Good news: 12 covid19 patients in Maharashtra recover, no case in Delhi last 40 hours

Mumbai: As many as 12 COVID-19 patients in Mumbai have been cured of the deadly viral infection, a senior civic official said on Tuesday.

"Twelve coronavirus patients have now tested negative for the infection. They were being treated at various civic-run hospitals here for last some days," said Daksha Shah, deputy director of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) health department.

"In the last couple of days, we noticed these 12 patients getting better. Their fresh swab samples were sent for tests and the results came out negative," another BMC official said.

Hence, the authorities have decided to discharge them soon, the official added.

So far, 101 coronavirus cases have been reported from Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a curfew in the entire state on Monday in a bid to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, No case of coronavirus has been reported in the last 40 hours in the national capital, said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday afternoon.¶

Addressing a press conference, the chief minister also said that the Delhi government has constituted a 5-member team to suggest a plan to deal with the situation if Delhi reaches stage 3 of coronavirus pandemic.¶

"In the last 40 hours, no new patient has been tested positive for Covid-19 in Delhi. Of the 30 patients, seven have gone home and 23 patients are undergoing treatment," Mr Kejriwal said.

However, the chief minister added: "This is good news but we shouldn't be happy as the fight is still on. The numbers might spike anytime. We should remain alert. The biggest challenge is to not let the situation get out of hand and the government needs the support of citizens to combat the pandemic."

In an apparent move to help the construction workers, the CM proposed to give Rs5000 to each one of them as their livelihood has been affected due the outbreak of coronavirus. The number of night shelters in the city has been increased, added Mr Kejriwal.¶

He also said that due to the curfew in the national capital, a number of people were not able to get food, and urged the public to send such people to the nearest shelters of Delhi government, where food was being served.¶

Mr Kejriwal also appealed to all landlords to allow some concession to their tenants. "There are many daily wage earners in Delhi who stay at rented homes. If some tenants are not in a condition to pay their rents to landlords, they can be given some concession for 2-3 months."¶

Mr Kejriwal also condemned harassment of "corona heroes". "Doctors, nurses, air hostess and pilots are working hard to help people in this tough time. We should not disrespect their efforts", he said.¶

Mr Kejriwal appealed people to help doctors and airline staff and asked them to refrain from mistreating them out of fear of getting infected.