The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which runs the Taj properties chain, has said that out of 500 employees who were tested for coronavirus, an unspecified number of its workers here in Mumbai have tested positive for the virus.
The company, which is hosting doctors and other health workers in its premium hotels in Mumbai in a battle against coronavirus pandemic, conducted COVID-19 tests of its “500 employees who are at work in the city hotels till date.”
Without specifying the number of infected employees, the IHCL said in a statement that “those who have tested positive mostly were asymptomatic showing absolutely no signs of illness. However, staff testing positive and symptomatic were duly hospitalised and others who were in contact with them have immediately been put in quarantine in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) norms and guidelines issued by the local government authorities.”
Taj Mahal Palace and Tower of the company does not have any guests at the current time and only very minimal staff are present to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the hotel, it said.
The IHCL said that it has been supporting the Centre with various humanitarian initiatives by offering its hotels to the medical fraternity, health workers, supporting certain states with quarantine facilities.
The highest number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country was reported from Maharashtra at 1761, including 127 deaths, as per the Union Health Ministry.
The World Bank on Sunday said migrant workers returning home could become vectors carrying the coronavirus to unaffected states and villages and that preliminary findings indicated in India many out migration areas are likely to have COVID-19 cases.
In its biannual regional report, the World Bank said South Asia is one of the highest population density areas in the world, particularly urban areas, and that preventing domestic coronavirus transmission is an enormous challenge in the region.
This makes contagion easier, especially among the most vulnerable people: slum dwellers and migrant workers, it said.
In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the time between the announcement of suspension of inland passenger transport and its enforcement was less than a day, which gave way to chaos as migrants scrambled to get back to their provinces, exacerbating the crowding and making enforcement of social distancing impossible.
The flow of migrant workers could easily become vectors carrying the coronavirus back to other states and villages, said the World Bank in its South Asia Economic Update: Impact of COVID-19 report released Sunday.
One minor advantage of South Asia is that the population over 65 years of age is lower than in the US and China, which could also limit the death rates, the report stated.
However, household sizes are large. As in other countries, the inadequate availability of medical equipment (such as sanitizers, masks, and ventilators), and a scarcity of mostly imported medical products led countries to stock domestic supplies.
The Bank said that lockdown policies have affected hundreds of millions of migrants across the subcontinent many of whom are day labourers and no longer have work in urban centres, leading to mass migrations, often by foot, back to their rural homes.
Migrants face a stark choice between potentially starving in urban centers without work or long and potentially fatal journeys over hundreds of miles to their home districts, it said.
Preliminary findings indicate that in India, high-out migration areas are more likely to have COVID-19 cases, the World Bank said as it urged the government to direct early resources to high-risk areas as defined by high-migration corridors, including medical equipment and stafUse available big data and digital data to analyse patterns of reverse migration and movement around the country, to more precisely identify potential hot-spots, it said and called for establishing social safety nets to help limit reverse migration
If not possible to prevent reverse migration to rural districts via urban-centered social protection programs, governments should consider immediate assistance to migrants to limit suffering and loss of life during the strenuous long-distance journeys, by providing information and food and water to journeying migrants, the World Bank said.
The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 273 and the number of cases to 8,356 in the country on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 7,367, as many as 715 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said.
As many as 34 new deaths have been reported since Saturday evening, the ministry said.
So far, Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 127, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 36, Gujarat at 22 and Delhi at 19.
Punjab has registered 11 deaths while Tamil Nadu reported 10 fatalities and Telengana nine.
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reported six deaths each while West Bengal has registered five deaths.
Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh have reported four and five deaths respectively. Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each.
Two deaths have been reported from Kerala. Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry data.
The death toll on Friday evening was 242.
However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by various states as on 9 pm on Saturday showed at least 287 deaths due to COVID-19.
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 in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1,761, followed by Delhi at 1,069 and Tamil Nadu at 969.
The cases have gone up to 700 in Rajasthan, followed by 532 in Madhya Pradesh, 504 in Telengana and and 452 in Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala has reported 364 cases and Andhra Pradesh 381. Gujarat has 432 positive patients so far.
Novel coronavirus cases have risen to 214 in Karnataka, 207 in Jammu and Kashmir and 177 in Haryana.
Punjab has 151 positive patients so far while West Bengal has 124 cases.
Bihar has reported 63 cases and Odisha 50.
Thirty-five people were infected with the virus in Uttarakhand while Assam has 29 patients, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 32 cases.
