(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 Family Welfare

During the last 24 hours, a total of 5,220 COVID-19 patients have been cured. Thus, so far, a total of 1,19,293 patients have been cured of COVID-19. The recovery rate is 48.37% amongst COVID-19 patients. Presently, there are 1,20,406active cases and all are under active medical supervision.

ICMR has further ramped up the testing capacity for detecting the novel coronavirus in infected persons. The number of government labs has been increased to 531 and private labs has been increased to 228 (A total of 759).1,42,069 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The total number of samples tested thus far is 46,66,386.

For details :

Moving ahead resolutely through collective action

There are some reports in a section of the media expressing concern about the Government’s efforts towards containment and management of COVID-19 to have excluded the larger wisdom of technical experts.

These apprehensions and allegations are unfounded and baseless. The Government is constantly in consultation with experts for technical and strategic inputs, scientific ideas and domain-specific guidance to address the COVID-19 pandemic. A National Task Force (NTF) for COVID-19 is constituted by Secretary DHR-cum-DG-ICMR with Member (Health) NITI Aayog as Chairperson and Secretary (DoHFW) and Secretary (DHR) as Co-Chairs. The NTF comprises of 21 members including technical/domain experts from the government and outside the government. Predominant expertise in the Task Force is from public health and/or epidemiology. Given the complexity and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has experts from medicine, virology, pharmacology and programme implementation domains, as well.

The Government has already shared the information on the impact of lockdown and other restrictions on averting lakhs of infections and thousands of deaths, as also enormous gains in health system and people’s preparedness. Compared to countries that have eased lockdown such as UK, Italy, Spain and Germany, India has reported the lowest numbers of cases/lakh population, at 17.23 cases/lakh population and 0.49 deaths/lakh population (as per WHO Situation Report dated 6^th June 2020).

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Growth Trajectory of Direct Tax Collection & Recent Direct Tax Reforms

There are reports in a certain section of media that the growth of direct taxes collection for the FY 2019-20 has fallen drastically and buoyancy of the direct tax collection as compared to the GDP growth has reached negative. These reports do not portray the correct picture regarding the growth of direct taxes. It is a fact that the net direct tax collection for the FY 2019-20 was less than the net direct tax collection for the FY 2018-19. But this fall in the collection of direct taxes is on expected lines and is temporary in nature due to the historic tax reforms undertaken and much higher refunds issued during the FY 2019-20.

This fact becomes more apparent if we compare the gross collection (which removes anomalies created by the variation in the amount of refund given in a year) after taking into account the revenue foregone estimated for the bold tax reforms undertaken, which have a direct impact on the direct taxes collection for FY 2019-20. It may also be noted that in FY 2019-20, amount of total refunds given was Rs. 1.84 lakh crore as compared to Rs. 1.61 lakh crore in FY 2018-19 which is a 14% increase year-on-year.

For details :

Awareness and not Anxiety is the key to fighting COVID-19: DrJitendra Singh

Union Minister Dr.Jitendra Singh said here today that awareness and not anxiety, is the key to fight Covid pandemic. Launching COVID BEEP (Continuous Oxygenation & Vital Information Detection Biomed ECIL ESIC Pod), India’s first indigenous, cost effective, wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for COVID-19 patients, developed by ESIC Medical College Hyderabad in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and Department Of Atomic Energy, he stressed on the importance of prevention and awareness in dealing with this pandemic effectively, now that the process of unlock has started in a phased manner after an effective and timely lockdown for close to two months.

For details :https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1630067

National Gallery of Modern Art to run ONLINE NAIMISHA 2020- Summer Art Program from 8th June to 3rd July 2020

During this pandemic situation and lockdown, museums and cultural institutions cannot serve visitors and audiences as usual. It led NGMA to explore new areas and platforms to reach to its audiences. In the last two month or so NGMA has organised many programs and exhibitions virtually. The technological development provides an opportunity to organise such programs digitally. So, NGMA is making an endeavour to host its most popular summer art program NAIMISHA digitally.The month-long ONLINE summer program by NGMA, New Delhi is an initiative to provide a chance to its participants to create and learn from practicing artists without compromising their health.

