Health

Kolkata, May 18 (PTI) The West Bengal government will on Monday evening come out with a notification on the modalities of the fourth phase of the lockdown in the state, a top official said.

The Centre on Sunday extended the coronavirus lockdown for two more weeks till May 31, with the fourth phase providing more relaxations outside the containment zones including inter-state movement of buses with mutual consent of states that is expected to be of immediate relief for thousands of migrant workers on the roads.

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Metro services will remain closed for commuters till May 31, in view of the lockdown extension, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Sunday.

The ongoing countrywide lockdown has been extended till May 31, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on Sunday.

In an order, the NDMA said lockdown measures need to be implemented for a further period of 14 days in the country to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Lucknow, May 17 (PTI) Hundreds of migrants were stopped on Sunday by police in border districts of Uttar Pradesh from travelling to their native places by unauthorised vehicles and on foot during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, leading to protests in some areas.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Saturday directed district authorities not to allow migrants to travel by unsafe means and to ensure that they are transported in buses after 26 workers who were returning to their homes died in a truck-trailer collision in Auraiya.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) India is expected to join over 60 countries at a two-day crucial conference of the World Health Organisation in Geneva in pushing for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive" evaluation of the global response mechanism to the COVID-19 crisis as well as to find out the "zoonotic source" of the deadly infection.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The home ministry has said no state or Union Territory will dilute the guidelines issued for the nationwide lockdown that will continue till May 31.

In a communication to the chief secretaries of the states and Union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown were issued after taking the views of the states, following a video-conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers on May 11.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) A part of Krishi Bhawan building in Central Delhi has been sealed after an official in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been tested positive for COVID-19.

The official works as a personal secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 18 (PTI) The Kerala Government on Monday decided to allow public transport in a restricted manner with an increased travel fare to compensate the shortage of passengers due to implementation of social distancing norms in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transport Minister A K Saseendran said initially public transport will be allowed only for intra-district services but hot spots will be avoided.

SAO PAULO, May 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, has said its health system could collapse as demand grows for emergency beds to deal with coronavirus cases.

Bruno Covas said the city’s public hospitals had reached 90% and could run out of space in about two weeks.

São Paulo is one of the country’s worst-hit regions, with almost 3,000 deaths so far.

On Saturday, Brazil overtook Spain and Italy to become the nation with the fourth-largest number of infections.

QUITO, May 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The first case of the novel coronavirus has been detected in one of Ecuador’s indigenous Amazon tribes, the health ministry said.

Waorani organisations – speaking through the GO Alliance for Human Rights in Ecuador (DDHH) – warned COVID-19’s spread could be “catastrophic and highly lethal” for their community, which is vulnerable to diseases.

The first case reported in the Waorani tribe is a “pregnant woman, 17 years old, who began to show symptoms on May 4”, the ministry said in a statement.

GENEVA, May 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization on Monday kick off its first ever virtual assembly, but fears abound that US-China tensions could derail the strong action needed to address the COVID-19 crisis.

The World Health Assembly, which has been trimmed from the usual three weeks to just two days, Monday and Tuesday, is expected to focus almost solely on COVID-19, which in a matter of months has killed more than 310,000 globally, and infected nearly 4.7 million.