New Delhi , Mar 26: India today has entered the day 2 of the 21-day nation-wide lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have crossed the 600 mark in India and the virus has claimed the lives of 13 in the country.
Amid this, PM Modi yesterday once again reiterated that social distancing and staying indoors were the only way out and the best option to deal with coronavirus. Underscoring the enormity of the health challenge before the country , he invoked the Mahabharata, and said the epic war was won in 18 days and his government’s effort is to win this war against coronavirus in 21 days.
Indian Army issued fresh instructions reiterating enhanced measures to fight coronavirus.
FM announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package with focus on for poor . As per the package Govt of India will pay the Employees’ Provident Fund(EPF) contribution, both of employer and employee, put together it will be 24%, this will be for next 3 months.This is for those establishments which have upto 100 employees and 90% of them earn less that 15,000: FM Sitharaman.
Self Help women groups (7 crore houses holds covered), collateral-free loans doubled to 20 Lakh, to increase money in hand, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
DBT Cash transfers will cover Farmers,MGNREGA, Poor widows, Pensioners&divyangs .
Jan Dhan Yojna accounts,Ujjwala scheme,Self help group women dealing with DDU livelihood missions,EPFO organised workers covered 3)Construction workers&district mineral workers covered,announced the FM.
Under Ujjawala scheme near 8.3 crore BPL families covered , so that no running short of cooking medium, for 3 months free cylinders, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
20 crore Jan Dhan Women account holders covered- Ex gratia amount of Rs 500 per month for the next three months. Old age, Divyang, pensioners: 3 crore people covered, one-time amount of additional Rs 1000 in two installments through DBT (hence no middlemen) over 3 months to be given. Wage increase in MGNREGA- 5 crore families benefited, an increase of Rs 2000 per worker on average as additional income, announced FM Sitharaman.
8.69 crore farmers to be immediately benefited through Direct cash transfers. Installment of Rs 2000 in the first week of April will be transferred.
Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojna (for next 3 months) 80 cr poor people covered (2/3rd of India’s population), in addition to already allotted 5Kg of rice/wheat per person,an additional 5kg will be free. Additional 1kg pulse (acc to regional preference) will be given said the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman .
There will be Rs 50 lakh insurance per health care worker as a medical insurance cover for them for three months.
A package is ready for the poor who need immediate help like migrant workers and urban and rural poor. No one will go hungry. The package is worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a Rs 100 crore relief package for the poor in wake of coronavirus lockdown.
Three more persons test positive for coronavirus in Noida; total cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar district 14 according to official sources.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has constituted a task force to develop management protocols for the coronavirus pandemic.
Food home delivery services have been allowed, the delivery persons can show their ID cards that will be sufficient. Mohalla clinics will continue to function but with all precautions Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said.
Online service providers/e-retailers delivering essential services & goods to be allowed. All essential services shops can remain open 24 hours so that there is no rush of people announced Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal.
Today,Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate BN Singh has sealed Ace Golfshire apartments in Sector 150 and Hotel Sandal Suit Sector in Sector 135 till 10am 28th March after tracing of earlier reported Coronavirus positive cases in the area.
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Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with suggestions that the government should undertake during the lockdown period.
Delhi Police issues directions to all Deputy Commissioners of Police, asking them to ensure hassle free movement of personnel and vehicles of e-retailers delivering essential services and goods, reported ANI.
A total of 800 people who came in contact with the mohalla clinic doctor have been quarantined for 14 days according to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
COVID-19 cases in Delhi have risen to 36. A mohalla clinic doctor and 4 others have been tested positive after they came in contact with an infected woman who returned from Saudi Arabia. The doctor’s wife and daughter have also tested positive.
Total number of COVID-19 positive cases rise to 649 in India (including 593 active cases, 42 cured/discharged people and 13 deaths)
J-K reports first COVID-19 death as 65-year-old passes away in Srinagar.
Vehicles transporting essential goods need no pass and they shall not be stopped from going to their destinations, says Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate BN Singh, as quoted by ANI
Buses, trams, and metros in Kolkata have stopped plying as the city remains under lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus.
Madhya Pradesh COVID-19 tally rises to 20; five test positive in Indore, reported PTI.
Delhi doctor, wife and teen daughter test positive for COVID-19; visitors quarantined.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly to donate Rs 50 lakh worth rice to the underprivileged amid lockdown, reported ANI.
A 66-year-old man in West Bengal’s Nayabad tested positive for coronavirus. Total number of positive cases in the state rise to 10.
“To slow the spread of Covid-19, many countries introduced “lockdown” measures. But on their own, these measures will not extinguish epidemics. We call on all countries to use this time to attack the novel coronavirus. You have created a second window of opportunity,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a daily briefing.
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that lockdowns will not be enough to eradicate the coronavirus pandemic from the world.
So far, the deadly virus has infected more than 649 in India and claimed the lives of 16 in the country.
(With Agency inputs )
