Am already 71; faced 13 elections so far... it’s time to retire: Siddaramaiah

New Delhi, Jun 11: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 8,102 and the number of cases climbed to 2,86,579 in the country after it registered the highest single-day spike of 357 fatalities and 9,996 cases till Thursday 8 AM, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The number of recoveries remained more than the active novel coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day.

The number of active cases stands at 1,37,448 while 1,41,028 people have recovered and one patient has migrated to another country, as per the data.   

"Thus, around 49.21 per cent patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.

Of the 357 new deaths reported till Thursday morning, 149 were in Maharashtra, 79 in Delhi, 34 in Gujarat, 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 19 in Tamil Nadu, 17 in West Bengal, eight in Telangana, seven each in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, four in Rajasthan, three each in Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka, two each in Kerala and Uttarakhand, one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh.

Out of the total 8,102 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 3,438 deaths followed by Gujarat with 1,347 deaths, Delhi with 984, Madhya Pradesh with 427, West Bengal with 432, Tamil Nadu with 326, Uttar Pradesh with 321, Rajasthan with 259 and Telangana with 156 deaths.

The death toll reached 78 in Andhra Pradesh, 69 in Karnataka and 55 in Punjab. Jammu and Kashmir has reported 51 fatalities due to the coronavirus disease, while 52 deaths have been reported from Haryana, 33 from Bihar, 18 from Kerala, 15 from Uttarakhand, nine from Odisha and eight from Jharkhand.

Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have registered six COVID-19 fatalities each, Chandigarh has five while Assam has recorded four deaths so far. Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each, according to the ministry's data.

More than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities, the ministry's website stated.

Rome, Mar 11: Italy has recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus crisis despite locking down the entire country, as New York deployed the National Guard to contain a disease that has sown worldwide panic.

The hardest-hit country in Europe said its death toll from the COVID-19 virus had risen Tuesday by a third to 631, with the surging epidemic taking its toll on global sporting, cultural and political events.

While authorities in China, where the outbreak began, have declared it "basically curbed", cases are multiplying around the world, sparking panic buying in shops, and wild swings on financial markets.

China remains the hardest-hit overall with more than 80,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths, out of a global total of 117,339 cases and 4,251 deaths across 107 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally.

The virus is infecting all walks of life, including politics, with US Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden both cancelling campaign rallies and British health minister Nadine Dorries saying she had tested positive.

And amid criticism of the US authorities' response, New York deployed the National Guard for the first time during the crisis to help contain the spread of the disease from an infection-hit suburb.

There have been 173 confirmed cases in New York state, including 108 in Westchester County, home to New Rochelle where the majority of infections have been detected.

"It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country. This is literally a matter of life and death," said state governor Andrew Cuomo.

"People are scared, it's an unusual situation to be in," Miles Goldberg, who runs a New Rochelle bar, told AFP.

"It makes people nervous to be around others, it makes people nervous to get inside into businesses and such," he said.

In an unprecedented move, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has told the 60 million residents of his country they should travel only for the most urgent work or health reasons.

And while squares in Milan and Rome were emptied of their usual bustle and traffic, some residents appeared uncertain if they were even allowed to leave their homes for everyday tasks like shopping.

The virus has battered tourism around the world, as people scrap travel plans, and a restaurant owner in Florence in northern Italy said that the impact on business had been catastrophic.

"We hope that we will see the end of it, because from around 140 covers a day, this afternoon, we've gone down to 20-25," Agostino Ferrara told AFP.

Pope Francis also seemed to muddy the waters, holding a mass in which he urged priests to go out and visit the sick -- something Conte has specifically discouraged.

Sporting events continued to fall victim to the virus as authorities urge people to avoid large gatherings.

Arsenal's game at Manchester City was postponed after players from the London club were put into quarantine, making it the first Premier League fixture to be called off because of the virus.

The virus has sparked doubts about the Olympics due to open in Tokyo on July 24 and the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Greece is set to be held without spectators.

In the United States, organisers rescheduled the two-week Coachella music festival for October.

The virus and the response to the crisis has prompted pandemonium on global markets with volatility not seen since the world financial crisis in 2008.

After suffering its worst session in more than 11 years at the beginning of the week, the Dow Jones Index in New York bounced back significantly, rising five percent on Tuesday.

Politicians around the world have scrambled to put together emergency packages to ease the significant financial hardships the virus is expected to cause for households and businesses.

US President Donald Trump, who is relying on a strong economy to boost his re-election hopes, promised to announce "major" economic measures on Tuesday.

The biggest item on his wish list is a cut in payroll taxes. But even allies in Congress and reportedly some aides in the White House are sceptical, questioning the cost.

Italy prepared Tuesday to let families skip mortgage and some tax payments while Japan unveiled a second emergency package to tackle economic woes stemming from the outbreak, including $15 billion in loan programmes to support small businesses.

Analysts warned of further volatility ahead however.

"It's like winding up a rubber band. The more you wind it, when you let go, the more it pops," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.

"A lot of the uncertainty goes to the root of the virus itself."

Raipur, Apr 12: As many as 108 out of the 159 people that were quarantined by the Chhattisgarh government last week for allegedly taking part in Delhi’s Tablighi Jamaat congregation are Hindus, according to reliable sources. 

