines in the country and it is taking steps to ensure all medical supplies are in place to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

The government is also paying full attention to the manufacturing and distribution of essential drugs as well as hospital devices, Union minister D V Sadanada Gowda tweeted on Friday.

The government of India is making sure that there's no dearth of medical supplies across the country during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilisers tweeted.

The government is making sure that all the essential medical supplies are in place to fight COVID-19.

As many as 62 lifeline Udan flights transported over 15.4 tons of essential medical supplies in last five days, he added. The government is also paying full attention to the manufacturing activities of essential items like pharmaceuticals and hospital devices.

For this over 200 units in SEZs are operational, Gowda said.

A Central Control Room has also been set up for close monitoring of the distribution of essential medical items and to address logistic related issues, he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the government had said that there was no shortage of medicines to combat COVID-19 outbreak.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has directed manufacturers to produce and maintain sufficient stocks of essential drugs at any point of time, it had added.

When asked about the availability of key drugs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in the country, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance Secretary-General Sudarshan Jain told PTI: "We have adequate stock of hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin. However, if the need arises, the companies are ready to ramp up the production capacity."

A spokesperson of drug firm Zydus Cadila, which manufactures hydroxychloroquine, in an email response to PTI on the availability of the drug, said: "The production of Hydroxychloroquine is being ramped up and it is available in adequate quantities. We are also ensuring that large supplies can be supplied to State and Central government."

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had earlier asked the manufacturers of FDC Lopinavir and Ritonavir (200mg+50 mg) Hydroxychloroquine 200mg & 400 mg, Azithromycin 250 mg & 500 mg and Paracetamol 500 mg to provide details about their availability.

Earlier on March 25, the NPPA in an order to the manufacturers of FDC- 'Lopinavir and Ritonavir, had directed them to maintain the stock-level of the FDC at, at least 2.20 crore tablets at any point of time and also to ensure its sufficient availability till further orders.  -- PTI

A 93-year old man, India's oldest COVID-19 survivor, and his wife were discharged from the government Medical College Hospital in  Kottayam on Friday, days after they fully recovered, in what is being dubbed by the medical community as a 'miracle cure', officials said.

Thomas Abraham and 88-year old Mariyamma have recovered after days of life-and-death battle against the deadly coronavirus since their admission to the hospital on March 9, officials said.

"They are fine now. The decision to discharge them was taken after their latest sample test also turned negative for coronavirus," a state government official said.

The couple hailing from Ranni village in Pathanamthitta district had contracted the virus from their son, daughter- in-law and grandson who returned from Italy last month.  -- PTI

In a bid to speed up tracking  of suspected coronavirus positive cases, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has declared the names and addresses of all the 36 COVID-19 patients in the city, officials said on Friday.

Ahmedabad is one of the 10 hotspots in the country identified by the Centre in terms of the rapid spread of COVID-19.

While the names and details of 29 patients were made public by the AMC on Thursday, details of seven others were declared on Friday, the officials said.

Of the 38 persons who have tested positive in Ahmedabad district so far, 36 are from Ahmedabad city alone.

The AMC officials said the move of declaring the names of the patients would help them in tracking those who might have contracted the infection from them.

"This will speed up the tracking and testing operation. It would help us in tracking the infected persons quickly and thereby stopping such people from being the carrier of the virus," medical officer of health at the AMC, Bhavin Solanki, said.

"Generally, we track the contacts of coronavirus positive patients to know if they were also infected. The other method is that people approach us proactively," he said.

"We have made the names public so that people, who may have come in the contact with the COVID-19 patients can go into isolation and inform us about further action," he said.

With seven more coronavirus positive cases since Thursday evening, the number of COVID-19 patients in Gujarat has gone up to 95 so far, while the death toll has climbed to eight, officials said.    -- PTI

A first information report has been filed against a 59-year-old man from southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj on his son's complaint that he was violating lockdown norms, police said on Friday.

In the FIR, filed on Wednesday at Vasant Kunj South police station, Abhishek (30) has said his father Virender Singh (59) does not follow the lockdown rules and keeps roaming in the area.

Abhishek said he lives in Rajokari area and works in an automobile company.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, 56 people have lost their lives and more than 2,300 have tested positive for the infection.  -- PTI

"The cases can be traced in Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh," added Aggarwal.

