April 9, 2020 | Number of cases: 5734 | Number of deaths: 166
The central government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 15,000 crore for the India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.Out of this, an amount of Rs 7,774 crore will be utilised for immediate emergency response while the remaining will go towards medium-term support over one to four years. The latter will be provided in a mission mode approach, according to a release from the Union government.
Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums, has reported a third death due to COVID-19. The deceased is a 70-year old woman who breathed her last at KEM hospital. This has prompted fears that there could be a high risk of community transmission in the area as social distancing is hard to achieve in such a densely populated location. There are 14 cases in Dharavi so far. The first person to be infected was a domestic help who had contracted the virus from his employer who had travel history to a COVID-19 affected country. The total number of cases in Maharashtra is close to 1300.
Following the decision made by Uttar Pradesh to seal 15 COVID-19 hotspots, Delhi government had sealed 22 spots that have reported 6 or more positive cases. The areas will be under complete lockdown with strict restrictions on movement. This has been done to prevent community spread of the virus. Essential services will be delivered at the doorstep by the government. The sealed areas include Bengali Market, Moti Bagh slum, Nizamuddin West and parts of Dilshad Garden. More such areas are expected to come under complete lockdown in the coming days as Delhi seeks to contain the virus.
India saw its first death of a health worker due to COVID-19. Dr Shatrughan Panjwani of Indore tested positive for COVID-19 two days ago and passed away on Thursday. He was 62. Dr Shatrughan was a family physician and had not been known to have treated any coronavirus patients. Indore has recorded 173 cases and as many as 22 deaths due to COVID-19. The doctor was the latest casualty. The source of his infection is yet to be ascertained. Reports quote his colleagues that the deceased physician mostly treated patients from low-income communities free of cost.
Last updated, April 9th, 6:30 pm
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