India Coronavirus update, 28 May: 367 domestic flights operated till 5pm today; Delhi HC takes cognizance of virus casualties

Here is a look at all the latest developments today:

367 domestic flights operated till 5pm today

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said a total of 367 domestic flights carrying 30,136 passengers operated throughout the country till 5 pm on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Puri had said 460 domestic flights carrying 34,336 passengers were operated on Wednesday.

“Figures for domestic flights for 28th May 2020 are in. Departures 367, 30,136 passengers handled. Arrivals 310, 25,530 passengers handled. Total movements 677 with 55,666 passenger footfalls at airports. Total number of flyers 30,136. These are numbers till 1700 hrs for Day 4,” Puri said in a tweet.

“This is how the picture looked in a capture from @flightradar24 at 9.16 am this morning,” Puri tweeted.

Delhi HC takes cognizance of lack of facility to cremate COVID-19 casualties

Overwhelmed by the Covid-linked deaths in the national capital and lack of facilities to cremate the deceased, the Delhi High Court on Thursday initiated a PIL saying if this was the correct situation then it was “highly dissatisfactory and violative of the rights of the dead”.

A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon said that as citizens of Delhi they were pained at the state of affairs as reported in newspapers on Thursday. The court cited news reports that said that inside the COVID-19 mortuary of Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi, there are 108 bodies of which 28 are piled on floor on top of each other as there are only 80 storage racks.

“Bodies of those who died five days ago, are yet to be cremated. The backlog in disposal of bodies has been caused owing to non-functioning of CNG furnaces at Nigam Bodh and Punjabi Bagh crematoriums,” the high court said referring to the news reports.

Health workers in personal protective suits ferry the body of a man who died of Covid 19 on a handcart for cremation in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo)

Domestic flight operations resume in Bengal, 22 flights on day 1

Domestic flight operations recommenced in West Bengal from today with a total of 22 flights operating on the first day. Grappling with the destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan, West Bengal had asked Centre to not resume flight operations in the state. Taking into consideration, the central government last week announced that flights would resume in Bengal from Thursday.

“A total of 1,745 passengers arrived and 1,214 passengers flew out of the city today (Thursday),” sources at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport told PTI.

Welcome Back Passengers!#KolkataAirport saw the arrival of 122 passengers from @DelhiAirport after two long months and 40 passengers departed to #Guwahati. Proper checks were followed and regular sanitization was carried out in terminal which was abuzz with passengers. pic.twitter.com/ZrqmPBxDSf

— Kolkata Airport (@aaikolairport) May 28, 2020

Not ready to open food stalls on Railway platforms: Vendors body

In response to the Railway Board, the Railways Food Vending Association said it is not ready to begin services on platforms due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and urged officials not to pressure it into opening stalls. On March 21, the Railway Board directed all zonal railways to open permanent and vending stalls located inside railway stations with immediate effect.

The letter also said that most vendors had migrated to their hometowns due to the lockdown and raised the issue of safety for vendors alleging that no arrangements have been made for the protection of men and material on platforms. “‘Shramik Trains’ are continuing to transport migrant labourers who are looting and vandalising and causing heavy damages to some stalls. Are those local authorities going to take responsibility in case of loss or injury,” Akhil Bharatiya Railway Khan-Pan Licensees Welfare Association president Ravinder Gupta asked in the letter.

A video of Itarsi Railway Station in has gone viral, wherein #MigrantWorkers travelling on 1869 #ShramikSpecialTrain could be seen looting food packets on Sunday morning @ndtv #covid1948 #Covid_19india #coronavirus #lockdown pic.twitter.com/91gArNIAUD

— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) May 25, 2020

Nearly 23 lakh people in quarantine across India

According to the Central government, as on May 26, a total of 22.81 lakh people were in quarantine facilities arranged by states and union territories across India. The figure is almost double from 12 days ago (May 14) when the people put under quarantine were 11.95 lakh, a government official told PTI.

As Maharashtra is worst-hit by the coronavirus, the number of people in qurantine facilities is also the highest, reporting 6.02 lakh people, followed by Gujarat which has 4.42 lakh in quarantine centres. Those currently in quarantine facilities are people who have reached different states by trains, buses or by the special international flights.

The Mahalaxmi racecourse parking space has been converted into quarantine and hospital facility for treating Covid-19 positive patients.

Develop mobile health solutions to strengthen Covid-19 response: Study

The Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR) in its study has said India’s response to COVID-19 can be strengthened by developing comprehensive mobile health solutions for frontline healthcare workers and public health authorities, a study said, stressing on the need for “necessary but least intrusive” measures for disease surveillance.

The study also said there is a need for mass installation of a single contact tracing mobile phone application.

WHO guideline on Digital Health Interventions was also used to classify app functions under the categories of general public, health workers, health system managers and data services apps in India, it said. During the study, the researchers found that governments, including the Centre, have invested in the development of mobile apps to deal with this crisis. The search yielded 346 potential COVID-19 apps, of which 50 met the inclusion criteria, the study said.

Drive to bring back migrant workers to end in 2-3 days: UP

The campaign to bring back stranded migrants to Uttar Pradesh will end in two to three days as other states have informed them that they have no or very few people left who needed to be sent back, official said.

