Tag: Coronavirus in India

Evicted from homes, transgender community fights for survival amid coronavirus lockdown

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“Rahne ke liye makaan, khane ke liye roti aur pehenne ke liye kapde, this is the basic need of every human being and that’s what we need” – Reshma Prasad, a transwoman.

It’s the fourth week since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the nationwide lockdown on March 24 following the coronavirus outbreak in the country. These 26 days have been the longest and most trying times of our lives. Many people have remained under constant fear, in desperation or are angered over not being able to venture out of homes.

Transgender men and women in India – one of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities – are facing more severe issues. With the lockdown being extended until May 3, things could only get worse for this community.

Housing problems
In the 2011 Census of India, three codes were added for self-identification — male, female and other. “This was a huge step towards our acceptance of the third gender,” said Abhina Aher, a transwoman, activist and the co-founder of TWEET.

The Socio Economic and Caste Census, 2011, states that rural India has 75,008 transgender people (majority of which are in Bihar and UP). Overall, the “other” gender population was 487,803. “Mind you, these are just the ones who have already ‘come out’ as transgender. Most don’t, for fear of being ostracised by their family and ridiculed and harassed by society for the rest of their lives. They continue to hide their true self,” Aher added.

Two key strategies in defeating COVID-19 are social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). However, most transgender people are poor and live in small clusters, sometimes six to eight share one tiny home.

“You know how expensive it is to rent homes in cities like Mumbai or Delhi. To make matters worse – most landlords don’t want to rent their places to transgender people and if they do, the rent would be much higher than what others have to pay,” Aher explained.

“How can they maintain social distance in such cramped up homes?” she questioned and said, “Most transgender people in India are daily wagers and have mainly three sources of income – they beg, earn from badhai [where transgenders sing, dance and confer blessings on people] and sex work. With the nationwide lockdown, they have no way of earning money to pay rents, for food, utility bills and medicines. Some have already been evicted from their homes by landlords for non-payment of rent.”

Left with limited options, a few of them found shelter with other trans people, but many others have not as yet. Although there are numerous programmes for underprivileged people, most transgender men and women do not benefit from these. “We are called disgusting names and ultimately shooed away from such food centres. Yeh tumlog ke liye nahi hai [this is not the place for you people], is what they are told,” said Reshma Prasad, a transwoman and Secretary of Dostana Safar, an organisation in Patna, Bihar.

Accessing medicines
Due to their involvement in sex work, many transgender people are often subjected to sexual assault and contract HIV. Although anti-retroviral HIV treatment is provided free of cost by the government of India, but accessing the medicines is getting difficult for them due to the lockdown. A number of transgender people have opted for sex reassignment surgery and/or are undergoing hormone therapy, such people need to intake medicines on time, if not they could face severe physical and mental health problems.

“Most transgender people who are undergoing gender reassignment are either out of medicines or on the verge of running out,” said Urmi Jadhav, a transwoman and activist for the community. The National Institute of Social Defence (NSID) did reach out to the transgender community and provided them with a Google document link, both for those with Aadhaar cards and a bank account and those who didn’t have either. However, Jadhav said that there is no follow up from authorities, even after submitting the forms.

Prasad explained, “Most trans people are uneducated as their family disowned them or they quit school due to constant physical and verbal abuse. They run away from homes leaving behind crucial documents including identity proof. Many forms are in English. How are we supposed to fill them? No one helps us. Even if we muster the courage to go to government offices or banks we are constantly judged and ridiculed and in some cases ignored by staff.”

Jayna Kothari, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court and Executive Director at the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) pointed out that the 2014 NALSA judgment was a landmark decision for the third gender. The judgement directed the central and state governments to take proactive action in securing the rights of transgender people.

Financial difficulties
The 2017 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in association with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) conducted a study of different social protection schemes for the transgender community by the Indian government and found that numerous issue plagued the community.

The study involved respondents from five states and identified five priority areas in which transgender people sought government assistance including housing, employment, health, proof of identity and financial security. Other priorities included education, livelihood security, vocational education, legal services, citizens’ rights and food security.

Once the lockdown was announced, organisations like TWEET, Humsafar Trust, Keshav Suri Foundation (KSF) in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu, Dostana Safar (Bihar), Mitwa (Chhattisgarh), Ondede (Karnataka) immediately sprang into action.

