Coronavirus LIVE Updates: President Kovind tells Governors, LGs to mobilise voluntary, religious organisations to contain COVID-19 spread

06:50 PM- Vistara CEO Leslie Thng on Friday announced senior employees will be going on compulsory leave without pay of up to three days as a measure to further reduce the airline's cost amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The compulsory no pay leave will affect around 1,200 employees in senior grades. The remaining 2,800 employees of the airline such as members of cabin crews and ground handling services will be unaffected.

06:40 PM - President Ram Nath Kovind today asked Governors and Lt Governors of states and union territories to mobilise voluntary and religious organisations to aid the effort to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. In a video-conference with the Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of states and UTs, the President and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who also attended the conference, asked them to find ways to complement the efforts of the central and state governments in meeting the challenges arising from the outbreak of COVID-19.

06:30 PM - Twelve persons were confirmed to have contracted coronavirus in western Maharashtra's Sangli district on Friday, taking the number of COVID-19 patients in the district to 24, a health official said.

All these persons were related to or had come in contact with a single family. Some members of this family had returned from Saudi Arabia and later tested positive for the virus.
 

06:10 PM - Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is among many people who have come forward to help and provide food to needy and homeless people in Kota and Bundi districts of Rajasthan in the wake of the 21-day nationwide to combat coronavirus.

Nearly 50,000 students, preparing for various entrance exams in Kota and living in hostels and paying guest accommodations, have been cooking food and distributing it among the poor and homeless people.

Birla, who is a Member of Parliament from the Kota-Bundi constituency, has sent food material for nearly 500 families in Bundi.

05:40 PM - Telugu star Allu Arjun has contributed Rs 1.25 crore for the battle against coronavirus outbreak in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
"The COVID-19 has taken the world by storm and changed our everyday lives, but even at times like this people like doctors, nurses, military, policemen and many other sectors have done great contribution to our society," he says in the video.
"With all humility, I would like to announce Rs 1.25 crore to the people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala," he says.
 

05:20 PM - Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday urged people not to look down upon those infected with novel coronavirus, adding that its responsibility of the society to make sure that proper care of COVID-19 patients is taken.

In a video posted on his Twitter handle, Tendulkar said: "As a society, it is our responsibility to make sure that people who have been tested positive for coronavirus get our love and affection. We should take care of them and make sure that they don`t feel embarrassed."

"Make sure you take all precautions but also make sure that people infected with coronavirus don`t feel unwanted. We have to maintain social distancing but we don`t have to keep them away from the society," he said.

"We can win this battle against coronavirus by staying together and taking necessary steps."
 

05:10 PM - There are at least 640 active COVID-19 cases in India at present, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday, taking the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country to 724.

Besides 640 active cases, the country has reported 17 casualties so far while 66 persons have recovered.

There are 103 districts affected -- 11 in Kerala, 10 in Maharashtra, eight each in Delhi and Karnataka among others.

The disease has impacted at least 677 Indian nationals and 47 foreign nationals and has so far spread to 27 states and UTs. A total of 103 districts have been affected by the highly contagious virus.

The Health Ministry said that a total of 15,24,266 passengers have been screened at different airports. The data was put out by the Health Ministry at 9.15 a.m. on Friday.

04: 10 PM - SpiceJet has offered services of its aircraft and crew members to the government for any humanitarian mission during the 21-day lockdown and the airline is ready to operate some flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Patna to alleviate the suffering of migrant workers, especially those from Bihar, its CMD Ajay Singh said on Friday.

While domestic and international passenger flights have been banned till April 14 midnight, IndiGo and GoAir have also offered their aircraft and crew and staff members to the government for any mission required to contain the spread of coronavirus.

04:00 PM - IT firm Cognizant on Friday said it will give employees who are at associate level and below in India and the Philippines, an additional payment of 25 per cent of base pay for April, in recognition of their extraordinary continuity-of-service efforts amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The move is expected to benefit over 1,30,000 Cognizant employees in India.

03:50 PM - "Self-quarantining ourselves is a luxury homeless like us cannot afford," believes 68-year-old Rupa who has been living on the streets of Delhi-NCR for as long as she can remember.

Rupa, currently living near a Noida metro station, says she does not understand everything happening around her -- whether it is empty roads or closure of most shops -- but what she does realise is that there is a disease which has forced people to stay indoors.

"But self-quarantining ourselves is a luxury homeless like us cannot afford," she said.

Asked if she worries about being infected with the virus, Rupa casually replies that she has seen worse and for her it is nothing more than a flu.

"Getting food is a major concern for me not this (coronavirus)," she said.
 

03:40 PM - Vast swathes of West Bengal wore a deserted look on Friday as people preferred to stay indoors on the third day of the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday evening announced a three-week lockdown in the country, as part of the central government's measures to fight against the pandemic.

Private and public vehicle operators largely stayed off the roads, while business establishments, barring those dealing with essential commodities, remained shut.

Only a few people were seen shoving each at market places, even as many adhered to the social distancing rules while buying items at groceries.
 

03:30 PM - As many as six more people tested Positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 35 in the state, the government said.

Of them, five people contracted the infection through contact with those tested positive for the coronavirus.

In a tweet, the National Health Mission - Tamil Nadu said: "6 new positive cases of #Covid19 in TN..." and taking "the total tally to 35 so far."
 

03:20 PM - Around 40 migrant labourers Working in Mumbai were caught in Thane on Friday morning for allegedly trying to escape to Uttar Pradesh in a truck amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed for curbing the spread of coronavirus, police said.

The driver of the truck had told the police that he was carrying vegetables in the vehicle, an official said.
 

03:10 PM- In the third COVID-19 fatality in Karnataka, a 65-year-old man who tested had positive for the coronavirus infection died in Tumakuru on Friday, a senior district official said.
The person had no tavel history to any foreign country, but had gone to Delhi and returned by train earlier this month, following which he developed certain symptoms, the official said.
 

03:00 PM - The UAE authorities are taking steps to help many stranded passengers, including 22 Indians, who were on transit at the Dubai airport when their home countries suddenly stopped all the inbound flights due to the coronavirus pandemic, a media report said on Friday.
Dubai Airports issued a statement informing that airlines and embassies are now working to send the stranded passengers, some of them since March 18, to their home countries, the Khaleej Times reported.