Navy reports first outbreak as India registers 14,792 coronavirus cases, toll at 488; positive trend seen in 47 districts, says health ministry

On its fourth week into the coronavirus lockdown, the Union health ministry on Saturday reported a positive trend in 47 districts, however, the day sent alarm bells ringing for its military brass after 26 Indian Navy personnel tested positive at the strategically-located Western Naval Command in Mumbai.

This is first case of a major outbreak of the deadly virus in the armed forces, PTI said.

According to data from the Union health ministry, India reported 957 infections while 36 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 14,792 and the the toll from the virus to 488. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 12,289 while 2,014 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, the health ministry said.

India has been under lockdown since 25 March due to coronavirus. AP

Of the 488 people who have died so far, 75 percent seems to be of age 60 and above, the health ministry said on Saturday. According to the ministry, over 13 percent patients have recovered so far, while the mortality rate in India is  3.3 percent.

Globally, the virus's mortality rate has been higher with the virus killing 1,56,140 across the world while infecting 22,74,800 people at the time of publishing this report, according to data maintained by John Hopkins University.

As of Saturday, the US is the worst-affected by the virus with 7,06,856 testing positive and 37,087 deaths. Spain, which is the second-worst affected country in the world crossed 20,000 deaths on Saturday while confirmed infections reached 1,91,726.

Italy, another country, which has been hit hard by the virus has lost 22,745 people due to the infection. In France, 18,681 have died from the virus while the toll is 15,464 in the United Kingdom.

Gujarat reports 251 cases; Delhi sees dip in fresh cases

Meanwhile in India, Gujarat registered the highest single-day jump among all Indian states on Saturday with 251 people testing positive of COVID-19, overtaking Rajasthan which has 1,229 confirmed cases as of today.  Gujarat also reported the second-highest toll with 10 people losing their lives.

Except for Madhya Pradesh, which reported 191 new patients and 12 deaths, several of the five worst-affected states seemed to fare comparatively better on Saturday.

Maharashtra which has 3,323 cases, the highest in India, reported 118 new cases and seven deaths, while Delhi, which has the second highest confirmed infections registered 67 new cases taking the total to 1,707 cases. Confirmed cases have surged in the National Capital lately after the state government ramped up testing across Delhi. Four people died in Delhi till Saturday evening.

Though the health ministry reported no new infections in Tamil Nadu, which has fourth highest COVID-19 patients (1,323), state officials reported that 49 people have tested positive on Saturday.

Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, recorded a total of 969 cases as of Saturday. Telangana has 791 cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 603 and Kerala at 396.

One person died in Andhra Pradesh,  Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir each since Friday evening, according to the ministry data.

The number of novel coronavirus cases has risen to 371 in Karanataka, 328 in Jammu and Kashmir, 287 in West Bengal, 225 in Haryana and 202 in Punjab.

Bihar has reported 85 infection cases, while Odisha has 60 coronavirus cases.

Forty-two people were infected with the virus in Uttarakhand, while Himachal Pradesh has 38 cases. Chhattisgarh has 36 cases and Assam has registered 35 cases each.

Jharkhand has 33 cases, Chandigarh has 21 cases and Ladakh has 18, while 12 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has reported 11 cases while Goa and Puducherry have reported seven COVID-19 infections each. Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

Maharashtra accounts for 201 of 488 deaths in India

Of the total 488 deaths, Maharashtra tops the list with 201 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 69, Gujarat at 48 and Delhi at 42 and Telangana at 18.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reported 15 deaths each till Saturday while Uttar Pradesh has reported 14 fatalities.

Punjab and Karnataka have reported 13 deaths each.

Rajasthan has registered 11 deaths while West Bengal has reported 10 fatalities.

Five people have lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir while Kerala and Haryana have recorded three deaths each. Jharkhand and Bihar have reported two deaths each.

Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry data.

75% deaths among those aged 6o and above, says health ministry

Meanwhile, the Union health ministry on Saturday said the mortality rate for COVID-19 cases in India is around 3.3 percent, while over 13 percent patients have recovered so far.

Addressing a daily media briefing about the novel coronavirus situation in the country, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said data indicates that of the people who died due the infection 14.4 percent were between 0-45 years, 10.3 percent between 45-60 years, 33.1 percent between 60-75 years and 42.2 percent were aged 75 and above.

"We saw that 75.3 per cent deaths were among those aged 60 or above and in 83 per cent cases there were co-morbidities," he said and reiterated that the elderly and those with co-morbid conditions are at high risk.

About containment strategies implemented along with the lockdown, Agarwal said field-level actions are fetching positive results in several places.

"A positive trend has been noted in 47 districts of 23 states and Union Territories. Kodaggu in Karnataka is a new district added to this list along with Mahe in Puducherry that has not reported any fresh cases during the last 28 days," the official said.

Twenty-two new districts in 12 states have not reported any fresh case in the last 14 days. These districts include Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur and Gopalganj in Bihar, Udaipur and Dholpur in Rajasthan, Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, Rohtak in Haryana and Vishakhaptnam in Andhra Pradesh, Agarwal said.

He, however, stated that Patna in Bihar, Nadia in West Bengal and Panipat in Haryana where there were no COVID-19 positive cases in the first two weeks, have now reported incidents of the infection.

Ludhiana ACP dies of COVID-19

On Saturday, a 52-year-old Ludhiana assistant commissioner of police, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a private hospital, died from the disease.

ACP (North) Anil Kohli breathed his last at the SPS Hospital, Ludhiana, Civil Surgeon Rajesh Bagga said.

On Friday, the Punjab government had given its go-ahead to the hospital to conduct plasma therapy on the police officer.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced Rs 50 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased. He said a similar amount will be paid to the family of any officer who dies in the line of duty due to coronavirus.

Representational image. AP

The officer had tested positive for coronavirus on 12 April. His wife, a security guard and a station house officer tested positive on Friday.

Govt approval compulsory for FDI from neighbouring countries, including China

The government has amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to discourage opportunistic investment in Indian companies by neighbouring countries, including China, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The amendment specifies that transfer of ownership of Indian companies arising out of FDI investments from neighbouring countries will now also be subject to government approval. Similar FDI restrictions were earlier placed on Pakistan and Bangladesh.

With inputs from PTI

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3etXnSJ
FP Staff