COVID-19 news from across the nation

As many as 44,376 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported, with India’s total COVID-19 cases now above 92 lakh, as per health ministry’s November 25 update. India reported 481 new deaths and 37,816 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the latest release show. Active cases up to 4,44,746 with a rise of 6,079 cases in a day.

Hyderabad: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) on Wednesday released a fresh set of guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The fresh norms will be effective from December 1, 2020 and will remain in place till December 31. The Ministry has asked states and UTs to ensure careful demarcation of Containment Zones by the district authorities, at the micro level, taking into consideration the guidelines prescribed by MoHFW in this regard.

Under the new guidelines, states and UTs cannot impose local lockdown outside containment zones without the Centre’s permission. However, it can impose restrictions like night curfew only in containment zones. The Centre has also permitted states to reduce the ceiling for social/ religious/ sports/ entertainment/ educational/ cultural/ religious gatherings to 100 persons or less, in closed spaces.

COVID-19 news from across the nation

Delhi

New Delhi:Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, some district authorities have been setting up micro-containment zones where two or more infections have been reported for better management of the pandemic, officials said on Wednesday.

Normally, an area is marked containment zone where three or more COVID-19 cases are detected. But it is a dynamic exercise, conducted by district authorities on a need-based manner, they said.

The Delhi Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulation, 2020, authorises district magistrates to seal off a geographical area, banning entry and exit of the population from the containment zone and to take any measures directed by the health department to prevent the spread of the disease.

West Bengal

Kolkata: West Bengal's Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan tested positive for COVID-19, following which he was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata, state Health Department officials said on Wednesday. Mannan (68), a veteran leader of the Congress in the state, got himself tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday after noticing some symptoms, they said.

Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh orders night curfew in all towns and cities from 10 pm to 5 am and doubles fine for flouting Covid-19 appropriate behaviour to Rs 1000, with effect from December 1. All hotels, restaurants and wedding venues to close at 9.30 pm, starting December 1. Curbs to be reviewed on December 15.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday exempted on-duty cockpit and cabin crew members of all airlines from the mandatory RT-PCR test across airports in the state.

To cope with the effects of the lockdown, the Maharashtra government has decided to give financial aid and 5-kg ration to 5,600 sex workers of Mumbai every month till the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

The exemption, however, will be subjected to following all necessary COVID-related protocols by the respective airlines, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar said in an order.

But even as Maharashtra became the first state in October to issue a government resolution to this effect, NGOs have pointed that a larger share of sex workers – including some with no proof of identity like ration card, Aadhaar card or bank account – are missing from government’s list of beneficiaries to get the financial aid.

Gujarat

Gandhinagar: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel passed away Wednesday morning due to multiple organ failure, more than a month after he tested positive for Covid-19. Patel passed away at 3.30 am this morning. He was 71.

Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Uttarakhand's Dehradun district will be locked down on Sundays from this week to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Dehradun District Magistrate Ashish Shrivastava issued an order on Wednesday seeking strict compliance of the lockdown on Sundays for carrying out sanitisation drives in busy market areas.

Devotees will not be allowed to take a holy dip in Ganga river in Haridwar on the occasion of Kartik Purnima on November 30 due to COVID 19, the district administration says.

Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: In a bid to fight against COVID19 pandemic in the state, Flipkart and GiveIndia Foundation have provided 50,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the Uttar Pradesh government.

These kits were provided to the state officials in a virtual ceremony attended by Adityanath, Flipkart's Chief Corporate Officer Rajneesh Kumar and other officials, a statement issued by the state government said.