COVID-19 HIGHLIGHTS | Death toll reaches 15 as Saudi-returnee Gujarat woman succumbs; 2 new cases in Rajasthan, Andhra

The 85-year-old woman was admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on 22 March after showing symptoms, Gujarat health department said.

Published: 23rd March 2020 06:05 AM  |   Last Updated: 26th March 2020 07:51 AM   |  A+A-

On Wednesday, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat reported fresh cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases past 600.  (Photo | EPS)

By Online Desk

As India went into a complete lockdown for 21 days due to coronavirus outbreak from Tuesday midnight, the MHA issued a statement postponing the proposed National Population Register (NPR) exercise until further notice. 

On Wednesday, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat reported fresh cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases past 600. 

Minutes after PM's nationwide address, citizens across countries made a beeline to buy groceries and provisions. 

In some parts, police had to resort to lathi-charge to stop people from violating the lockdown protocol.

COVID-19: CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR STATE HERE

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05:37 Mar 26

Two fresh COVID-19 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh

The Director of Health and Family Welfare has informed that two new COVID-19 positive cases are detected in the state.

Now, there are 10 positive cases in the state.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS HERE

05:26 Mar 26

US will work alongside India to combat COVID-19 outbreak, says Alice Wells

Senior US diplomat Alice Wells on Thursday echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to keep fighting spirits high against the coronavirus pandemic, saying that United States will work alongside India to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

READ MORE ON THIS STORY HERE

05:19 Mar 26

Two new COVID-19 positive cases in Rajasthan

Two new COVID-19 positive cases were registered in Rajasthan taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 38 in the state.

MORE ON THIS HERE

02:39 Mar 26

Two fresh COVID-19 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh

The Director of Health and Family Welfare has informed that two new COVID-19 positive cases are detected in the state.

Now, there are 10 positive cases in the state. A 22-year-old man traveled from the US to Delhi on March 20. He was screened at Delhi on March 21 and reached Vijayawada on March 22.

01:24 Mar 26

Eight Thai nationals who were in touch with TN coronavirus victim quarantined 

Accompanied by two Madurai natives, they have visited several mosques in Madurai over the past two weeks.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

12:20 Mar 26

Second man recovers in TN

Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar on Wednesday said a 20-year-old male who had reported positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival from New Delhi was recovering well and would be discharged in a couple of days.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

11:59 Mar 25

Railway mulls offering its coaches, cabins as isolation wards 

It was discussed how railways' production units could be used to manufacture essential commodities for fighting the contagion like ventilators, beds, trolleys along with the proposal of using these coaches which are equipped with toilets as isolation wards, sources said.
READ FULL STORY HERE

11:27 Mar 25

Zero tolerance against black market: Jharkhand  CM

In a tweet, CM Hemant Soren asked all district Deputy Commissioners and other officials across the state to curb sale of commodities in black market as such problems from some districts were still coming in through the 24x7 state-level control room, introduced at Suchana Bhavan here.

11:18 Mar 25

Enough stock of food items to sustain lockdown: Assam

Addressing a press conference here, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Phani Bhusan Choudhury said the state will sail through the lockdown period with its food stock without considering the FCI's stock under National Food Security Act.

11:15 Mar 25

WATCH | No mercy for lockdown violators

11:03 Mar 25

Gujarat woman passes away

10:58 Mar 25

Two more test positive for COVID-19 in Chhattisgarh

Of the two, one was detected in Raipur district, and the other in Rajnandgaon district.

10:47 Mar 25

AIIMS to start teleconsultation facility for chronic patients

"AIIMS is going to start a teleconsultation facility. Our follow-up patients can consult doctors through telephone. Several patients had appointments that are now cancelled. Chronic patients can consult doctors through this facility," Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS Delhi said.

10:39 Mar 25

Centre asks retired doctors and healthcare workers to sign up

Curiously though, the government has been maintaining its stand that there is no community transmission of COVID-19 even though the number of new cases is now increasing by up to 100 every day.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:17 Mar 25

871 held in Kolkata for defying lockdown order

Earlier in the day, a woman allegedly tried to assault a policeman and bite him in Salt Lake area when her car was stopped for defying the lockdown.

10:16 Mar 25

WATCH | Karnataka, Kerala report fresh cases as India tally crosses 600

10:08 Mar 25

Cases in Gujarat rise to 39

On Wednesday, one new case was reported each from Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara, principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi told reporters here. Of these fresh infections, one patient has a history of travelling to Dubai in recent times, while the others are cases of local transmission of the viral disease, she said.

09:48 Mar 25

Two more test positive in Andhra Pradesh

09:46 Mar 25

COVID-19 positive MP scribe visited BJP HQ, attended Kamal Nath's press meet

According to health department and district administration sources, all those people who were present at the March 20 press conferences or had met the journalist are being traced and will be asked to self-quarantine at their homes.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

09:43 Mar 25

'Corona Watch' mobile app to track movement history of COVID-19 cases

The Karnataka government on Wednesday launched the 'Corona Watch' mobile application that can be downloaded from its official website, www.karnataka.gov.in. "In the application you can see the spots visited by positive patients upto 14 days prior to testing positive. Also it shows the nearest first respondent hospitals and helpline numbers," said a press statement issued. The identified list of first responder hospitals have been announced in the department website (https://karunadu.karnataka.gov.in/hfw ) for the benefit of public.

09:22 Mar 25

Karnataka sees 10 new COVID-19 cases taking tally to 51

The highest number of confirmed cases in the state are in Bengaluru with 32.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE NEW CASES HERE

07:59 Mar 25

Coronavirus updates from around the world

  • The Eurpoean continent continues to battle the pandemic with Spain surpassing China in COVID-19 related deaths.

  • As of Wednesday, more than 435,000 people across the globe have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 19,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. However, overall, more than 111,000 people have recovered from the deadly virus.

  • In yet another jolt to Europe, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, tested positive for coronavirus. The 71-year-old is showing mild symptoms of COVID-19 and is self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland, his Clarence House office said. It says his wife Camilla, 72, has tested negative. The Queen of England is, however, remains at her home in Windsor.

  • The White House and Congress agree on a USD 2 trillion emergency bill to rush aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • In New Zealand, the government declared an emergency before an unprecedented lockdown began.

  • Defying scientists and health experts, Brazil's Bolsonaro lashed out Tuesday at what he called "scorched-earth" quarantine policies to contain the coronavirus pandemic, saying they risked wrecking the economy. 

  • Bangladesh released jailed former prime minister and main opposition leader Khaleda Zia for six months on condition that she would stay at home, amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

 

07:45 Mar 25

WATCH | How India is shopping for essentials during the coronavirus during coronavirus lockdown

07:31 Mar 25

Parle to donate 3 crore packs of glucose biscuits through government agencies

The company said its manufacturing units are functioning with 50 per cent of workforce keeping with government advisories to curb escalation of the coronavirus outbreak, but it is working to ensure that sufficient quantity of its products are available in the market.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

07:23 Mar 25

Centre may announce Rs 1.5 lakh crore stimulus package to fight coronavirus: Report

India may announce an economic stimulus package of about Rs 1.5 lakh crore ($19.6 billion) to fight coronavirus in the country, according to a report. Centre has not yet finalised the package. The matter is under discussion among PMO, finance ministry and RBI, the report added. 

07:18 Mar 25
07:17 Mar 25

Hydroxychloroquine can be given only in specific cases, clarifies Health Ministry

Hydroxychloroquine can only be given to 2 particular cases for use as prophylaxis - healthcare workers, dealing with suspected/confirmed cases, and the first contacts of confirmed cases. No one else should use this: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secy, Health Ministry 

07:15 Mar 25

10 new cases reported in Karnataka

51 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka till now, including 10 new cases in the last 24 hours. Out of these cases, 3 people have been cured/discharged, while one has died due to the virus: Government of Karnataka.