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INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

• Punjab: In a bid to provide much needed respite to the citizens of the state to travel from one place to other to discharge their duties, the Punjab Government has allowed all private (non–transport) and public service vehicles to operate from 5 AM to 9 PM, except in the containment zones declared by competent authority, subject to strict riders to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus.
• Haryana: Haryana Government has decided to allow the reopening of religious places, places of worship for public, and Shopping Malls in a regulated and restricted manner across the state with effect from June 8, 2020 except in the districts of Gurugram and Faridabad in view of large number of positive cases being found on daily basis during last ten days in these districts. Apart from this, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services will be reopened with generic preventive measures across the state. The timing of opening for all will remain between 9 am to 8 pm so as to ensure the compliance of night curfew between 9 PM to 5 AM. The Chief Minister directed to regulate and restrict these activities by following the guidelines and instructions as issued by Ministry of Home Affairs in letter and spirit keeping in view the prevailing conditions due to COVID-19 pandemic in Haryana.
• Kerala: The youngest baby, a five-day old, who was confirmed with Covid-19 in the state recovered from the disease and returned to home from Parippally Medical College in Kollam. The baby's mother is still under treatment. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram has been approved as Centre for examining the accuracy of Covid treatment equipment and testing kits. Covid certificate will be mandatory for devotees from other states visiting Sabarimala shrine. Virtual queue has been made mandatory for all devotees in Sabarimala and Guruvayoor temples. Hotels in Kozhikode will be opening only after July 15 due to the increase in positive cases in the district. One more Malayali, an X-Ray technician, died in New Delhi today.  Kerala had confirmed 108 new Covid positive cases yesterday and 1029 patients under treatment in various hospitals.
• Tamil Nadu: Five JIPMER doctors, technician among 12 people who tested positive in Puducherry; with this the total Covid-19 positive cases has risen to 119 in the UT while active cases are 71. Indian Navy Ship ‘Jalashwa’ made a second call to Thoothukudi VO Chidambaranar Port Trust with 700 Indian expats from Maldives as a part of the ongoing 'SamudraSetu' mission. State framesSoP for restaurants; will be out of bounds for people above 65 years of age and those with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below 10 years of age. CM says that approvals for industries will be made simpler. 1458 new cases & 19 deaths yesterday in TN. 1146 cases from Chennai. Total cases till now : 30152, Active cases: 13503, Deaths: 251. Active cases in Chennai is 10223.
• Karnataka: Health department issues revised guidelines with effect from 8 June 2020 for health screening, quarantine and interstate travellers in unlock 1 period. Hotels, restaurants and lodges and temples will open with strict adherence to guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs. 378 new cases, 280 discharges & two deaths reported yesterday; of the 378 new cases, 333 are inter-state cases. Total positive cases till now : 5213, Active cases: 3184, Deaths: 59, Recovered: 1968.
• Andhra Pradesh:  Budget session of AP Assembly and Council scheduled to start from June 16. RTC which resumed operations from May 21 garner an income of Rs. 29.44 crore till date. State transfers Forest Service officers in large numbers. 130 new cases, 30 discharged and two deaths reported during last 24 hours after testing 17,695 samples. Total cases: 3718. Active: 1290, Recovered: 2353, Deaths: 75. Total number of migrants who tested positive is 810, with 508 of them active and 28 discharged in the last 24 hours, while 126 of the 131 cases from abroad remain active with one discharge today.
• Telangana: Chief Minister’s Office sealed as official’s personal secretary tests positive for Covid-19. Homeguard, constables among six cops in Telangana who tested positive for Covid-19. Fear and uncertainty, fuelled by the unyielding Covid-19 pandemic, is mounting among parents of schoolchildren as ambiguity continues over whether schools will reopen physically before the virus is reined in completely. As on 6th June number of cases in Telangana is 3496; As on date 448 migrants, foreign returnees tested positive.
• Maharashtra: With 2,739 new Covid-19 cases found in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the state's virus case count reached 82,698.The state's death toll stands at 2,969 after 120 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.  So far, 37,390 people have been discharged after getting cured of Covid-19, the Maharashtra Health Department said. 2,234 patients got discharged in the last 24 hours.To curb malpractices and resolve complaints against private hospitals in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has appointed five IAS officers who can be reached via email in case of complaints. A total of 35 hospitals will be under the ambit of these officials.
• Gujarat: Gujarat reported 498 new coronavirus positive cases and 29 deaths, including 26 in Ahmedabad district, taking the total case count to 19,617, and fatalities to 1,219. The number of recovered cases also rose to 13,324 with 313 more patients getting discharged from hospitals. The state has so far tested 2,45,606 samples.
• Rajasthan: Rajasthan reported 247 in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state has increased to 10,331. As many as 231 people have died in the state due to Covid-19 infection.There are 2599 active cases in the state while at least 7,501 people have been recovered from the infection.
• Madhya Pradesh: With 232 fresh cases being reported over the past 24 hours, the total COVID-19 positive count in Madhya Pradesh crossed the 9,000-mark on Saturday with total 9228 cases. Bhopal reported 51 cases, followed by 35 in Indore, 20 in Shajapur, 18 in Neemuch, 15 in Burhanpur, 14 in Bhind, 12 in Ujjain and 10 in Gwalior.
• Chhattisgarh: As many as 44 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Chhattisgarh in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the state has increased to 923. The death toll has climbed to 4.
• Goa: Goa  reported 71 new COVID-19 cases, taking the State count of positive cases to 267. Of these 202 are active cases while 65 people have recovered from the disease.

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