Covid-19 updates: 38 hotspots declared in Bengaluru

Two people tested positive for Covid-19 in Bihar on Monday, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

A 34-year-old man tested positive in Begusarai while the other one was 40-year-old man from Nalanada who had returned from Dubai on March 23, said Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar.

A police constable in Uttar Pradesh walked almost half the 450 kilometres distance from Kanpur to report to duty at his office in Jabalpur amid the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The cop, Anand Pandey, hitched a ride to cover almost half the distance while he covered the rest of the journey on foot, reported news agency ANI.

According to figures released by the health ministry on Tuesday morning, coronavirus cases in India climbed to 10,363 and the death touched 339, with Maharashtra recording the most number of cases i.e. 2,334.

Niti Aayog Member V K Paul has said that the mortality rate in coronavirus pandemic in India is not "severe" and the impact of the disease is "very very limited" going by the size of the country.

"We are very very certain that it (COVID-19) is not an outbreak that is causing severe mortality in any part of the country. We also have not heard anecdotes that intensive care units (ICUs ) are filled up in government or private hospitals like what had happened in Europe where all ICUs were full," he said while addressing a virtual session on the theme 'Covid-19: India Fights Back - Strategy and Way Forward'.

World's smallest living woman Jyoti Amge in Maharashtra went to on spread awareness on Covid-19 with the help of Nagpur police and appealed to people on Monday to stay indoors.

In order to help poor countries in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (!MF) said on Monday it would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member nations under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).

World Bank Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg in an interview to news agency Reuters said, "Everybody understands that we need to help the poorest countries. There is a huge willingness - as in nobody is questioning that, absolutely nobody. I think we are in a good place to move forward."

He said that the World Bank is seeing "a huge willingness" on the part of official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments by the world's poorest countries.

President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at the media defending his response in tacking the spread of the coronavirus disease in the United States and said that he did not intend to fire Anthony Fauci after the leading health expert said earlier mitigation efforts could have saved more lives.

The US administration is very close to completing a plan to re-open the US economy, President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday.

Trump noted that the number of deaths from the virus in the United States had begun to plateau, indicating that “social distancing” efforts had succeeded.

State governors, meanwhile, appeared to be discussing plans to resume economic activity without seeking input from the Trump administration.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi shared a message for the country via a tweet early Tuesday. "There is no greater "patriotism" than the persistence of government officials including doctors, scavengers, police in the Corona crisis. We will defeat Corona with a sense of unity, discipline and self-confidence. Thanks to the countrymen for patience and patience," she said.

Amid fear of a steeper global economic fall owing to the worldwide increase in Covid-19 cases, gold prices rose to over a seven-year high on Tuesday, according to news agency Reuters.

Spot gold gained 0.1% to $1,715.25 per ounce by 0037 GMT, having touched its highest since Dec. 2012 at $1,722.20 earlier in the session. US gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,770.20 an ounce.

Asian stocks were set for a modest bounce on Tuesday as US stock futures edged higher, although fears the coronavirus could drag on the global economy for months are likely to temper investor confidence, news agency Reuters reported.

As India marks various festivals on April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to extend greeting and batted for collective efforts to fight the novel coronavirus disease.

"Greetings to people across India on the various festivals being marked. May these festivals deepen the spirit of brotherhood in India. May they also bring joy and good health. May we get more strength to collectively fight the menace of Covid-19 in the times to come," he said in a tweet.

A man, who recently recovered from the coronavirus disease, was forced to put his house on sale in Madhya Pradesh as his neighbours harassed him roaming outside his house earlier following his return, police said. "I have been working outside for the past eight-nine years. Upon learning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned to India on March 18, on 19th I went to the hospital and tests were conducted on March 21 which showed that I was borderline positive for Covid-19. Following the treatment, my results came out negative and I was released from the hospital," Deepak Sharma told ANI.

The first Covid-19 case in Meghalaya was reported on Sunday, following which the government imposed a 48-hour curfew in Shillong on Monday, said Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, according to news agency ANI.

"This situation has come despite all the measures being taken by the government. In light of this, I urge citizens not to panic. We are closely monitoring the situation and we are prepared to deal with it. We have imposed complete curfew in Shillong for the next 48 hours," he was quoted as saying.