Most organisations reached out to the government for help, but simultaneously started pooling resources together. Some individuals contributed funds from personal savings, while employees of these organisations took voluntary pay cuts to help build funds for the community.

These organisations reached out to the community via networking platforms and with the help of individuals and corporate sympathisers started distributing ration, medicines as well as cash to help them. However, Reshma added, “There are thousands who are missing out and getting no welfare, especially in rural areas of Bihar, because they are scared to come out of their homes.”

Addressing mental health issues
Many NGOs are helping transgender people cope with mental health problems through digital means. They are using Instagram, YouTube and Facebook to hold regular live chats to address issues such as anxiety, depression among others arising due to improper hormonal balance (due to disruption in hormonal therapy).

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) and NISD are working to empower marginalised communities. Moreover, the Karnataka government on April 8 announced that transgender people receiving pension (Rs 600 per month) would get the amount for two months upfront, while free medicines – as long as they have a valid doctor’s prescription – would also be provided to them. However, not many are believed to have signed up for the assistance. This reason behind this could be the challenges in identifying transgender beneficiaries due to the lockdown. CNBC-TV18.com has reached out to MSJE and NISD and is awaiting a response.

Treatment of transgender sex workers
According to Aher, “The risk of coronavirus infection in the community is high as many of them depend on sex work for survival and cater to 10-11 clients in a day. They can contract the infection easily. Assume that a transgender person has tested positive for COVID-19, how and where would they quarantine such a person. Authorities should realise that they would need separate wards for them as they could have existing health complications such as HIV, anal cancer, TB or UTIs (common amongst those who undergo SRS).

“Some community members have told me that when they go to a hospital, some doctors don’t know how to treat them. For example, if a transwoman goes to a female doctor, she is directed to a male doctor or vice versa. No woman would be comfortable if they are kept in a male ward. In extreme cases, some transgender people have been turned away altogether.”

Accepting and empowering transgender people
Chhattisgarh is one of the few states with a functioning Transgender Welfare Board, and the state’s Education Board has included lessons about the transgender community as part of the school curriculum.

In 2012, the state organised a national-level Third Gender Sports Meet drawing participation from hundreds of trans people.

In 2019, in a big boost to the community, a mass wedding was organised where 15 transwomen were married to men in traditional Hindu rituals.

Veena Sendre is another example of the progressive change in Chhattisgarh. A winner of the second Miss Transqueen India, she represented India at the Miss International Queen 2019.

Moreover, the Chhattisgarh State Tourism Board released an advertisement with Sendre, with the tagline: #ALandFullOfSurprises.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus India News LIVE Updates: Maharashtra cases near 1,900, over 8,000 positive cases in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coronavirus India News live updates: India’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 273 on Sunday, while the number of cases jumped to 8,356. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 7,367. Total cases increased by 909, with 802 active cases, 73 discharged and 34 deaths in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday extended the lockdown till April 30 in the view of rising spread of coronavirus in the state. Follow our live blog to receive all the updates on the coronavirus outbreak in India as well as across the globe.

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Coronavirus India News LIVE Updates: Centre considering extending lockdown beyond April 14 after requests by CMs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coronavirus India News live updates: India’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 239 on Saturday while the number of cases jumped to 7,447. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 6,565. As many as 33 new deaths have been reported since Friday evening. Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 110, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 33, Gujarat at 19 and Delhi at 13. The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1666, followed by Tamil Nadu at 911 and Delhi at 903. Meanwhile, the Centre is considering a request made by most states to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown by two more weeks beyond April 14, a government spokesperson said on Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers and told them focus should be now on health as well as prosperity of the nation.

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Coronavirus April 10 Highlights: PM Modi may announce lockdown extension on Sunday as total cases touch 6,700

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coronavirus April 10 Highlights: India’s COVID-19 tally hit the 6,700 mark on Friday as more states confirmed positive cases and fatalities from the deadly virus. The Union Home Ministry’s latest update said 206 people have died across the country with a total of 6412 positive cases so far. Out of 6,761 cases, 6,039 are active cases, while 515 people have been cured or discharged. In the last 24 hours, the total cases have risen by 678. With no respite from the rising number of corona cases across India, it is highly likely that PM Modi may extend lockdown measures across India. Stay home, stay safe!