07:10 Mar 25

Delhi reports five fresh cases

In the last 24 hours, there have been 5 new COVID19 cases in Delhi. One of them has foreign travel history. Now, the total number of cases rises to 35 in Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 

READ FULL STORY HERE

07:00 Mar 25

E-commerce services resume but Amazon, Flipkart to deliver only essential goods

After a temporary disruption in delivery services, e-commerce firms resumed their operations with the various state police authorities assuring security measures for their ground staff as well as reopening of their warehouses.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

06:59 Mar 25

Karnataka to give passes to 15 categories of staff, here's the full list

Two types of passes will be issued - one for persons and other for vehicles. The passes will be issued from the office of the jurisdictional DCP law and order and made available 24/7 on the submission of a standardized application form, said a memo signed by Bhaskar Rao, Commissioner of Police.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

06:57 Mar 25

Printing, circulation of newspapers to resume in Maharashtra from April 1

The newspaper services were halted after Mahrashtra government announced lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Industry Minister Subhash Desai with newspaper publishers and distributors.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

06:22 Mar 25
06:13 Mar 25

War against coronavirus will take 21 days: PM

Addressing people of his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi via video, he said the Mahabharata war was won in 18 days but this war against coronavirus will take 21 days. He was referring to the 21-day nation-wide lockdown announced by him on Tuesday.

READ FULL REPORT 

06:08 Mar 25

Bodo council offers free rations to 5.5 lakh poor families in Assam

 The Bodoland Territorial Council chief on Wednesday said, “We had a meeting where we decided to offer 21 days’ ration which will include 25 kg rice, two litres of mustard oil, 500 grams of dal (pulse) and a certain amount of salt to each poor family for the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modiji. The daily wagers are suffering. We thought we should help them.”

READ FULL REPORT HERE

06:06 Mar 25

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announces four months' advance salary for health personnel

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced four months' advance salary for doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff. The doctors, nurses and all health personnel across the state will receive their salaries for the months of April, May, June and July in the month of April, Patnaik said in a video message. 

06:00 Mar 25

WATCH | Namaste over handshake, doctors say: Precautions you must take against coronavirus

05:22 Mar 25

India may see up to 13 lakh cases of coronavirus by mid-May, scientists warn

The report, compiled by COV-IND-19 Study Group, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, said while India seems to have done well in controlling the number of confirmed cases compared to other countries like the US and Italy in the early phase of the pandemic, the country is critically missing a key component in this assessment -- the number of truly affected cases.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

05:06 Mar 25

Please bear with us, can't process welfare funds: IAF to its men

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Air Force (IAF)has told its personnel and their dependents that they cannot process various welfare schemes owing to lockdown and appealed to bear with them, a senior IAF officer said on Wednesday.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

05:01 Mar 25

Pan masala banned in UP

Uttar Pradesh government bans production, distribution and sale of pan masala in the entire state until further orders.
 

READ FULL STORY HERE

04:55 Mar 25

Cops forced to step in as visitors flock to Koyambedu veggie market despite COVID-19 lockdown

Though Market Management Committee (MMC) officials made announcements and asked the shops to close, it was of no avail. As a result, the cops were called in to erect barriers across the roads leading to the market and stopping two-wheelers and four-wheelers except those pertaining to the wholesale market.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

04:43 Mar 25

How Indians are breaking COVID-19 chain amid lockdown

Following the nationwide lockdown in the wake of threat posed by the spread of COVID-19, people across the country have begun practising social distancing among themselves, as a measure to curb the spread of the virus.

READ FULL REPORT

04:42 Mar 25

Ashwin uses 'mankad' moment to remind people about COVID-19 restrictions

READ FULL REPORT

04:40 Mar 25

Ordnance factories offer 285 beds in isolation wards across country

These beds are spread across the country with forty earmarked in hospitals at the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, thirty each at the Metal and Steel Factory Ishapore, Gun and Shell Factory Cossipore, Ammunition Factory Khadki, Ordnance Factory Kanpur, Ordnance Factory Khamaria and Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, 25 at Ordnance Factory Ambernath and 20 each at the Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi and Ordnance Factory Medak.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

04:35 Mar 25

Coronavirus healthcare workers need medical gloves but world's top producers cut workforce

Medical-grade glove supplies are running low globally, even as more feverish, sweating and coughing patients arrive in hospitals by the day.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:33 Mar 25

Updation of NPR, 1st phase of Census posponed

In view of COVID19 outbreak, the first phase of Census 2021 and the updation of National Population Register (NPR) postponed until further orders: Ministry of Home Affairs 

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:23 Mar 25

Prince Charles tests positive for COVID-19, confirms Clarence House

The Prince of Wales Charles tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, the Clarence House confirmed. A royal family spokesman said that the Duchess of Cornwall had also been tested but does not have the virus. 

04:10 Mar 25
04:09 Mar 25

For 80 crore people, rice will be available at Rs 3 per kg: Javadekar

There is no shortage of essential commodities and rice will be available at Rs 3 per kg instead of Rs 37 per kg, says Union minister Prakash Javadekar 

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:07 Mar 25

Lockdown may cost India Rs 9 lakh crore

Experts have predicted that the Covid-19 lockdown may cost India a whooping USD 120 billion (approximately Rs 9 lakh crore) or 4 per cent of the GDP. "We estimate that the cumulative shutdown cost around USD120 billion or 4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP)," British brokerage Barclays said in a note, revising down its FY21 growth forecast by 1.7 percentage points to 3.5 per cent. 

READ FULL STORY HERE

03:55 Mar 25

Updates from Tamil Nadu lockdown

 

03:53 Mar 25

WATCH | Cops across country catch hold of curfew violators

03:47 Mar 25

Kerala cops crack down on lockdown violators, threaten to cancel vehicle registration

In the initial hours of Tuesday, the first day of the lockdown, the cops here chose to play it soft, requesting commuters venturing out in private vehicles without any valid reason to return home.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

03:44 Mar 25

Microsoft will get out of coronavirus crisis 'pretty strong': Nadella

In an interview to CNBC, Nadella said the big question would be whether the demand holds up in the US and Europe and other developed markets badly hit by the pandemic.

READ FULL REPORT

03:24 Mar 25

Journalist from Bhopal tests positive for COVID19

A journalist from Bhopal has tested positive for COVID-19. Following this, all the journalists in the city have been asked to stay in quarantine. The infected scribe had reportedly attended the recently held press conference by former MP chief minister by Kamal Nath.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

03:15 Mar 25

Mobile subscribers urged to use internet responsibly to free up infra for critical services

The plea from the Cellular Operators' Association of India comes at a time when data usage has surged nearly 30 per cent over the last few days in the wake of lockdowns, work-from-home and social distancing measures adopted to contain the spread of coronavirus.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

03:13 Mar 25

Coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess leaves Yokohama sans destination

The ship, which originally carried some 3,700 passengers and crew members, dominated international headlines as Japan's clumsy handling of its quarantine made it at one point the biggest cluster of coronavirus carriers outside China.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

03:02 Mar 25

Railways in Bihar losing Rs 9 crore per day after cancellation of trains over COVID-19

 According to official sources, a total of 274 mail and express trains and 389 passengers trains under the jurisdiction of the ECR have been cancelled with effect from March 22 to 23 respectively in a move to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection due to close proximity amongst passengers.

READ FULL REPORT

03:00 Mar 25

Vivo India donates over one lakh masks to healthcare workers in Maharashtra

Smartphone maker Vivo India on Wednesday donated over one lakh masks to healthcare workers in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra reported five new coronavirus cases since Tuesday evening, taking the number of cases in the state to 112, the highest in the country so far.
 

