India’s COVID-19 tally reaches 42,533, death toll at 1,373 as country goes under lockdown 3.0

With 2,553 new cases and 72 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 42,533 on Monday morning, the Union Health Ministry said.

Of the total cases, 29453 are active, 11,706 people have recovered, and 1,373 people have succumbed to the disease. At least 1,074 people have recovered from the highly contagious COVID-19 in 24 hours.

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Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with the total number of cases rising to 12,974 and 548 deaths. Only 2,115 people have recovered from the deadly virus.

Gujarat has reported 5,428 cases so far followed by Delhi with 4,549 cases, according to the Health Ministry data.

The other states which have seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases are Madhya Pradesh (2,846), Rajasthan (2,886), Tamil Nadu (3,023) and Uttar Pradesh (2,645).

Maharashtra has the highest number of fatalities, among all the states, followed by Gujarat with 290 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 156, Rajasthan 71 and Delhi 64.

Among other major states, Andhra Pradesh has reported 1,583 cases and 33 deaths so far, Bihar 503 cases and four deaths, Haryana 442 and five deaths, Jammu and Kashmir 701 cases and eight deaths, Karnataka 614 and 25 deaths and Kerala 500 cases and four deaths.

The states which have reported less than 10 cases are Tripura, Mizoram, Puducherry, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, India entered the third phase of lockdown today which will continue till May 17. However, the extended period will see considerable relaxations in orange and green zones in a major relief for the people.

However, businesses and movement of people in containment spots and red zones will remain prohibited.

In orange zones, in addition to the activities prohibited throughout the country, inter-district and intra-district plying of buses remains prohibited, except for permitted or essential activities. However, taxis and cab aggregators are permitted, with one driver and two passengers only.

In green zones or areas with no COVID-19 cases, one can drive with a passenger in a car or ride a two-wheeler without pillion from 7 am to 7 pm. Only emergency and essential services will be allowed to move beyond these hours.

Some states including Delhi have allowed liquor sales by standalone shops as against those that operate out of market areas, provided there is strict social distancing and all other safety guidelines are followed.

The Health Ministry last Thursday finalised the list of containment zones and divided the states and districts into different categories according to the COVID-19 situation in these areas. The list will help the Centre devise a lockdown exit plan post May 3.

As per the list, 130 districts fall under the Red Zones, 284 in the Orange Zones and 319 in Green Zones.