Strife started in states after NDA came to power: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Apr 8: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country have continued to rise even on the 15th day of the lockdown, and reached 5,274 cases on Wednesday evening, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The tally includes 4,714 active, 411, cured/discharged and migrated cases as well as deaths. A total of 149 deaths have been reported due to the infection so far in the country.

Maharashtra with 1,018 confirmed cases has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the country, while Tamil Nadu (690) and Delhi (576) are the two next most affected regions.

Fresh cases were reported on Wednesday from Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, among other states and UTs.

Meanwhile, in an interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and floor leaders of several parties held today via video conferencing, discussions were held on extending the lockdown even further after the 21-day period.

The 21-day lockdown was announced on March 24 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the regular media briefing at 4 pm, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry said that the government has ensured that there is no shortage of hydroxychloroquine in the country at present as well as in the future.

In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) has launched 'Integrated Government Online Training Portal' wherein required resources will be provided for capacity building of the frontline workers.

"MHRD's training portal will provide required resources to the doctors, paramedics, nurse, technicians and ANMs and state government officials and civil defence officials, volunteers of National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Surveillance teams, Red Cross society and other organisations to have a large skill workforce to combat the coronavirus outbreak," said Aggarwal at a press conference here.

Speaking on government's preparedness on dealing with the patients having mild, very mild and serious conditions, Aggarwal said, "For people who have mild or very mild symptoms we have temporary hospitals, ie COVID care hospitals. Work is now being done to develop the field level infrastructure to take care of the mild and very mild symptomatic patients.

Similarly, for serious patients, we have dedicated healthcare centre and dedicated hospitals."

With fresh COVID-19 cases being reported across the country, several states and union territories, including Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh, on Wednesday made it compulsory for people to use masks while venturing out of their houses.

Here's a quick read on the COVID-19 related updates:

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted that the lockdown might be extended after the completion of the 21-day period.
2. Floor party leaders of various political parties from both the Rajya and Lok Sabha assured the government of their full support in the decisions needed to be taken in the coming days and also suggested taking various measures to help the people.
3. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 1,21,271 tests have been conducted in the country.
4. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to strictly implement 100 per cent lockdown in hotspots located across 15 districts in the state till the morning of April 15. These areas will be completely cordoned off and civilian passes will stay suspended while essentials would be delivered to citizens at their doorsteps.
5. The Supreme Court suggested that all tests to identify coronavirus positive patients should be conducted free of cost in the identified private laboratories and said that the court will pass appropriate order on the matter. The SC bench also asked the central government to look into creating a mechanism for providing reimbursement for the same.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to take the responsibility of a poor family, at least till the COVID-19 crisis persists if they wanted to honour him.
7. Union Home Ministry announced that Rs 3000 crores have been distributed among two crore registered construction workers till now, according to Saheli Ghosh Roy, Joint Secretary.
8. The MHA official said that the Home Secretary has written to the state Chief Secretaries to ensure a continuous supply of essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The states can use measures like fixing stock limits, capping of price and checking bank accounts of the dealers.
9. The Health Ministry has assured that there will be no shortage of Hydroxychloroquine in the country. This came after India lifted the ban on the export of the anti-malarial drug being sued to treat COVID-19
10. The Maharashtra government too has issued an order to compulsorily wear masks while entering any government offices in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune Metropolitan Region.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday asked the state's MPs to take up the matter of deaths of eight Keralites at a resort in Nepal early this week, with the Centre to pursue the matter with the neighbouring country's government.

He was speaking to the MPs at the customary meeting that the Chief Minister has with all MPs ahead of every session of the parliament.

"The demand has come from the families of the victims for a fair probe on what happened and adequate compensation. For this, you (MPs) should take it up with the Centre. A probe has to be done by the Nepal authorities and the Centre should pursue this with them," Pinarayi reportedly stated. 

"We (the state government) have already taken the issue with the Centre and will now send a detailed letter on the need for a fair probe by the Nepal authorities," he added.

The eight dead include Praveen Krishnan Nair, who worked in the UAE and was on a short vacation here, when the tragedy struck the family. His wife Saranya, a second year M.Pharma student, and their three children, were also killed.

On Friday morning, it was a goodbye that Thiruvananthapuram has perhaps not seen before, as hundreds of people, many of them strangers, came to pay last respects to the five members of the Nair family.

The family of Praveen Nair decided to bury the bodies of the three children and cremate the bodies of Praveen and Saranya. It was also decided to bury the ashes of the couple alongside their three children in the compound of their house.

The second family hailed from Kozhikode and the bodies of Ranjith, an IT professional, his wife, who works in a cooperative bank and their younger child, who slept in the same room as that of Praveen, arrived at the Kozhikode airport on Friday morning.

State Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran and many others were there to receive the bodies, which were first taken to Ranjith's new home that is almost complete.

From there it was taken to a hall for all to pay their last respects and then to the family home of Ranjith where the cremation took place.

Watching everything happening was Ranjith's elder son, seven-year-old Madhav, who escaped that night in Nepal as he was sleeping in another room.

Madhav had arrived from Delhi on Thursday and was unaware of the tragedy as he was busy moving around in a new bicycle, which his relatives had bought to keep him busy.

Jan 27: Bollywood Film Director Anurag Kashyap, who has been vocal about his political views on social media, slammed Union Minister Amit Shah and accused him of being 'cheap'.

"How timid our Home Minister is. Its own police, its own goons, its own army and security increases and invades unarmed protestors. Amit Shah has crossed the extent of cheapness and inferiority. History will spit on this animal," Kashyap tweeted.

The film director has taken an active part in the anti-Citizenship Act protest rallies and was against the Jawaharlal Nehru violence. He also came in support of his contemporary Deepika Padukone when the latter faced backlash for showing up at JNU in support of the students.