"Out of 12 deaths reported in the last 24 hours some are related to Tablighi Jamaat congregation," he added.

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.

An FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 in the national capital. -- PTI

"We did a survey and accordingly prepared a list of 986 sex workers living here and categorised them into 250 joints (groups of workers living together). Today, we distributed 250 kits," he said.

A Sewabharti volunteer, Sukhdev said, "Amid COVID-19 and lockdown, we have been providing food and ration to daily wagers. The situation here was very bad as there was no arrangement for food. So we made 250 kits for the 250 families. In every kit, there is 10 kg wheat, 5 kg rice, 2 kg rice, 1 kg sugar, cooking oil, tea leaves and spices."

"So this one kit can guarantee food for eight to ten days for five to six people. We have also given half kg of milk powder. We will contact them after a week and if required, we will distribute these kits to them again," he added. -- ANI

The Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of NDTV in a tax case which accused the company of money-laundering while raising funds abroad in 2007 for its non-news businesses.

The Supreme Court has refused to allow the Revenue Department to reopen an assessment that was decided years ago. Tax officials had sought this in 2015 alleging that NDTV had concealed facts and round-tripped money. The court today has disallowed that. 

With this the number of deaths in the country linked to COVID-19 is now at 56.

"336 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths have been reported since Thursday, thus taking the total number of confirmed cases to 2,301 and the number of deaths to 56 in the country," Aggarwal said.

In the last two days around 647 confirmed cases related to Tablighi Jamaat evacuees from Delhi's Nizamuddin area were found in 14 states - Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, the health secretary said.

157 patients have recovered from COVID-19 so far.

He also said that so far about 66,000 tests have been done with, 8,000 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours, the highest in a single day.

Aggarwal further said that Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has appealed to patients and their families not to create any obstacle in the path of doctors while they discharge their duties.

Expressing concerns over misbehaviour with doctors and medical staff, he said strict action will be taken in cases of attack on doctors and paramedical staff. -- ANI

In a video-conference with the Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of states/union territories, the president emphasized the need to ensure that no one remains hungry during the nationwide lockdown, enforced to check the spread of the virus. 

"In the conference there was unanimity that there is no scope for laxity or complacency in fighting the invisible enemy. In this context, the president noted with concern the incidents of attacks on doctors, health workers and police personnel in some parts of the country," it said. 

Affirming that people of the country have set an example by showing exemplary courage, discipline and solidarity in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, Kovind has expressed concern over two incidents, the gathering of migrant workers in Anand Vihar and the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin, both in Delhi, that caused a setback to the efforts, the statement said. 

Moreover, while ensuring that food and other essential items are made available to the needy, care has to be taken that no compromise is made on the question of social distancing, he added. -- PTI

The country's health ministry data shows a consistent downward trend in the rate of new cases and fatalities.According to the WHO daily situation report, Europe has confirmed 5,03,006 cases, which accounts for more than half of global cases. 

The continent has recorded over 33,000 deaths.Globally, the number of people infected with the coronavirus surpassed one million on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Of these, more than 53,000 have died. -- ANI

The NSE Nifty shed 170 points, or 2.06 per cent, to finish at 8,083.80. Axis Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, cracking over 9 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan, SBI, Maruti, HDFC and Asian Paints. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, ITC, ONGC, M&M and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers. -- PTI

"We are creating exclusive COVID-19 management hospitals in all districts of the state," State Health Minister told ANI.

Speaking about the hospital facility he visited, he said that the Dean plans to create a 500-bedded COVID-19 hospital. "The dean has a very good initiative where he is using robotic equipment in order to provide food and medicine to the patients. It is highly appreciable," he said.

"The staff over here was very energetic, enthusiastic and they are taking care of patients very well," he added.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday said that there are 2088 coronavirus positive cases in India out of which 156 have been cured/discharged. The death toll has reached 53 across the country. -- ANI

"We have been handling patients for several days now without any proper PPEs. We don't know who is carrying what disease. Several requests have been made to the authorities for PPEs, but they did not pay heed," one of the protesters, a group-D staff member at the south Kolkata hospital, said. 

Last week, too, nurses at Beliaghata ID hospital, another state-run facility in the city, had staged a demonstration over shortage of protective gears. Several nurses had said they would attend to the patients only after receiving (PPE) - masks, gloves and full body suits - following which hospital officials had promised to look into their demand. -- PTI

According to government sources, these countries include United Kingdom, Bangladesh Indonesia, Madagascar, Australia, Sweden, Ukraine etc.

