Covid-19: After deadliest day, another big spike of nearly 10,000 cases in 24 hours -The first of the major relaxations as part of India’s three-phase ‘unlocking’ plan came into force in several parts of the country on Monday.

HT, Edited by Amit Chaturvedi, Jun 09, 2020, New Delhi: India on Tuesday reported another surge in the number coronavirus disease cases. The country recorded 9,987 cases in the last 24 hours, which took the overall tally to 2,66,598, according to the Union health ministry.

The number of active cases in the country is 1,29,917, while 1,29,214 have been cured or discharged, the health ministry update at 8 am showed.

The number of those killed by the disease reached 7,466 on Tuesday after 266 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.

India recorded the deadliest day due to the Covid-19 outbreak, a compilation of data released by states showed on Monday when the fatality count rose by 342, taking the total number of deaths due to the illness to 7,476.

Monday’s jump in fatalities is only the second time the number has been in the 300s. On Friday, this number was exactly 300, the data released by officials across the country showed.

The first of the major relaxations as part of India’s three-phase ‘unlocking’ plan came into force in several parts of the country on Monday. Across the country, restaurants, malls and religious places such as temples, mosques and churches opened for the first time after the imposition of the nationwide lockdown on March 25, albeit with far fewer footfalls then before.

Signs marking where people will stand, new screens between diners and separate entry and exit routes were commonly seen in these places, along with thermal screening and hand sanitisers that visitors were being required to apply before entry.

In metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, traffic jams were reported during rush hours and a large number of people was seen at bus stops, particularly since in both these cities, the metro and local rail transit are yet to resume.

Meanwhile, the World Bank said on Monday that the coronavirus pandemic will plunge the world into a severe recession, the deepest since World War II, shredding per capita incomes and pushing millions into poverty.

The global economy is expected to shrink 5.2% in 2020, it said.

Administrative reforms department limits staff number, bars face-to-face meeting

The central government has issued fresh guidelines for officials and staffers working in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) after increasing number of Covid-19 cases in its various ministries and departments.

In a circular, the department has asked only asymptomatic staff to come to office. All those with mild cold, cough of fever should stay home, it has said.

The circular further said that the staff members living in containment zones must mandatorily work from home.

Otherwise too, the June 5 circular said, not more than 20 officers and staff members of DARPG should attend office in a day. It has asked the administrative departments to make duty chart accordingly.

Those sharing cabin should come on alternate says, the circular further said. The windows should be kept open as far as possible.

Among the other norms prescribed for the DARPG employees in the circular are:

• Face masks and face shields should be worn at all times inside the office. Disciplinary action will be taken if this is not followed.

• Used face masks and gloves should be discarded in bio-medical waste bin only. Strict action will be taken on throwing gloves and masks in the open.

• Face-to-face meetings/discussions/interactions to be avoided as far as possible. The staff should use intercom, phone or video-conferencing for these purposes.

• Hand washing in every half an hour is a must to prevent spread of the infection. Hand sanitisers must be installed at prominent places in corridors.

• Frequently touched places like switches, door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails etc should be cleaned every hour.

• The staff members have also been asked to clean personal equipment like keyboards, mouse, phone, AC remotes etc by themselves using ethanol based disinfectant frequently.

• A distance of 1 metre should be maintained while sitting or walking. Visitors’ chairs in the cabins of the offices shall accordingly be placed keeping the norms of social distancing.

All officers and staff members are requested to follow these instructions without fail.

Two staffers of Parliament had tested positive for Covid-19 late last month. At least two persons working at the headquarters of the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the national capital had also tested positive last month.

Several cases have also been reported from other central ministries and departments that have their offices in the same part of New Delhi as the MEA.

The country has reported 2,66,598 Covid-19 positive cases and 7,466 deaths till Tuesday.