NEW DELHI 28 May 2021: India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has extended till 30th June, the countrywide restrictions to contain Covid-19, ordered on 29th April following the onset of a second wave of the pandemic.
“In spite of declining trend in infections, the number of active cases presently is still very high. It is, therefore, important that containment measures may continue to be implemented strictly,” India’s Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in the order.
He noted that “the strict implementation of containment and other measures has led to a declining trend in the number of new and active cases across states and union territories, barring some areas in the southern and north-eastern regions.”
The restrictions include closures of shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants, sports complexes, spas, swimming pools and religious places. Essential activities such as provision of healthcare, police services, banks and regulated movement of public transport shall continue.
However, states and union territories have been given the leeway to take decisions based on local conditions and the level of Covid-19 infections.
India on Thursday posted 211,298 new coronavirus cases, while deaths from Covid-19 rose by 3,847.
The South Asian country’s overall caseload is now at 27.37 million, while total fatalities are at 315,235, according to health ministry data.
UAE medical relief supplies to needy Indian states
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare acknowledged receipt of “major consignments of Covid-19 relief medical supplies and equipment” from the UAE for onward dispatch to states urgently in need of the materials.
The relief materials include oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, testing kits, Remdesivir vials and Favipiravir tablets. “Effective immediate allocation and streamlined delivery to the recipient states and institutions is an ongoing exercise,” the Ministry said.
It also said, “a dedicated cell has been created in the Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign Covid-19 relief material as international cooperation in the form of grants, aid and donations.”
India’s Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, had said at the end of last month in a media briefing on international cooperation on fighting Covid-19 that the UAE was being approached supplying Remdesivir. “We are aware that stocks are available in the UAE. So, wherever stocks are available, we are trying to contact them and trying to get it into our country at the earliest so that we can cover the short term gap.”
Meanwhile, Indian navy ship Shardul arrived in New Mangalore port in south India today from Kuwait with tanks and semi-trailers carrying 210 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen and 1,200 oxygen cylinders. This is the second phase of relief supplies from Kuwait.
“The supply cycle between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of India is fully operational and is committed to transporting a total of 1,400 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen to meet the urgent requirements,” a statement by Kuwait said.