The sources claimed that more than 40 per cent foreigners out of 960 came from Indonesia. 

"379 foreigners came from Indonesia for the Tablighi Jamaat event, followed by the United Kingdom (110), Malaysia (75) and Kyrgyzstan (77)," informed sources.

The Centre has cancelled visas of the 960 foreigners and also blacklisted them from entering into India in future as well.

"Government of India has cancelled Visa of these 960 foreigners and also blacklisted them from entering into India in future as well. Under the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Ministry of Home Affairs has blacklisted 960 foreigners, present in India on tourist visas, for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities," the government said in a press statement.

The MHA has also directed DGPs of all concerned states and Union territories and Delhi Police to take necessary legal action against all such violators, on priority, under relevant sections of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and Disaster Management Act, 2005. -- ANI

A total of 1,002,159 COVID-19 cases have been reported across more than 175 countries and territories with 51,485 deaths reported so far, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The US has reported more than 240,000 COVID-19 cases, the highest in the world, and over 6,000 people have died due to the disease. The death toll from the novel coronavirus reached staggering new levels in the United States on Thursday, as officials reported more than 1,000 deaths from the pandemic in a single day. 

In New York City, there were 49,707 COVID-19 cases, 10,590 hospitalisations and 1,562 deaths. Authorities have set up 45 new mobile morgues to handle the growing number of corpses. 

"I want to emphasise what I'm about to tell you is very, very important, but it does not in any way change the basic guidance that you've received now over many weeks,' New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. He said that while social distancing is very important and must be observed no matter what, "now we're adding a new important point, we're advising New Yorkers to wear a face covering when you go outside and will be near other people.' He said such a face covering could be a scarf, something made at home, a bandana but it does not need to be a professional surgical mask. 

"In fact, we don't want you to use the kinds of masks that our first responders need that our health care workers need. Don't use those can't be clearer, leave those alone, leave those to the people who need them the most who are saving lives," he said. 

The Mayor said residents can create a face covering with anything they have at home right and that will give protection to others. "The reason for this guidance is because the studies are showing that some asymptomatic people, some pre-symptomatic people appear to actually be transmitting this disease. We don't have perfect evidence; it doesn't conform with what the initial showed us weeks ago, but it does seem to be more and more evident," he said. "What that means is when you put on that face covering you're protecting everyone else. You're making sure that, you know, you don't inadvertently, if you happen to have this disease and you may not even know it, you don't end up giving it to someone else." -- PTI

Also read: 10 Ways to Survive the Lockdown

"We are looking to hire 10,000 people for our warehouses and last-mile delivery. This hiring will happen across all 26 cities that we are present in," bigbasket Vice President-Human Resources Tanuja Tewari told PTI. She added that the pressure is being felt across all cities with the challenges being higher in tier I cities. E-commerce companies have been struggling to deliver orders after the 21-day lockdown, imposed to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, came into effect from March 25. Even though the government has allowed delivery of essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment through e-commerce platforms, players have complained of their delivery staff being hassled by police. 

With local authorities shutting down warehouses and stopping trucks from crossing state borders, e-commerce players have seen their operations getting disrupted. The companies have resumed operations and working to complete pending orders. 

Some companies are giving people the option to cancel their orders, and are also delaying taking fresh orders to ensure the pending orders get delivered. Another challenge facing the industry is the availability of limited staff for warehouses and logistics. -- PTI

"Armed Forces are running six quarantine facilities at Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Hindon, Manesar and Chennai. 1,737 persons have been handled at these centres, of which 403 have been released so far," the MoD said in a statement.

It said that the armed forces have been working round-the-clock to provide medical and logistics support to the needy to contain COVID-19 pandemic and added that the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) has deployed its resources to aid the civilian authorities.

"Three positive COVID cases - two from Hindan and one from Manesar - were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital for further treatment. In addition, 15 other facilities are being kept ready as standby for use, if required," the statement said.

"Dedicated COVID-19 facilities including High Dependency Units, Intensive Care Unit beds are being prepared in 51 hospitals of the armed forces across the country. Some of these facilities are located at Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal near Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur," it added.

