7 points: New COVID-19 death in Maharashtra takes India toll to 10

India reported one more COVID-19 death on Tuesday (March 24), taking the country’s toll to 10, with total number of confirmed cases past 500. The Centre has asked the states and union territories to clamp curfew wherever necessary in the wake of people defying lockdown orders in several parts of the country.

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Tuesday saw as many as 30 fresh cases added to the country’s tally, with cases reported from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab. Manipur has also reported one confirmed case on Tuesday, the first from the northeast. Among the worst-hit states are Maharashtra and Kerala with 101 and 91 cases respectively.

Here are the latest developments from the day:

One more death

In Mumbai, a 65-year-old coronavirus patient died on Monday, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 to three in the metropolis. He had recently returned from the UAE to Ahmedabad. He was brought to Mumbai’s Kasturba Hospital on March 20 after he complained of fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, but his health condition deteriorated further and he died late Monday evening, said the BMC. He also had pre-existing ailments, including high blood pressure and severe diabetes. Maharashtra accounts for 101 of the total 492 cases.

Surge in cases

As of Tuesday evening, the total number of cases in the country rose to 519, including 470 active cases, according to the health ministry. The figure includes 43 foreign nationals. Cases of a few more persons having tested positive for the infection were reported during the day. 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.

Economic package soon

With the lockdown hitting the Indian industry hard and causing job losses, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said an economic package to help tide over the crisis will be announced very soon. She said an announcement on the package would be made sooner than later.

Relief measures amid lockdown blues

The finance minister also announced a slew of relief measures, including extension of deadlines pertaining to income tax returns for FY2018-19, GST returns for March, April and May, and settlement of tax disputes under Vivad Se Vishwas scheme to June 30, 2020. She said no extra charge will be levied on withdrawals from ATMs of other banks, and that there will be no minimum bank balance requirement for next three months.

Curfew in Punjab, Maharashtra

Two states – Punjab and Maharashtra – and a UT – Puducherry – have already declared curfew in their respective areas. States like Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday decided to expand the lockdown to cover the entire state.

People defying lockdown

A total of 32 states and union territories have announced complete lockdown till March 31. However, people are still being found defying the lockdown and venturing outside. In this view, the states have been apprised of the necessity of imposing curfew if people continue to venture out of their homes. The state governments and union territory administrations have been advised to impose curfew wherever necessary, a government official said.

Health Minister reviews status

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. He visited the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Control Room and the Testing Laboratories, and reviewed the current status there with the senior officials. He also interacted with the National Health Mission (NHM) MDs and senior surveillance officers of the states/UTs through a video conference.

Global toll crosses 17,000

The global coronavirus toll has crossed 17,000 with the total number of cases nearing four lakh. Italy, which has reported over 6,000 deaths so far, showed a slight improvement with a fall in casualties. Besides, Spain has reported over 2,500 deaths and the UK over 300.