(Contains Press releases concerning Covid-19, issued in last 24 hours, inputs from PIB Field Offices and Fact checks undertaken by PIB)

UPDATES ON COVID-19 FROM THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND WELFARE

The number of cases under active medical supervision is 86,110. So far, a total of 67,691 people has been cured. In the last 24 hours, 3,266 patients were found cured. This takes our total recovery rate to 42.75%.

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Cabinet Secretary reviews COVID situation in 13 worst affected cities

Cabinet Secretary held a meeting with Municipal Commissioners, District Magistrates of 13 COVID-19 hit cities to take a review of the situation. Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories concerned attended the meeting.The meeting bears significance as these 13 cities are considered to be the worst Coronavirus affected locations and constitute about 70 per cent of the positive cases in the country.The 13 focus cities are Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi / New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Thane, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata / Howrah, Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu).The measures taken by the officials and the staff of the municipal corporations for the management of COVID-19 cases were reviewed in the meeting.

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Smt. NirmalaSitharaman chairs 22nd Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. NirmalaSitharaman chaired the 22^nd Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) here today. The meeting reviewed the current global and domestic macro-economic situation, financial stability and vulnerabilities issues, major issues likely to be faced by banks and other financial institutions as also regulatory and policy responses, Liquidity / Solvency of NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs and other related issues. Besides, market volatility, domestic resource mobilisation and capital flows issues were also discussed by the Council.The Council noted that the COVID-19 Pandemic crisis poses a serious threat to the stability of the global financial system as the ultimate impact of the crisis and the timing of recovery, is uncertain at this point of time.

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Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attends Special Board of Governors meeting of New Development Bank through video-conference

In her opening remarks, the Finance Minister commended the contribution of NDB in funding the infrastructure development, which has positively impacted the development agenda of the member countries, including India. Within a short span of time, NDB has approved 55 projects of member countries for an amount of $16.6 billion, which is quite a remarkable achievement. Smt. Sitharaman also mentioned that the Bank has successfully created a niche for itself and proudly stands shoulder to shoulder with the peer MDBs.The Finance Minister appreciated Mr. K. V Kamath, the outgoing President of NDB for his stellar stewardship in very quickly giving shape to the vision stated by the BRICS Leaders in 2014. The swift response to COVID-19 through launch of the COVID-19 Emergency Programme Loan product will be remembered as one of his contributions.

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Indian Railways operationalizes 3543 “Shramik Special” trains till 27th May2020 (1000hrs)across the country and transports around 48 lacs passengers to their home states through “Shramik Special” trains in 26 days

As on 27th May 2020, a total of 3543 “Shramik Special” trains have been operationalized from various states across the country. On 26.05.2020, 255 Shramik Specials were originated. Till now, around 48 lacs migrants have been transported through Shramik Special Trains in 26 days.These 3543 trains were originated from various states. The top five States/UTs from where maximum trains originated are Gujarat(946 Trains), Maharashtra(677 Trains), Punjab(377Trains), Uttar Pradesh (243 Trains) and Bihar (215 Trains).These “Shramik Special” Trains were terminated in various States across the country. The top five states where maximum trains terminated are Uttar Pradesh(1392 Trains), Bihar(1123 Trains), Jharkhand(156 Trains), Madhya Pradesh(119 Trains), Odisha (123 Trains).

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Telephonic conversation between PM and HE Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Prime Minister spoke today to His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, to congratulate him on having completed 50 years since his first entering the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The leaders discussed the health and economic impact of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and the measures being taken in the two countries to counter them. Prime Minister assured H.E. Rajapaksa that India stands ready to extend all possible support to Sri Lanka during this challenging time.

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1.78 Lakh MT pulses distributed to 13.4 Crore beneficiaries in States/UTs under PM-GKY
Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKY) about 4.57 Lakh MT of pulses have been dispatched to the States/UTs. Out of this, 1.78 Lakh MT pulses have been distributed to 1340.61 Lakh beneficiaries in the States/UTs. Under the Pradhan Mantri KisanSammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme during the lockdown period from 24.3.2020 till date, 9.67 crore farmers have been benefitted and an amount of Rs. 19,350.84 crore has been released so far.

