Jharkhand Reports First Positive Case
A Malaysian national has tested positive in Jharkhand. She was sent to isolation at Khel Gaon from Hindpidi area, Ranchi, reported state health officials
The Health Ministry reiterated that masks should only be worn by people having health issues. People who are healthy should not wear masks as this leads to fear mongering within the country.
What Are Hotspots?
Hotspots are areas where a cluster of cases have emerged and have to be contained. The Ministry officials stated that every case from a new area becomes a hotspot as contact tracing for the case starts immediately
Other essential health services such as routine immunization should not be stopped: MOHFW
The ICMR has tested over 42,788 samples of which they have only tested 36% of their capacity so far. On March 30, the ICMR had tested over 4300 samples and the private labs made up for 399 tests. Currently, there are 123 government laboratories and 49 private laboratories testing COVID-19 samples.
The Home Ministry stated that to assist migrants moving back to their states, the states have erected over 21,000 shelters. Over 6 lakh 60 thousand are availing of the living facilities in the shelters and over 23 lakh people are being provided with food.
Empowered Agency For Research and Development
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that an empowered agency for research and development related to the COVID-19 has been formed under the tutelage of Dr Vinod Paul from the Niti Aayog and K Vijay Raghavan who is the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister. The stakeholders include departments of science and biotechnology, other scientific and research institutes, scientists, and industrices.
Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka Reach Closer To 100 Cases
The state ministry of Rajasthan reported 10 news cases from people evacuated from Iran an have been kept in the state.
This takes the state's total count of cases to 93.
Karnataka has reported 98 cases while Uttar Pradesh is stated to have crossed 100 cases of COVID-19.
Kerala, Punjab, MP, WB Report New Deaths
The state ministries of Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal reported new cases that died due to COVID-19.
Kerala reported its second, Punjab reported its 4th, Madhya Pradesh reported its 5th, while West Bengal reported its 3rd death due to COVID-19.
India has so far reported 32 deaths due to COVID-19.
Multiple States Report New Cases
States across India have been reporting newer cases of COVID-19.
Maharashtra has reached 230 cases, Karnataka confirmed 10 new to reach 98.
Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reported 17 new cases taking the state's total to 40 and 66 respectively while Jammu and Kashmir reported six new cases. Rajasthan reported three new taking the state's total to 83.