With 1,463 new cases, total number of COVID-19 rises to 28,380

As India battles COVID19 the corona cases on Monday soared to 28380 with 1463 new cases and 60 deaths reported in the last 24 hours as per the data shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday evening The total coronavirus cases in India are inclusive of 6361 cured and discharged patients one migrated and 886 deaths At present there are 21132 active COVID19 cases in the countryLav Agarwal Joint Secretary Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry here on Monday said that 16 districts in the country which earlier had cases have not reported any fresh case for the last 28 days The three new districts which got added to this list are Gondia in Maharashtra Devangere in Karnataka and Lakhisarai in Bihar Apart from that 85 districts in States and Union Territories have not reported any new cases in the last 14 days he saidMeanwhile the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR has advised the State governments to go for the RTPCR test which detects the virus early and is the best strategy to identify and isolate the individual The advisory with the subject line Advisory on Rapid Antibody Blood Tests Regarding states ICMR advocates that RTPCR throatnasal swab test is the best use for diagnosis of COVID19 RTPCR test detects the virus early and is the best strategy to identify and isolate the individualSeveral states have procured rapid antibody test kits and on their demand the ICMR has also provided these kits with clear instructions that they are to be used only for surveillance purpose Some States have raised issues regarding their performance during the testing exercise that they have undertaken The States have also been advised by the ICMR to stop using these kits procured from the two companies Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics and return them to be sent back to the suppliersThe Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday also asserted that not a single rupee was lost on rapid antibody test procurement After the receipt of some supplies the ICMR has again conducted quality checks on these kits in field conditions Based on the scientific assessment of their performance the order in question Wondfo along with the order in respect of another make found underperforming have been cancelledIt needs to be stressed that ICMR has not made any payment whatsoever in respect of these supplies Because of the due process followed not going for procurement with 100 per cent advance amount the Government of India does not stand to lose a single rupee said a press release from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Lockdown has yielded positive results as the country has managed to save thousands of lives in the past one and a half months said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday while interacting with Chief Ministers via video conference on the prevailing COVID19 situationLockdown has yielded positive results as the country has managed to save thousands of lives in the past one and a half months Indias population is comparable to that of the combined population of several countries The situation in many countries including India was almost similar at the start of March He however he warned that the danger of the virus is far from over and constant vigilance is of paramount importanceDuring the video conference various Chief Ministers put forth their views and suggestions to contain the coronavirus and mitigate the resultant woes Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy sought an economic package saying that majority of the Chief Ministers wanted the continuation of the lockdown after May 3 due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the countryMost of the Chief Ministers told the Prime Minister that the lockdown should continue and that some economic activity should be started slowly he said These Chief Ministers were of the view that the way in which cases are increasing there should be a cautious approach and the Prime Minister should take a call on the basis of their observation Even most of the BJPruled states CMs said that lockdown should be continued and economic activities should be started slowly said NarayanasamyIn a significant move Chief Justice of India CJI SA Bobde on Monday said that the apex court has given proper directions to the Centre to provide food shelter psychological counselling and other basic necessities to the needy people during the lockdownWe have given proper directions to the Central government to provide food shelter psychological counselling and other basic necessities to the needy people during this COVID19 lockdown CJI Bobde told reporters here He said that the judiciary is doing whatever it can at this time of crisisCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated 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