Doctors get legal shield, reports on casualties spark concerns: Covid-19 news today

In the backdrop of persistent attacks on healthcare workers who are at the front line of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has approved an ordinance to make such attacks cognisable and a non-bailable offence, expedite investigation, imprison those convicted to up to seven years, and also impose stringent penalties on vandalism and damage to property. Meanwhile, reports by the New York Times and the Financial Times that analysed cumulative mortality figures have triggered fresh concerns, claiming there may be tens of thousands of more deaths due to the Covid-19 pandemic around the world than the toll numbers which are currently established.

Covid warriors get bigger legal shield

In the backdrop of persistent attacks on health care workers in the front line of the battle against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the Centre has approved an ordinance to make such attacks a cognisable and non-bailable offence, expedite investigation, imprison those convicted to up to seven years, and impose stringent penalties on vandalism and damage to property. Read more

Covid-19: All eyes on stimulus package

A key economic advisory council of the Union government will meet this week to brainstorm the public spending needed to revive the economy amid mounting demands for a fiscal stimulus. Read more

Excruciating hours, bad PPE doctors’ key issues

Doctors and nurses at some of the main coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hospitals have said that they continue to work with substandard protective gear, lack access to proper meals, and have to pull in long, gruelling shifts, giving details of how those at the front lines of the pandemic remain vulnerable – from the disease as well as contagion-wary citizens. Read more

Covid-19: What you need to know today

The US was set to temporarily stop the issuance of green cards (initially for 60 days, according to US President Donald Trump) but will not institute an immigration ban, as Trump had initially threatened. Read more

Curbs on movement needed as travel hubs become Covid-19 hotspots

The 170 districts that the government identified last week as Covid-19 hotspots are home to seven in 10 people who migrate between states for reasons other than marriage, and nine in 10 of all domestic air passengers embark on their journeys from airports in these places, a Hindustan Times analysis showed, highlighting how containing these areas may be critical to India’s fight against the deadly pathogen. Read more

Rapid testing on hold, govt plans to scale up PCR tests

India is working on testing up to 50,000 people a day by the end of the month — using the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR test — as the country approaches the May 3 deadline for the end of the ongoing lockdown, resulting in a potential increase in infections. Read more

This is a battle between life and livelihood, says union minister

The national lockdown imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 has left thousands of workers jobless, and forced many of them to leave big cities for their homes. Union minister of state for labour and employment (independent charge) Santosh Kumar Gangwar tells Smriti Kak Ramachandran in an interview about how the states and the Centre are coordinating to ensure the workers are paid and their interests are looked after. Read more

PM Modi will meet CMs on April 27 to discuss post-lockdown plans

The meeting, officials indicated, is likely to review the set of relaxations of the federal lockdown allowed from April 20 and discuss the future roadmap that includes longer locking period for red or containment zones, as identified by the government. Read more

Civil aviation ministry HQ to be sealed as worker tests +ve

The ministry of civil aviation, headquartered at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan in New Delhi’s Jor Bagh, is to be sealed after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Tuesday, becoming the first staffer at a central ministry to be confirmed as a Covid-19 carrier. Read more

3 cities account for one-third Covid-19 cases

The ministry of health on Wednesday updated the number of cases of the Covid-19 across districts, showing that while the 18,000 patients are spread across 426 of the 731 districts in the country , just 12 districts account for half the cases in the country, indicating how the contagion has spread in clusters. Read more

Covid deaths could be much higher than known: Reports

There may be tens of thousands of more deaths due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic around the world than currently established, according to reports by the New York Times and the Financial Times that analysed cumulative mortality figures. Read more

No mutation in important sites of virus, effective vaccine is possible: Dr Soumya Swaminathan

India cannot depend on rapid antibody tests of unproven quality for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) diagnosis and molecular tests remain the gold standard, says Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) who is leading the global partnerships on scientific research on a vaccine and drug therapies for the infection. In a phone interview, Swaminathan said India, for now, is doing enough testing, but will have to scale it up as the numbers rise. Read more

Four cases to 900 in 20 days: What went wrong in Indore

A government team is investigating what the city administration of Indore did wrong to lead to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases jumping from 4 on March 24 to 900 in 20 days. Read more

Pandemic protocols as elite athletes plan training return

India’s elite athletes are eyeing a return to training after more than a month of staying at home, but under restrictive new pandemic protocols. Read more

Mamata slams Centre over ‘faulty’ Covid-19 testing kits

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the federal government was trying to malign the state and that “canards” were being spread about the state’s testing figures when the “real problem” was with the testing kits supplied to the state. Read more

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