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Coronavirus effect: Govt exempts ventilators, masks, PPE from customs duty

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Union government has exempted basic customs duty and health cess on a number of medical equipment, including ventilators and face masks, in view of the efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The basic customs duty exemption will be applicable until September 30, 2020.

“In the context of COVID-19 situation, considering the immediate requirement of ventilators and other items, the central government has granted exemption from basic customs duty and health cess, on the import of following goods, with immediate effect: a. Ventilators, b. Facemasks, surgical masks, c. Personal protection equipment d. COVID-19 test kits e. Inputs for manufacture of the above items,” a finance ministry press release stated.

It added: “The basic customs duty exemption shall be available up to September 30, 2020.”

Earlier Thursday, the government approved a COVID-19 emergency package worth Rs 15,000 crore for states. It has been named India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.

Questions have been raised about India’s preparedness ahead of a possible bracing battle against the coronavirus pandemic that has caused havoc the world over. More than 1.5 million people have been infected globally, while upwards of 90,000 have succumbed to complications arising from the virus.

In India, nearly 6,000 people have been infected while the number of dead in the country number 166.

Follow all the coronavirus updates live here

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540 new coronavirus cases, 17 deaths in the last 24 hours as govt announces emergency package

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The number of positive coronavirus cases in India has climbed to 5,734 after 540 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, while 166 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the country, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health ministry said in a press conference on Thursday.

In the past 24 hours 17 people have succumbed to the deadly infection, while 13,143 samples have been tested in that period. The total of tests in the country stands at 130,000.

Further, the union government has approved a COVID-19 emergency package worth Rs 15,000 crore for states. It has been named India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.

Nearly Rs 7,774 crore will be utilised for immediate COVID-19 response and the rest of the funds will be used for support over a period of 1-4 years.

On March 24, PM Narendra Modi had announced that the government has made a provision of Rs 15,000 to fight the virus.

In other measures to contain the spread of the contagion, ten teams have been sent to ten states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, among others, while Indian Railways has deployed over 37,000 doctors, paramedic staff for management of COVID-19.

Additionally, the Railways has converted 3,500 coaches into quarantine facilities to isolate those infected with the virus.

Agarwal revealed that the Union government’s group of ministers have held discussions with regards to dedicated COVID-19 hospitals to deal with coronavirus cases. They have also discussed the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), N95 masks and ventilators required to help the medical professionals fight the pandemic.

Twenty PPE makers in the country have been identified and an order for 1.7 crore PPEs has been made. Additionally, an order to procure 49,000 ventilators has been placed, he added.

Agarwal also expounded on the need to use the N95 masks judiciously. Each mask can be used for eight hours.

Agarwal said that hydroxychloroquine should be used as per the norms as it can be harmful if administered to the patients with cardiac ailments. He also revealed that the anti-malarial drug, which has been touted as being effective for COVID-19 treatment, is available in sufficient quantities in the country.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that convalescent plasma therapy protocol, a possible treatment for coronavirus, is in final stage but has not currently been prescribed for all.

The approval of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) will be needed before human trials could begin. Currently, it will be used for clinical trials only.

Other countries have found it to be useful in limited clinical trial, the ICMR revealed.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Lockdown extension: PM Modi says coronavirus situation akin to ‘social emergency’, requires tough decisions

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for tough decisions to deal with the coronavirus situation in India, which he described as akin to a ‘social emergency’. The Prime Minister asserted that the priority of his government is to “save each and every life”, while interacting with floor leaders of opposition and other parties.

“The country has been forced to take tough decisions, and must continue to remain vigilant. He said that several state governments, district administrations and experts have asked for extension of the phase of Lockdown,” the Modi government said in a statement.

PM Modi praised the efforts of state governments and hailed the spirit of cooperative federalism.

“Today’s discussion reflects constructive and positive politics, reaffirms India’s strong democratic foundations and spirit of cooperative federalism,” the PM said.

PM Modi held a meeting with floor leaders of opposition and other parties in Parliament to discuss the situation arising out of the deadly pandemic and the Centre’s efforts to contain the fast spreading virus in India. The interaciton was held through video conferencing and was joined by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar among others.

Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, Biju Janata Dal’s Pinaki Misra, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bahujan Samaj Party’s SC Mishra, YSR Congress Party’s Vijay Sai Reddy and Mithun Reddy and Janata Dal United’s Rajeev Ranjan Singh also attended the meeting.

The Prime Minister thanked leaders for proviidng feedback, suggest policy measures, discuss Lockdown and the way forward, the statement added.

Govt likely to extend lockdown: Adhir Ranjan

Congress Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government is likely to extend the ongoing lockdown beyond April 14 to combat the coronavirus spread.

“It is likely that the government may extend the lockdown,” PTI quoted Chowdhury as saying after attending the meeting.

He said the Congress party has put forth some suggestions with regard to the crisis in the farming sector, including exemption of farmers from the 21-day lockdown for harvesting of Rabi crops. The party has also demanded that all taxes on fertilisers be withdrawn, he said.

The Congress leader said the party had suggested that those enrolled under the rural job scheme MGNREGA be given priority while carrying out harvesting of the standing crop.

The Centre is holding discussions at various levels and state governments with India nearing the April 14 deadline of the ongoing 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.

Several states have favoured the extension to contain the fast-spreading virus as the number of cases in India on Wednesday totalled above the 5,000 mark with nearly 150 fatalities.

In recent day, PM Modi has held discussions with various stakeholders, including heads of various political party, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Modi also recently talked to former presidents Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee as well as former PMs HD Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh.

Also, catch all the latest updates and developments on the novel coronavirus with CNBCTV18.com’s blog

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 cases rise to 5,274, death toll stands at 149: Union health ministry

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The total number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 5,274 on Wednesday, registering an increase of 485 cases in the last 24 hours, while the death toll stood at 149, the union health ministry said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases is 4,714 and as many as 410 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said. The total number of cases include 71 foreign nationals.

As many as 25 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Sixteen people died Maharashtra, two each in Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu and one in Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 64, followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh at 13 each and Delhi at 9. Telangana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have reported seven fatalities each.

West Bengal has registered five deaths, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have reported four each, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each.

Two deaths each have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala. Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry data. The death toll on Tuesday evening was 124.

However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Wednesday evening showed at least 5,521 cases and 172 deaths while 500 were discharged.

There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the number of cases announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

According to the ministry’s data updated at 5 pm, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 1,018, followed by Tamil Nadu at 690 and Delhi at 576 cases.

The cases have risen to 427 in Telangana while Kerala has reported 336 COVID-19 cases so far. Rajasthan has 328 cases, Uttar Pradesh has 343 and Andhra Pradesh reported 305 coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus cases have risen to 229 in Madhya Pradesh, 175 in Karnataka and 165 in Gujarat. Haryana has 147 cases, Jammu and Kashmir has 116, West Bengal has 99 and Punjab has 91 positive patients so far.

Odisha has reported 42 coronavirus cases while 38 people were infected with the virus in Bihar, Uttarakhand has 31 patients and Assam 27. Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh have 18 cases each while Ladakh has 14 positive patients so far.

Ten cases each have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chhattisgarh. Goa has reported seven COVID-19 infections, followed by Puducherry at five cases.

Jharkhand has reported four cases and Manipur two. Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one case each.  “State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation,” the ministry said on its website.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Several state govts intend to extend lockdown as coronavirus cases mount

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With the number of coronavirus cases steadily rising in the country, several state governments have hinted at extending the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown beyond April 14 in their states. Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka have indicated intentions of continuing with the lockdown beyond its mid-April schedule.

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope has been one of the most vocal supporters of continuing the lockdown. On Monday, he said: […] if the number of positive cases keep increasing until April 15, then we will have to think whether to extend the lockdown in a staggered manner.”

Maharashtra is one of the worst-affected regions in the country, with the tally of positive cases in the state nearing 900, with 45 casualties.

On Sunday as well Tope had expressed apprehensions about lifting the lockdown measures in the face of rising number of positive coronavirus cases. Lockdown will continue in areas where coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly, Tope told CNBC-TV18. “Lockdown in Mumbai is likely to continue post April 14 as well as cases are increasing rapidly,” he added.