02:56 Mar 25

Tamil Nadu reports 5 fresh cases

02:53 Mar 25

WATCH | Groceries, pharmacies, banks functional; Here's the full list of what stays open during India lockdown

02:47 Mar 25

Chennai corporation bans Zomato, Swiggy, allows e-groceries to home deliver

Home delivery of cooked food by online food delivery applications like Zomato and Swiggy, has been banned, according to an official statement by the Greater Chennai Corporation on Wednesday. However, the corporation has allowed e-commerce companies to home deliver essentials including grocery and vegetables, in the city.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

01:57 Mar 25

Quarantine everyone who returns to state, ex-Arunachal CM Tuki tells CM Khandu

Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has suggested that the state government ensure that every individual who returns to the state is quarantined. “It is important that we take great care to screen the students returning from various metro cities of India. My suggestion to the government is that we quarantine all those who come from outside the state until we get full assurance that they are free of coronavirus,” Tuki wrote in a letter to Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

01:31 Mar 25

MakeMyTrip top executives to draw 'zero salary' 

Online travel firm MakeMyTrip's top executives Deep kalra and Rajesh Magow have decided to draw 'zero salary' from April 2020, while the rest of its leadership team will take a reduction of around 50 per cent in their compensation amid the COVID-19 outbreak. (READ MORE)

01:31 Mar 25

E-commerce companies are now allowed to home deliver essentials like food, groceries among other items in Chennai

  • Ever since the lockdown began on Tuesday evening, numerous people, especially senior citizens, were in a fix as home delivery services shut in the city. They had to depend on neighbors or friends for food and grocery. This news comes as a blessing for more such people in the city.
  • "The companies must strictly follow protocols of contactless delivery. Employees must wear safety gear like masks, gloves and caps, right from the production to delivery," said corporation commissioner, G Prakash.
  • He added that companies that break these protocols at any point of inspection will be barred from delivering further. Also, cooked food distribution by an agency or a volunteer has been completely banned.
  • The civic body officials said anyone found guilty will be health with, by provisions of law.
01:14 Mar 25

Vaishno Devi shut in J&K

01:13 Mar 25

Maharashtra CM on coronavirus situation in state

"It is a war-like situation so I have compared this Coronavirus with war, when we are not aware of the enemy then the enemy will attack us, so we have to be aware as we cannot see this enemy. We have sufficient stock of essential commodities like vegetables, rice & other items of daily use, so there is no need to worry. All shops selling essential goods are open too. We will celebrate GudiPadwa once we tackle this crisis," said Uddhav Thackarey.
01:09 Mar 25

Hold ears and do sit-ups if you break rules

12:49 Mar 25

Northeast registers its second coronavirus case

A pastor with travel history to the Netherlands tests positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram.

(READ FULL REPORT HERE)

12:27 Mar 25

Four new positive cases in Rajasthan

Four new coronavirus cases have been reported in the state on Wednesday. Two of the four positive persons are members of the medical staff in Bhilwara. Total number of cases in the state rise to 36.
12:27 Mar 25

Punjab police distribute food to the needy

12:26 Mar 25

GoAir workers face pay cut due to aviation shutdown

All GoAir employees to have pay cut in March as we are left with no choice due to travel restrictions over coronavirus: CEO Vinay Dube

(READ FULL REPORT HERE)

12:22 Mar 25

Free meals served at the national capital

12:22 Mar 25

Second coronavirus death in Karnataka?

A 75-year-old COVID-19 patient from Gouribidanur, who returned from Mecca, died at Bowring Hospital at 1 pm. Suffered from diabetes, heartburn, Hip Fracture. Test results awaited to confirm cause of death.

12:21 Mar 25

BigBasket, Grofers and other delivery services suspend operations amidst lockdown

Delivery executives are being stopped and questioned by the police or in some cases they are even beaten up by the police, said the online grocery platforms. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

12:11 Mar 25

WATCH | Delhi government's presser on coronavirus situation in national capital

12:10 Mar 25

Lockdown visuals from Delhi, Chennai and Kozhikode by TNIE photojournalists

 

11:58 Mar 25

Four under home quarantine booked by Chennai police for disobedience

As the strict crackdown of people under home quarantine began, the Chennai city police have booked four persons within 24 hours for not staying inside their houses inspite of several warnings. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

11:51 Mar 25

Empty streets at Assam as lockdown kicks in

11:50 Mar 25

Social distancing followed at Union Cabinet meeting

11:49 Mar 25

US Senate, White House agree on a USD 2 trillion coronavirus rescue plan

Top White House aide Eric Ueland announced the agreement in a Capitol hallway shortly after midnight. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

11:46 Mar 25

Visuals from Kerala

11:45 Mar 25

Six Amazon warehouse workers test positive for coronavirus

Workers at facilities in New York City, Jacksonville, Florida, Sheperdsville, Kentucky, Katy, Texas, Brownstown, Michigan and Oklahoma City were infected with the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

11:36 Mar 25

Delhi L-G holds meeting with Kejriwal, Sisodia

11:28 Mar 25

Inspired by India, The New York Times calls for similar national lockdown in US

President Donald Trump indicated that he is unlikely to follow the suggestion of his medical advisors on a complete shutdown to tackle the coronavirus outbreak as he said such a move would have tremendous repercussions on the country's economy. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

11:20 Mar 25

Latest samples of 2 coronavirus patients hospitalised in Noida negative, one more test to go

  • Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh has so far recorded 11 positive cases of coronavirus, of which one person has already been discharged after treatment, district health officials said. 
  • "Two men were hospitalised at Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida when they tested positive for coronavirus. They underwent another test after 14 days and the result of that is negative. Now one more test will be done on them in 48 hours and if they again test negative for it then they will be discharged," Chief Medical Officer Anurag Bhargava told PTI.
  • By Tuesday evening, 362 samples were sent for coronavirus test from Gautam Buddh Nagar, of which 11 have resulted positive and 259 negative. Results for 93 samples were awaited, according to health department data.
  • As many as 148 people were kept isolated at quarantine facilities -- 99 at hospitals including GIMS and 49 at the Gautam Buddh University -- it stated, adding that 1,717 individuals were under surveillance for COVID-19.
11:18 Mar 25

UP government flags off vehicles carrying essential supplies

11:17 Mar 25

WHO calls India's lockdown 'comprehensive and robust', UN expresses solidarity

Globally, the death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 18,915 with more than 422,900 cases reported in over 165 countries and territories, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

11:07 Mar 25

Test reports of 49 people awaited in Chhattisgarh

Only one COVID-19 case has been reported in the state so far. The 24-year-old woman, who tested positive for the deadly virus on March 18, is recovering well while undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur, an official said. The government has strengthened the surveillance and control measures against the virus, he said.

10:51 Mar 25

Social distancing in Maharashtra

10:49 Mar 25

Not giving two hoots about lockdown in Hyderabad, people flood roads

Social distancing was completely disregarded by the people at grocery, milk and butcher shops as well as at supermarkets which remained open as they have been exempted from being shut. Only a handful of supermarkets followed the concept of social distancing by limiting the number of people who could enter the shops. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

10:47 Mar 25

Social distancing in Tamil Nadu's Vellore

10:45 Mar 25

Liquor outlets shut in Kerala

Kerala State Beverages Corporation not to open its liquor outlets from today in the wake of total lockdown declared across the country. State cabinet, which meets today, will decide for how long the outlets should remain shut.

10:44 Mar 25

Gujarat practices social distancing

10:43 Mar 25

Scenes from J&K

10:42 Mar 25

Three more confirmed cases in Gujarat

Three new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, total reaches 38: Health department.
10:01 Mar 25

Be humane towards your staff: MHA to private security agencies

09:59 Mar 25

Patient death in Delhi was not due to coronavirus

The second death which was reported in Delhi on Tuesday is COVID-19 negative: Union Health Ministry.
09:44 Mar 25

States asked to keep food processing units open

09:44 Mar 25

Stock markets open in green

Equity market indices Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Wednesday's trading session, in tandem with their global peers. BSE index Sensex gained 244.85 points to trade at 26,918.88 and Nifty up 80.85 points to 7,881.90 level, in early trade. (READ MORE)

09:44 Mar 25

Government tells states to keep an eye on rumour mongers

MHA has asked states and Union Territories to keep an eye on rumour mongers, including those related to shortage of food and other essential services and commodities. Asked also to take all measures to allay apprehensions & maintain peace & tranquility.
09:43 Mar 25

Noida residents practive social distancing

09:42 Mar 25

Five test positive in Indore

Five people test positive for #COVID19 in Indore. Of the five, four are residents of Indore and one of Ujjain: Health Officer Dr. Praveen Jadia.
09:38 Mar 25

277 Indians from Iran reach Jodhpur

277 people evacuated from coronavirus-hit Iran land at Jodhpur airport in Rajasthan: Defence spokesperson
09:16 Mar 25

Karnataka Police practices social distancing

09:15 Mar 25

Nissan suspends production in India

  • In response to the continuing COVID-19 outbreak, Nissan has announced a temporary suspension of production in Africa, Middle East and India region, the company said in a statement. This action follows the advice and guidance of respective national governments, and is being taken to safeguard the well-being of staff, customers and communities, it added.
  • The company has halted production at the Alliance plant in Chennai (Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd) from March 23 until further notice, Nissan said. A skeleton staff will continue to carry out essential maintenance and the situation will be monitored closely, it said.
09:14 Mar 25

NSE, BSE to carry out normal operations on Wednesday

An NSE spokesperson said operations would be normal at the exchange on Wednesday. "BSE day to operations @BSEIndia will continue," the bourse's MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said in a tweet. All capital and debt market services notified by markets regulator Sebi would be exempted from the lockdown, as per the government notification.

