Coronavirus updates for April 30

With the passing away of Bollywood actors Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, the gloom of the coronavirus-led lockdown has never been so melancholic. Around 1,079 people have succumbed to coronavirus related complications in India, while the number of cases have shot up to over 33,000, according to Worldometer.

Maharashtra breached the 10,000-mark as the state enforced strict mobility restrictions and health screenings for whoever checks into a hospital. Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh requested the Centre to arrange special trains for the transportation of stranded migrant labourers in view of the new Home Ministry guidelines. Telangana has also seconded the notion that trains are a better option than buses to transport the daily wagers.

The Health Ministry has announced that the current doubling rate of coronavirus cases has fallen further to 11 days. However, in states like Karnataka, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Kerala, the doubling rate is between 20-40 days. The current case fatality in the country is 3.2 percent, with 65 percent of it male.

On a positive note, over one million people globally have recovered from the disease. In the race to develop a vaccine, many Chinese, British, Indian, and American manufacturers have taken to the next step of clinical trials. Meanwhile, antiviral drug remedesivir has shown promising results in speeding the recovery of coronavirus patients, as per the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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