Raising hopes in the battle against COVID-19, the government on Monday said infections are now doubling nationwide at a slower place of 7.5 days and 59 districts have not reported a single case in a fortnight, while several states sought to contain the ballooning economic cost of the pandemic by easing some lockdown curbs.
However, some states preferred to maintain strict restrictions for fear of losing control, with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka joining Delhi in deciding against any relaxation till May 3. Telangana went a step further by extending the lockdown till May 7.
Punjab, which had earlier ruled out any relaxation till May 3, said some industrial activity may resume in areas other than those identified as high-risk 'containment zones'.
The first set of relaxations from the nationwide lockdown, which came into effect on March 25, kicked in at select places across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Goa among other states, even as several states reported a rising number of cases.
According to the Union Health Ministry figures, the number of coronavirus positive cases saw a sharp increase of 1,553 between Sunday and Monday, while there has been a recovery rate of about 15 per cent.
In its 5 PM update, the Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 559 and the number of cases has risen to 17,656 across the country.
However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states and union territories, as on 6.30 PM, showed 17,744 confirmed cases, 2,859 recoveries and 584 deaths. Maharashtra alone has reported 4,600 cases, while Delhi has also crossed 2,000. Gujarat has over 1,800 cases, while Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan are above 1,500 each, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh at over 1,400.
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But despite the relaxations announced by state authorities, which are mostly limited to non-urban areas, industry executives said most companies have decided to wait for a complete exit from the lockdown as continuing restrictions on goods and people's movement make it difficult to resume stalled economic activities, which are estimated to have suffered a loss of Rs 7-8 lakh crores already.
While attendance at government establishments also increased marginally, there have been no relaxations as such for the public road transport, railway passenger services and flights.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said restrictions on domestic and international flights will be lifted when the government is confident that spread of coronavirus has been controlled, and poses no danger to Indians.
On a positive note, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Law Agarwal said as many as 59 districts across 23 states and union territories have not reported a single case in the last 14 days and also asserted that the rate of the number of cases doubling has improved to 7.5 days, from 3.4 days before the lockdown. Last Friday, he had put the rate of doubling of cases at 6.2 days.
In Goa, all patients have been discharged and no fresh case has been reported, Agarwal said. While the small state on the country's southwestern coast eased some lockdown restrictions, in line with the central government's guidelines, the leaders there warned against any hurry in declaring the state a 'green zone' one or free of the virus.
Kerala, where the doubling rate of cases is among the best in the country at 72.2 days, also announced a number of relaxations, but had to rescind some after facing the flak from the Centre.
In a letter to the state government, the Union Home Ministry said Kerala's decision to open restaurants, allow bus travel in cities and open MSME industries in urban areas amounted to dilution of the lockdown guidelines and also a Supreme Court observation. Later in the day, the state government decided not to allow plying of buses in cities, opening of restaurants and pillion riding on two-wheelers.
At a daily press briefing on COVID-19, Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said states have been told that some of them were issuing certain guidelines that amounted to "diluting" the lockdown leading to "severe repercussions to health" of the citizens.
She said states and union territories (UTs) can take stricter action than what is mentioned in the guidelines issued by the central government to enforce the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but cannot dilute or weaken them.
Separately, the Home Ministry also said the COVID-19 situation is "especially serious" in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata and a few other places in West Bengal, and warned that violation of lockdown measures risks the spread of the novel coronavirus further. The Ministry said six inter-ministerial central teams will visit these identified areas in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan within the next three days to make on-the-spot assessment and recommend remedial measures in a report to the Centre.
In identical orders issued to the four states on Sunday, the home ministry said there have been several incidents of violence against COVID-19 front-line healthcare professionals, complete violation of social distancing norms and movement of vehicles in urban areas.
Fresh cases reported from various parts of the country included those of police personnel in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, of health workers at various places, journalists in Mumbai and even of prisoners in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.
Prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind appealed to Muslims to adhere to all the guidelines of the lockdown and perform all religious rituals during Ramzan, starting later this week, staying inside their homes.
Separately, officials at the famous Badrinath temple in Garhwal Himalayas said the date for opening its gates has been deferred to May 15, from the earlier schedule of April 30.
Amid rising number of cases, Tamil Nadu government said prohibitory orders and other COVID-19 lockdown curbs will continue till May 3 without any relaxation, while the Karnataka cabinet decided to promulgate an ordinance, giving it special powers to control the spread of COVID-19. These include provision for protection to front line health workers and making non-cooperation with the government a punishable offence.
Karnataka has also decided to continue the COVID-19 lockdown measures till May 3 without any relaxation, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said. But, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the COVID-19 Task Force has been authorised to meet in three or four days to review and take further decisions about any relaxation.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said some relaxation for economic activities has been given from Monday but it is limited, as he asked people not to violate lockdown norms and avoid going out of their homes.
In Uttar Pradesh, no relaxation would be given in Lucknow, Agra and Firozabad.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said limited industrial activities have been allowed in certain areas of the state, but this should not be seen as indication that the threat of coronavirus has receded in any way.
There has been a rise of 835 cases of COVID-19 in Maharashtra in the last 36 hours, but we are relaxing the stringent norms of lockdown to restart the wheels of economy, he said.
Assam's Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state "will not be able" to pay salaries of its employees for May if it does not get financial support from outside.