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>>htworld p7

Month of lockdown impedes Self-reliance India’s biggest

lesson from Covid, says PM
virus, a long battle lies ahead HT Correspondent
n [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The coronavirus dis-

ease pandemic (Covid-19) has
COVID FIGHTBACK Doubling rate of infections now 8.6 days, but India still lags behind in testing offered India a valuable lesson on
the importance of self-reliance
and self-sufficiency, and the
HT Correspondent country, each state within it, each

ONE MONTH ON, WHERE INDIA STANDS

n [email protected] district within every state, and
each village within every district
NEW DELHI: Saturday marks a must aspire to attain the twin
month since India was put under Since March 25, the first day of the lockdown, India has reduced doubling rate from 5 days to over 8 days goals, Prime Minister Narendra
a nationwide lockdown, a period 25000 25000 Modi said on Friday.
in which it has substantially The PM also praised rural
slowed the growth of the Covid-19 Cases Deaths India for maintaining the norm of
outbreak, officials said on Friday, social distancing, and offered a
even as many unknowns con- 20000 20000 simple, yet effective slogan to
March 29 March 30 April 13 April 14
tinue to make it difficult to deter- Centre tells states to stop Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerges as a Infections in PM announces illustrate the concept -- ‘do gaj deh n PM Narendra Modi interacts with panchayat heads on Friday. ANI
mine how long the shutdown will migrant workers at borders hot spot after missionary group the country extension of 24,404 ki doori’ (a distance of two yards)
need to continue to avoid a days after thousands Tablighi Jamaat holds double in lockdown till 778 -- which, he said, attested to the
flare-up of the disease. wisdom of the people in the coun-
Across the country, 1,408 new
15000 began walking to villages congregation in mid-March just six days May 3
20,004
644
15000
tryside. FINANCE COMMISSION MOOTS
cases were reported and 57 more
died on Friday – taking total infec-
March 25
3-week lockdown
April 11
Maharashtra, TN, Rajasthan and
“This pandemic has thrown at
us new challenges and problems
NUANCED VIEW ON STIMULUS
tions to 24,404 and fatalities to 778. 10000 announced by Telangana are among states 10000 which we have never imagined,
On March 25, the first day of the PM Modi comes with highest number of cases but it also taught us a very good NEW DELHI: The advisory the lockdown on public
into effect April 20 April 21
lockdown, India had 606 cases Some relaxations, India’s case load lesson with a strong message,” council of the 15th Finance finances is uncertain, but
and 10 fatalities before all trans- 10,444 Modi said in an address through Commission on Friday will be significant. “The
port was banned, offices and
2,006 355
including touches a grim
video conference to India’s observed that the Centre council members felt that
5000
606 1,013 53 operation of milestone, but 5000
schools closed, and people told to 21 industries in doubling rate of 250,000 gram panchayat heads on needs to follow a nuanced shortfall in tax and reve-
stay indoors unless they were out 10 5,305 low-risk areas, infections slows National Panchayati Raj Day. approach in its fiscal nues will be large due to sub-
for essential purchases or servi- 160 allowed down to 8 days “It has taught us that we have response to fight the eco- dued economic activity.
ces. 0 0 to be self-reliant and self-suffi- nomic fallout of the Covid-19 Hence, fiscal response to the
“If we go back to March 21, 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 cient. It has taught us that we pandemic and focus on crisis should be much more
cases were doubling in around March April should not look for solutions out- designing a stimulus pack- nuanced. It is important not
three days. An important turn side the country. This is the big- age as much as on the size of just to look at the size of fis-
came on March 23, after the Janta gest lesson we have learnt,” the it. In its 2-day meeting, the cal response but also care-
curfew. The direction changed
and the doubling rate increased
to five (days). By then, we already
put in place travel restrictions
TOTAL DEATHS
NEAR 200K
E Delhi building ‘de-contained’ prime minister said.
The address was delivered 10
CONTINUED ON P 14
advisory council felt that the
magnitude of the impact of
fully at its design,” the com-
mission said in a note. ››P11