09:08 Mar 25

Liquor majors Diageo, Radico to make hand sanitisers now

  • "We will support the government and the hospitality sector during this pandemic by manufacturing 3 lakh litres of bulk hand sanitisers from our 15 units across the country," Anand Kripalu, managing director and chief executive officer of Diageo India, said. As part of the initiative, the company will also donate 5 lakh litres of ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol), which is a key ingredient in making sanitisers, to the sanitiser industry, he said in a statement. This amount of ENA can produce more than 2 million units (250 ml each) of hand sanitisers, he added. Diageo is the country's largest liquor maker.
  • The country's second largest liquor maker Allied Blenders & Distillers, which produces the globally largest selling whiskey Officer's Choice, said it has not decided on manufacturing hand sanitisers since there is a tedious licensing process. "We have not taken a final call on this. A liquor company cannot make something that needs a drug licence under the existing licence. Having said so, it does not mean we will not do our bit to help the nation," Deepak Roy, vice-chairman of ABD, told PTI over phone on Tuesday.
  • Smaller player Radico Khaitan said it would start producing sanitisers from its Rampur distillery and has already applied for necessary permissions. It has also chalked out distribution plans. "Being a leading spirit manufacturer, we have decided to extend our support to the country in this worrisome time of the coronavirus outbreak," Radico Khaitan Chief Operating Officer Amar Sinha said in a statement.
09:07 Mar 25

Sangli authorities releases contact numbers for home delivery of essential items

09:05 Mar 25

Nestle suspends operations, in talks with authorities over food products

  • In view of the lockdown in many of the States/ Union Territories across the country, the operations in some of the locations (manufacturing, distribution centres/ warehouses, offices, suppliers) are scaled down or suspended," said Nestle in a regulatory filing. However, the company which manufactures popular instant noodles Maggi besides other products as Nescafe coffee, Cereal infant cereal and KitKat chocolate said that "impact on the operations of the Company cannot be assessed at this point."
  • "As the Company is in the manufacture and sale of food and beverage products, the Company is in discussion with the authorities to continue operations in the factories/ distribution centres where the operations have been suspended," said Nestle.
08:57 Mar 25

Banks brace for payment defaults, missed targets

  • Bankers are also expecting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to come out with a forbearance package so that accounts are not classified as NPAs for the next few years. "There should be some forbearance on account of cash flow mismatch. There will be many defaults in the MSME, retail and related sectors," a senior United Bank of India official told PTI.
  • "We are expecting the RBI to come out with such a package so that accounts are not categorised as NPAs for at least the next two years," he said. Prior to the virus outbreak, the state-run lender, which is set to be merged with Punjab National Bank (PNB), was in profits.
  • "We wanted to close the financial year with a business figure of Rs 2. 18 lakh crore. But because of this development, there will be a shortfall," the official said.
08:48 Mar 25

More updates on the latest Bihar case

The person is 29 years old and had returned to Patna from Gujarat's Bhavnagar. His travel history would be thoroughly checked by the administration: Ajay Sinha, Nodal Officer, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital.

08:48 Mar 25

Latest scenes from Delhi

08:47 Mar 25

Mother Dairy says milk demand up 5-10%, facing no major supply disruptions

  • However, Parag Milk, a major player in Maharashtra, said it is facing challenges in distribution of milk from the last two days, because of restrictions in movement of its employees and distributors from local authorities.
  • "We are relentlessly working towards ensuring and meeting the demand for milk across the region with no major supply disruptions. As milk is an essential commodity, we are closely working with all our stakeholders and taking all efforts to ensure seamless flow in the value chain to serve consumers at these challenging times. For today, we have seen a surge in demand of our milk in the range of 5-10 per cent," Mother Dairy spokesperson told PTI.
  • Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods, said: "We have seen an increase in orders across all categories due to higher stocking by consumers for food items and this is likely to continue for some time.
  • "The increase in demand is mostly from modern trade and e-commerce platforms while orders from general trade are tepid, he said.
  • Not only milk, the demand for other dairy products like paneer, curd, ghee has also gone high as people are buying these items in large quantities than they they normally do, in anticipation of supply disruptions in view of lockdowns.
08:41 Mar 25

Good initiative by Bengaluru Police

08:40 Mar 25

Another tested positive in Bihar

Another person test positive for Coronavirus in Patna's Nalanda Medical College and Hospital; total number of cases rise to 4 in the state.
08:39 Mar 25

GMC Jammu declared dedicated COVID-19 hospital, retired doctors to be hired for underserved areas

  • The decision was taken by the Administrative Council, headed by Lt Governor G C Murmu, at a meeting convened to review the steps being taken to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the Union Territory, an official spokesman said. He said the meeting decided to declare the GMC Jammu as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital for Jammu province and asked the Administrative Secretary Health Department and the Principal of the GMC to ensure that the hospital is readied for the purpose by Wednesday evening.
  • The Council also noted that there were a number of underserved areas facing acute shortage of doctors. In order to mitigate the problem, it approved the hiring of retired doctors against available vacancies for one year for emergency services in underserved areas, the spokesman said.
  • He said the meeting directed the Health Department to review the availability of all equipment including ventilators and procure additional equipment as required on a war footing.
08:38 Mar 25

Barricading at the Delhi-UP border

08:37 Mar 25

No immediate curfew relaxation in Chandigarh

  • The UT administration had earlier decided to relax the curfew clamped in Chandigarh to check the spread of coronavirus. But after the prime minister's appeal to the nation to remain indoors, the administration decided against it.
  • "The prime minister has ordered a nationwide 21-day lockdown in entire country. Keeping this in view, the Chandigarh administration which was earlier planning to give four-hour relaxation Sector-wise that decision has been postponed now," Manoj Parida, adviser to the UT Administrator, said on Tuesday night.
  • Parida reviewed the availability of essential items and it was assured that milk supply and newspapers will be provided to each house every morning throughout the curfew period. It was also decided that in the sector markets the ration store, fruit & vegetable shop and medical store will be used as points for organizing door-to-door delivery. In periphery areas of the city, packed ration, fruits, vegetables, etc. will be provided door to door at fixed prices using mobile vans.
  • "We want that people should stay indoors. Vegetables, medicines, ration, we have sufficient stocks, so there is no need to worry," Parida said.
  • As regarding the senior citizens staying without assistance, provision for home delivery of medicines has also been assured, he said. Moreover, chemist shops in the city have already been allowed to open throughout the curfew duration, he said.
08:19 Mar 25

Flight carrying 277 Indian passengers lands at Delhi airport

08:12 Mar 25

Views from Kolkata Airport

08:11 Mar 25

Two will be discharged in Maharashtra after fully recovering from the virus

Two people who were found positive two weeks back, have now tested negative (twice) for COVID-19, both to be discharged from hospital today. These were the first two cases of Maharashtra.

08:10 Mar 25

Fourth session of the 15th Rajasthan Assembly was adjourned sine die on Tuesday

After adjourning the assembly on March 13 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Speaker C P Joshi had summoned the House on March 26 for carrying out proceedings of the Budget Session. "The speaker adjourned the House sine die today," Assembly Secretary Pramil Kumar Mathur said in a statement. The Rajya Sabha polls for three seats in Rajasthan were also scheduled on March 26, which too have been deferred amid the nationwide lockdown.

