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Noida, May 6: Not having Aarogya Setu app on smartphone while out in public in Noida or Greater Noida will be considered a violaton of lockdown rules and the person will be punished.

Action will also be taken against people going outdoors without a face mask or spitting in public places, Gautam Buddh Nagar police said, news agency reported.

Aarogya Setu is a mobile application developed by the central government to connect essential health services with the people to fight Covid-19.

The app is aimed at augmenting the initiatives of the Centre, particularly the Department of Health, in proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of Covid-19.

"If smartphone users do not have the 'Aarogya Setu' app installed on their mobile phones, then that will be punishable and considered a violation of the lockdown directions," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Ashutosh Dwivedi said.

The district police had on Sunday announced extending the Criminal Procedure Code section 144, which bars assembly of four or more people, till May 17, as the central government extended the nationwide lockdown by another two weeks in a bid to check the spread of the virus.

"Spitting in public places will attract punishment along with a fine. Not wearing a face mask in public places or offices will also be a punishable offence.

During the lockdown period, political, social, religious, sports gatherings as well as protest marches and rallies will remain banned across Noida and Greater Noida, the official said in the order.

"The central government has extended the lockdown till May 17 in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Gautam Buddh Nagar has been identified as 'red zone' and hotspots have been identified here. During this duration, all guidelines of the lockdown are to be followed," he said.

Gautam Buddh Nagar, which falls in the 'Red Zone', has 34 containment zones and has recorded 179 positive cases of coronavirus so far, with 102 of these patients being cured and discharged from hospitals, according to official figures.

Hyderabad, Mar 31: Six people from Telangana who attended a religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin died due to the novel coronavirus, the state government said on Monday.

"Coronavirus has spread among some of those who attended a religious prayer meeting from March 13 to 15 at Markaz in Nizamuddin area in Delhi," according to an official release. "Among those who attended were some persons from Telangana."

Two of the six died at the Gandhi Hospital, one each in two private hospitals, and one each in Nizamabad and Gadwal towns, the statement said, without mentioning the time of their deaths.

The special teams under the collectors have identified the persons who came in contact with the deceased and they are shifted to the hospitals, it said.

Police and paramilitary personnel cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West in south Delhi on Monday and over 200 people have been kept in isolation in hospitals after several people who took part in a religious congregation there showed symptoms of coronavirus.

The Telagana government asked those who participated in the prayers to inform the authorities. It will conduct tests and offer treatment to them free of cost, according to the release.

The government also requested the people to alert if they come to know about those who participated in the prayers.

Earlier a separate government release said a person died of COVID-19 in Telangana, taking the toll to two and the total number touched 77 after six fresh cases were reported on Monday.

As many as 13 patients who underwent treatment for the virus were discharged on Monday, a media bulletin on COVID-19 issued by the state government said.

A techie, the first COVID-19 case in Telangana, has been discharged recently. The state now has 61 active cases, the bulletin said.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had on Sunday said barring a 76-year-old person, who had other ailments, the other patients were doing well.

Rao had said 25,937 people were under surveillance and being watched by 5,746 teams and they would be out of watch after completing their mandated 14-day quarantine period. He had said all those who are under observation would be out of vigil by April 7 if there are no fresh suspected cases.

"From March 30, their time is nearing completion. After that, they do not need to be under any surveillance. By April 7, we will have a situation of zero... We pray God that we should not get new cases,"

Kochi, Apr 24: The central government on Thursday submitted a statement in the Kerala High Court on the three petitions challenging the contract between Kerala government and US-based data analytics company Sprinklr.

Assistant Solicitor General P Vijayakumar filed the statement on behalf of the central government, which is the second respondent in the case.

The statement said that the contract between the Kerala government and Sprinklr dilutes the rights of the people. It stated the contract does not specify the amount of compensation that individuals should receive in case of breach of privacy or misuse of information.

It also said that it was not clear whether the information was collected and handed over to the data analytics firm with full consent of the patients (suspected and otherwise).

''It is always preferable to utilise the services available in the government sector for sharing sensitive data required for analytical purposes.

The Government of India has introduced the 'Aarogya Setu' application for collection of health data and about seven crore Indian citizens have already downloaded the same. All the state governments are advised to promote the said application for fighting the pandemic," the statement said.

It was further submitted that the "Government of India with the support of NIC is capable of providing all the requirements relating to data storage, processing and application which are being offered the third respondent, if a request to that effect comes from the state government."

Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP state president K Surendran had earlier approached the Kerala High Court seeking cancellation of the state government's agreement with Sprinklr for processing of data related to COVID-19 patients.