“State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation,” the ministry said on its website.
Maharashtra Police have registered over 35,000 offences across the state against those violating prohibitory orders and quarantine guidelines during the lockdown imposed since last month, a senior official said.
In an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus and strictly enforce the lockdown, the police started taking stern action since March 22 by registering cases against offenders under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), he said.
So far, the police have arrested at least 2,525 people across the state under IPC Section 188. Besides, there been 70 cases of assault on police personnel for which 161 people have been arrested, he said.
Also, nearly 475 people have been found violating the quarantine orders, the official said.
Police have so far handled more than 61,000 calls at their various control rooms in connection with coronavirus and related issues, he said.
Till Saturday, police registered 803 offences for illegal transportation, he said, adding that 19,675 vehicles were seized and Rs 1.23 crore fine was collected from their owners.
So far, three police personnel on duty have tested positive for coronavirus in the state, he said.
The US has overtaken Italy as the country with the highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic with the fatalities crossing 20,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data, as the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe.
The deadly coronavirus, that originated in China in December last year, has so far killed more than one lakh people across the globe. The United States on Saturday became the country with the highest number of deaths at 20,597, surpassing Italy’s 19,468 fatalities.
More than 5.3 lakh Americans have tested positive for coronavirus, which is about the same for the next four countries put together: Spain (163,027), Italy (152,271), Germany (125,452) and France (93,790). In terms of fatalities, the US and Italy are followed by Spain (16,606), France (13832) and United Kingdom (9,875), the varsity data showed.
New York City, the financial capital of the world, has emerged as the epicenter of coronavirus in the world. A city of 8.3 million, which is one of the most densely populated cities in the US, by Saturday night had as many as 8,627 deaths and more than 180,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19.
President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency and all the 50 States have been notified with major disaster declaration. More than 95 per cent of the country’s 330 million population are under stay-at-home order. Trump has deployed more than 50,000 personnel from the armed forces in fight against COVID-19.
After an initial two-week social mitigation measures, that includes social distancing, the measures have been extended till April 30. Initially, members of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus had projected between one and two lakhs deaths. Now, they have dropped the projection to 60,000 deaths, mainly due to the successful implementation of these measures.
“The people of our country have gone through a lot. But we did it the right way. And we look like we’ll be coming in on the very, very low side, really below the lowest, the lowest side of the curve of death,” Trump told Fox News on Saturday night.
Trump asserted that situation was improving in places like New York, where there is a drop in new patients. Responding to a question, he said he wanted the country to open up as soon as possible.
However, he has not taken a decision so far, even as some media reports said that he the President was looking for early May.
“I think it’s going to be the toughest decision that I’ve ever made. I really, hopefully that I ever will have to make. But it’s certainly the toughest decision that I’ve ever made. I hope that I’m going to make the right decision,” Trump said, adding that he will be making a decision reasonably soon.
“We’re setting up a council now of some of the most distinguished leaders in virtually every field including politics and business and medical. We’ll be making that decision fairly soon,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that its investigations have revealed that the president was warned about a potential pandemic but that internal divisions, lack of planning and his faith in his own instincts led to a halting response.
According to The Washington Post, coronavirus is killing about one in 10 hospitalised middle-aged patients and four in 10 older than 85 in the United States. It is particularly lethal to men even when taking into account common chronic diseases that exacerbate risk.
Globally, the novel coronavirus has killed 108,862 people and infected over 1.7 million people globally. The US has the highest number of infections at 529,887, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Two days ago, the State Government’s legal panel informed the bench consisting of Justice AA Sayyed that it was willing to adhere to the Central Government’s ruling while at the same time, they were concerned about the suspicion that this could encourage black marketing and hoarding of essential grain and ration for profit. Additionally, the State Government’s lawyers mentioned that verification will be conducted to make sure that those eligible to receive the benefits are actually unable to get food or grain.
Councils of the Maharashtra Government have mentioned to the Bombay High Court that it has set up 4,000 distribution centers across the state to provide free food and ration to those with no means, including up to 7 lakh migrant workers and daily wage-earners. This came after the High Court was hearing a petition that demanded a stay on two resolutions passed by the State Government on March 29 and 30 respectively. As per these resolutions, migrant workers and daily wage earners had to pay Rs 2 and Rs 5 for grains and other rations. The petition challenged this saying that it’s against the Central Government’s proposal to provide free food and ration to workers and migrants. The Bombay High Court heard all the submissions and has asked the state and district legal services authority to cross-check the state government’s claims and provide a detailed report on the same. Further, the court directed Maharashtra’s Food and Civil Supplies Department to file an affidavit showing the number of people who have benefited from this plan while also providing precise data on the number of food grains distributed. The court will hear the matter further on April 15
As the new coronavirus virus spread across the globe, an increasing number of countries have imposed extraordinary curbs on movement and social contact in a bid to contain the spread of the disease and prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed. With economically-crippling lockdowns extended in country after country, governments have been pressed to ease restrictions on key businesses and industries.But with a vaccine at least a year away, the world faces an “uphill battle”, according to Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the United States-based Council on Foreign Relations. He said that any one country or region’s success in containing the disease was shaky so long as the pathogen continues to sicken people elsewhere. Around the world, public health officials and religious leaders alike have warned people against violating the lockdowns and social distancing rules over Easter and allowing the virus, which has infected more than 1.6 million people, to come storming back. Authorities resorted to roadblocks and other means to discourage travel.In Italy, where Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on announced an extension of the country’s lockdown until May 3, officials employed helicopters, drones and stepped-up police checks to make sure residents did no slip out of their homes. The confirmed death toll from the new coronavirus has exceeded 100,000 worldwide, as the United Nations’ global health agency – the World Health Organization – warned governments against rolling back measures introduced to curb the spread of the pandemic. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency would like to see an easing, but cautioned that “lifting restrictions could lead to a deadly resurgence”. SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
When the doctors, nurses and other medical and paramedical staff from all over the world are working at front foot to fight the deadly coronavirus, where all the private practitioners (doctors) have gone? Should they have disappeared like this in such a difficult time? The patients have been paying mouth-watering fees to these private practitioners. But when the country and society needed them the most, they have hidden in their houses.
Have they also got orders to keep their clinic closed due to the lockdown? Needless to say that in such emergency conditions the need of the doctors is the most to serve mankind. But these private practising doctors have left the field. If we see around us, we will find that all the private practitioners are missing closing their private clinics and hospitals.
At the end of the day, we see that only government doctors are on the forefront to serve the people in such an emergent situation. Although it is also true that there is no dearth of such people who have been criticizing these doctors.
There are some serious situations in the medical profession that cannot be avoided like delivery of a child, heart attack, brain tumor, dialysis and many more. These doctors have perhaps forgotten that to make these people a doctor, the country has spent plenty of its money and it becomes their moral duty to serve the people in such an emergent situation.
These private practitioners have been leading a luxurious life style due to their huge earnings through this profession. Now when the country needed them, they are escaping from performing their duty of a doctor. On the other side, the government hospital doctors have been working for 12-14 hours daily without any lapse. The nurses, attendants and other staff of the hospital are also working without bothering about their service conditions and time slot.
The private practising doctors who have been hiding behind their closed doors of houses perhaps never realize that the police and other armed forces perform their duties in most unfavourable conditions. Many of these brave policemen have lost their lives while serving the country and society. They are no less than our army and paramilitary forces who are manning the Indian borders by putting their lives in danger. Similarly, the doctors’ profession is also very challenging. They are made to serve the people during spread of pandemic and other type of illness and diseases.
This is a very crucial time when all people including the vegetable vendors, milkmen, medical shops (chemists) and others are doing their job well so that common people should not suffer during the spread of pandemic in the world. Are these people not exposed to the danger of this virus? Yes, they are. Then why these private doctors are not coming out to serve the society, and the country.
The government should issue an order in which these doctors should be asked to report immediately to the nearest government hospital so that they can help other doctors and staff in combating the COVID-19. In case of any dereliction of duty found at their end, the government should cancel their license with immediate effect.
This is the high time for these doctors to improve their image in the eyes of people. If these doctors do not come forward, the people might take it for granted that the allegations, leveled against these private practitioners of grabbing money from patients in distress, were true.