08:09 Mar 25

Flipkart suspends its services

05:06 Mar 25

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide exceed 372,000, over 16,000 died: WHO

The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide has exceeded 372,000, over 16,000 have died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report.

02:22 Mar 25

Tamil Nadu records its first death due to coronavirus

A coronavirus patient has died in Tamil Nadu. This is the first death in the southern state due to the global pandemic.TN Health Minister Dr C Vijayabaskar tweeted the unfortunate news in the wee hours of Wednesday.

12:44 Mar 25

Curfew imposed in Himachal Pradesh

"Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to impose curfew in the whole state from 5 pm today till further orders, in wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state, as well as the country," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had announced a complete lockdown in the state to stop the spread of the fatal virus.

12:40 Mar 25

Positive cases in the Gujarat rises to 35

12:38 Mar 25

India gets first indigenous COVID-19 testing kit

As part of efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus, a Pune-based company has developed the country's first indigenous COVID-19 testing kit. It has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

12:33 Mar 25

Punjab announces new curfew guidelines

12:23 Mar 25

MP funds can now be used to combat coronavirus

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said that his "request" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in presence of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had been approved and now MP funds can be used for essential and urgently needed equipment to combat coronavirus.

12:19 Mar 25

Kerala cabinet to meet on Wednesday

The sate government will take a call on additional measures to be taken in the state, in view of the 21 day lockdown declared by the Union Government. The state cabinet meet on Wednesday morning will discuss the matter in detail, said the Chief Minister's Office. A decision will be taken on revising the timing of shops and other establishments which will remain open during the lockdown. The state government had on Monday announced lockdown till March 31.

12:11 Mar 25

Punjab sanctions Rs 3 cr for providing food packets during lockdown

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that the government has sanctioned Rs 3 crore for providing food packets to over 38,000 people during the lockdown period in the state to combat the COVID-19 crisis.

11:54 Mar 24

Over 1.9 lakh people under surveillance in the country

“The states should devote adequate resources for creating dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, equipping the medical institutes with personal protection equipment, ventilators, and other essential equipment, etc while also ensuring that essential services and supplies remain open,” Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba wrote to the states of the country.

11:41 Mar 24

Huge rush at shops post PM's lockdown announcement

11:35 Mar 24

Three more test positive in TN

11:31 Mar 24

CM Vijayan rules out community transmission in Kerala

The number of positive cases in the state swells to 109 (of these four were discharged). Of the 14 new cases reported on Tuesday, a healthcare worker also contracted COVID-19.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:59 Mar 24

Madhya Pradesh tally becomes nine as two more test positive

Two men, one with no recent international travel history, tested positive for the coronavirus in Gwalior and Shivpuri districts on Tuesday, officials said.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:56 Mar 24

Chinese man detained from Nagpur hotel, shifted to hospital quarantine

"We got information about him when we were checking a hotel. He was shifted to Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) in Nagpur as per the government guidelines," said inspector Vilas Kale of Umred police station.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:55 Mar 24

WATCH | 52 persons detained for violating lockdown in Kerala

10:51 Mar 24

Six more test positive in Punjab

All six patients had come in contact with with the 70-year-old Nawanshahr resident who had tested positive for the infection and died of cardiac arrest last week. With this, the total number of cases in Punjab have jumped to 29.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:51 Mar 24

Six more test positive in Punjab

All six patients had come in contact with with the 70-year-old Nawanshahr resident who had tested positive for the infection and died of cardiac arrest last week. With this, the total number of cases in Punjab have jumped to 29.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:51 Mar 24

Six more test positive in Punjab

All six patients had come in contact with with the 70-year-old Nawanshahr resident who had tested positive for the infection and died of cardiac arrest last week. With this, the total number of cases in Punjab have jumped to 29.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:47 Mar 24

TN to paste stickers on doors of foreign returnees

Tamil Nadu came under a lockdown on Tuesday evening with public spaces going empty even as local authorities began pasting 'home quarantined' stickers on the doors of houses of foreign returnees in the State.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

10:07 Mar 24

Andhra reports eight positive case

10:05 Mar 24

Uttar Pradesh tally becomes 37

Giving the district-wise breakup, the official said so far Noida has reported 11 cases, Lucknow and Agra eight cases each, Ghaziabad three and Lakhimpur-Kheri, Moradabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Pilibhit, Jaunpurand and Shamli one case each.
READ FULL REPORT HERE

09:26 Mar 24

Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines for offences and penalties during 21-day lockdown

08:33 Mar 24

PM urges people to stay away from rumours

I request all of you to not believe in any rumours or superstitions: PM 

08:32 Mar 24

PM urges state governments to increase focus on health care

I have requested the state governments to prioritise and focus on health services and health care: PM 

08:30 Mar 24

Centre approves Rs 15,000 crore for battling coronavirus

For the treatment of Corona-infected patients and to strengthen the health sector, the central government has approved Rs 15,000 crore, PM Narendra Modi said.

With these funds, testing facilities, personal protective equipment, isolation and ICU beds, ventilators and other important facilities will be manufactured. 

08:15 Mar 24

Stay at home, Stay at home, do just one thing, stay at home: PM Modi

08:10 Mar 24

Saving the life of each and every Indian is the first priority for me: PM Modi 

08:08 Mar 24

From 12 midnight today, the entire country will go under complete lockdown, announces PM Narendra Modi

08:03 Mar 24

PM Modi begins his address to the nation

 PM Narendra Modi thanks the countrymen for their participation in Sunday's 'Janata Curfew'

08:02 Mar 24

PM Modi addresses nation

08:00 Mar 24

Pondicherry government announces Corona relief of Rs 2000 to all ration cards

Announcing this evening, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said that the administration has taken this decision in response to the plea made by elected representatives. The amount has been allocated and would be deposited in the bank accounts of 3.44 lakhs ration cardholders, said the Chief minister. It will have a financial burden of Rs 68 crores to the government. 

07:50 Mar 24

PM interacts with print media heads over COVID-19

Prime Minister said, "Media has played a praiseworthy role in disseminating information to every nook and cranny of this nation. The network of media is pan-India and spread across cities and villages. This makes the media all the more significant in fighting this challenge and spreading correct information about it at micro level."

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

07:34 Mar 24

14 more test positive in Kerala

07:30 Mar 24

Parents want schools to remain closed, curtail summer vacation to reduce academic loss

With the number of coronavirus cases rising in the country, several parents want schools to not reopen soon and have suggested that academic loss if any can be reduced by curtailing the summer vacation. Several schools, which are already offering classes through digital modes of learning, say a decision in this regard will be taken only after March 31 once a review of the situation is done and also if the lockdown is curtailed.

ALSO READ

07:23 Mar 24
07:22 Mar 24

Uddhav Thackeray asks Maharashtra to co-operate

07:16 Mar 24

Have grain stock to last for 6 months: Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal

"Shops and outlets selling food grains, vegetables, meat, fish and medical shops have been excluded from the lockdown," the minister said, appealing people to cooperate with the government. "Mathadi workers (head loaders who work in wholesale vegetable and grain markets) and farmers are also humans and their safety is also important. Don't crowd the markets. Cooperate with the police," the minister said. 

READ FULL REPORT

07:14 Mar 24

Total number of confirmed cases rise to 41 in Karnataka

 Out of 41 cases detected and confirmed in Karnataka so far 6 cases are transit passengers of Kerala who have landed in airports and being treated in Karnataka. The details of their itinerary after arriving in Karnataka will be provided. Batkal patients resident of Uttara Kannada is hospitalized in Dakshina Kannada and considered against Dakshina Kannada.

07:05 Mar 24

Assam youth booked for not reporting arrival from abroad

An FIR was lodged against a youth in Assam on Tuesday for not reporting his arrival from abroad to the police or health officials. The Hailakandi district administration filed the FIR under Section 188 of the IPC, official sources said. Departmental action for immediate suspension was also being drawn against the youth’s father who is a government employee for concealing information. 

