***CORONA VIRUS UPDATES***

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Two more COVID-19 deaths in Tamil Nadu take state toll to five

Tamil Nadu reported two more deaths due to the novel corona virus on Sunday taking the toll to five, PTI reported.

A total of 74 new confirmed cases were reported on Saturday, 73 of which were related to the mid-March Tablighi Jamaat conference in Delhi. This takes the total tally in the state to 485. 

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Two new cases emerge in Delhi Cancer Institute after nursing staffers test positive

Two more nursing staff at the Delhi State Cancer Institute have tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier, four staff members, including a doctor, at the hospital had tested positive for the infection.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that there are 435 coronavirus positive cases in the National Capital.

 

 

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26-member medical team from Thiruvananthapuram volunteers to help Kasaragod tackle high COVID-19 cases

In order to tackle the shortage of medical staff in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the state government has sent a 26-member medical team from Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday morning.

The team of doctors, nurses and other medical staff from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College volunteered to help the teams in Kasaragod, Health Minister KK Shailaja said.

"The medical team and the district administration in Kasaragod are doing a great work tackling the pandemic. But there is a shortage of human resources and other staff under the present circumstances, as more cases are being reported there. I am happy to see that the medical team from Thiruvananthapuram has volunteered to go and help them," KK Shailaja said on Sunday, while wishing the medical team.

 

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Kerala's strategy to contain COVID-19 satisfactory: KK Shailaja

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said that the state's adopted strategy to curb the fast-spreading corona virus was "satisfactory". "We are yielding good results from our strategy for tracing, isolation, testing and treatment. PCR test is going on in 9 laboratories. We have tested more than 8000 samples so far, " said KK Shailaja.

 

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We want to implement Rapid Test in Kerala: Health Minister

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Sunday said that the state wanted to implement the Rapid Test for the novel coronavirus. "On Saturday, we got 2,000 kits. Right now, we have sufficient PPEs and N95 masks. If the number of Covid-19 cases increases in the coming weeks then we will need more equipment," said the health minister.

 

 

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Kerala launches 12 mobile supermarkets on to deliver essential suppies

Triveni Super Market in Thiruvananthapuram under Kerala State Co-operatives Consumers’ Federation Ltd (Consumerfed) has launched 12 mobile supermarkets on wheels to deliver essential commodities amid coronavirus lockdown. The market has also started home delivery of essential items. 

 

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34 new cases reported in Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh health department announced that 34 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the state, taking the state's total to 226.

 

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16,000 Workers To Screen Chennai Residents For COVID-19 From Today

Chennai:

In a first-of-its-kind massive drive to contain the spread of Coronavirus, the Tamil Nadu government will deploy 16,000 trained workers for a door-to-door screening across Chennai from today.

The trained workers who will be armed with personal protective equipment would submit daily reports keeping a 24x7 monitoring of Chennai residents.

With the help of these workers - who are largely associated with self help groups - the government plans to monitor residents in 10 lakh buildings round the clock over the next 90 days. Eighty-eight people have been infected with the virus in Chennai so far.

However, some residents were not happy with the idea of door-to-door screening. John Dulip, a Hong Kong based Executive who's elderly parents are in Chennai says, "What we are creating is a potential wave of carriers going from home to home and spreading the virus. I'm not at all comfortable with my elderly parents receiving unknown people into their home who have been in touch with other potentially infected people".

Tamil Nadu recorded two more COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, both having a connection to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, as it added a significant number of positive cases with history of travel to the national capital for the religious meet. Two more COVID-19 deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu today, taking the toll due to the disease in the state to five, the government said.

Another 73 people, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi, have tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the overall confirmed cases to 485, next only to Maharashtra with 635 infected persons.

"437 of them are Delhi attendees. Out of the 1,500 attendees, all 1,200 attendees have been tested and put on hospital isolation across the state," said Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh. Around 5,000 health officials have intensified their containment drive in districts, with a door-to-door screening of all houses in a 5-km radius around the house of every positive patient. Those with symptoms are put on home quarantine or hospital isolation and some tested too.

The larger challenge, however, is to trace the contacts of all 1,200 attendees who are likely to have got infected.

The remaining around 300 attendees are believed to be still in Delhi. It's not clear yet whether they have reported to authorities or have been put under isolation yet.

So far the state with a seven crore population has tested only 4,248 samples, largely international passengers and contacts of positive cases. 90,541 are on home isolation and 1,681 on hospital isolation.

Amid demands for more testing following fears of community spread which the government denies, Chief Minister K Palaniswami has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide sufficient number of test kits, ventilators, masks and a 9,000 crore assistancetro fight the pandemic.

Mr Palaniswami has also appealed to religious leaders to avoid giving a communal colour to Coronavirus and looking at positive patients with hatred. He also requested them to offer schools, colleges and other buildings under them to be used for isolation.

Meanwhile, the government imposed fresh curbs and announced curtailing the business hours of shops selling essential commodities by 90 minutes.

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3 more Covid-19 patients cured in Chhattisgarh

3 more Covid-19 patients have been cured and have fully recovered; 7 out of total 10 patients have recovered so far: Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo.

 

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Pune woman, declared brought dead, tests positive for COVID-19

A 60-year-old woman, who was brought dead at Pune's Sassoon Hospital on 3 April, has been found COVID-19 positive. She had earlier tested negative, Sassoon Hospital officials told ANI.

Meanwhile, 26 more found corona virus positive have been reported in Maharashtra, taking the state tally to 661.

Maharashtra: New cases in Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad

Over 25 fresh cases of Covid-19 are being reported from Maharashtra on Sunday. Pune accounts for 17 of these cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad for 4, Ahmednagar for 3, and Aurangabad for the remaining 2. With these cases, the total number of confirmed cases in the state stands at 661.

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Air India urges passengers of 4 flights to quarantine themselves as three test positive

Air India on Sunday informed that three of its passengers who travelled on four separate flights have tested positive for COVID-19. The airline issued advisories for passengers of the four flights, urging them to go into self-quarantine.

A passenger who flew by AI661 from Mumbai to Goa on 19 March has tested positive for the virus. Another passenger on AI883 which flew from Mumbai to Goa on 22 March 22 has also tested positive. 

Similarly, a passenger who travelled on AI101, which flew from Mumbai to Delhi on 20 March, and was also on board the AI 415 which flew from Delhi to Patna on 23 March has also tested positive for COVID-19.

 

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14 fresh COVID-19 cases in Gujarat take state tally to 122

The number of corona virus cases in Gujarat has jumped to 122 after 14 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, an official said on Sunday.

Of the 14 new cases, 10 are likely to have a direct link to the religious congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat at Nizam-mudin in Delhi in March, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said.

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Lockdown will end on April 15: UP CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the lockdown in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 will end on April 15, reported news agency PTI. "Have to ensure crowding does not take place," added the UP CM.

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UK announces first charter flights to evacuate British nationals

The United Kingdom will be operating seven charter flights to evacuate British nationals stranded in India due to the nationwide lock down. These flights will depart from Goa (April 8, 10 and 12), Mumbai (April 9 and 11) and New Delhi (April 9 and 11).

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Woman tests positive for Covid-19 in Punjab's Barnala

A 44-year-old woman with no apparent travel history on Sunday tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Punjab's Barnala. She is a resident of Sekha Road and has been shifted to an isolation ward.