'No new cases in 25 districts of 15 states in last two weeks'

Children wearing protective masks play with a cat, during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus, in Mumbai, on Monday. Pic/PTI

Twenty-five districts across 15 states which had detected COVID-19 infections earlier have contained the spread and reported no new cases in 14 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry asserted that the government has enough stocks to conduct tests for up to six weeks and over two lakh samples have been tested so far. Addressing a press briefing here, Health Ministry Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal said 796 new COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 9,352 and deaths 324.

"Twenty-five districts across 15 states which had reported cases earlier have contained the virus and have not detected new ones in 14 days. This is a positive development," he said. The districts are Gondia (Maharashtra), Raj Nand Gaon (Chhattisgarh), Davangiri (Karnataka), South Goa, Wayanad and Kottayam (Kerala), West Imphal (Manipur), Rajouri (J&K), Aizwal West (Mizoram), Mahe in Puducherry, SBS Nagar in Punjab, Patna, Nalanda and Munger in Bihar, Pratapgarh in Rajasthan, Panipat, Rohtak and Sirsa in Haryana, Pauri Garhwal in Uttrakhand and Bhadradari Kothagudem in Telangana.

Agarwal also said that the Core Strategy Group on COVID-19 was working on rapid and economical diagnostics as well as new drugs. "The group has been formed, based on a detailed review of COVID-19 research, undertaken by Union Health Minister, Harshvardhan along with CSIR and its 38 labs. The group is working on digital and molecular surveillance, rapid and economical diagnostics, new drugs, repurposing of drugs and associated production processes," he said.

324
Total no. of COVID-19 deaths in the country

125
No. of cities where Swiggy has enabled grocery deliveries

Nation fights to regain normalcy

People throng Palayam market to purchase fruits and vegetables on the eve of Vishu festival, in Kozhikode, on Monday. Pic/PTI

. The Delhi Police Crime Branch (CB) is all set to nab Maulana Muhammad Saad as sources said that a CB team might question the Tablighi leader and other people named in the FIR on Monday or Tuesday.

. Small retailers whose shops have remained closed during the current lockdown have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately announce an economic package under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to compensate the losses suffered by them.

. In a representation to the government under the aegis of the Federation of Retailer Association of India, the body of about 4 crore micro, small and medium retailers urged that the hardships being faced by them be appreciated and they be allowed to open their shops.

. According to the Prime Minister's instructions, all ministers of the Narendra Modi cabinet went back to their ministries on Monday physically, to resume work that was so far being done from home through video conferencing, in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

. The Indian Council of Medical research has sought letters of intent from institutions with necessary equipment and infrastructure to participate in a clinical trial to study safety and efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in COVID-19 patients, subsequent to necessary approvals and clearances.

. A man from Nagaland has tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus, the first case reported from the state, an official said on Monday. The man with Coronavirus-like symptoms was admitted to a hospital in Assam's Guwahati, where he tested positive for COVID-19, the official said.

. With the beginning of Ramzan just about 10 days away, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, the chairperson of the Islamic Centre of India and the Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah has issued an advisory to people on how to observe Ramzan during the lockdown.

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