06:49 Mar 24

Chennai: Two lakh rush to native places in buses as social distancing goes for a toss

More than 2 lakh people left Chennai in buses from Koyambedu and Tambaram to various places in the state from Monday evening to 2 pm on Tuesday. After the announcement of the lockdown, people thronged to the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) to catch a bus to their native places. 

06:46 Mar 24

Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic: IOC

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to no later than the summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, the International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday. The Games were scheduled for July 24-August 9, but after telephone discussions between IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint decision was taken for the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

06:43 Mar 24

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to give one month salary to PM relief fund

 

06:40 Mar 24

Cabinet secretary asks states to immediately earmark hospitals to deal with COVID-19 cases

abinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on Tuesday asked state governments to immediately identify and earmark hospitals to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to chief secretaries of all the states, Gauba also said it is absolutely essential that surveillance and contact tracing of all positive cases is taken up and no suspected or high risk person is left out.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

06:37 Mar 24

Another death in Mumbai where India's first hospital for coronavirus patients opens

Another coronavirus death has been reported in Maharashtra, which has already seen a total of 107 positive cases, on Tuesday. The victim, a 65-year-old man, had returned from the UAE on March 15. He went to Ahmedabad and came back to Mumbai on March 20. He died on March 23 in Kasturba hospital. He was suffering from high-blood pressure and was a diabetic too. 

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

06:34 Mar 24
06:23 Mar 24

Shinzo Abe says IOC agrees '100%' that Olympics should be postponed

IOC President Thomas Bach has agreed “100%” to a proposal of postponing the Tokyo Olympics for about one year until 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

06:16 Mar 24

Delhi government to pay Rs 5,000 to daily wagers

We have decided to give Rs 5000 each to all construction workers as their livelihood has been affected. We are also increasing the number of night shelters in the city: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal  

READ FULL REPORT HERE

06:12 Mar 24

Delhi CM urges landlords to go easy on their tenants

06:01 Mar 24

2000 stranded migrant workers crammed in Chennai halls

Uncertainty still looms over Tamil Nadu as about 2000 stranded migrant workers have been crammed in Chennai's community halls after the train services have been cancelled. The city corporation has been moving these workers, mostly from West Bengal, from the railway stations to the halls.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

05:50 Mar 24

Latest from ICMR

  • Mathematical modeling done by ICMR suggests that entry screening of travellers with symptoms suggestive of COVID19 can delay the introduction of the virus into the community by three days to three weeks.

  • 118 govt laboratories included in ICMR network of #COVID19 testing. The network has capacity to test 12000 samples a day. 22 private laboratory chains, with about 15,500 collection centres, have been registered with ICMR till today.

  • The empiric use of Hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis of SARS-Cov-2 infection is recommended only for asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID19 and asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases 

ALSO READ

05:04 Mar 24

Following two fresh cases, entire UP placed under lockdown till March 27

With the tally rising, CM Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday announced a total lockdown in Uttar Pradesh till Friday March 27. 17 of the 75 districts were under lockdown since Sunday evening.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:57 Mar 24

Housing sales to take hit

Housing brokerage firm Anarock on Tuesday said housing sales will be impacted and completion of ongoing real estate projects will be delayed due to the lockdown across the country in view of spread of coronavirus disease. The consultant said that more than 15.62 lakh units (launched between 2013 till 2019) are under construction in the top 7 cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. 

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:54 Mar 24

WATCH | Andhra Pradesh police pick up lathis to deal with curfew violators

04:50 Mar 24

Reliance sets up India's 1st COVID-19 dedicated hospital, to continue paying all its contract workers

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Monday said that it has set up India's first COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Mumbai that includes a negative pressure room that helps in preventing cross-contamination and helps control infection. "Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has set up a dedicated 100 bedded COVID-19 centre at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai for patients who test positive for COVID-19," RIL said in an official statement.

 

04:46 Mar 24

CM Yogi releases first instalment of Rs 1,000 each for 20 lakh daily wagers

Keeping in view the rising number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh and its debilitating effect on the unorganized sector, CM Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday launched the ‘Shramik Bharan-Poshan Yojana’ and transferred the first instalment of Rs 1,000 in the accounts of more than 20 lakh daily wage labourers through Direct Beneficiary Transaction.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

04:42 Mar 24

6 million masks missing, Germany shipment lost in Kenya as battle to curb coronavirus toughens

A German army shipment of six million face masks needed to protect against the novel coronavirus has vanished in Kenya, the defence ministry in Berlin confirmed Tuesday.

"We are trying to find out what happened" to the massive order of protective equipment meeting the FFP2 standard for protection against particles and aerosols, a spokeswoman said.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

04:32 Mar 24

Pune based lab develops India's indigenous Covid19 kits

04:17 Mar 24

Major announcements from FM presser

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, announced a slew of measures to reduce the stress on coronavirus-hit India Inc and India.The Covid-19 death toll in India currently stands at 10 with nearly 500 confirmed cases of the infection. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 528, including 475 active cases.

CLICK HERE TO READ MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

04:13 Mar 24

One month special pay for medical staff: EPS

 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday announced one-month special pay for them. Announcing this in the Assembly, Palaniswami said the doctors, nurses and other professional staff are working with dedication day and night without fearing for their lives. Palaniswami said the medical staff working in the isolation wards where Coronavirus infected patients are being treated will be paid a month's salary as special pay in recognition of their dedication.

04:11 Mar 24

Patna witnesses Nikah over video conference

04:03 Mar 24

Fell asleep and missed flight, UAE-based Indian stranded at Dubai airport amid coronavirus outbreak

 Dozing off at the airport in Dubai left Arun Singh, a Pune resident, stranded at its Terminal 3 as he missed his flight back home and now he cannot even go to his UAE resident as the country refused entry to residency visa holders as a precaution to limit the spread of the coronavirus, according to a media report.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

03:56 Mar 24

Railways to release full salary to contractual workers during suspension of service

In an order issued on Tuesday, the railways has said that due to prevailing coronavirus situation in India and the stoppage of trains, several contractual staff engaged in on-board housekeeping service, sanitation, pantry car and commercial activities have been stranded and have to compulsorily stay at other places, while others have to be in readiness to attend the duties at a short notice.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

03:42 Mar 24

Omar tweets about his 'quarantine days'

03:36 Mar 24

21 out of 29 cases in Punjab got infected from 70-year-old who succumbed to coronavirus

Punjab on Tuesday reported six more coronavirus positive people taking the state total to 29. Of these 21 people got the infectious virus from the 70-year-old person who died of COVID-19 on March 18.

A granthi in the village gurudwara, the septuagenarian had come back to India after a two-week-long trip to Germany and Italy. Before his death, he had performed path and distributed prasad to the devotees in the village.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

03:34 Mar 24

Hollywood to Bollywood: Demand for new releases expected to go up post coronavirus

With the coronavirus epidemic hitting the entertainment sector hard, the demand of new films is expected to grow so that the industry can return on the same path after the lockdown phase. According to a study by Kotak Institutional Equities Research, CY2019 was the second consecutive year of good box office performance. Bollywood churned out 17 over Rs1 billion grossers, nearly doubling the count over CY2017-19.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

03:31 Mar 24

Bengaluru Police doing their bit

03:29 Mar 24

112 cases filed against individuals for violating prohibitory orders in Mumbai

Mumbai Police register 112 cases under section 188 of IPC against individuals, pan stalls, hotels, hawkers & illegal transport for violating prohibitory orders 

03:12 Mar 24

PM Modi to hold video conferencing with healthcare providers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a video conference with healthcare providers association of various states on ways to deal with the novel coronavirus outbreak. Sources in the government said the video conference would take place on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

03:09 Mar 24

Zero COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, 5 cured in Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said no new cases of coronavirus have come up in Delhi in last 24 hours while five patients have been cured of the deadly virus. He said despite this the biggest challenge is to not let the situation go out of control in the city.