and had created an environment HT Correspondent gious disease in two blocks in declared a containment zone on
of social distancing. There were NEW YORK: The global death n [email protected] Jahangirpuri, Tughlaqabad March 31 after a person tested TRACKING THE VIRUS
some setbacks in between but toll from Covid-19 neared Extension and Jama Masijd. positive there on March 26; this
from April 6, doubling time 200,000 as fatalities in the NEWDELHI: The Delhi government Delhi chief minister Arvind person was shifted to the Ram WORLD INDIA DELHI
started improving,” said VK US, the country worst-hit on Friday lifted the containment Kejriwal tweeted about the Manohar Lohia Hospital. DEATHS DEATHS DEATHS
Paul, Niti Aayog member, during by the pandemic, crossed measures imposed at Mansara de-containment. “No new case in The Delhi government on Fri- CASES 2,787,868 194,539 CASES 24,404 (+1,408) 778 (+57) CASES 2,514 (+138) 53 (+3)
the government’s daily briefing. 50,000. Among other Apartments in east Delhi on Fri- Mansara Apts in Vasundhara day announced one new contain- United States Rest of the world WORST-HIT STATES CASES LAST 5 DAYS 2,514
India’s current doubling rate is nations, Spain recorded its day, making it the first contain- Enclave. Therefore, this contain- ment zone in Shahdara. With 895,072 1,892,796 Maharashtra 6,817 2,376
8.6 days, Paul added. fewest deaths in 5 weeks, ment zone in the national capital ment zone is being de-contained. this, the total tally of contain- Gujarat 2,815 2,248
2,156
According to Paul, who also and new cases in Singapore to be de-contained. Operation Shield was successful ment zones in the Capital Delhi 2,514 2,081
heads one of the high-level task dropped below 1,000 for the But over the past few days, becoz of cooperation from people remains unchanged at 92. ››P3 Rajasthan 2,008
MP 1,846
forces coordinating the Covid-19 first time in 5 days. Delhi has also reported incidents living in this zone.” HOW SHIFTING A MARKET
India data compiled by covid19india.org and cross-checked from inputs by HT’s correspondents and news agencies Apr 20 21 22 23 Apr 24
CONTINUED ON P 14 of “local spread” of the conta- The residential complex was AVERTED AN OUTBREAK ››P3

DRDO offers 6 vaccines in human Initial results of plasma therapy Central teams flag
oxygen plants for trials bring hope of are very promising: CM Kejriwal Bengal lapses; Guj
far-flung areas
NEWDELHI: The Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) has decided to provide
early Covid-19 relief I would request those
who have recovered under scanner too
Anonna Dutt
n [email protected]

