NEW DELHI: India's count of coronavirus cases crossed 9,000 on Monday while the death toll went past 300 on a day when 796 fresh cases and as many as 35 deaths were reported from the states. Maharashtra contributed heavily to both figures even as five people succumbed to the disease in Delhi. Maharashtra reported 221 fresh cases and 22 deaths, both second-highest single-day figures for the state.

Here is a look at the latest news on the outbreak of coronavirus from India and around the world —

Italy's virus death toll tops 20,000

Italy's death toll from the novel coronavirus topped 20,000 on Monday but its number of critically ill patients dropped for the tenth successive day as its rate of infections slowed.

The 566 new deaths reported by the civil protection service takes Italy's fatalities total to 20,465 -- officially second in the world behind the United States.

COVID-19 is 10 times more deadly than swine flu: WHO

The novel coronavirus is 10 times more deadly than swine flu, also called H1N1, which caused a global pandemic in 2009, the World Health Organization said on Monday, calling for control measures to be lifted "slowly".

"We know that COVID-19 spreads fast, and we know that it is deadly, 10 times more deadly than the 2009 flu pandemic," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from Geneva.

SC says only persons covered under 'Ayushman Yojana' can be tested for free in pvt labs

The Supreme Court on Monday modified its April 8 order which asked private labs to conduct free COVID-19 tests and said the benefit will be available only to "economically weaker sections" who are covered under a government scheme such as the Ayushman Bharat.

The top court said it never intended to make testing free for those who can afford to pay.

It had on April 8 directed that private labs, which were allowed to charge Rs 4,500 for COVID-19 tests, would not charge for the tests observing that they need to be philanthropic in the hour of national crisis.

Tamil Nadu CM extends lockdown till Apr 30, announces doles for people

Chief minister K Palaniswami on Monday announced extension of the lockdown in Tamil Nadu till April 30 in line with states like Odisha and Telangana and said the move was in accordance with the recommendations of medical and public health experts.

In view of the continuation of curbs, rice ration card holders will get essential commodities, including rice, toor dhal, sugar and cooking oil free of cost for the month of May too, he said.

India reports 905 fresh cases of COVID-19, count mounts to 9,352

With 905 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country has reached 9,352 including 324 deaths, said the Union ministry of health on Monday.

Of the total 9,352 cases, as many as 980 people have recovered from the disease so far, said the ministry in its update on coronavirus.

As of now, India has 8,048 active coronavirus cases.

Visa, e-visa of stranded foreigners extended till Apr 30

The government on Monday extended on gratis basis the regular visa and e-visa of foreign nationals who are stranded in India due to COVID-19 till April 30, the Home Ministry said.

"Regular visa, e-visa or stay stipulation, of such foreign nationals who have been stranded in India because of spread of COVID-19 in many parts of the world, and due to consequent travel restrictions imposed by Indian authorities and whose visas have expired or would be expiring during February 1 (Midnight) to April 30 (Midnight), would be extended till April 30 (Midnight) on GRATIS basis, after making online application by the foreigner," a home ministry statement said.

746 coronavirus cases in Delhi are from Nizamuddin Markaz area, says Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday informed that 746 out of the 1,154 coronavirus cases in the national capital are from Markaz area in Nizamuddin, which emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot after hundreds of people who attended Tablighi Jamaat event last month tested positive for the virus.

PM Narendra Modi to address the nation at 10 am on Tuesday

On Tuesday, the 21-day, nation-wide lockdown announced by the Central government comes to end. It is expected that the lockdown will be extended for two more weeks.

Last week, PM Modi held a video conference with all the chief ministers and discussed the plan to tackle to ongoing crisis. During the meeting, several chief ministers had suggested that the lockdown should be extended.

Two surrendered Naxals join COVID-19 war

Two Naxals who surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district have extended a helping hand in the fight against coronavirus by preparing masks for police personnel and local people. Madkam Lakkha (31) and Reena Vekko (30), who worked with Naxals in the forests of south Bastar, surrendered before police in the last couple of years after realising that "violence brings nothing except pain". They have now joined the war against the coronavirus pandemic as they have realised that "helping people gives ultimate happiness". Over last 10 days, Lakkha and Vekko, along with a policeman, have stitched around 1,000 masks.