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

03:05 Mar 24

Debit card withdrawals, irrespective of the bank, made free for next three months

Debit card withdrawals from ATMs won't be charged for the next three months. These withdrawals can be made from any ATMs: FM 

03:00 Mar 24

Two more tested positive for coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir

READ FULL REPORT HERE

02:58 Mar 24

Andhra Pradesh SSC exams postponed as state locks down to contain coronavirus

The Andhra Pradesh State government on Tuesday announced postponement of the State Secondary Certificate (SSC) examinations for two weeks in view of lockdown imposed in the State to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Education minister Adimulapu Suresh announced this on Tuesday. The examinations were earlier scheduled to be conducted from March 31 to April 17.

READ FULL REPORT  

02:52 Mar 24

Now, Elon Musk offers 1,255 free ventilators

READ FULL REPORT HERE

02:48 Mar 24

95-year-old Italian grandma oldest to recover: Report

A 95-year-old woman has became the oldest in Italy to recover from COVID-19, according to a report. Alma Clara Corsini of Modena province was diagnosed with the virus and admitted to the hospital in Pavullo on March 5. Doctors treated her at the facility until she recovered last week without “antiviral therapy,” the report added. 

02:41 Mar 24

N95 masks worth Rs 15 crore seized in Mumbai

02:37 Mar 24

FM extends deadline to file I-T returns

The last date for the income tax return for the financial year 18-19 is extended to 30th June 2020. For delayed payments interest rate has been reduced from 12% to 9%: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES OF FM PRESS RELEASE HERE

02:16 Mar 24

Andhra Pradesh to provide ration for April in advance

April ration of rice and one kg of red gram dal will be given free of cost to all rice card holders. April ration supplies shall be distributed in advance at fair price shops from March 29. All rice card holding families will get 1-time support of Rs 1000. All govt and private establishments shall make payments of wages and salaries fully to workers or employees including those working under contract and outsourcing basis during lockdown period. Any violation will invite penal action under the Epidemics Diseases Act 1897: Andhra Pradesh government

02:12 Mar 24

Goa to under complete lockdown till March 31

There will be complete lockdown in Goa from midnight today till March 31. All shops in the state to remain shut. The government will make arrangements for the distribution of essential commodities. Goa dairy will supply milk&collector will take the decision regarding grocery distribution: CM Pramod Sawant 

02:05 Mar 24

Tamil Nadu reports three more cases

01:30 Mar 24

Break rules, do squats: Maharashtra police shames curfew violators

01:29 Mar 24

Rajinikanth donates Rs 50 lakhs to film workers who are facing shutdown

The actor has donated Rs 50 lakhs to Film Employees Federation of South India Union workers who are facing shutdown due to Coronavirus outbreak.
01:28 Mar 24

PM interacts with the print media

01:28 Mar 24

Latest coronavirus situation in Gujarat

11,108 people are under quarantine for 14 days, out of which 224 are in government facilities & 10,850 are home quarantined, while 34 are in private hospitals across Gujarat. As many as 21 FIRs have been lodged against those showing reluctance in being quarantined: Gujarat Government
01:25 Mar 24

WATCH | India's first dedicated coronavirus hospital in Mumbai

01:22 Mar 24

Good news from Ladakh

Two patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in Ladakh have been completely cured. Total positive cases in the region is 11 now.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

01:11 Mar 24

Top gainers on BSE at this hour

 

01:08 Mar 24

Sensex jumps 900 points as FM says economic package underway

01:07 Mar 24

Civil Aviation Minister expresses concern after reported incidents of harassments on airline crew

12:50 Mar 24

Hero Cycles earmarks Rs 100 crore contingency fund

Hero Cycles on Tuesday said it is setting aside Rs 100 crore as a contingency fund to address and mitigate the impact of coronavirus pandemic on partners and the community at large. (READ MORE)

For representational purpose. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS )

12:43 Mar 24

Assam CM gets screened before entering the state Assembly

12:42 Mar 24

Finance Minister to address media at 2 pm

"Even as we are readying an economic package to help us through the Corona lockdown (on priority,to be announced soon) I'll address the media at 2 pm today,specifically on statutory & regulatory compliance matters,via video conference," said Nirmala Sitharaman.
12:41 Mar 24

Centre gets more tough with the lockdown

Centre has asked states to impose curfew wherever necessary as people continue to venture out despite coronavirus lockdown order: Officials
12:35 Mar 24

Locals around Shaheen Bagh laud Delhi Police after the latter clears the anti-CAA protest site

12:34 Mar 24

Harsh Vardhan's latest statement on coronavirus situation in India

"National Centre for Disease Control has been keeping an eye on all potential Coronavirus patients. Today, more than 1,87,000 people in the country are being monitored by the way of community surveillance," the Union Health Minister said.
12:33 Mar 24

One more succumbs in Mumbai

A 65-year-old Coronavirus patient from UAE passed away in Mumbai yesterday. He was admitted in Kasturba Hospital.
12:23 Mar 24

Uttarakhand police takes unique route to publicly shame lockdown violators

12:22 Mar 24

Doctors and staff of Bengal hospital sent into home quarantine

Doctors and staff of AMRI Hospital at Eastern Railways, those were looking after the 57-year-old COVID-19 patient who died of the disease Monday, have been home quarantined.
12:21 Mar 24

Punjab government issues operational timings for the sale of essential food products

Milk, medicine and vegetable shops to opened for public would between 4 pm to 6 pm today. From tomorrow onwards until further orders, the milk, medicine and vegetable shops to remain open from 6-9 am: Gagneet Singh Aujla APRO Mohali, Punjab
11:51 Mar 24

'Ugadi Asthanam' in Tirumala to have less devotees

11:49 Mar 24

Tamil Nadu politicians pay tribute to coronavirus warriors

Tamil Nadu Assembly members at the assembly today clapped for a minute expressing gratitude towards health department, police and all other departments working amid coronavirus pandemic.
11:48 Mar 24

Police crackdown on curfew violators in Bengal

11:43 Mar 24

More information on the fresh cases in Bengal

According to health department officials, both the men from Kolkata. One of then have a travel history of returning from Egypt and the other from UK. One person admitted to Beleghata ID Hospital five days ago and the other was admitted four days ago.

11:34 Mar 24

After 'Janata Curfew' in his last week's speech, what PM Modi will announce tonight?

  • "Will address the nation at 8 PM today, 24th March 2020, on vital aspects relating to the menace of COVID-19," Modi tweeted. He had addressed the nation on efforts to combat the virus on March 19.
  • Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.
  • As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.
11:33 Mar 24

Punjab, Chandigarh wake up to curfew

  • The Punjab government clamped a curfew on Monday after finding that people were ignoring the state-wide lockdown ordered by it. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered the imposition of a "full curfew with no relaxations". Later, the UT Chandigarh Administration also announced a curfew from Monday midnight. Police personnel were deployed in large numbers to implement the restrictions.
  • However, the respective district administrations allowed government employees tasked with emergency and essential services to attend their duties on production of official ID cards.
  • Hospitals and chemists shops will remain open in Mohali, as per the order issued by the district administration. Meanwhile, as per initial reports, a few people came out of their houses at some places in Punjab to buy daily use items like milk but were sent back by police personnel. Roads bordering Chandigarh and Haryana were completely sealed, an official said.
  • Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma appealed to people to stay indoors. He said the district administration was trying to develop a system to provide daily uses items at doorsteps.
  • Punjab and UT Chandigarh have reported 23 and seven positive coronavirus cases respectively.
11:32 Mar 24

Aviation stocks tumble as government suspends all domestic operations from March 25

Aviation stocks dropped up to 10 per cent on Tuesday after the announcement of suspension of all domestic operations of Indian airlines from March 25 amid Covid-19 pandemic. (READ MORE)

11:27 Mar 24

Rajya Sabha Polls postponed

Election Commission defers Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 26 in view of coronavirus outbreak: Official sources

READ FULL STORY HERE

11:20 Mar 24

Sonia Gandhi's letter to PM seeking emergency welfare programs

 

11:13 Mar 24

Now Odisha joins the lockdown list

Odisha Government has decided to lockdown the entire state (all 30 districts) from today midnight till March 29: Subroto Bagchi, Spokesperson, Odisha Government.
11:12 Mar 24

PM to address the nation again

Will address the nation at 8 PM today, on vital aspects relating to the menace of COVID-19: PM Modi
11:11 Mar 24

Delhi-Ghaziabad border sealed

11:11 Mar 24

Indian Army's latest statement

"The armed forces have evacuated 1186 (these include medical staff and air crew) from foreign countries. At present, there are 796 people in quarantine under military supervision. Only two positive cases have come till now&they are being managed at civil hospitals along with two more persons with some symptoms.All others released after full protocol observed.More evacuees are expected soon,armed forces are geared up to absorb them in our care," said Indian Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand.
11:10 Mar 24

Union Health Minister holds meeting with officials

11:09 Mar 24

Gujarat government's latest statement on the coronavirus situation in state

We are surveying 27,000 people in the state who have recent travel history: Gujarat Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi
11:08 Mar 24

Work from home for Air India employees

For other employees, 'Work from home' be resorted to in an organised manner. Departmental Heads/General Managers may draw up a roster of employees who are required to render essential emergency services within each dept till 31.03 to reduce attendance in office to the basic required numbers to meet the operational requirements.

