Delhi Government seals key hotspots. Wearing of masks made compulsory.

Delhi: 20 COVID-19 hotspots sealed; wearing of masks made mandatory

20 COVID-19 hotspots in the national capital have been sealed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Talking to reporters after a high-level meeting on Wednesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said nobody will be allowed to enter or exit from these areas.

He said the city government will ensure delivery of essential items in the sealed areas. Sisodia added that some positive cases have also been reported in Sadar area in the city and the area has been sealed.

Delhi government has also made it compulsory for people to wear face masks when stepping outdoors to combat the coronavirus spread. In a tweet, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, wearing of facial masks can reduce the spread of corona virus substantially. He said, cloth mask will also be eligible.

He also said Delhi government departments have been asked to stop all expenditures except salary.

He said, there is need to cut expenses drastically considering current revenue status.

Death toll due to COVID-19 rises to 149; cases climb to 5,194

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 149 and the number of cases to 5,194 in the country on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 4,643, as many as 401 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said.

The total number of cases include 70 foreign nationals.

According to the ministry’s data updated at 9 a.m., 25 new deaths have been reported since Tuesday.

Sixteen deaths were reported from Maharashtra, two each from Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 64, followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh at 13 each and Delhi at 9.

Telengana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have reported seven fatalities each.

West Bengal has registered five deaths, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have reported four each, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each.

Two deaths each have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala.

Wearing of facial masks can reduce the spread of corona virus substantially. Therefore, it has been decided that facial masks will be compulsory for anyone stepping out of their house. Cloth mask shall be eligible too.— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 8, 2020

Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry data.

However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Tuesday 9.45 p.m. showed 5,192 testing positive across the country and at least 162 deaths.

There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the numbers announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1018, followed by Tamil Nadu at 690 and Delhi with 576 cases.

Telengana has reported 364 COVID-19 cases followed by Kerala at 336.

Rajasthan has 328 cases, Uttar Pradesh has 326 and Andhra Pradesh reported 305 coronavirus cases.

Novel coronavirus cases have risen to 229 in Madhya Pradesh, 175 in Karnataka and 165 in Gujarat.

Haryana has 147 cases, Jammu and Kashmir has 116, West Bengal has 99 and Punjab has 91 positive patients so far. Odisha has reported 42 coronavirus cases.

Thirty- eight people were infected with the virus in Bihar while Uttarakhand has 31 patients and Assam 27.

Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh have 18 cases each while Ladakh has 14 positive patients so far.

Ten cases each have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chhattisgarh.

Goa has reported seven COVID-19 infections, followed by Puducherry at five cases. Jharkhand has reported four cases and Manipur two.

Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one case each.

“State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation,” the ministry said on its website.