The total number of coronavirus positive cases in India reached 18,985 after 1,329 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare saidon April 21. The government said that the recovery percentage for the COVID-19 infection stood at 17.48 per cent.
Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said that the government has issued detailed guidelines to all states that while the focus is on coronavirus, all other services need to be provided, be it for dialysis or HIV/cancer treatments. On the other hand, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan directed all states to ensure adequate availability of blood in blood banks across the country.
With 5,218 cases, Maharashtra still remains the worst affected state in the country followed by Delhi (2,081) and Gujarat (2,066). On Tuesday, fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Punjab among other states and UTs. With 251 deaths, Maharashtra has the highest fatality rate than any other state across the country.
In photo: People follow social distancing as they shop for essentials outside DMart in Powai.
The Indian Council of Medical Research advised all states to stop using COVID-19 rapid testing kits for time being owing to big variations in their results. The ICMR also said that it would issue an advisory in this regard in the next two days. In a heartwarming development, the government said that there is a total of 1.24 crore corona warriors available across the country.
After easing down the lockdown rules in green and orange zones on April 20, the Maharashtra government revoked the lockdown relaxations and exemptions for Mumbai and Pune regions as people violated norm and defied social distancing norms. The state government said that the remaining parts of the state will continue to have partial exemptions.
On Tuesday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that the mob lynching incident which took place in Maharashtra's Palghar area was unfortunate. He also said that people talking and raising question about law and order situation of the state is not good as the incident took place due to some rumours. Defending Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar said that the state government is doing whatever that can be done in this matter.
Making amendments in it earlier orders, the Maharashtra government, on Tuesday allowed the door to door delivery of newspapers in the state except in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the COVID-19 containment zones across the state. Delivery will be allowed under strict sanitation and prevention measures to be approved by respective district collectors.
In a bid to help the city fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Mumbai police thanked Bollywood director Rohit Shetty, for facilitating eight hotels across the city for the front line workers. The hotels will be used by on-duty corona warriors to rest, shower and change with arrangements for breakfast and dinner.
By the end of Day 6 of the extended lockdown in Mumbai, a total of 12 new coronavirus positive cases were reported from Mumbai's Dharavi area. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Dharavi stood at 179 with 12 deaths taking place in the area.
In photo: A labourer snapped while taking nap on iron rods at an industrial area in Mumbai's Cotton Green area.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra Police said that 11 police officers and 38 other policemen have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the state. The police also informed that 60,005 cases have been registered for lockdown violations while 13,381 people have been arrested. The Maharashtra police also arrested 411 people in cases of assault on policemen across the state.
In an unprecedented move, the Thane police in its own unique way were seen performing 'aarti' of people who were out on the streets for a morning walk amid lockdown in the city. While a woman police officer was seen performing 'aarti' of the violators, another police police officer was seen explaining the consequences of defying lockdown.
A total of 25 people of an hospital staff including 19 nurses, three clinical assistants and three support staff tested positive for COVID-19 at Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the clinic said that all members of the hospital are asymptomatic and stable. He also said that the hospital is screening every patient, visitor and staff for COVID-19.
In photo: On-lookers clap and applaud Malbar Hill police personnel as they conduct a flag march at Walkeshwar in South Mumbai.
In a shocking incident, a man who had been kept in quarantine at the Lake View hospital building in Ranchi committed suicide after jumping from the third floor of the building. The person was rushed to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) trauma centre following the incident where he succumbed to his injuries.
After announcing an insurance scheme for various personnel deployed for the management and containment of coronavirus, the West Bengal government extended the insurance scheme to accredited journalists in view of coronavirus outbreak. To date, West Bengal has reported 274 positive cases of COVID-19 with 15 deaths taking place in the state.
In photo: A woman police personnel waves at the crowd during the flag march at Walkeshwar in South Mumbai.
The total number of containment zones in Delhi rose to 87 after three new containment zones emerged in the national capital. The three new containment zones include Gali No 2, 3 and 4 of Devli Extension, Shiv Mandir Wali Gali, Harsha Vihar, Hari Nagar Extension and Gali No 3, Krishna Puri, Main Road Mandavali.
The Central government said that its has deployed about 15,000 AYUSH professionals across 17 states and Union Territories to help combat COVID-19. The Centre also said that more than one lakh AYUSH professionals and 55,000 AYUSH students have been trained and are ready for deployment to help the country manage the coronavirus crisis.
In photo: A Malbar Hill police constable sanitises himself before joining duty at Walkeshwar in South Mumbai.
In an untoward incident, a major fire broke out at a hotel in Mumbai which was used as a quarantine centre to treat COVID-19 patients. The fire place rook place at Rippon Hotel situated on Bellasis Road in South Mumbai's Nagpada area.
The ground-plus three structure housed nearly 25 COVID-19 patients for over a week as the hotel was used as a makeshift quarantine centre amid total lockdown across the city. All the COVID-19 patients were successfuly taken to a place of safety as the fire brigade officials undertook rescue operations.
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