Coronavirus LIVE Update: India's Cases Rise To 59,92,532; 94,503 Dead

No new case of COVID-19 has been reported in Assam in last seven days: Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

Pak PM To Get Tested For COVID-19

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to undergo a test for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, days after meeting a well-known philanthropist who has been detected positive for the COVID-19 infection, an official has said.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the Central committee has recommended an increase in the capacity of quarantine facility in Mumbai from 1,200 beds to 2,000, in light of the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the city.

Girl Child To Be Worst Hit Due To COVID-19: UNESCO

Over 154 crore students are severely impacted by closure of educational institutions across the world amid the COVID-19 outbreak due to which girls will be the worst hit as it will lead to increased drop-out rates and further entrench gender gaps in education, UNESCO said.

Govt Issues Advisory To Media Persons

After 53 journalists tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai, the government has issued an advisory for journalists to look after their health while covering stories. 

Karnataka Faces Testing Lag

About 5,000 swab samples of Covid-19 suspects are pending for testing in various laboratories of Karnataka, indicating the need to push the capacity of existing labs and expand testing by adding more facilities.

The backlog increased during last week as districts started sending more samples, including those of primary and secondary contacts and patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and influenzalike illness (ILI). As on April 18, the number of samples received was 24,424 and those tested was 19,186. In Karnataka, 17 laboratories are now testing about 2,000 samples a day, but the backlog hasn’t come down as the state has been sending more samples since April 15.

Herd Immunity For India?

A team of researchers at Princeton University and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, a public health advocacy group based in New Delhi and Washington, has identified India as a place where the herd immunity strategy, which would allow a majority of the population to gain resistance to the virus by becoming infected and then recovering, could result in less economic devastation and human suffering than restrictive lockdowns designed to stop the virus’s spread in the nation of 1.3 billion people.

This strategy could be successful because its disproportionately young population would face less risk of hospitalization and death.

AMU Suspends Doctor For Negligence After COVID-19 Patient Dies

The Aligarh District Administration on Tuesday suspended a doctor for alleged medical negligence, following the first death due to the novel coronavirus disease in the district.

The deceased identified as Merajuddin was a 55-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening with breathing problems.

Tele Survey Through The Number 1921

The Indian Government has decided to conduct a telephonic survey by calling up citizens across the country on their mobile phones by National Informatics Centre. The number 1921 has been assigned for conducting this activity. 

The government has requested people to participate and co-operate as this is a genuine survey for understanding the prevalence and distribution of COVID symptoms. The circular also emphasises that this is the only number and citizens should not provide details for any other numbers. 

Trump Suspends Issuing Green Cards For 60 Days

President Donald Trump has said that he will halt issuing of new Green Cards or legal permanent residency for the next 60 days as part of his executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the US.

However, the move will not have any impact on those entering the country on a temporary basis, Trump said on Tuesday.