Covid-19 updates: 38 hotspots declared in Bengaluru

The UP government has ordered clinical psychologists and psychiatrists to counsel patients lodged at three quarantine centres in Kareli area of Prayagraj so as to help them cope with anxiety and depressions during isolation, Prayagraj chief medical officer Dr GS Bajpai was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

A three-month-old baby in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the youngest patient in the state. The baby's mother's reports are awaited.

Thirteen more Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the Nizamuddin markaz in Delhi last month have tested positive for Covid-19. With this, total number of people who went to attend the religious gathering and got infected with the epidemic goes to 50 in the state.

Of them, 14 are in Mumbai, 8 in Latur, 7 in Yavatmal, 6 in Buldhana, three in Nagpur, two each in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Ahmednagar and one each in Ratnagiri, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Osmanabad, Kolhapur and Washim.

Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, and P Chidambaram on Tuesday backed the prime Minister's decision to extend the nationwide lockdown till May 3 as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

"I support the announcement by @PMOIndia @narendramodi of #Lockdown extension. Can't discard the gains being made. But he should have also announced serious relief for those who cannot make ends meet. MNREGA payments, JanDhan accounts, GST dues to states,&aid to sweeten the pill," Tharoor tweeted while Chidambaram said, "We reciprocate the PM’s New Year greetings. We understand the compulsion for extending the lockdown. We support the decision"

Restrictions in areas that are not hotspots and do not have any chance of become one, will be relaxed after April 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address.

In his address on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country is progressing very quickly on the health infrastructure front.

"While we had only one lab in January to test coronavirus, testing is now taking place at more than 220 labs," he said.

The government will issue a detailed guideline o Wednesday about the do's and donts during the extended period. From April 20, the restricted movement has been discussed keeping in mind our poor people's economic shortcomings, the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi listed out seven instructions-cum-precautions to deal with the coronavirus situation in the country, the first being taking care of older members in the family and second being continuing to maintain social distance.

--Take extra care of old people at home

--Follow social distancing, wear home-made face masks

--Follow guidelines issued by Ayush ministry

--Do download Aarogya Setu app

--As far as possible, help the needy

--Do not sack people working for you, be sensitive to their needs

--Respect doctors, nurses and all those fighting against Covid-19

PM Modi announced that the nationwide lockdown will be extended till May 3 in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The Prime Minister said that though India has had to bear a heavy loss in terms of the economy, the lives of the citizens of the country are more important.

India's effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has been way better than most countries across the world. Even before there was a single case in the cases, "we had started to screen passengers flying from abroad," PM Modi said.

PM Modi thanked the nation for collective fight against Covid-19 despite all the hardships that the people, especially migrant workers, have been facing. He compared the collective efforts to that of a disciplined soldier.

The nation is looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address, which will be aired at 10am. While everyone is expecting the extension of the nationwide lockdown, the final word from the Prime Minister is yet to be known.

He likely to announce an extension until at least the end of April and move, in a limited way, to restart the economy.

The nation is awaiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address scheduled for 10am today, where he is likely to announce the further course of action of tackling the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.

This the Prime Minister's third televised address to the country in less than a month. Modi is yet to take a call on extension of the lockdown, but At least seven states -- Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana -- have already announced an extension until April 30.

As Maharashtra continues to report the maximum number of coronavirus cases in India, Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan on Monday contributed 25,000 PPE kits to the frontline medical staff in Maharashtra so as to help contain the spread of the pandemic.

Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare of Maharashtra, Rajesh Tope took to Twitter to thank the Bollywood actor. "Many thanks Mr Shah Rukh Khan for your kind contribution of 25,000 PPE kits. This will go a long way in supporting our fight against COVID19 & protecting our frontline medical care team @iamsrk @MeerFoundation @CMOMaharashtra," he said.

As on Tuesday, there were 2,334 Covid-19 positive cases in state.