The names of these 159 people, who were said to be in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area when the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held mid-March, were mentioned in a list issued by the state home department last month. 

The list has been accessed by the many media outlets. But, Raipur Collector S. Bharti Dasan and the state’s Principal Secretary, Home, Subrata Sahu, claimed no such list was issued.

However, a senior state home department official, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Listing of the names was done on the basis of location of mobile phones traced in Nizamuddin in the month of March during the period when congregation of Tablighi Jamaat was held.

“It was subsequently sent to the chief medical officers in the respective districts for further action,” the official added.

These 159 people have either been quarantined at their homes or at government isolation centres. The quarantine exercise took place between 31 March and 1 April.

Interestingly, almost all the people named in the list have denied attending the massive Jamaat congregation, which had seen the participation of over 3,000 people, including foreigners.

Under quarantine “forcefully”, these people alleged they are facing social boycott as they have been “linked to the Tablighi”.

Those placed under quarantine, told media if their phone locations have shown their presence in the Nizamuddin area that didn’t necessarily mean they had attended the Tablighi congregation.

“My neighbours are no longer like my family. After 31 March, I have received more than 500 calls (from relatives and friends) and had to convince them that I didn’t attend the Jamaat event,” Umesh Pandey, a resident of Ambikapur, said.

“People in my area have started saying that some Brahmins took part in the event. I have no objection to being kept in quarantine, but it should be explained why it is being done,” said Pandey, who is a consumer rights activist.

Pandey said, like every year, he had gone to Delhi in March to participate in a consumer protection programme and had stayed at a hotel in Nizamuddin. “I came back on 17 March. After I was quarantined, a false propaganda is being spread about me that I am linked with Tablighi Jamaat activities.”

Pandey said he and his family are now being “looked at as suspects”. 

Kamal Kumar Popatani, a businessman from Bilaspur district, has faced similar problems. Popatani and his family have been living in isolation since 31 March.

“I am completely flabbergasted by this step taken by the state government. I always visit Delhi to procure items for my shop. This time too I had completed my procurement and had returned home on 16 March. Everything was usual till 30 March, but suddenly after 31 March, when this so-called list of 159 alleged suspects was released by the government, we were placed under isolation,” Popatani said.

“My own family members, neighbours and everyone I know are now accusing me that I had joined the Tabligi Jamaat gathering. How can it ever happen? This strange attitude of the government has made my entire family a victim of social boycott.”

Trader Abdul Rahman, a resident of Lutra Sharif area of Bilaspur district, also echoed similar sentiments.

“I returned from Delhi along with my wife on 15 March, but my entire family has been kept in isolation since 31 March. All this is way beyond my comprehension… Blood samples of the entire family were taken. Now everyone is keeping a distance from us and calling us corona suspects,” said Rahman, who had gone to Delhi for a holiday.

“People not only from my village but also in the nearby villages are pointing fingers at me and my family… We are the ones who condemn Tablighi Jamaat and their activities. We have nothing to do with them. The quarantine… has brought…infamy to us,” he added.

In another goof-up, the list even includes names of some people who no longer live in the state but carried mobile numbers issued in Chhattisgarh. One such name is that of BSF sub-inspector Shantanu Mukherjee, who was working in Bhilai about two years ago, but is currently posted in Delhi.

“What kind of list is this? Who released it in the first place? At first, I received a call from the Covid-19 control room in Chhattisgarh and then from the State Police Control Centre. They inquired about my health and current place of posting,” said Mukherjee, whose office is located close to the Nizamuddin area. 

Makkhan Singh Yadav, a sub-inspector with the CRPF, is another case in point. Yadav, who is posted somewhere close to Nizamuddin, had bought a SIM card from Dantewada, when he was posted there five years ago.

“I had received calls from both Delhi and Chhattisgarh police after being marked as a corona suspect. But when I explained the reality to them, no calls were made thereafter. I could not understand how all this is taking place,” said Yadav, who is a native of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

A first-year Delhi University student, who belongs to Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh, has been kept under isolation at a local government hospital.

The student, who didn’t want to be named, said she had gone to Nizamuddin railway station to catch a train for Chhattisgarh.

“I came home immediately after it was announced that educational institutions are shutting down. After returning from Delhi, I spent around 19 days at my own home, but suddenly I was admitted to the hospital on 1 April. Why have I been brought here (hospital) if I have no symptoms? All this feels like some sort of torture.”

“Despite my repeated denial, I was brought here by the health department on the pretext of being associated with the Tablighi Jamaat,” she said. 

Asked about the Tablighi quarantine list, principal secretary Sahu said: “The government has issued no such list. We have received inputs from the social media about three such lists but the state government has not officially prepared any list.

“All those put under quarantine have been done as per the orders issued by the state government. This order states that those who came to the state after 1 March should be kept under isolation,” he added.

Raipur Collector Dasan refused to say anything about the list and added that people have been kept under quarantine after obtaining their “detailed travel history” based on the guidelines issued by the ICMR.

On the allegation of social boycott, Dasan said: “No person or their families placed under home quarantine or isolation should be subjected to any social boycott or misconduct. They also need not have any social inferiority complex in their minds.

“If any person placed under quarantine feels like this (social inferiority complex), the government has arranged counsellors for them. Our counsellors are convincing and assuring such people by reaching out to them.”