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister › blood, only the platelets are taken
out and the rest of the blood goes
back to your body. This is the
same thing, we will just take out
medical-grade oxygen plants to Sanchita Sharma Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged from corona infection to... the plasma. You can save the life
hospitals in far-flung areas to
generate their own supplies of the
n [email protected]
REMDESIVIR people who have recovered from
the coronavirus disease (Cov-
donate their plasma of a patient. We will call you for
donation, we will arrange trans-
Neeraj Chauhan and
Joydeep Thakur KISHOR FLIGHT
ARVIND KEJRIWAL, chief minister
gas that is crucial in treating Cov-
id-19 patients, two government
NEWDELHI: Human safety trials of
a coronavirus vaccine developed
RESULTS NOT id-19) in the city to donate plasma
to treat people hospitalised with
port, and we will ensure that you
are not harmed in any way.”
n [email protected]
UNDER PROBE
officials said on Friday. by Oxford University began on DESIRABLE severe forms of the infection. those who have recovered from Lok Nayak Hospital is the first NEWDELHI/KOLKATA: One of the two NEW DELHI: The Centre is
The oxygen-generating system Thursday even as Indian com- Plasma therapy has been admin- corona infection to come and Delhi government hospital to Inter-Ministerial Central Teams investigating allegations
is an offshoot of a critical system pany Serum Institute of India NEW DELHI: What had istered to four Covid-19 patients donate their plasma,” Kejriwal administer the therapy. Plasma (IMCTs) sent to West Bengal to that election strategist
on board the Tejas aircraft and started work on making the vac- been thought to be a admitted in a city hospital whose told reporters during his video therapy trials are also being con- assess the on-ground situation Prashant Kishor hopped
utilises “the pressure swing cine locally so as to be ready in promising antiviral condition seems to be improving, briefing to the press. ducted by the All India Institute there in terms of dealing with on to a cargo flight from
adsorption technique and molec- case the trial succeeds. drug to treat Covid-19 Kejriwal said. He added: “Many of you must of Medical Sciences and Institute Covid-19 has highlighted several New Delhi to Kolkata
ular sieve technology” to gener- The trial began in Oxford on was found to offer no “The initial results are very have donated blood for dengue; of Liver and Biliary Sciences in anomalies in its letter to West after being summoned
ate oxygen directly from atmos- Thursday, with the first two of 800 benefits to patients or promising and I would request for that too we do not take the Delhi. ››P3 Bengal chief secretary Rajiva by the West Bengal chief
pheric air, an official said. ››P5 healthy volunteers recruited for prevent deaths, accord- Sinha: a waiting period of at minister for consulta-
the study being injected with a ing draft findings of clin- least five days for test results of tion, government offi-
new vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. ical trials in China that patients in isolation wards; the cials said. ››P4

Mumbai spike due This is the sixth coronavirus vac-

cine to enter the first phase of
clinical trials, raising hopes of an
were accidentally pub-
lished by the WHO on its
website.
RAMZAN BEGINS ON A QUIET NOTE possibility of dead bodies lying
on beds in wards for four hours;
and the lack of social distancing
ceived lapses in efforts to control
Covid-19 and violations of lock-
to tracing, testing,
››P5
antidote against the virus that at hospitals. The observations down regulations, the home min-
continues to ravage the world. by the IMCT are based on an istry said on Friday. The minis-

isolating: Officials If the trials are a success, scien-

tists hope to have one million
doses ready by September, and to
September/October. SII will initi-
ate the manufacture at its own
risk to jump-start manufacturing
inspection of two hospitals in
Kolkata. The West Bengal gov-
ernment, in its response, said it
try said the situation was “espe-
cially serious” in major hot spot
districts or emerging hot spots
Sachin Kalbag, Eeshanpriya MS dramatically scale up manufac- and have enough doses available, is looking into the observations like Ahmedabad and Surat in
and Rupsa Chakraborty turing after that. if the clinical trials work,” said made by the central team. Gujarat, Hyderabad in Telan-
n [email protected] Pune-based Serum Institute of SII CEO Adar Poonawalla. The Centre is also deputing gana and Chennai in Tamil Nadu,
India (SII) has partnered with the The trial will study whether interministerial teams to three and Thane in Maharashtra,
MUMBAI: Mumbai on Thursday Oxford University to manufac- the new vaccine is safe and can more states -- Gujarat, Telangana where two teams have already
reported the highest single-day ture the vaccine in India even as generate strong immune and Tamil Nadu -- to probe per- been dispatched. ››P4
spike in the number of Covid-19 the trial starts. “SII plans to begin responses against Sars-Cov-2, the
cases for any Indian city. It is also manufacturing the ChAdOx1 virus that causes the coronavirus
the Indian city worst hit by the
contagion. Officials say intensive
vaccine in anticipation of the clin-
ical trials in the UK succeeding by
disease (Covid-19), and protect
CONTINUED ON P 14
mustread
contact tracing, testing and iso-
lating high-risk individuals is the TIGER THAT DIED IN ZOO TESTS NEGATIVE
reason the city is recording a
large number of cases. ››P6
Couple killed by son A 14-year-old Royal Bengal tigress died in the Delhi zoo on Wednesday
due to kidney failure and not due to the coronavirus, zoo officials said on
Friday. Activists and experts, however, alleged lapses in testing and
disposing of the carcass. Zoo officials said that Kalpana, the oldest

