Coronavirus cases mount to 17265 in India, 543 deaths

With 1553 new cases in 24 hours, the total tally of novel coronavirus cases stood at 17265 on Monday, the Ministry of Health and Family welfare said. The health ministry in morning update said that, of the total cases, 14175 are active cases, with 543 casualties.

"At least 2546 people have been cured and discharged from the hospital while one person has migrated," said the Ministry, adding "there are at least 77 foreign nationals, affected with the disease.

Maharashtra continued to be the worst hit with 4203 cases and 223 deaths, followed by Delhi with 2003 cases and 45 fatalities, Rajasthan (1478 cases and 14 deaths) and Tamil Nadu (1477 cases and 15 deaths)

11 industrial units to begin operations in UP from today
Eleven industries will restart operations in Uttar Pradesh from Monday, subject to conditions.

These include steel, refineries, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, garments (excluding apparel), foundries, paper, tyre, common effluent treatment plants and sugar mills. However, only the manufacturing and industrial units will be permitted to function and not their headquarters or administrative offices.

Chief Secretary R.K. Tiwari has issued a detailed advisory for these industries, asking them to take adequate precautions to ensure that their staff is kept safe. In case an industry or unit fails to adhere to the government`s rules as may be updated from time to time, its license to operate can be cancelled.

According to the directions, "In the first phase, the units should work with a minimum number of staff and in no case, can there be more than 50 per cent of the total staff. The permission to operate is being granted only to the units and not to their administrative offices. The permission will also not be applicable to units located within hotpots."

During the preparation for commencement of operations, owners will have to ensure that there are sufficient masks, sanitizers, soap and water available for the entire staff. Once the staff reports for duty, the owner or manager will have to carry out a random test of a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 workers. All workers will need to be screened thermally while infrared thermometers should also be available on site. Social distancing has to be practiced strictly.

The chief secretary said that the implementation of the rules will be ensured by the district administration and health department.

"In case, there is a suspected case of COVID-19 within the premises, he or she will have to be reported to the district administration," the chief secretary said.

Under the rules, no passes will be required by workers and officials if they are living within the premises of the factory with the objective of working there.

In fact, owners are being encouraged to make arrangements for workers to stay within the premises itself. However, if that is not possible, the workers will be issued passes to travel between their residence and place of work.

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The factory owners have also been asked to ensure that workers are picked up and brought to the factory while following strict social distancing norms.

No vehicle can be filled to more than 50 per cent of its capacity. The government has offered the use of UPSRTC buses to industrialists at a cost to bring their staff to the work place.