Five viral testing labs at armed forces hospitals, which can carry out COVID-19 tests, have also been made part of the national grid. -- ANI

Image: DGP J&K Dilbag Singh reviewed the quarantine facilities established by Police in Police Training School Kathua and Sher Kashmir Police Academy, in Udhampur on Wednesday. Pic: ANI

As per the health administration department, he was the "youngest corona positive child" in the country at the Kasturba Hospital.

On Sunday, the child will be examined again and further decision on his health will be taken ccording to the report.

The baby and his 26-year-old mother allegedly caught the virus after they were kept on a bed vacated by a COVID-19 patient.

They were first moved to Kurla Babha Hospital and were later shifted to Kasturba Hospital, which is the nodal centre for all coronavirus cases in Mumbai.

In Maharashtra, 335 people tested positive for the virus, which includes 42 cured, discharged or migrated and 16 deaths. It is to mention that Maharashtra is the worst-hit COVID-19 state in India. -- ANI

"Since COVID-19, we have responded to the crisis calmly and systematically, planning ahead and adjusting our measures as the situation changed," said Lee Hsien Loong in a Facebook post."We will close most workplace except for all essential services and key economic sectors. Food establishments, supermarkets, hospital, transport and key banking services will remain open," he added.

The petition, filed by social activists Harsh Mander and Anjali Bhardwaj, sought an immediate direction to the Central government for payment of basic minimum wages to migrant workers.

The plea said that the 21-day lockdown, imposed in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country, under the Disaster Management Act discriminated among the citizens. -- ANI

This comes a day after an FIR was registered against six persons from Tablighi Jamaat, who are quarantine at MMG District Hospital, for "walking around the ward without their trousers on and making lewd gestures towards the nurses".

"Women health workers and women police personnel will not be deployed to treat and provide security to Tablighi Jamaat attendees placed under quarantine," said the Uttar Pradesh government in a statement.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath invoked the National Security Act on six persons for misbehaving with the hospital staff and called them "enemies of humanity".

"They (accused) will not obey the law. Neither they will accept the system as they are the enemies of humanity. What they have done to women health workers is a heinous crime, they are being slapped with the NSA. We will not spare them," said Aditynath in a statement.

"An incident like Indore, where the doctors were attacked should not be seen anywhere in the state, for this, we will take whatever action is required by law," he added. -- ANI

"People who attended the Markaz tried to hide and run away. Will they achieve anything if they spread coronavirus to more and more people? This is a shameful act. People belonging to one religion are doing this. Even the doctors who went to treat them in Indore were attacked," Singh told ANI. "I also want to urge the maulanas and other religious leaders to stop such shameful acts. Such incidents only malign the image of the religion. If you have respect for your religion, you should immediately stop," he said.

Singh said that a complaint has been made to the police and they are investigating the incidents related to attacks, misbehaviors with medical professionals, etc.

"I talked to the superintendent of police and asked him to take strict actions. If you are infected, co-operate with the doctors and get treatment. Two people in Ghaziabad were treated and discharged. 

However, if someone violates the law, they will not be spared," he added.

Several people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin have tested positive in different parts of the country, following which hundreds have been identified and isolated, and search is on to locate the others.

This comes as the country is under lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed 56 lives and infected over 2,000 others. -- ANI

Hundred and fourty people tested positive for coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh on Friday including 108 who had attended a congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin, informed chief minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led government to media.

In the last 24 hours, the total number of people who have been tested positive has reached 161, the Chief Minister's Office further stated in a press statement .

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases across India were linked to the gathering, including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Friday said that there are 2088 coronavirus positive cases in India out of which 156 have been cured/discharged people. 

The death toll has reached 53 across the country. -- ANI

The anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, which are being considered by some for treating COVID-19, may increase the risk for dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, United States cardiologists have warned.

   

The researchers from Oregon Health & Science University and Indiana University recommend that clinicians treating COVID-19 patients with the malaria-antibiotic drug combination should consider monitoring those patients for ventricular arrhythmia.

 

The condition leads to the lower heart chambers beating quickly and irregularly, and can lead to cardiac arrest, they said.

 

In a paper published in the American College of Cardiology's Cardiology Magazine, the researchers noted that there are hundreds of drugs that can increase the risk for cardiac arrest.

 

However, they said, using two together in patients who are already at risk or critically ill could increase that risk further.