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has also hinted at a possible extension of the lockdown. “The way things are now, I don’t think the lockdown will end on April 14. It’ll end only when people fully cooperate and don’t come out of their homes. If it [rise in the number of positive cases] continues, people will be responsible for it themselves,” Yediyurappa told a Kannada news channel on Monday.

Karnataka has recorded more than 165 positive cases of the contagion.

On Monday, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was explicit in his intention of extending the lockdown in the state.

“I am for the lockdown of the country after 15 April. We can recover economy later. In the given situation, with India’s poor health infrastructure and with a big workforce, we have no other weapon. To the best of my knowledge, the lockdown should continue,” he told a press conference.

KCR added: “We can revive the economy but not the dead. The human life is the most precious.”

The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Telangana stood at 364, according to KCR’s telling on Monday.

The nationwide lockdown began on March 25 and remains in effect until April 14. All services deemed non-essential have been ordered shut, and people have been advised to practice social distancing.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country has climbed upwards of 4,400 and 114 people have died of complications from the virus. Globally, the number of cases has climbed above 1.3 million and over 75,000 people have succumbed to the pandemic.

Most countries around the globe are in various stages of lockdown to prevent the spread of the contagion.

Follow all the coronavirus updates live here

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus in India: 1,445 cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat event; total cases rise to 4,281, death toll at 111

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Out of the over 4,000 cases of coronavirus, at least 1,445 have been found to be linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, the Union Health Ministry said on April 6.

The ministry’s updated data came a day after it said the rate of doubling of COVID-19 cases in India accelerated to 4.1 days from the previously estimated 7.4 days due to the Jamaat event held in Nizamuddin West last month.

Joint Secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal at a press conference around 4 pm said there had been 693 new COVID-19 cases and 30 deaths since Sunday.

According to an updated evening tally of the ministry, the total death toll now stands at 111 and the number of cases has climbed to 4,281.

However, a PTI tally based on figures reported by states directly showed at least 129 deaths across the country, while the confirmed cases have reached 4,533. Of them, 344 have been cured and discharged.

Presenting an analysis of the cases based on gender distribution, Agarwal said males account for 76 per cent of the positive cases and females 24 per cent.

Agarwal said people aged below 40 years account for 47 pc of the total cases, those between 40 and 60 for 34 pc, and those aged 60 years and above account for 19 pc.

Males account for 73 per cent deaths due to coronavirus while females 27 per cent, he said, adding that 63 per cent deaths have been reported among people aged 60 and above, 30 per cent among people between 40 to 60 years and 7 per cent among people below 40 years.

“As of now, 86 per cent death cases have exhibited comorbidity related to diabetes, chronic kidney issues, hypertension and heart-related problems. Since 63 per cent deaths have been observed among elderly, they form a high risk population,” Agarwal said.

Young people with comorbidities are also at high risk of COVID-19, he said, while urging them to be equally careful and follow social distancing.

On AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria reportedly saying that there has been “localised community transmission” in some parts of the country, Agarwal commented, “What the director has said is not in variance with what we have been explaining to you. He said localised community transmission, which implies a larger number of cases have been found in a particular area.”

According to an ICMR official, there is limited evidence on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine to deal with COVID-19 cases and therefore, there is not enough proof to advise it for the general public.

The Cabinet Secretary has been interacting through video conference with various district officials at cutting edge levels to ensure uniformity of response in all state. All districts have been advised to have a district-level Crisis Management Plan for COVID-19.

States have already been advised to use funds under the National Health Mission (NHM) and State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to create quarantine centres, dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and treatment of patients, he said.

“In addition to this, Rs 1,100 crore has been sanctioned to all the states under the National Health Mission and Rs 3,000 crore of additional funds were released today. Also, N-95 masks, ventilators and PPEs are being procured from the central pool and distributed to all the states across the country,” he said.

Head of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at ICMR Raman R Gangakhedkar said orders have been placed for procuring 5 lakh rapid antibody test kits for conducting COVID-19 tests. Around 2.50 lakh kits are likely to be delivered by April 8 or 9.

When asked whether hydroxychloroquine is recommended for public consumption, he said the government has allowed its use as a preventive medication for healthcare workers dealing with coronavirus infected patients.

“There is limited evidence on the efficacy of the drug,” Khedkar said, adding that the drug has side effects and people should not take it unless advised by a doctor.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow