The Centre on Saturday said it was considering requests made in consensus by state governments to extend by two weeks the nationwide lockdown to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
States made the request during a video-conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with all chief ministers to discuss the next steps to deal with the pandemic. During the meeting, Modi said the government had shifted its focus from “jaan hai to jahaan hai [prioritising health over prosperity]” to “jaan bhi jahaan bhi [health along with prosperity]”.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra became the third state to extend the lockdown till the end of April. The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 7,529 by Saturday evening with 242 deaths, according to the health ministry. The country recorded 768 coronavirus cases and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 652 patients have recovered from the infection so far.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 17.2 lakh people and killed more than 1,04,000, according to an estimate by Johns Hopkins University.
The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.
Here are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.
9.05 pm: Here are the top updates from the day so far:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video-conference with all chief ministers to discuss the path ahead. Most states sought an extension to the lockdown for two weeks, and the Centre said it was considering the request. Modi said the government had changed its motto from “jaan hai to jahaan hai [prioritising health over prosperity]” to “jaan bhi jahaan bhi [health along with prosperity]”. Some chief ministers suggested Modi had agreed to extend the lockdown.
- Maharashtra became the third state after Odisha and Punjab to extend the lockdown to slow down the spread of coronavirus till April 30.
- The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 7,529 by Saturday evening with 242 deaths, according to the health ministry. The country recorded 768 coronavirus cases and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 652 patients have recovered from the infection so far.
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday claimed, citing a statistical analysis, that India could have had 8.2 lakh cases by April 15 in the absence of any measures at all, and 1.2 lakh if only containment measures were in place but no lockdown.
9.02 pm: Delhi reports 166 new cases, taking the total to 1,069. Toll rises to 19.
9 pm: Maharashtra reports 187 new positive cases and 17 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 1,761, according to ANI. In Uttar Pradesh, the toll rises to five and the number of cases reaches 452, PTI reports.
8.28 pm: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy says the lockdown period can be extended but it should be limited only to identified red zones, PTI reports.
8.27 pm: The Goa government has recommended to the Centre that the lockdown should continue till April 30, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says. He says the state government will resume certain activities and establishments, including government offices, on Monday.
8.25 pm: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope says the lockdown in the state could be extended beyond April 30 if people fail to observe social distancing properly, PTI reports. “The chief minister has already announced extending the lockdown period by 15 days till April 30, but it has been extended by minimum 15 days,” he says. “It could be extended further if people do not observe social distancing strictly.”
8.24 pm: Gujarat reports 36 new positive cases and three deaths. This takes the total number of positive cases in the state to 468, and the toll to 22.
7.48 pm: Here’s how the latest data confirmed by the Centre looks like:
7.35 pm: The United Kingdom records 917 more deaths in a day.
7.30 pm: Gurugram has not reported any positive case in the last 72 hours.
7.11 pm: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami supported a two-week extension of lockdown during the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Secretary K Shanmugam says.
7.06 pm: Tamil Nadu reports eight new cases, taking the total to 969.
7.05 pm: According to Mumbai civic body, the city has 189 new cases, taking the total to 1,182. The toll has reached 75 after 11 new deaths.
7.04 pm: Kerala has 10 new cases, taking the total to 373.
7.03 pm: Jammu and Kashmir government releases Rs 27 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund, ANI reports.
7 pm: Andhra Pradesh has 24 new cases, taking the total to 405, ANI reports.
6.35 pm: Two new positive cases reported today in Himachal Pradesh, taking the total to 32, ANI reports.
6.30 pm: Uttarakhand reports no new case for the third day in a row, the number remains at 35.
5.59 pm: Since the 8 am update today, the number of cases has risen by 82, and three more patients have been confirmed dead. Since the 5 pm update the previous day, the total number has risen by 768, and the toll has increased by 36.
5.57 pm: The Centre has updated its data on Covid-19 patients. By 5 pm, 7,529 patients have been confirmed to be infected, out of whom 242 have died and 652 have been dicharged.
5.55 pm: Mamata Banerjee says, according to PTI: “The PM, during the video-conference with chief ministers, said the lockdown will be extended till April 30. We are also on the same page with the Centre. The PM also said the next two weeks are going to be very crucial and critical.”
Read more: States urge Modi to extend lockdown by two weeks, Centre says considering request
5.49 pm: West Bengal reports six more cases, number of active patients rises to 95, says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Schools in the state will remain closed till June 10, she says.
5.48 pm: The finance ministry says more than 30 crore beneficiaries have got direct benefit transfers amounting to Rs 28,256 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package that was announced last month.
5.46 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 17 new cases, taking the number to 224, PTI reports.
5.45 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says the lockdown can be relaxed in some places and will be stricter in some other places. He says further decision on lifting the lockdown completely after April 30 depends on the prevailing situation.
5.44 pm: Maharashtra extends the lockdown in the state till April 30, PTI reports.
5.27 pm: Modi told the chief ministers that the crisis is an opportunity to become self-reliant and turn the nation into an economic powerhouse.
5.25 pm: Modi condemned instances of black marketing and hoarding, as well as attacks on doctors and medical staff. He also condemned misbehaviour with students from the North East and Kashmir.
The prime minister said there “seems to be a consensus amongst the states on extension of lockdown by another two weeks”. He said the motto of the government earlier was “jaan hai to jahaan hai” but now is “jaan bhi jahaan bhi”.
5.23 pm: During the meeting with chief ministers, Modi said the coming three to four weeks were “critical in determining the impact of the steps taken till now”. He assured states that India has adequate supplies of essential medicines and that measures were being taken to ensure availability of protective gear and critical equipment for all front-line workers.
4.31 pm: An official statement on what Prime Minister Modi told the chief ministers:
“When I addressed the nation, I had emphasised on the need for lockdown and social distancing to save lives. Most citizens understood this and fulfilled their responsibility. We have tried to save citizens’ lives, and now, for India’s future, for a prosperous and healthy India, we must focus on the aspect of life as well as happiness [jaan bhi jahaan bhi].”
4.20 pm: Apart from the 3.28 crore tablets of hydroxychloroquine available in the government sector, 2.65 crore tablets are also available with the private sector, says Agarwal.
4.13 pm: The agriculture ministry says despite the lockdown, area coverage under summer crops has increased 11% as of Friday.
4.10 pm: Agarwal says India would have 45,000 cases till now if stringent measures had not been implemented, and around 2 lakh cases if no measures had been taken at all.
4.07 pm: The Home Ministry says marine fishing operations has been exempted from lockdown restrictions.
4.05 pm: Joint Health Secretary Lav Agarwal says 586 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals have been reported by states.
4.01 pm: The Centre begins its daily press briefing.
ICMR says 1,71,718 samples have been tested so far, including 16,564 on Friday.
3.58 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says he told PM Modi that he is not in favour of withdrawing the lockdown in the state, PTI reports.
3.57 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa says Modi told the CMs that lockdown guidelines for the next 15 days will be announced in a day or two.
3.54 pm: The Centre confirms it is considering the request made by “most states” to Modi to extend the lockdown for two more weeks.
3.47 pm: Narayanasamy says Modi agreed to the request to extend the lockdown, PTI reports.
3.46 pm: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy says some of his counterparts told Modi to stop governors and lieutenant governors from interfering in the functioning of state governments, PTI reports.
3.44 pm: Spain’s toll falls again with 510 dead on Friday, reports AFP.
3.43 pm: The Rajasthan government reports 117 new cases, taking the total number to 678, ANI reports.
3.42 pm: Government sources tell PTI and ANI that the Centre is considering the request by most states to extend the lockdown.
3.40 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweets, “PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown.”
However, the central government has not yet officially announced any such decision.
3.28 pm: Out of 102 people found in 13 mosques in Chandni Mahal area of Delhi, 52 have tested positive for Covid-19, and many of them had attended a congregation in Nizamuddin last month, PTI reports, quoting officials. The area has been declared a hotspot by the Delhi government and has been sealed.
3.04 pm: The Supreme Court Bar Association passes a unanimous resolution urging the court to cancel the summer vacation to make up for lost time, ANI reports.
The Delhi High Court has already done so.
3.03 pm: Baghel urges Modi to allow states to carry out economic activities within their borders, PTI reports.
2.50 pm: During the meeting with Modi, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel sought help in ramping up testing as just around 133 samples were being tested in the state daily on an average. He urged the Centre to come up with an immediate financial package to support the MSME sector.
He said air, rail and road travel among states should remain suspended due to a rise in the number of cases.
2.48 pm: A fourth death has been reported in Dharavi after an 80-year-old man died at Kasturba Hospital, says the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, according to ANI. A team of 150 doctors is helping the civic body conduct screening of residents in the slum from today.
2.39 pm: Ajay Bahira, a BJP corporator in Panvel in Maharashtra, has been released on bail after being arrested for violating the lockdown and celebrating his birthday with friends, ANI reports.
2 pm: A person walks near a mural depicting a nurse to support healthcare workers on the frontline amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Ciamis, West Java, Indonesia.
1.46 pm: Bengaluru civic body commissioner BH Anil Kumar urges residents to not panic and says no areas in the city are being sealed due to the coronavirus. “Please do not heed to any rumours,” he tweets.
“Bangalore Police are strictly enforcing the lockdown by barricading roads in Kodigehalli, Vidyaranyapura, Horamavu and all over city to stop citizens moving around in vehicles.”
1.44 pm: The Madhya Pradesh government allows MLAs to use Local Area Development Fund to purchase thermometers, personal protection equipment kits, coronavirus testing kits, face masks, gloves, sanitisers etc to tackle to the coronavirus spread, reports ANI.
1.42 pm: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu urges Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the ongoing lockdown enforced in the state to contain the spread of coronavirus till April-end, reports PTI. DMK President MK Stalin’s demand comes on a day when the state Cabinet under Chief Minister K Palaniswami is likely to take a call on extending the lockdown.
1.38 pm: Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district seal border with Bihar’s Siwan which has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot, reports PTI.
1.31 pm: Scientists warn that many people who test negative for the virus might actually have it, AFP reports. “There are a lot of things that impact whether or not the test actually picks up the virus,” Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, tells AFP. The test sensitivity could be around 60% to 70%, the report adds.
1.25 pm: Seven new cases are reported in Karnataka, taking the total number in the state to 214.
1 pm: Bangladesh extends its lockdown by 11 days to April 25, says Reuters. The country has 424 cases so far, and 27 people have died of the coronavirus.
12.51 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati says her party will welcome the move to extend the coronavirus lockdown. “If after serious review, the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed in view of COVID-19, is extended by the Centre, then the BSP will welcome it,” she says in a tweet.
“The Centre and state governments should act fast to save the doctors, nurses, policemen, health workers and others indirectly involved in fighting the novel coronavirus, and their families, so that their confidence level is boosted,” the BSP chief adds.
12.42 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh recommends extension of the lockdown by at least a fortnight in video meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports ANI. Singh also asks for special concessions to the industry and agriculture sectors along with faster supply of rapid testing kits.
Punjab government has extended the lockdown already till May 1.
12.41 pm: Five people tested positive for the coronavirus in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, taking the total cases in the state to 386, reports PTI.
12.35 pm: Argentina will extend lockdown until April 27 to control the spread of the coronavirus, reports Reuters. The lockdown, which started on March 20, has slowed the spread of the virus and remains the best way of controlling the pandemic, says President Alberto Fernandez.
12.16 pm: Jharkhand reports three new coronavirus cases, bringing the total cases to 17 in the state, according to PTI. Bokaro district has reported six positive cases, Ranchi eight, Hazaribagh two and Koderma one.
12.15 pm: The home ministry exempts fishing and aquaculture industry from the lockdown restrictions, reports ANI.
12.12 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tells Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the nation-wide lockdown should continue till April 30 at least to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, reports News18. He also adds that the decision should be taken at the national level as a state-level decision might “not be much effective.”
12.06 pm: The health ministry gives a presentation during the video conference and later chief ministers of all states interact with Modi.
12 pm: Maharashtra reports 92 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,666, according to ANI.
11.56 am: President Donald Trump has ordered the relevant departments of his administration to impose visa sanctions against countries that do not accept their citizens who are currently in the US, reports PTI.
“Countries that deny or unreasonably delay the acceptance of their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents from the United States during the ongoing pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 create unacceptable public health risks for Americans,” Trump says in his memorandum.
11.52 am: People in Bihar’s Digha area ignore social distancing norms at a makeshift vegetable market.
Also read: Defying lockdown, Karnataka BJP MLA celebrates birthday with hundreds of supporters
11.50 am: “I am available 24x7,” Modi tells the chief ministers, reports NDTV. “Any chief minister can speak to me and give suggestions [on coronavirus] anytime. We should stand together shoulder-to-shoulder.”
11.46 am: The prime minister and chief ministers of other states are seen wearing masks during the meeting.
11.44 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds meeting with chief ministers of all states via video conference to discuss and take a final call on extending the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
11.40 am: The West Bengal government will impose a total lockdown in 10 coronavirus hotspots and clusters from where positive cases have been reported, says Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, reports PTI. “The administration will provide everything to the people in the areas under total lockdown,” Sinha adds.
However, the chief secretary has not given the names of the 10 areas.