 

"While there is yet very little data regarding hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin's effectiveness as a treatment for COVID-19, some clinicians are considering combining them during this global pandemic," said Eric Stecker, the paper's lead author.

 

"If physicians use their best medical judgment and order this drug combination for coronavirus patients, we want them to be aware of potential adverse side effects," said Stecker, an associate professor at the OHSU School of Medicine.

 

The researchers recommend clinicians who treat COVID-19 patients with the drug combination also monitor patients for dangerous arrhythmias.

 

However, they acknowledged that limited resources could make monitoring a challenge.

 

"Until we have clinical outcome data supporting the benefit or harm of these medications, I would advocate for a cautious approach in using the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin," Stecker said. -- PTI

The study, published in the journal EBioMedicine, noted that when tested in mice, the PittCoVacc -- short for Pittsburgh Coronavirus Vaccine -- generated a surge of antibodies against the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, within two weeks of delivering it. 

"We had previous experience on SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2014. These two viruses, which are closely related to SARS-CoV-2, teach us that a particular protein, called a spike protein, is important for inducing immunity against the virus," said co-senior author Andrea Gambotto from the University of Pittsburgh in the US. 

"We knew exactly where to fight this new virus," Gambotto added. The scientists said, the vaccine described in the current study follows a more established approach, using lab-made pieces of viral protein to build immunity. They said it works the same way as current flu shots. In the study, the researchers also used a novel approach to deliver the drug, called a microneedle array, to increase potency. They said this array is a fingertip-sized patch of 400 tiny needles that delivers the spike protein pieces into the skin, where the immune reaction is strongest. According to the scientists, the patch goes on like a Band-Aid and then the needles, made entirely of sugar and the protein pieces, simply dissolve into the skin. "We developed this to build on the original scratch method used to deliver the smallpox vaccine to the skin, but as a high-tech version that is more efficient and reproducible patient to patient," said co-senior author Louis Falo from the University of Pittsburgh. "And it's actually pretty painless -- it feels kind of like Velcro," Falo said.

On Thursday, the country recorded 6,156 new cases and 140 deaths.Most of the cases have been recorded in Bavaria (20,237), North Rhine-Westphalia (16,606) and Baden-Wurttemberg (16,059) while Berlin has 3,202 cases.Germany remains the third most affected country in Europe after Italy (1,15,242) and Spain (1,12,065) in terms of the number of COVID-19 patients, as per the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

According to the WHO daily situation report, Europe has confirmed 503 006 cases, which accounts for more than half of global cases. And continent has recorded over 33,000 deaths.

Globally, the number of people infected with the coronavirus surpassed 1 million on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Of these, more than 53,000 have died. -- ANI

People were left quite disappointed after Modijis speech delivered at 9 AM (on Friday), the Minority Affairs Minister said. People were expecting he would talk about what measures the Centre has taken for combating the COVID-19 outbreak, steps being taken to give relief to the affected people. But were instead told to light up lamps, he added. -- PTI

Ministry of Health Services said that Pakistan's coronavirus cases jumped to 2,450 on Friday. Thirty five people have died due to the pandemic, while 126 have recovered so far. 

It further reported that the largest province of Punjab registered 920, Sindh 783, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 311, Balochistan 169, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 190, Islamabad 68 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 9 cases. The number of cases were regularly on the rise in the country despite more than one week of partial lockdown to minimize movement of people. 

The government had earlier issued a notification limiting the number of people between three to five who can attend Friday and congregational prayers to fight the virus outbreak. The provincial and federal governments were also trying to convince people to stay away from mosques but without much success. 

The Sindh provincial government announced a complete lockdown from 12 noon to 3pm to stop people from attending the Friday prayers. Sindh's Local Government Minister Nasir Shah termed it as a "painful decision' taken with a heavy heart. "The mosques, however, will remain open where only three to five persons can perform Juma (Friday) prayers,' he said. -- PTI

The forecast assumes that the pandemic dissipates and full economic activity resumes from the second quarter of FY20.

The Asian Development Outlook 2020 forecasts a recovery in India's economy in FY21 with a growth of 6.2 per cent supported by government reform. India's economy recorded 5 per cent growth in FY19. ADO is ADB's annual flagship economic publication. "The COVID-19 pandemic jeopardises global growth and India's recovery. But India's macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound, and we expect the economy to recover strongly in the next fiscal year," said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada. 