Toddlers booked and daughter-in-law n The Jama Masjid illuminated on the eve of Ramzan in New Delhi. Muslims around the world are
preparing for a relatively quiet month of fasting amid the Covid-19 pandemic. VIPIN KUMAR/HT
tigress there, fell ill on Tuesday but died on Wednesday. The autopsy
report confirmed renal failure, said zoo director Suneesh Buxy. ››P2

for violating home HT Correspondent

n [email protected]
but is currently unemployed.
The couple lived with their PUZZLING POTUS
quarantine rules children and Singh’s parents —
Gymkhana Club
Trump’s idea to inject disinfectant stuns world
NEW DELHI: A retired Municipal 61-year-old Raj Singh, and
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Omvati, 58 — in Chhawla’s
UTTARKASHI: A government official
on Covid-19 duty decided to inves-
employee and his wife were
stabbed to death by their son and
Durga Vihar. Singh’s two sisters
are married, work as teachers management to
tigate over phone a violation of
home quarantine by a group of
people who returned to their vil-
daughter-in-law at their home in
outer Delhi’s Chhawla area in
the early hours of Friday while
and live elsewhere in the same
neighbourhood.
“Raj retired from a clerical job
fight legal battle Yashwant Raj
n [email protected]
which causes the infectious
disease. As outrage grew,
Trump said the comments
even more quickly. The
research also appeared to
show the virus was vulnera-
“Then I see the disinfec-
tant, where it knocks it out in
a minute. One minute. And is
lage in Uttarkashi district from their minor grandchildren slept with the MCD in 2019. He pur- NEW DELHI: The central govern- WASHINGTON: US President were an attempt at sarcasm. ble to heat and humidity, with there a way we can do some-
Haryana, and in the process in another room, police said. chased two plots with the money ment has cited “parivarwaad” Donald Trump’s inquiry over Bill Bryan, an undersecre- direct sunlight killing it thing like that, by injection
booked a six-month-old and a The elderly couple’s refusal to he received upon retirement. (nepotism), financial irregulari- injecting people with disinfec- tary at the Homeland Security quickly. inside or almost a cleaning,”
three-year-old, resulting in wide- sell their plot of land to fund their Satish and his wife were pushing ties, misuse of allocated land and tants to guard against the cor- Department, told reporters Speaking after Bryan, he continued, and added: “So
spread outrage -- and his suspen- son’s business was the trigger for his father to sell the land and give issues related to membership as onavirus disease (Covid-19) during the White House’s Trump said: “So, supposing it would be interesting to
sion. The official, an assistant the double murder, said a senior them money to start a business,” the primary reasons behind its left medical experts and scien- daily task force briefing on we hit the body with a tremen- check that.”
engineer in the irrigation depart- police officer who asked not to be added the senior police officer. move to acquire the Delhi Gym- tists across the world stunned Thursday that research dous – whether it’s ultraviolet The remarks came on a day
ment, did not get details about the named. This demand and the constant khana Club. The club manage- on Friday, with many issuing showed bleach could kill the or just very powerful light – the US Food and Drug Admin-
age of the violators due to which The couple, identified by the refusal of the elderly couple to ment has said it will contest the warnings to not introduce virus in saliva or respiratory and I think you said that that istration cautioned against
the names of the two children police as Satish Singh, 37, and sell the land often resulted in case filed by the government in bleach in the body in an fluids in five minutes and iso- hasn’t been checked, but the use of malaria drug
were included, said district mag- Kavita, 35, have been arrested. quarrels at their home, the offi- the National Company Law Tri- attempt to kill Sars-CoV-2, propyl alcohol could kill it you’re going to test it.” CONTINUED ON P 14
istrate Ashish Chauhan. ››P8 Satish used to work as a driver cer said. ››P11 bunal to take over the club. ››P11