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704 New Coronavirus Cases In 24 Hours, Centre Cuts MP Funds: 12 Things To Know Today

In the last 24 hours, 704 cases and 28 deaths have been reported in the country.
Medical staff participate in a demo of the interactive robot 'Zafi' (C) which will be deployed at Covid -19 isolation wards, at Stanley Medical hospital in Chennai on April 6, 2020.
ARUN SANKAR via Getty Images
Medical staff participate in a demo of the interactive robot 'Zafi' (C) which will be deployed at Covid -19 isolation wards, at Stanley Medical hospital in Chennai on April 6, 2020.

India’s confirmed coronavirus patients crossed the 4,000-mark, with 3,851 active cases in the country, Union health ministry’s last update on Monday said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that this was nothing but a “long war” and that there was no time to rest.

In the last 24 hours, 704 cases and 28 deaths have been reported in the country.

What you need to know today:

1. Number Of COVID-19 Cases Reach 523 In Delhi

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that the total number of cases in the capital had reached 523 with 20 people testing positive in the last 24 hours.

One person also died in Delhi.

2. 76% Of India’s Coronavirus Cases Are Men, 40% Of Those Infected Below 40 Years

In its press briefing on Monday, the health ministry said that 76% of India’s Covid-19 cases had been men.

Forty percent of the cases were below the age of 40 years, 34% were between 40-60 years while 19% were 60 years and above.

However, 63% of the deaths had taken place in patients 60 years and above while 30% had been between the ages of 40-60 years.

86% of those who had died had comorbidities such as diabetes, kidney problems, hypertension or heart-related issues, health secretary Luv Aggarwal said.

India reported 30 deaths on Sunday, he said.

An order has been placed for 5 lakh testing kits for COVID19; 2.5 lakhs kits to be delivered on April 8-9, Indian Council of Medical Research’s R Gangakhedkar said.

3. Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital Sealed After 46 Nurses, 3 Doctors Test Positive

Wockhardt Hospital in central Mumbai was on Monday sealed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation after 46 nurses and three doctors tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a week.

The United Nurses Association (UNA) said the nurses had not been provided enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and were not tested or taken off their shifts till they began showing symptoms. The hospital has denied these charges. Read more

4. 42 Doctors, 50 Medical Staff Quarantined At Pune Hospital

5. Centre Suspends MPLAD Funds For 2020-21 And 2021-2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, state governors and members of parliament, will take a 30% salary cut as part of their social responsibility, cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar also said.

6. This Is India’s ‘Greatest Emergency Since Independence’: Raghuram Rajan

In a blogpost published on Linkedin, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan wrote about measures India needed to recover from the economic impact of the lockdown in place to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Rajan called the current situation India’s “greatest emergency since Independence.”

“The state and Center have to come together to figure out quickly some combination of public and NGO provision (of food, healthcare, and sometimes shelter), private participation (voluntary moratoria on debt payments and a community-enforced ban on evictions during the next few months), and direct benefit transfers that will allow needy households to see through the next few months,” he wrote. Read his full post here.

7. More Tests Needed, Says Urjit Patel

Another former RBi governor to comment on the economic impact of Covid-19 was Urjit Patel.

In an article for the Indian Express, Patel called more tests saying,“For the size of our population, the quantum of tests we have conducted so far seems to be too few. The government should bear the entire cost for testing, for without the requisite data we will be flying blind when making the difficult calls in the weeks ahead. The benefits are obvious, viz., credible data will infuse confidence in both the health and economic spheres, and lack of credibility will breed uncertainty, slowing down economic recovery.”

He also wrote: “At some point, international investors will begin to sharply distinguish between countries along the principal measure of how successfully the health challenge is being met, which will determine how quickly and durably individual economies will get back on their feet. This could induce another financial ‘wave’ that we need to prepare for by maintaining relative macroeconomic stability.”

8. We Are At War, Says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on BJP’s 40th foundation day that the fight against coronavirus was nothing less than war and claimed that India’s efforts to control the pandemic had set an example in front of the world.

Modi’s comments came amidst criticism that India has not been testing enough and that health workers were struggling for protective gear as they led on the frontline.

“I state it with full responsibility that this is a long war against the coronavirus pandemic. But we do not have to get tired or take a rest in this war. We have to emerge victorious. Today, the country has only one goal and one resolve - to win this war,” ANI quoted Modi as saying.

He said, “India’s efforts have set an example before the world in tackling the pandemic. India is one of the countries which understood seriousness of this disease&waged a timely war against it. India took several decisions and tried its best to implement them on ground.”

9. Death toll crosses 100

The health ministry’s latest update says India’s Covid-19 death toll is now 109. The count rose from 88 on Sunday night.

10. Una Man Kills Himself After Facing ‘Social Boycott’

A 37-year-old man hanged himself to death in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district on Sunday morning after allegedly facing “social boycott” by some villagers, who suspected him to be suffering from COVID-19 despite testing negative for it.

A day earlier health officials had dropped him at his village following his negative report, an official said. He had been taken to a quarantine facility a few days ago.

Una Sadar SHO Darshan Singh said Dilshad was one of the contacts of a Tablighi Jamaat member who had returned from New Delhi’s Nizamuddin.

Commenting on it, DGP Sita Ram Mardi in a recorded message on social media said, “Some villagers pointed out that this man was a suspected COVID-19 patient. He was quarantined and tested negative for the infection. When he returned to his village, he was discriminated against and socially boycotted by villagers. At this, he committed suicide.”

The SHO told PTI that “nothing like discrimination or social boycott came to their notice during investigation”.

His post-mortem is being conducted and police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of CrPC in this regard, he added.

11. Americans Brace For ‘Hardest’ Week Of Their Lives

Americans braced for what the nation’s top doctor warned on Sunday would be “the hardest and saddest week” of their lives.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered a stark warning about the expected wave of virus deaths. “This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,’’ he told “Fox News Sunday.” Read more

12. Queen Makes Rare Televised Address, Boris Johnson In Hospital

The Queen on Sunday praised the NHS, carers and frontline workers for “selflessly” helping to fight coronavirus in a rare TV address – recorded from her own lockdown in Windsor Castle.

The speech, recorded on Friday, came in the wake of the deaths of three nurses, five doctors and two healthcare assistants who have contracted coronavirus and died since the start of the outbreak.

The monarch’s televised address to Britain was only the fourth of her 68-year-reign during times of national crisis and grief.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests as his coronavirus symptoms persist, Downing Street said. Johnson had tested positive for Covid-19 ten days ago.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.