With India reporting a total of 1,65,799 coronavirus cases on Friday, the country has now overtaken Turkey, which has 160,979 cases, to become the ninth worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A jump of 7,466 infections and 175 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours from across the country, the health ministry said. India has recorded 4,704 deaths, 89,987 active cases and 7,1105 people have been treated and discharged so far. The recovery rate stands at 42.89 per cent.

On Thursday, Delhi reported over 1,000 cases taking the tally to 16,281, of which nearly 7,500 have recovered. In terms of maximum cases in cities across India, Delhi is now at the second position after Mumbai, which has over 35,000 infections. However, the growth rate in the city, which is 4,89, is still below the national average of 5.02 per cent. The growth rate in Bihar, Assam, Kerala and Maharashtra are higher than the national data.

The Indian Railways Friday appealed to people not to travel on the Shramik Special trains if they are suffering from pre-existing health conditions. “It has been observed that some people availing Shramik trains have pre-existing medical issues which aggravates risk of COVID-19. A few unfortunate cases of deaths related to pre-existing medical conditions have taken place in Shramik trains. So, Railways appeal to people with comorbidities, pregnant women, children below age of 10 and those aged above 65 to avoid travel by rail,” it said.

It also said that the railway family is working 24X7 to ensure that rail services are provided to all citizens of the country needing to travel. “We seek the cooperation of all citizens in this matter. In case of any distress or emergency please do not hesitate to reach out to your railway parivaar and we will help you as always (Helpline number – 139 & 138),” it said.

The railways have been running Shramik special Trains on a daily basis throughout the country to ensure that migrants can travel back to their homes since May 1.

A Rajya Sabha Secretariat official tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, the fourth such case reported in the Parliament complex so far, according to PTI. Out of the four, three were found to have contracted the infection after Parliament resumed operations on May 3 when Lockdown 2.0 ended and were on duty. The director-level officer, who attended work on May 28, was found positive for the infection along with his family members. Two floors of the Parliament’s Annexe building have been sealed.

In the first indication that the lockdown may be extended, Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant was quoted by local media on Friday as saying, “Held a telephonic conversation with Home Minister Amit Shah, lockdown likely to increase by 15 days.”

This comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to chief ministers on Thursday to take stock of the Covid-19 situation on ground, and sought their views on the extension of lockdown beyond May 31 – lockdown 5.0.

Source: Indian Express