Coronavirus latest developments: Over 1,900 positive cases in India
389 linked to Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi test positive
India’s Covid-19 count stood at 1,996 at 11.45pm on Wednesday, having galloped from close to 1,000 to nearly double that number in four days. As many as 388 new infections were reported on Wednesday — up from 315 on Tuesday — as Tamil Nadu registered a three-figure number for the second straight day and Andhra Pradesh more than doubled its count overnight. Mumbai recorded as many as six Covid-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours on Wednesday although local authorities have confirmed only two. The death toll due to Covid-19 in the country has gone up to 57, as per data shared by various states. Of this, the health ministry has confirmed 41 deaths.
Tablighi Jamaat event responsible for rise in cases: Union health ministry
As per Union health ministry travellers who attended a gathering at a Delhi mosque are to be held responsible for the sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. The TJ event was held in the capital between 13-15 March and attended by thousands including foreign nationals. Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on Wednesday asked states to complete contact tracing of all Tablighi Jamaat members who attended events at the outfit’s Nizamuddin headquarters on a war footing and highlighted the risk it posed to efforts for containment of Covid-19.
Centre asks states, UTs to create mechanism for people to verify facts
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has asked Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories to create a mechanism at state-level where people can verify facts and unverified news promptly, similar to the web portal being created by the government of India. It may be noted that the Supreme Court had sought a status report on the steps taken by the government of India to contain the spread of COVID-19. The court has also given directions on taking effective measures to check circulation of the fake news.
WORLD
World neared one million cases
A six-week-old baby died of COVID-19 as coronavirus infections around the world neared one million Wednesday.
More than 900,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and nearly 46,000 have died since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, according to an AFP tally. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), said the number would hit one million “in the next few days.”
America records highest number of cases
Cases in the United States soared, rising to more than 213,000, the most anywhere in the world. The death toll in the US over the past 24 hours was a new one-day record of 884, and new known cases exceeded 25,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University database. The US numbers continued to outpace the rest of the globe, though Washington made clear it believes China, with a reported 82,000 cases, is deliberately masking its figures. Densely populated New York continued to be the US epicenter. Across the city, refrigerated trucks grimly parked outside hospitals to deal with the surge in bodies.
Italy records highest number of Covid-19 deaths
Italy’s death toll, the highest in the world, climbed past 13,000, and the government extended its lockdown until April 13. Italy’s mortality rate is around 10.2 per cent in comparison with 4.2 per cent or less elsewhere, based on World Health Organization figures. But the daily rise in the number of deaths was sharply down on Tuesday’s figure of 837, confirming a declining trend. Two weeks ago, infections were rising at between three and four times that rate.
Young not safe either
The victims of the new coronavirus have been disproportionately elderly, but a number of recent cases have highlighted that the disease can befall even youngsters with seemingly strong immune systems.
The dead have included a 13-year-old in France, a 12-year-old in Belgium and 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdullah in Britain, whose family said the “gentle and kind” boy had no underlying health issues.
World economy may shrink by almost 1 per cent
A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs on Wednesday said the global economy could shrink by almost 1 per cent this year because of the coronavirus pandemic instead of growing at a projected 2.5 per cent. The report warned that world output could contract even further from this year’s 0.9 per cent forecast if restrictions on economic activities extend to the third quarter of the year, and if fiscal responses fail to support income and consumer spending. The negative effects of current economic restrictions in richer developed nations will soon spill over into developing countries which will see lower trade and investment, said the report.
Source : Times of India
HRD Minister : Students of Class 1 to 8th Promoted to Next Class
Coronavirus live updates: 01 April 2020