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Shri PiyushGoyal calls upon the Exporters to be more competitive and provide quality products to the world

Shri PiyushGoyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Railways, today, through Video Conference, participated in the Digital Summit on Exports organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He emphasised that the diversification of exports, in addition to consolidating current areas of strength, is necessary for our economy to grow.Shri Goyal said that we should talk from the position of strength, be competitive, and provide quality products to the world.He said that India should be seen as a dependable partner and reliable friend in the world market, particularly when the global supply chains are undergoing rejig.

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Shri PiyushGoyal holds meeting with the industry and trade associations; Says that Aatamnirbhar Bharat implies a confident, self-reliant and caring nation

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal today held meeting, through Video conference, with the industry and trade associations. The Minister said that Aatamnirbhar Bharat will not be inward-looking, closed or anti-foreigner. Rather, the concept entails a confident, self-reliant, caring nation which takes care of all the strata of the society and nurtures development of all parts of the country. He said that Aatamnirbhar Bharat will inculcate the spirit of oneness among 130 crore citizens of India..

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Shri Paswan reviews FCI's food grain distribution and procurement

Shri Ram Vilas Paswanhas lauded the role of FCI during the lockdown and said food grain movement has been at an all-time high. He said FCI workforce has emerged as Food Warriors at the time of global pandemic crisis and they turned this challenge into an opportunity. FCI has undertaken record loading, unloading and transportation of food grains during the lockdown period. On the other hand, procurement also continued without disruptions and the wheat procurement by government agencies this year surpassed the last year’s figures.The Minister also took stock of the distribution of food grains in the states and UTs during the review meeting.

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Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme to be taken forward using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19

It has been decided to take forward the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme of the Government by using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19.This was decided at a recent meeting of Secretaries via videoconferencing , of partner ministries under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme of the Government.

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Twitter handle @LabourDG inaugurated by Shri SantoshGangwar; Handle will provide latest statistics related to Labour Welfare

In an attempt to supply updated latest statistics related to labour welfare, Shri Snatosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Labour and Employment (I/C), inaugurated the twitter handle @LabourDG for Labour Bureau yesterday. The Minister tweeted that this handle will be a regular & updated source of snapshot on Indian Labour Market Indicators.

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Science and Technology in finding solutions to combat COVID-19

At a media briefing here today, Dr.Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog and Professor K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, summarised activities on COVID-19 related to Science and Technology in the areas of vaccines, drug discovery, diagnostics and testing.

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Karnal smart city undertakes key initiatives to fight Covid-19

