New Delhi: Coronavirus cases in the country rose to 519 while the death toll increased to 10 with another death Tuesday.
Cases were booked against hundreds of people in different parts of the country including in Delhi for violating prohibitory orders. In Hyderabad, police said it had to resort to mild caning against the violators.
With the lockdown hitting the Indian industry hard and causing job losses, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters an economic package to help tide over the crisis will be announced very soon.
Prime Minister Modi while interacting with senior journalists from the print media via video links said citizens need to be assured that the government is committed to countering the impact of COVID-19.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO), Modi said it is critical to improve social cohesion to safeguard national security.
During the interaction, Modi emphasised the need to tackle the spread of pessimism, negativity and rumour-mongering.
“He (Modi) underlined the importance of social distancing, asking media to generate awareness about its importance, inform people about the lockdown decision by states, and also highlight the impact of spread of the virus through inclusion of international data and case studies about other countries in the papers,” said a statement issued by the PMO.
According to the statement, Modi underlined that ‘it is imperative to keep the fighting spirit of the people up’.
In Maharashtra, a 65-year-old coronavirus patient died in Mumbai, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 to three in the metropolis, according to state officials. The western state, with 107 cases, has accounted for the highest number of this viral infections followed by Kerala (91).
The man had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Ahmedabad. He later complained of fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a statement.
The patient was brought March 20 to the Kasturba Hospital for treatment, but his health condition deteriorated further. The man also had pre-existing ailments, including high blood pressure and severe diabetes, the statement said, adding he died late Monday evening.
According to the data updated Tuesday evening by the Union Health, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 519, including 470 active cases. The figure includes 41 foreign nationals.
The earlier nine deaths were recorded in Maharashtra (2), Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh. Forty people have been cured/discharged/migrated, according to the official data.
Authorities have also taken a serious view of several people continuing to venture out despite the lockdown considering that the coming days and weeks are going to be extremely critical to contain the spread of the disease.
A top functionary of the central government called up some of the chief ministers and apprised them of the necessity of imposing the curfew if people continue to venture out of their homes.
The state governments and the Union Territory administrations have been advised to impose curfew wherever necessary as many people continue to go out of their homes despite the lockdown ordered to check the spread of the virus, a government official said. The state governments have been told that public gatherings could lead to escalation of the prevailing situation.
“Now, it is up to the state governments to take action as per the local situation and give necessary instructions to the district magistrates who have the powers to impose curfew,” the official said.
In Delhi, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed the status of containment and management of COVID-19 in the country and emphasised on the quality and sturdiness of the community surveillance and contact tracing.
As on date, cumulatively 1,87,904 persons are under surveillance, and around 35,073 have completed 28 days observation period as on day, an official statement said.
PTI