11:06 Mar 24

Fresh cases in Bengal

Two more people test positive for coronavirus in West Bengal; number of afflicted goes up to eight: Officials
10:52 Mar 24

Netflix to reduce traffic on telecom networks by 25% to mitigate congestion

Video streaming major Netflix on Tuesday said it will reduce traffic on telecommunications networks by 25 per cent while maintaining the quality of service for users in India, as part of its efforts to help mitigate network congestion amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Companies like Amazon Prime Video are also temporarily lowering bit rates - a measure of how much data is being transferred - to ease pressure on telecom network infrastructure. (READ MORE)

For representational purpose. (File photo)

10:30 Mar 24

Rs 1000 to all ration card holders, free commodities will be provided: Tamil Nadu

Rs 1000 to all ration card holders, free rice, sugar, and other essential commodities. To avoid long queues, commodities will be issued on a token basis: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami
10:23 Mar 24

Rupee gains marginally on the back of equity markets

The Indian rupee witnessed marginal recovery in early trade and appreciated by 18 paise to 76.02 against the US dollar on Tuesday tracking positive opening in domestic equities. (READ MORE)

For representational purpose. (Photo | Reuters)

10:19 Mar 24

Northeast registers its first case

A 23-year-old woman in Manipur tests positive for Coronavirus. She has recent travel history to the UK.
10:10 Mar 24

Shutdown in Dehradun

10:09 Mar 24

Maharashtra tally crosses 100

Total number of positive Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra rises to 101 including 3 new cases in Pune and 1 in Satara: State Health Department.
10:09 Mar 24

Latest situation from Maharashtra

10:07 Mar 24

Bengal coronavirus patient's kin in Chattisgarh under home quarantine

Soon after getting information about the deceased's travel history, at least 15 of his relatives staying in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh were identified on Monday and advised to stay in home isolation, an official said. The deceased visited Bilaspur last month and had met all these relatives. Their samples are being taken for testing and they are under observation, the official said. The 57-year-old COVID-19 patient, who was a resident of Dumdum in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, died at a private hospital there on Monday.

10:06 Mar 24

WATCH | Delhi Police uses drone near Jamia to monitor the area

10:05 Mar 24

Markets erase early gains; Sensex up 113 points, Nifty below 7,000

10:05 Mar 24

Ensure 'operational continuity' of print and electronic media: Centre to states, UTs

In a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories on March 23, the ministry said robust and essential information dissemination networks like TV channels, news agencies "are of utmost importance to ensure timely and authentic information dissemination".

09:45 Mar 24

Update from Chennai Airport

09:44 Mar 24

No country for doctors?

Doctors of MGM Hospital in Telangana's Warangal were forced out onto the streets by their landlords. The latter called the doctors ‘dirty’ and do not want them as tenants fearing the spread of Coronavirus in the locality. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

09:32 Mar 24

Kashmiri students protest at Bengaluru Airport

09:31 Mar 24

Transgender community in Karnataka fears corona, stays home

The trans community has taken it upon itself to create awareness among its members though social media and community WhatsApp groups. “We share health department advisories on our WhatsApp groups to avoid close contact,” said Madhumitha, a social worker. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

09:27 Mar 24

Vadodara under complete lockdown

09:27 Mar 24

23 Indian seamen stranded in Barcelona, seek help from government

The crew comprises of natives of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra among others. The two-minute-plus video shows all of them wearing masks. The commentary rendered by one of the crew members states that the video was shot inside the hotel. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

09:26 Mar 24

Visuals from Karnataka amid shutdown

09:25 Mar 24

I-T body warns of 'Himalayan blunder' if March 31 deadline not extended

The taxman has to finish a number of tax assessments, time barring cases and payments under the recently-launched 'Vivad Se Vishwas scheme' of tax disputes settlement with the ending of the 2019-20 financial year on March 31 but the three associations of the department have expressed their inability in completing these tasks owing to "complete lockdown" in many states and the government directive to practise social distancing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

09:10 Mar 24

Shops remain open amid lockdown in Bengal

09:09 Mar 24

Prepare for complete lockdown, ensure only mission-critical staff comes to work: Nasscom to IT cos

Nasscom, in an advisory to member companies, cautioned that "essential services notification cannot be interpreted to be used for projects that had to be completed in the near term and contracts carrying penalties, etc." (READ FULL STORY HERE)

09:00 Mar 24

WATCH | People gather at UP market despite lockdown order

08:57 Mar 24

India Yamaha Motor shuts shop

  • The company said it has taken preventive counter- measure of suspending its manufacturing operations at its facilities in Chennai, Surajpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (Haryana) till March 31, 2020. The decision was taken following the COVID-19 pandemic and also the safety, health and hygiene of its employees, customers and business partners.
  • "The operations at the Surajpur and Faridabad plants have been suspended with immediate effect while Chennai plant will be suspended from March 24," the company said. The employees at the headquarters and area offices have been provided with the option of work from home till March 31, it said.
08:56 Mar 24

Despite curfew, people come out for morning walk in Maharashtra

08:55 Mar 24

More updates from Kolkata

  • Police arrested 255 people in Kolkata on Monday evening for violating the restrictions imposed in the metropolis in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said. The arrests were made after 5 pm when the lockdown came into effect, they said, adding that those held will be prosecuted under sections dealing with disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant. Naka checkings are underway at every important junction of the city, officials said.
  • The lockdown, which will continue till March 27, was clamped to prevent further spread of the virus.
  • The last rites of an elderly man, who became the first casualty of COVID-19 in Bengal, was considerably delayed as wary locals put up a road blockade in the city's Nimtala area to stop government officials from cremating him, saying it could lead to virus transmission. According to police sources, senior officers took over two hours to convince the residents that necessary measures have been taken to avoid contamination. The final rites of the 57-year-old man were initiated around 11. 45 am on Monday, they said.
  • "We had to tell them that all protocols have been followed in wrapping up the body of the deceased, as per government guidelines. There was no reason to be scared," a senior officer of the Kolkata Police Central Division said.
08:53 Mar 24

Nearly 500 evacuees from Iran asymptomatic: Army

  • The staff at the Army wellness facilities in Jaisalmer is working over time to ensure that the centres remain clean, an official said.
  • In addition to sanitisation of the entire premises, daily motivational lectures are conducted by the Army medical authorities to make people understand the importance of the mandatory quarantine to combat the spread of COVID-19, the spokesperson said.
  • He said the people are enjoying their time by playing games, watching television, praying and utilising the available resources in the wellness facilities.
08:51 Mar 24

Kerala wears deserted look

08:51 Mar 24

Kolkata doctor couple, who returned from US, forced to isolation unit for venturing out

  • The two doctors, residents of a housing complex off EM Bypass near Ruby Hospital, were going out freely though they were advised to be on home-isolation for 14 days, officials said.
  • The couple, who runs a nursing home in the city, and their daughter were taken to the isolation facility at the second campus of the Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital by a team of the health department in a special ambulance, a senior official of the department said, adding that the Kolkata Police assisted the medical staff in shifting them.
08:49 Mar 24

Punjab residents respond to the lockdown