"Indian authorities have acted swiftly to shore up the economy hit by the pandemic. Ongoing reforms to personal and corporate taxes and measures to strengthen agriculture and the rural economy and alleviate financial sector stress will help accelerate India's recovery.

Risks to the outlook are firmly on the downside. A prolonged pandemic will push the global economy into a deep recession and further slow Indian growth. If the virus spreads widely within India, economic activity will be severely constrained.In late March, the government took prompt action to strengthen the health system and support the poor and vulnerable. 

The Reserve Bank of India has cut its policy rate to the lowest ever and committed to using all instruments to fight the pandemic.

Government initiatives introduced in late FY19 and in the FY20 Budget will aid recovery and sustain growth in the coming years. Both urban and rural consumption will be supported by reduced personal income taxes and increased assistance to the agriculture sector and rural areas. -- ANI

The meeting is being held after 9 days of the completion of the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Earlier today, through a video message the Prime Minister had urged people to gather together for a unique exercise on April 5 at 9 pm to show they were together in the fight against coronavirus. --ANI

The Proteas, who returned from India on March 18, completed a 14-day period of self-isolation on Thursday, but will remain in lockdown for the next two weeks just like the rest of the country. 

The first match in Dharamsala on March 12 was washed out while the 

second and third games to be played in Lucknow and Kolkata -- on March 15 and 18 respectively -- were called off indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa is in the midst of a 21-day nationwide lockdown, which prohibits leaving home except to buy food or medicine and does not allow for any outdoor exercise. -- PTI

The ministry source said the athletes have been requested to spread awareness about social distancing through their social media pages. "The PM will ask them to pass across the message of maintaining the lockdown. He will urge them to post videos to keep people occupied," the source revealed. 

Cricketers form a major chunk of the participating list. Apart from Tendulkar, Ganguly and Kohli, others who are participating include World Cup-winning former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, former pacer Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and K L Rahul. Olympic silver-medallist shuttler P V Sindhu, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, chess wizard Viswanathan Anand, sprinter Hima Das, boxing stars M C Mary Kom and Amit Panghal, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, and teenage shooting sensation Manu Bhaker are among the other accomplished athletes who are participating in the video call. -- PTI

"The agenda of the conference was the status of COVID-19 in states, the role of the Red Cross with focus on vulnerable sections, and the role of civil society, voluntary organisations, private sector in complementing the efforts of the Union and State governments to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus," stated a press release.

"Dear (PM) Narendra Modi, We will listen to you and light diyas on April 5. But, in return, please listen to us and to the wise counsel of epidemiologists and economists," Chidambaram said. "What we expected from you today was FAP II, a generous livelihood support package for the poor, including for those categories of poor who were totally ignored by (Finance Minister) Nirmala Sitharaman on 25-3-2020," he said in a series of tweets. 

The former finance minister said every working man and woman, from business person to daily wage earner, also expected the prime minister to announce steps to arrest the economic slide and re-start the engines of economic growth. The people are disappointed on both counts, he said. 

"Symbolism is important, but serious thought to ideas and measures is equally important," Chidambaram said. -- PTI

The company further said its total two-wheeler sales were down 35 per cent at 2,10,976 units as compared to 3,23,538 units in the year-ago month. Domestic two-wheeler sales were at 98,412 units last month as against 2,20,213 units in March 2019, a decline of 55 per cent, it added. 

For the 2019-20, the two-wheeler maker reported 8 per cent dip in sales at 46,15,212 units as compared to 50,19,503 units in 2018-19. -- PTI

These people have attended a Jamaat event at Moradabad before travelling to Rampur and then towards Rudrapur.

Speaking to ANI, Ashok Kumar, DG (Law and Order) said, "A case has been registered against the people who were caught by the police team."

"The people belonging to the Jamaat have been quarantined. Out of these 13 people, three people were tested positive for COVID-19 last night," he added. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday said that there are 2,069 coronavirus positive cases in India, including 1,860 active cases, 156 cured/discharged/migrated people and 53 deaths. -- ANI

Modi on Friday urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country's "collective resolve" to defeat coronavirus. 

In a video message of over 11 minutes, Modi also asked people to maintain the "lakshman rekha" of social distancing by staying indoors and not getting together in groups during the exercise. 