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INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Chandigarh: The UT Administrator approved end of containment operations in Sector 38 from 27/05/2020 and Sector 52 from 28/05/2020. It was also decided that screening, surveillance and strict monitoring of the health of the residents will be continued. Further, regular sanitization measures and IEC campaign in the area will be undertaken by Municipal authorities. Random samples of fresh suspect cases, if any, will be taken and reported to Administration. Social gathering in the area will continue to remain restricted as per the guidelines issued by Government of India and necessary social distancing, mask wearing and hygiene will be strictly enforced.
• Punjab: Amid mounting economic woes, the Punjab Government has decided to seek a fiscal stimulus of Rs.51,102crore from the Government of India, to help the state tide over the financial crisis triggered by the COVID pandemic and the prolonged lockdown. The Punjab Government will decide on the future course of action with respect to the lockdown in the state on May 30. Chief Minister will chair a review meeting with the concerned departments on the overall COVID situation in the state on May 30, and announce the government’s decision on lifting or further extension of lockdown thereafter.
• Haryana: Haryana Government has directed all the Deputy Commissioners of the state to ensure that international travellers arriving in the country remain in institutional quarantine for the first seven days after which they will be eligible for home quarantine for the next seven days. If there is no adequate home quarantine facility, the concerned Deputy Commissioner in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of his or her district may retain such a passenger for a further period of seven days at the designated institutional quarantine facility. Apart from this, the DCs have also been instructed to follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHF&W) in letter and spirit.
• Himachal Pradesh: Chief Minister while addressing the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and Chief Medical Officers of the State through video conferencing stressed upon the need to ensure better facilities in institutional quarantine centres so that the people have comfortable stay in these centres. He said that all the people arriving from red zones have to be kept under institutional quarantine and must be shifted to home quarantine only after their tests for COVID-19 was found negative. He said that same procedure needs to be adopted for Himachalis coming from other countries. He said that main focus should be laid on tracing and screening of all the contacts of COVID-19 positive patients to ensure their timely treatment and check spread of this virus. He said that all these persons should be asked to download ‘Corona Mukt App’ to effectively monitor the movement of quarantine persons.
• Kerala: In response to the suomoto case taken by the Apex Court over the plight of migrant labourers, Kerala government informed SC that it sent 70,137 migrant labourers to their native places in 55 trains; 4,34,280 migrant labourers sheltered in 21,556 camps with food, water and other amenities. Liquor outlets in the state started functioning from this morning; widespread complaints reported against Bev-Q app, the virtual queue management App for sale of liquor. Police began surprise checks to find violators of home quarantine; violators being moved to state facilities. On the 119th day after the first Covid19 case was reported, confirmed cases in Kerala crossed 1,000 yesterday reaching 1,004; nearly 45 per cent (445) got added in the last 14 days. Out of the 6 lakh who have applied online till now, 1.05 lakh Keralites, from both abroad and other states have returned to the State till May 27.
• Tamil Nadu:  Southern Railway closes headquarters in Chennai after staff test COVID-19 positive; office to re-open on Monday, after disinfection of the entire premises. Three passengers- one from Bengaluru and two from New Delhi - who arrived in Madurai by flight test positive for Covid19. State issues advisory to farmers on locust; advisory issued even as officials say they believe TN faces no threat. 817 fresh cases yesterday take State’s Covid19 tally to 18,545. Active cases: 8500, Deaths: 133, Discharged: 9909. Active cases in Chennai are 6307.
• Karnataka: 75 new Covid cases, 28 discharges & one death till 12pm today; Today new cases are from Udupi 27, Hassan 13, Bangalore city 7, Yadagiri 7, Chitradurga 6, Dakshin Kannada 6, three each in Kalburgi&Chikkamagalur, Vijayapura 2, Raichur 1.   Total positive cases in the State rise to 2493. Active cases: 1635, Recovered: 809, Deaths: 47.
• Andhra Pradesh:CM launches educational web portal, www.apsermc.ap.gov.in, to monitor schools and colleges in the State, says positive environment will be created for industrial development. 54 new cases, one death reported with 45 discharged during last 24 hours after testing 9858 samples. Total cases: 2841. Active: 824, Recovered: 1958, Deaths: 59. Total positive cases from other States reached 293 of which active cases are 126. Cumulative positive cases from abroad stand at 111.
• Telangana:  Despite extended lockdown and shortage of workers and funds, the Telangana government has procured 12,000 crore worth farm produce from farmers, including paddy, maize, Bengal gram, sunflower and jowar. Telangana High Court sought to know from the state and Union governments and their respective drug control administration departments if they had been implementing provisions under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act and Pharmacy Act properly. Total positive cases in Telangana as on 28th May are 2098.  As on date 173 migrants, 124 foreign returnees/Saudi Arabia deportees tested positive for Covid19.
• Arunachal Pradesh: Govt has constituted an Economic Revival Committee to review the economic situation due to COIVID-19 pandemic.
• Assam: 33 new cases of COVID19 positive in Assam. Total cases rise to 831, active 737, recovered 87, deaths 4, said State Health Minister.
•  Manipur: CM holds meeting with Health Department, Health Mission and authorities of UNACCO School, Meitram, Imphal West on establishing a 100 bedded temporary COVID Care Centre at the school for treatment of COVID patients of the State.
• Mizoram: Train carrying stranded people of Mizoram from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh arrived at Guwahati Railway Station today.
• Nagaland: Governor R N Ravi stresses on need to have more Bio Safety Level Labs in the State and to conduct contact tracing more vigorously.109 vehicles booked for violating lockdown guidelines in Dimapur. Rs 15,400 collected as fine.
• Sikkim: 4415 stranded Sikkimese have arrived in the State out of registered 8766 stranded citizens. And 2063 stranded persons were brought home by 7 special trains from various parts of the country.Agriculture Minister urged General Manager, RBI Gangtok to finance Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and to organize credit camps for farmers, issue of Kishan Credit Card and to resolve the pending issues.

PIB FACT CHECK

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