11.11 am: Turkey bans citizens from leaving home for 48 hours as toll from the coronavirus pandemic crosses the 1,000-mark, reports Reuters. The restrictions were imposed in 31 provinces across the country and scaled up existing curbs, under which people under the age of 20 and over 65 have been told to stay at home.
11.05 am: The Union Health Ministry directs all states and Union Territories to prohibit the use and spitting of smokeless tobacco in public places to prevent the coronavirus spread, reports PTI.
“Chewing smokeless tobacco products, paan masala and areca nut increases the production of saliva followed by a very strong urge to spit,” the ministry says in a letter. “Spitting in public places could enhance the spread of the Covid-19 virus.”
11.03 am: Odisha has two new coronavirus cases, bringing the total cases in the state to 50, reports PTI. Meanwhile, 12 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease.
11 am: Gujarat Health Department reports 54 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 432. Ahmedabad and Vadodara have the highest number of cases.
10.52 am: China reports a rise in new coronavirus cases even as authorities try to contain a second wave of infections. The National Health Commission says 46 new cases were reported on Friday, 42 involving travellers from abroad, according to Reuters.
10.45 am: A 71-year-old resident of Puducherry’s Mahe, who was admitted in Pariyaram Medical College in Kerala’s Kannur, has died of the coronavirus, reports ANI. “He was in very critical condition and his kidneys were not functioning,” says the health department of Kerala. “He was on ventilator for the last few days.”
This is Kerala’s third coronavirus death.
10.37 am: Congress leader P Chidambaram urges chief ministers of other states to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to transfer cash to every poor family amid the nation-wide lockdown. Modi will have a video-conference later in the day with chief ministers to take a final call on extending the lockdown.
“The poor have lost their jobs or self-employment in the last 18 days,” Chidambaram tweets. “They have exhausted their meagre savings. Many are standing in line for food. Can the State stand by and watch them go hungry?”
10.27 am: Hundreds of migrant workers in Gujarat’s Surat city late on Friday came out on roads demanding salaries and transportation arrangements to go back to their hometowns over fears of extension of the 21-day lockdown, ANI reported. Surat is the hub of migrant workers in the state and most of them are employed in textiles, power looms and construction sites.
Read more: Coronavirus: Migrant workers in Gujarat’s Surat block roads over fears of extended lockdown
10.19 am: The prime minister will meet all chief ministers at 11 am to discuss whether the lockdown should be extended.
9.45 am: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged governments to put women and girls at the centre of their efforts to recover from the coronavirus, reports PTI. This comes amid fears that the limited gains in gender equality and women’s rights made over decades are in danger of getting reversed due to the pandemic.
8.37 am: India has recorded 1,035 coronavirus cases and 40 deaths in 24 hours, according to the health ministry’s latest data.
8.35 am: The health ministry has updated its data about the coronavirus patients in India. The toll has risen to 239 and the country now has 7,447 positive cases. Of these, 642 people have recovered.
7.22 am: Rajasthan has extended the ongoing three-week lockdown till April 30 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, reports News18. This comes after Odisha and Punjab extended the lockdown in their respective states.
7.20 am: Hundreds of migrant workers in Gujarat’s Surat city late on Friday night came out on roads demanding their salaries amid fears of the extension of the lockdown, reports ANI. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rakesh Barot says: “Workers blocked road and pelted stones. Police reached the spot and detained 60 to 70 people. We have come to know that they were demanding to go back home.”
7.18 am: The number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus crosses the 1,00,000-mark, according to an estimate by Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, the total positive cases globally crossed 1.6 million.
7.15 am: The United States becomes the first country to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in one day, with 2,108 fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
7.07 am: Here are the top updates of the coronavirus pandemic from Friday:
- Over 200 Covid-19 patients have now died in India, out of 6,761 positive cases until Friday evening. The number of patients who have recovered crossed the 500 mark in the morning, even as the country confirmed its worst daily spike – 896 – in the number of new cases by the evening.
- The government said that India has more than three times the projected requirement of hydroxychloroquine – the anti-malarial drug believed to be effective against the novel coronavirus – and that domestic necessity and demand remains a priority.
- After Odisha, Punjab has extended the statewide lockdown to slow down the spread of coronavirus till May 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a second meeting with chief ministers of states and Union Territories on Saturday to take a final call on extending the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak, reports said.
- Delhi and Mumbai reported their biggest single-day spikes in the number of Covid-19 cases so far on Friday, with a combined addition of 401 infections in a day to the national tally. While the Delhi government confirmed 183 new cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reported 218 as of 4 pm.