"Listened to the Pradhan Showman. Nothing about how to ease people's pain, their burdens, their financial anxieties," Tharoor said, hitting out at the prime minister. 

"No vision of the future or sharing the issues he is weighing in deciding about the post-lockdown. Just a feel-good moment curated by India's Photo-Op PrimeMinister!" the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. PTI

The accused will be booked under the NSA, a statement by the Yogi Adityanath-led government read.

"During the lockdown, strict action will be taken against those who attack the police at any place in the state. They will be booked under the NSA," it said.

Earlier, Madhya Pradesh government had also warned of strict action against anyone found attacking the health workers or the policemen.In several parts of the country, the suspected COVID-19 patients along with locals are attacking health workers and policemen who are visiting their areas to collect blood samples for COVID-19 tests.

Yesterday, three people were detained after a group of miscreants pelted stones at officials in Rampur's Tanda area. -- ANI

"At-home solutions will now be worldwide for test takers who have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Both TOEFL and GRE will be taken at home till the situation is conducive for tests to be conducted at centres," Srikant Gopal, Executive Director of the TOEFL Program, told PTI. 

"Precautions are being taken to ensure that the tests students will take from home meet the highest standards for validity, reliability and security. These tests employ multiple best-in-class security measures that use both  real-time human monitoring and artificial intelligence technology," he added. 

The Test of English as a Foreign Language and Graduate Record Examinations, are crucial exams for admissions in top universities across the globe. 

The most important takeaway if you are indeed going to be following the PM's message for 9 pm, Sunday.  

"The key thing, at this hour, is that we all need to confine ourselves in homes. No one should come out on the streets. Please remember that maintaining social distancing is the most important thing to do," said Prime Minister Modi in a video message to the nation on the 9th day of the lockdown.

"Do not cross Lakshman Rekha of social distancing. Social distancing is not to be broken under any circumstances. This is the panacea for breaking the corona chain," he appealed people.In his address to the nation on March 24, the Prime Minister had announced a 21-day lockdown in the country to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, which has infected over 2,000 people in the country.

During the last "Mann Ki Baat" on COVID-19 related issue, the Prime Minister had apologised to the countrymen for taking the tough decision of complete lockdown. "My conscience says you will forgive me," he had said.

The two words may evoke fear and devastation in minds of others, but for the Raipur-based couple they symbolise triumph over hardships as the twins -- a boy and a girl -- were born during the ongoing coronavirus-enforced nationwide lockdown which has disrupted normal life. 

The names, they said, would remind them about all the hardships they conquered amid the lockdown, ahead of a successful delivery on the intervening night of March 26-27 at a government hospital here. 

However, the couple said they may change their decision later and rename their kids. I was blessed with the twins - a boy and a girl - in the early hours on March 27. We have named themCovid (boy) and Corona (girl) for now," Preeti Verma, the 27-old mother of the newborns, told PTI. 

"The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, me and my husband wanted to make the day memorable. "Indeed the virus is dangerous and life-threatening but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and inculcate other good habits. Thus, we thought about these names," she said, giving reasons for their unusual decision. 

"When the hospital staff also started calling the babies as Corona and Covid, we finally decided to name them after the pandemic," she said.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Guild said blaming the media at this juncture can only undermine the current work being done by it under trying circumstances. 

"The Editors Guild of India is deeply perturbed over the recent government statement before the Supreme Court putting the blame on the media for causing panic among migrant workers leading to their mass movement in the wake of the lockdown," the statement said. 

This led the apex court to observe that while it didn't want to inhibit the debate on the pandemic in any way, the media should refer to and publish the official version of the developments pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic, the Guild said in the statement issued Thursday night. 

The Guild stated that it holds the court in the highest respect, but finds this advice "gratuitous and unnecessary". Such charges can also obstruct in the process of dissemination of news during an unprecedented crisis facing the country, it said.  

"No democracy anywhere in the world is fighting the pandemic by gagging its media," it said. The Guild also hit out at the lodging of a First Information Report against the Editor-in-Chief of the website TheWire.  

"A police action in the form of an FIR under criminal laws at this stage is an overreaction and an act of intimidation," the Guild said. Any such intimidation of the media or blaming the media for mass migration of workers will be counterproductive, it said, adding that such actions will be tantamount to disabling the messenger. "The Guild believes for sure that the media must be responsible, free and fair. But such interference can only undermine those goals," the statement said. -- PTI

"I can tell by the curve that not every American is following it (social distance guidelines)," Birx said during the White House's daily coronavirus briefing.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the country is now leading the world with more than 2,42,000 confirmed cases and 5,850 deaths. Nearly 30,000 new cases were registered within the last 24 hours.