“The entire campaign of bringing back migrants through trains and buses will end in next two to three days. Till now, 26 to 27 lakh migrants have returned,” Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said. He said states like Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, Telengana, Karnatanka, Rajasthan, and Haryana have told them that they have no or very few persons left to be sent back to UP.

Migrants at Lucknow’s Charbagh Railway Station on Thursday.

Passenger on Indigo’s Bengaluru-Madurai flight tests positive for virus

An asymptomatic passenger who took an Indigo flight bound to Madurai on Wednesday was tested positive for the coronavirus during mandatory testing on the same day at a quarantine facility in Madurai, the airline said. “An asymptomatic passenger who travelled on IndiGo on 6E 7214 from Bangalore to Madurai on May 27, 2020 was discovered to be COVID-19 positive during the mandatory testing at the quarantine facility in Madurai on 27th May,” the airline said in its statement.

The crew members of the flight have been sent to quarantine for 14 days and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol, the airlines assured. Ever since air travel resumed in the country from Monday, at least five passengers of three different airlines have tested positive for the Covid-19.

Passengers at the Srinagar airport today. (Photo courtesy: Srinagar airport authorities)

‘Indian economy to contract 5 pc in FY21’

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday said the Indian economy will shrink by five per cent in the current fiscal due to the virus lockdown. Stating that the pandemic has not yet been contained in India, the rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown — longer in some areas — have led to a sudden stop in the economy. That means growth will contract sharply this fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021),” it said. “Economic activity will face ongoing disruption over the next year as the country transitions to a post-COVID-19 world.”

The rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic. (Express photo/Gajendra Yadav)

Chennai returnee tests positive in Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh reported its third case after a 19-year-old student, who recently returned to the state from Chennai in a Shramik Special train, tested positive, a senior official said on Thursday. The student had returned on May 24 and was placed under institutional quarantine, he said.

“The person is asymptomatic and has been shifted from a quarantine facility to a COVID care centre. His test reports arrived on Wednesday night, Health Secretary P Parthiban was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Migrants at Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi before leaving for UP and Bhar Delhi. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)

Panic grips Bishanpura village in UP after bats found dead

Panic gripped Bishanpura village after some bats were found dead during the past few days, officials said on Thursday. According to news agency PTI, the villagers complained of incidents of bats falling from trees and dying in the Maniyar police station area.

Teams of health, forest and veterinary doctors reached the village on Wednesday to take the samples for testing.

District Forest Officer Shradha Yadav said the matter has come to the knowledge of the Forest Department and four samples have been taken into custody for testing. The reasons for their death will be known only after receiving the report, Yadav added.

Migrant labourers continue to return home as they walk along the Delhi border. (Express photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

Maharashtra minister blames ‘reckless behaviour’ for contracting COVID-19

Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad has blamed his “reckless behaviour” for getting infected with the novel coronavirus. Awhad, who has now recovered, said he was kept on ventilator support for over two days.

“It was recklessness in my behaviour that was the cause of COVID, probably I did not take peoples advice seriously. Thats why I was caught in a trap,” the NCP leader was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Wednesday.

Under the #PradhanMantriGaribKalyanPackage, the Government is providing free ration of food grains to under-privileged families who are facing shortage of food due to #lockdown.#IndiaFightsCorona@PIB_India@FinMinIndia

📽@ddsahyadrinews pic.twitter.com/AqGBcpzw2n

— PIB in Maharashtra 🇮🇳 #MaskYourself 😷 (@PIBMumbai) May 27, 2020

Two migrants commit suicide after returning home in Uttar Pradesh

Two migrant workers, who returned to Uttar Pradesh a few days ago from Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, committed suicide allegedly due to financial problems, police said on Thursday.

Suresh (22) committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his Lohara village under Mutondh police station area on Wednesday, SHO Mutondh Ramendra Tiwari said. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and investigations are on, the SHO said.

In a similar incident in Sindhan Kala village under Pailani police station area, Manoj (20) who had returned from Mumbai 10 days ago committed suicide by hanging in his room.

Mizoram class-12 board exams 2020 to resume on June 16

With the relaxation of lockdown curbs, the Mizoram government has decided to resume class-12 board examinations from June 16, an official said. The examinations of Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) for remaining subjects in arts, science and commerce streams will be conducted between June 16 and 18, according to a notification issued by the Mizoram Board of School Education (MBSE) on Wednesday.

The examinations were suspended in March due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus, the official said. About 4,700 students could not complete their board examinations in Economics, Chemistry, Sociology, Computer Science and Home Science, he said.

A police official directs migrant labourers outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai. (Express photo/Prashant Nadkar)

Maharashtra police COVID-19 count crosses 2,000 mark

The number of COVID-19 positive cops in Maharashtra police force crossed the 2,000 mark on Thursday as the tally reached 2,095 among the two lakh strong force. An addition of 131 positive cases were found among cops the previous day.

As per the numbers shared by officials from the Maharashtra police headquarters, among the 2,095 cases, 236 are officers and 1,859 are constables. Of these, a total of 897 — 75 officers and 822 constables — have recovered. Till date, 22 police personnel have died due to the disease. Cases among cops are around 3.6 per cent of total Maharashtra count which is nearing 57,000 as on Thursday.