PM Modi interacting with representives of the media on COVID-19.
New Delhi: Day two of the lockdown in India saw many states taking the Centre’s advice to impose curfew, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing economic relief measures, and the governments – Central and state –scrambling to ensure public health infrastructure is in place, in case number of COVID-19 cases witness a spike.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infected people, as on Tuesday evening, rose to 519, with active cases standing at 470, the Health Ministry said. With the death of a 65-year old in Maharashtra, the total death toll in the country has reached 10.
Fresh cases were reported throughout the day from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh among others. With a 23-year old, who returned from United Kingdom, Manipur also reported the first confirmed case of coronavirus infection in the Northeast on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, state-wide indefinite curfew was imposed in Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, a day after similar measures were taken by state governments of Punjab, Maharashtra and Puducherry.
As many major cities wore a deserted look for the second day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman extended the deadline for filing the income tax return for Financial Year 2018-19 to June 30.
Among other measures to help citizens to deal with the lockdown, Sitharaman announced waiver of minimum bank charges for savings bank accounts and no charge for three months on cash withdrawals from any other bank ATM for debit card holders.
Meanwhile, the plight of migrant workers stranded in various places continued to draw attention, with many of them unable to commute to their homes in Bihar and other places due to lack of transportation, as well as unable to buy food as they had run out of money. The government is yet to declare any kind of package for migrants rendered jobless overnight due to the lockdown.
At 8 p.m on the second day of the lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's Office, efforts to trace foreign returnees in the state by the Punjab government found that over 94,000 Non-resident Indians (NRIs) have entered Punjab in recent days, according to ANI. Of those people who have returned, around 30,000 have been placed under isolation.
The office also added that all-out efforts are being made to trace the remaining NRIs.
In yet another measure to ensure reduction in the movement of people during the lockdown, Pune District Collector on Tuesday instructed all petrol/diesel pumps of the district to stop providing petrol/diesel to the vehicles in the district, according to ANI. Only those involved in emergency/essential services are to be allowed to fill fuel at petrol pumps
Yesterday, the Centre had warned that legal action will be initiated against those violating the lockdown, which would include six months of jail or a fine of Rs.1,000 under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.
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