"When the president (Donald Trump) put out guidelines 16 days ago, that was serious. And you can see what happened subsequently. And you can see the number of individuals affected since then. The people we are seeing affected today - and in hospitals today - were infected after the guidelines went out," said Brix.

She further said that the upward trajectory in the US has compelled Trump to extend the social distancing guidelines for 30 days.At the Coronavirus taskforce briefing, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said that Trump administration will soon issue an order to crack down on the sale of COVID-19-related medical supplies in the black market, which has been driving the cost up for supplies. -- PTI

During the clanging of thalis, people came out en masse on the streets, even playing garba with their thalis, violating the whole purpose of social distancing. 

On Thursday, he had interacted with the Chief Ministers through video conferencing to discuss measures to combat COVID-19. He also thanked the states for supporting the decision of lockdown due to which India has achieved some success in limiting the spread of COVID-19. -- ANI

The World Bank has approved $1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 76 lives and infected 2,500 people in the country.

The World Bank's first set of aid projects, amounting to USD 1.9 billion, will assist 25 countries, and new operations are moving forward in over 40 nations using the fast-track process, the bank said on Thursday.

 

The largest chunk of the emergency financial assistance has gone to India.

 

"In India, $1 billion emergency financing will support better screening, contact tracing, and laboratory diagnostics; procure personal protective equipment; and set up new isolation wards," the World Bank said after its Board of Executive Directors approved the first set of emergency support operations for developing countries around the world, using a dedicated, fast-track facility for COVID-19 response.  

In South Asia, the World Bank also approved $200 million for Pakistan, $100 million for Afghanistan, $7.3 million for the Maldives and $128.6 million for Sri Lanka.

The World Bank said it was now working to grant up to $160 billion over the next 15 months to support measures to tackle the pandemic which will focus on the immediate health consequences and bolster economic recovery.

 

The broader economic program will aim to shorten the time to recovery, create conditions for growth, support small and medium enterprises, and help protect the poor and vulnerable.

 

There will be a strong poverty focus in these operations, with an emphasis on policy-based financing, and protecting the poorest households and the environment, it said.

 

"The World Bank Group is taking broad, fast action to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and we already have health response operations moving forward in over 65 countries," said World Bank Group President David Malpass. -- PTI

United States President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novel coronavirus for a second time and is "healthy" and not displaying any symptoms for the deadly disease, the White House physician has said.

 

Sean Conley, Trump's physician, did not provide any context for the second test. 

The doctor, however, said the president had been tested by a new rapid-point-of-care test that delivered results in 15 minutes.

 

"The President tested negative for COVID-19," Conley, said on Thursday in a memorandum to the White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.

 

"This morning, the President was tested again for COVID-19, utilising a new, rapid-point-of-care test capability. He is healthy and without symptoms. Sample collection took just one minute and results were reported back in 15 minutes," Conley said.

 

President Trump flashed a copy of his physician's memorandum to his press secretary during his daily White House news conference.

 "I did take a test. It just came out, this is from the White House physician," Trump said at the briefing while holding up the memo.

 

"You may have it, just came out. I just took it this morning. And I took it, it took me literally a minute to take it and it took me - I guess it was 14 or 15 minutes (for results). I went to work, I didn't wait for it, but it said it took 14 minutes or something with a conclusion and it said the President tested negative for COVID-19," he was quoted as saying by the US media.

 

Trump added that he had taken the test "really out of curiosity to see how quickly it worked, how fast it worked."

 

"It's a lot easier. I've done them both and the second one is much more pleasant," he said of his second test.

 

The president previously tested negative for the virus in mid-March after coming into contact with two persons who had tested positive. -- PTI

The global total of confirmed deaths from Covid-19 has passed 50,000, according to the tally of official figures maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

According to the research university based in the US state of Maryland, which has been running an interactive map tracking the progress of the pandemic, 50,230 people have so far died from Covid-19 since it was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late December.

Italy remains the country worst-affected by the outbreak with 13,915 deaths, followed by Spain with 10,003. The US is now the third worst-affected country with 5,316.