Union ministers, senior bureaucrats back at work, reports IANS

Almost all Central Ministers, Joint Secretaries and above rank officials resumed their work in their ministries concerned from Monday after a 19-day break due to the Covid-19 lockdown to put together plans for post-shutdown period to kick-start the economy. Most of the ministers and officials have been following the government's work-from-home protocols issued in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Besides the ministers, all officers of the joint-secretary level and above have been asked to be present in the ministries along with one-third of the essential staff from Monday, sources said.

RBI to use any means necessary to revive growth

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, was originally scheduled for March 31, April 1 and 3, 2020, but was advanced in view of the coronavirus pandemic. After the three-day meeting which ended on March 27, the RBI reduced the key policy rate by 75 basis points. As per the minutes of the MPC meet, released by the RBI, Das said the global macroeconomic situation has abruptly worsened in the last fortnight or so. All-out efforts are needed to mitigate the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the RBI will use any instrument necessary to revive growth and preserve financial stability, according to the minutes of the meeting.

19 more people, 3 new areas infected in Mumbai's Dharavi

Dharavi reported 19 more Covid-19 cases on Sunday with the novel coronavirus spreading into new slum pockets, where congested living spaces pose a containment challenge. The latest cases took the total number to 47 in Dharavi, a part of the city with far more slums than formal housing structures. So far five deaths have been reported from the area. Officials said that seven of the cases came from three different localities where no positive cases had been found before.

Karnataka hospital celebrates recovery of 4 corona patients

Karnataka's Chikkaballapura government hospital staff celebrated the recovery of four Covid-19 patients with bouquets and applause, medical education minister K Sudhakar said on Monday. The medical education minister shared a video showing a woman, followed by three mask-wearing men walking in a single line to receive their discharge farewell in the hospital. All four of them were presented a sapling and another unidentifiable package as they walked out. During the farewell, many hospital workers stood on either side to celebrate their recovery by clapping their hands.

Allow 16 sectors to resume ops: Industry dept to MHA

The department of promotion of industry and internal trade has sought opening up 16 manufacturing segments – from food and beverages to auto, steel and cement to plastics, paints and exports – where production has halted due to the lockdown, while suggesting a protocol that industries could follow once factories are back in operation. Government sources, however, cautioned that DPIIT had merely made a suggestion and there was no decision to end the lockdown.

Govt to expand Covid-19 testing to 'cold spots' with no cases yet

The districts that will be taken up for sampling are being identified and a combination of pool and rapid testing will be adopted to check for the presence of Covid-19. The move, besides providing additional clinical data of the disease, is also intended to respond to criticism that India is not testing enough and positive cases might be under-reported.

With Aarogya Setu app, India has shown the way, says World Bank

Citing the example of the app, a World Bank report released on Sunday said innovative solutions could greatly help educate and track contagion across the populations at large. Global tech majors Apple and Google said on Saturday that they were building a software into smartphones that would help in contact tracing and inform users whether they were in touch with Covid-19 infected persons.

Maharashtra may hand out anti-malaria drug as preventive medicine

The Maharashtra government is considering giving hydroxychloroquine sulphate (HCQS) tablets as a "preventive medicine" to slum residents at highest risk of the infection. A high-ranking state government official said suspected patients kept in quarantine centres in Dharavi were likely to be the first to receive HCQS-an antimalarial drug.

China's new coronavirus cases rise to near 6-week high

A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier and marking the highest number of cases since 143 cases were reported on March 5. The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China now stands at 82,160, while the death toll rose by two to 3,341.

Germany's coronavirus cases rise by 2,537, deaths by 126

Germany's number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen by 2,537 to 123,016, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday. That was lower than a 2,821 increase reported on Sunday, and marked the third decline after four days of increases.

'Trump asked why not allow coronavirus to wash over US' as toll passes 21,000

US President Donald Trump reportedly considered allowing the coronavirus pandemic to “wash over” America last month even as the death toll from Covid-19 infections in the US neared 21000 on Sunday, the highest among all countries but significantly less than what was feared. Infections across the country continued to rise beyond half a million, and for the first time in American history, all 50 states were declared disaster zones eligible for federal help despite the overall sense that the worst may be over in terms of deaths -- if mitigation measures hold.



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