India registered a total of 991 fresh cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and 43 casualties today, i.e., Saturday, April 18, 2020.
Addressing the media, the Joint Secretary of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare – Ministry Lav Agarwal said that the total number of COVID-19 cases in India has surged to 14,378, while the number of casualties has reached 480.
Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are the States where the total number of cases are above 1,000. Maharashtra remains India’s most affected State with 3,323 cases. Delhi is next in line with 1,707 cases. Tamil Nadu has so far reported 1,323 cases. This is followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,310 cases. Rajasthan has a total of 1,229 cases and Gujarat has 1,099 patients of the outbreak.
Besides, Delhi has added 8 new areas in its list of containment zone. An area with 3 or more cases is classified as containment zone. With this, Delhi has a total of 76 containment zones.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi has assured that there is no need to panic.
Taking it to twitter, he tweeted, “There is no need to panic. Please keep taking the proper precautions. Together, we all will certainly defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.”
There is no need to panic.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 18, 2020
Please keep taking the proper precautions. Together, we all will certainly defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/7sUpNo9Vo9
His tweet came in response to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution – Ram Vilas Paswan’s tweet where the latter shared that Food Corporation of India is ensuring supply of food items across the country.
Paswan’s tweeted, “देश भर में खाद्यान्न की उपलब्धता सुनिश्चित करने हेतु 17 अप्रैल को @FCI_India ने 71 रेल रैक के जरिए 1.99 LMT खाद्यान्न लोड और 64 रैक से 1.80 LMT खाद्यान्न अनलोड किया। राज्यों ने मुफ्त वितरण हेतु अबतक 29.90 LMT खाद्यान्न का उठाव किया है @narendramodi @PiyushGoyal #IndiaFightsCorona”
देश भर में खाद्यान्न की उपलब्धता सुनिश्चित करने हेतु 17 अप्रैल को @FCI_India ने 71 रेल रैक के जरिए 1.99 LMT खाद्यान्न लोड और 64 रैक से 1.80 LMT खाद्यान्न अनलोड किया। राज्यों ने मुफ्त वितरण हेतु अबतक 29.90 LMT खाद्यान्न का उठाव किया है @narendramodi @PiyushGoyal #IndiaFightsCorona
— Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) April 18, 2020
Separately, Air India has airlifted 3 lakh rapid antibody test kits from Guangzhou in China. These test kits will be supplied to Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Air India has also announced to open bookings for select domestic flights from May 4, 2020. Booking for international route will commence from June 1, 2020.
The Chief Minister of Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal has announced compensation of Rs. 1 crore for families of doctors, nurses, sanitation workers and lab technicians who lose their lives due to COVID-19 while attending to patients. It will be extended to other essential workers too, including police officials, civil defence volunteers and teachers.
The Ministry of Communications has announced compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs for postal service employees, including Gramin Dak Sevaks who succumb to novel coronavirus while on duty.
Maharashtra Government has said that will provide Rs. 2,000 each to 12 lakh construction workers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme to help migrant workers who have been rendered jobless and are unable to return to their homes as well. Maharashtra Police has so far arrested 10,729 people and seized 33,984 vehicles over violation of lockdown norms.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has said that non COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment there can now register online for follow-up appointments.
