A comprehensive thread to update all the countless measures taken by BOTH Central and State govts to tackle COVID-19 the past week. This will show how India has suppressed the spread, helped Indians overseas & its readiness for the worst. All points backed by sources and facts.👇
1)India continues to be the country that conducted the most evacuations (9 evacuations and counting). On 15th March, 218 Indians were evacuated from Italy and 234 Indians (131 students & 103 pilgrims) evacuated from Iran. On 16th March, 53 Indians were evacuated from Iran. Total: 
2) Indian Embassy in Iran has set up a wellness facility in Qom to undertake 24/7 supervision of infected Indian pilgrims. 225 Indians in Iran tested positive and one death is confirmed.
3) India has to date banned entry from 31 countries (EU, UK, Turkey, Afghanistan, Philippines & Malaysia), in addition to suspending all visas to India as well as visa-free travel facility for OCI cardholders. India announced to stop all commercial international aircrafts for
1 week from March 22nd.
4)MEA has approved AirAsia flights for Indians stranded in Malaysia and flew out 405 Indians in special flights. indiatoday.in/india/story/in…
4)MEA has approved AirAsia flights for Indians stranded in Malaysia and flew out 405 Indians in special flights. indiatoday.in/india/story/in…
5) India has suspended 18/37 Indo-Bangladesh, Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar border crossings to curb passenger traffic from March 15 midnight and Ind-Pak border (Attari and Kartarpur) closed from March 16 midnight. All 18 land borders closed except the crossings below:
6) India became only the fifth country in the world to successfully isolate a strain of the novel coronavirus on 14th March, from a very small batch of positive cases- a remarkable feat in itself. First step towards expediting the development of vaccines. livemint.com/news/india/cov…
7) 62 functional VRDLs are capable of testing for COVID-19, with 9 more to be functional by the end of this week. This is an increase of 40% in a week, from only 51 VRDLs capable of testing on 13th March. icmr.nic.in/sites/default/…
8) India announced the first and second confirmatory tests for the virus to be free (not free in every country). India’s current capacity is 8000 samples/day (testing only 500/day) which will expand to 10,890/day in 121 labs (not including private labs).
9) As of 19th Mar, ICMR has tested 13,316 samples from 12,426 individuals. No evidence of community transmission was found after results of 500 random samples tested negative. This means India is still in stage 2 of transmission and hasn't entered stage 3.
10) On 17th Mar, 30 nodal officers of the level of Joint Secretary and above were drawn from various ministries to liaise, coordinate and help the States with respect to any assistance from the Central govt, ensuring seamless coordination. Names of officers for each state below:
11) India has announced closure of ALL educational institutions, gyms, museums, pools and theatres on 16th Mar till 31st Mar. CBSE has released new guidelines for exam centres including 1 metre gap between students, making sure the class does not exceed 24 students, etc.
12) On 14th March, the Central govt declared the COVID-19 pandemic as “notified disaster” under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, enabling states to spend a larger part of funds from the SDRF. Kerala has announced to spend Rs 78.4 crore from the fund. indiatoday.in/india/story/co…
13) As of 18th March, 26 states and UTs have closed ALL schools and 18 states have announced closure of ALL public places (educational institutions, parks, gyms, theatres, markets, malls, etc). Red= public places, pink= schools *correction: Andhra should also be colored red*
14)Prominent Hindu temples from Karakoram to Kanyakumari have pragmatically announced their closure, including Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple, Mata Vaishno Devi yatra in J&K, Ganga Aarti in Varanasi for commoners, Jagannath Temple in Odisha, Tirupati in Andhra and
Madurai Meenakshi temple in TN. Mumbai’s Haji Ali and Mahim Dargahs also announced its closure.
15)Central Railways cancelled 23 trains on 17th March and announced price hikes to Rs.50 to disincentivize travel. On 19th March, Tejas & Humsafar express also cancelled.
15)Central Railways cancelled 23 trains on 17th March and announced price hikes to Rs.50 to disincentivize travel. On 19th March, Tejas & Humsafar express also cancelled.
16) Places of passenger contact at Indian railways are being sanitized regularly all over India, pictures in order: Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
17) Lt. Governor of J&K accorded sanction to rolling out the JK Health Scheme to provide free Universal Health Coverage of up to 5 lakhs/ family on 18th March. 1.25 residents of J&K to benefit. This move comes at a great time to help tackle the infections.
18)J&K banned the entry of foreign tourists on 17th March and Sikkim & Himachal Pradesh banned entry of domestic and foreign tourists as of 17th and 18th March respectively.
tribuneindia.com/news/himachal-…
tribuneindia.com/news/himachal-…
19) The Govt. of Punjab announced the ban of all public transport (public buses, tempos, auto rickshaws, etc) from 21st March onwards. Maharashtra Cabinet decided to shut down all govt offices except essential services on 17th March. economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-…
20) Kerala CM Vijayan has announced a 20,000 crore relief package to tackle the crisis. It includes 100 crore for free ration of rice, 2000 crore worth of loans for families, 1420 crore for social security pensions, 500 crore health package, etc. Keralites will get an extra month
to clear their water and electricity bills too. He also announced that a string of 1000 low-cost food outlets to be opened by April. news18.com/news/india/one…
21) UP CM Adityanath has announced “the state govt. has decided to provide a set amount in the bank accounts of labourers so that their families don’t suffer from the side effects of COVID-19” on March 17th.
India has emerged as a global leader to take charge of the COVID-19 crisis. PM Modi’s initiative to organize a G20 Extraordinary Leaders Summit through video conference has been accepted by Saudi Arabia (G20 chair) on Mar 18. AUS PM lauded PM Modi’s efforts to lead the task force
23) India has taken the reigns to steer the Indian Subcontinent out of the COVID-19 crisis, when it managed the feat of organizing a coordinated video conference with 8 SAARC members in 48 hours. PM Modi is the first world leader to call for a joint action plan between countries.
24) PM Modi proposed an emergency fund in the SAARC conference, and India has pledged USD 10 million, which has operationalized as of 19th March. India announced that it is assembling a rapid response team of doctors
along with testing kits to be placed on standby for the SAARC leader’s disposal if required. news18.com/news/india/pm-…
25)PM Modi announced the creation of ‘COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force’ during his nationwide address on 19th March under the FM. He assured a swift response
25)PM Modi announced the creation of ‘COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force’ during his nationwide address on 19th March under the FM. He assured a swift response
to the dent on the economy by COVID-19, which is expected to be announced in the next few days.
26) He also announced the “Janta Curfew” on the 22nd of March to honour the brave Indians at the frontline of the war including medical staff, police, airline staff, govt servants,
26) He also announced the “Janta Curfew” on the 22nd of March to honour the brave Indians at the frontline of the war including medical staff, police, airline staff, govt servants,
transport operators, etc. This was lauded by people from all sides of government as a battle cry of unity in the country.
27)India is fully prepared for the war against COVID-19. Trust the PM and your state governments.
27)India is fully prepared for the war against COVID-19. Trust the PM and your state governments.
India has been shielded so far because of the countless men and women on the streets working to save you. Stay at home and honour them on the 22nd. More threads like these to come up bi-weekly. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳🙏
