Coronavirus: UP's Ghaziabad once again a 'red' zone

Personnel of the CentralIndustrial Security Force conducted a flag march in an area of south Mumbai on Wednesday night to enforce strict implementation of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Five companies of the Central Armed Police Forces, including personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), reached Mumbai on Monday for deployment in areas severely affected by Covid-19, including slums of Dharavi, an official said on Thursday. Armed with their weapons, batons and shields, the CISF personnel conducted a flag march in Bhendi Bazaar area on Wednesday night, he said. More than 700 Mumbai Police personnel have so far contracted the coronavirus infection. Of them, 10 have died of the disease till now. With the deployment of central forces, the Mumbai Police personnel will get some relief in lockdown duties, the official said. The central forces will assist the Mumbai Police in maintaining law and order and to prevent any untoward incident in the city during the lockdown.

After nearly two months sidelined in Guam with a coronavirus outbreak, the USS Theodore Roosevelt has gone out to sea for training, in preparation to return to duty in the Pacific. The ship has been docked in Guam since March 27, as the 4,800 crew members went through rotations of quarantine, and more than 1,000 of them have tested positive for the virus over that time. “It feels great to be back at sea,” Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, said in a statement. “Getting Theodore Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 11 one step closer to returning to their mission in the Indo-Pacific is a great achievement for the crew." In an Associated Press interview from the aircraft carrier earlier this week, Navy Capt. Carlos Sardiello said the ship will sail with a scaled-back crew of about 3,000, leaving about 1,800 sailors on shore who are still in quarantine or working with those who are.

China has reported 33 new coronavirus cases, including 31 asymptomatic ones, majority of them in Wuhan, the first epicentre of the Covid-19 where the city's 11 million people are being tested in order to prevent a second wave of the deadly virus, health authorities said on Thursday. According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), two confirmed coronavirus cases, including one imported infection, was reported on Thursday in Guangdong province and a locally transmitted one in Shanghai on Wednesday. But there was a spike in asymptomatic cases. The NHC said 31 asymptomatic cases were reported of which 28 of them were in Wuhan. Wednesday's addition takes the number of asymptomatic cases in the country to 375, according to the NHC data. In Wuhan itself 281 people with asymptomatic symptoms along with 861 of those who came in contact with them were kept under quarantine, local health commission said. Read more

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday said that strict action will be taken against those found flouting the quarantine rules. "A strict action will be taken against those who violate the home quarantine rules. The reports submitted by the ASHA workers, Angadwadi workers will be taken seriously," he said. The statement from the Chief Minister said while he was addressing a video conferencing with the senior government officials and the district magistrates to review the coronavirus situation in the state. CM Rawat also directed "the local administrative staff to work under the leadership of village heads in order to create awareness about the Covid-19."