Do not forget that the government hospital doctors are the real heroes who have been serving the mankind in such a crucial time. The people take the doctors of government hospitals as their God because they keep serving the people in distress and illness even during adverse situations. The other staff of the hospital viz., nurses and paramedical staff, all work shoulder to shoulder to help mankind in these government hospitals and dispensaries.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The curfew-like restrictions that will come into effect on immediately will continue till further orders. No one will be allowed to venture out of their houses in these hot spots and essentials will be hand-delivered, the state cabinet decided. Maharashtra govt seals all hotspots, including Dharavi. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down all vegetable vendors, fruit markets, hawkers in the G/North Block. Mumbai police officers’ salary gets delayed due to ‘technical failure’ amid the COVID-19 crisis. Small business in loss, no salaries, shrunken charity, life stalled but safety is prime concern. Dharavi reported the third death when a 70-year-old woman passed away after testing positive for COVID-19. The Maharashtra government on Thursday sealed all the COVID-19 hotposts in Mumbai, including the largest slum cluster, Dharavi, as the state reported 229 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 1,385. Mumbai reported 229 new cases the highest in a single day. Dharavi reported the third death when a 70-year-old woman passed away after testing positive for COVID-19. More than 14 people have been confirmed with the COVID-19 infection in Dharavi. Fearing community transmission, the health ministry drafted a containment plan for slum clusters. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has banned all unlicensed vegetable and fruit markets, hawkers and sellers at the containment areas in Dharavi to prevent further spread of the virus, said officials of BMC. Only medical outlets are allowed to function. Anyone caught buying from unlicensed roadside vendors will be arrested.
Of the 1,385 COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, 876 have been reported from Mumbai, which recorded 54 deaths. Maximum patients have been found in G-South ward spread between Haji Ali and Worli, followed by E, D and K-West wards. Despite the lockdown, the number of containment zones in Mumbai has increased from 146 on 31 March to 381 on Thursday. These include housing societies, slum pockets, and hospitals, including Wockhardt Hospital, Jaslok Hospital, and Bhatia Hospital. BMC has barred the entry or exit of people from the containment zones. The municipal corporation said it will start providing door-to-door service for essentials in these areas. The development comes a day after the Maharashtra government made the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places in Mumbai, the first city in India to do so. Maharashtra has also classified containment zones as simple zones (with one case) and cluster containment zones (with 3-5 cases), besides creating a buffer zone around these containment zones.
In simple terms, the surge will mean the number of cases doubling and tripling. For instance, till two weeks ago, Mumbai was seeing only a handful of cases. It then rose to 50 cases per day and now to more than 100 daily in the last few days. Within 12 hours on Thursday morning, the city saw 48 more cases. BMC, which has been doing aggressive testing has now ramped up its scale. As many as 1,500 tests are being conducted daily. The civic body has formed teams to check not just hot spots but also every municipal ward to spot anyone with symptoms of cough, cold and fever. A state government official said the majority of the cases in the state was because of people who had arrived from Saudi Arabia, UAE and other West Asian countries, which were not in the central list of countries to be quarantined. He, however, said over the last few days, the Nizamuddin Markaz connection has also been identified as several of those who attended the gathering had returned to the state. The effect is particularly seen in Mumbai’s slum pockets such as Dharavi. Giving an example of how tough it is to check the spread of the virus in slums, the spread is much higher and we have to work that much harder to trace the contacts of all these 30 people as well.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
After lot of backlash from opposition and attacks on twitter, Maharashtra government has sent a senior IPS officer on compulsory leave for allowing DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan to travel despite the ongoing lockdown, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said. “As per discussion with Hon. CM, Mr Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (special), has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect, till the pending of enquiry, which will be initiated against him,” Deshmukh said on Twitter.
The Wadhawan family is caught in the multi-crore rupee Deewan Housing Finance (DHFL) scam. The bureaucrat had issued a letter exempting the Wadhawans from the lockdown norms citing a family emergency.
“This is to just inform you that following are my family friends and travelling from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar for family emergency,” the letter signed by Gupta stated. Wadhawans had travelled with 21 members of their family and friends in five cars. The letter gave details of the five cars, their registration numbers and names of people travelling in every car. The Wadhawans were allowed to travel from Pune district to Satara district bypassing the state norms that district borders be sealed.
The issue came to light when residents protested after the Wadhawans and their friends reached Dewan bungalow in Mahabaleshwar.
News agency PTI reported that they were detained in Mahabaleshwar. A senior official in the state secretariat said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was furious because the incident has embarrassed his administration which has been strictly enforcing the lockdown. The home department is empowered to give such leeway or travel pass only to those who have family emergencies including hospitalisation or death of a family member.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently issued summons to Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan over money laundering charges in Yes Bank case and asked them to appear on March 17.
