New Delhi: Mainstream newspapers mostly anticipated Prime Minister Modi’s announcement regarding the extension of lockdown Tuesday morning–although they did not know it would be till 3 May.
There is bad news, like always — India witnessed the highest single day increase in coronavirus cases Monday with 905 new cases and the plight of migrant workers remains a troubling issue.
However, there is some good news as well: 25 districts, which had coronavirus cases earlier, have not reported a single case in the past 14 days.
Pink papers expect a massive fiscal stimulus package amid the potential lockdown extension. Business Standard makes special mention of the Rajasthan government’s decision to extend working hours at factories from 8 to 12 hours a day to make sure production doesn’t flail amid the lockdown.
Well, time has caught up with the lead in The Times Of India, which anticipated this morning’s address by Prime Minister Modi — ‘At 10am today, PM will give a clearer view of way forward’ said TOI.
A complete lockdown looks the only way forward at least for the capital: ‘Record 356 new cases & 4 deaths in Delhi in a day’, reports TOI, adding that Delhi and Maharashtra witnessed a big surge in Covid-19 cases on Monday — the western state saw 352 new cases — their highest single day tally. Together, these two states account for 37 per cent of India’s Covid-19 count, which crossed the 10k mark at 10,450.’’
To fight the battle against Covid-19, ‘14k teams of ‘corona warriors’ to contain spread, detect city cases’. According to the daily, “To ensure that lockdown rules are complied with across the city and those living in containment zones get essential supplies regularly, the Delhi government has decided to form teams of foot soldiers in each of the 13,750 areas covered by a polling booth. They will also detect suspected cases of Covid-19 and call in the health teams. Designated as ‘Corona Foot Warriors Containment and Surveillance Team’, each five-member squad, headed by a booth-level officer, will patrol its area and interact with residents. Each team will be assigned about 500 houses.”
The Indian Express
notes that six states have already announced extended lockdowns — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Haryana, Punjab and Haryana — in its lead story. It reports that 25 coronavirus-affected districts recorded no new cases in the past two weeks. However, the same report also highlights that “in the past 24 hours, there have been 51 deaths and 905 cases — the highest single day toll for the country”.
One of the main concerns in the lockdown is migrants: In ‘Big worry as states brace for new curbs: stranded, restless migrants’, Express says that with an extended lockdown, states like Maharashtra and Gujarat will have to address migrant workers “stranded in shelter homes….without much money and ration”. It reports: “Many feel abandoned by their employers, and want to return to their native places, and be with their families”.
In an alarming report ‘Virus can pass from mother to foetus…’, ICMR said that pregnant mothers can pass on coronavirus to their foetus. However, the report notes that the science on this finding is “still emerging”, since just a few studies have been conducted on a “limited number of cases”.
In a follow-up report to the Supreme Court’s 8 April order to make Covid-19 testing free in private labs, the newspaper notes: “The benefit will be available only to those covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), also known as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and to other economically weaker sections as may be notified by the government”.
If the Express is optimistic in its lead story, Hindustan Times is more than a little panicky. The lead story in HT is ‘Cases double to 10,000 in six days’. According to the national daily, “India went past a bleak milestone on Monday as the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases crossed 10,000, with the infections doubling over six days and the government expanding containment efforts and ramping up testing in an attempt to curb the highly contagious pathogen…”
And the bad news continues as ‘Rapid test kit shipment delayed again amid urgent requirement’. The paper reports, “The rapid testing kits, which were supposed to be here on April 5, and then April 10, will now be here by April 15, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Monday, commenting on what could well be the lynchpin of the next phase of India’s strategy to combat the coronavirus disease — widespread (and rapid) testing, not just in hot spots and containment zones but also areas relatively free of the virus.”
Diving into analysis, HT looks at ‘Five most populous states take different approaches to crisis’. The paper reports, “Maharashtra opted for aggressive testing and created the most number of containment zones in cities; UP ensured the virus is restricted to 41 districts; Bihar focused more on isolating migrant workers; MP came across as lax initially before ramping up screening and testing efforts; and West Bengal termed its plan as containment with ‘humane face’.”
Like Express, The Hindu is an optimist. The lead story in Hindu is ‘Actions giving results; no new cases in 25 districts, says govt’.
It reports, “India’s tally with 905 additional cases has gone up to 9,352 and 324 deaths so far. Over 857 patients have recovered. The 51 deaths reported since Sunday evening include 22 from Maharashtra, seven each from Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, five from Delhi and four from Gujarat. The Union Health Ministry, however, on Monday said that implementation of its action plan had started yielding results in 25 districts across 15 States, which had reported cases earlier.”
To battle the economic slump, ‘Centre may raise loan to pay GST dues to States’. The daily reports, “The Union government is exploring raising a loan to pay the shortfall of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation amount to the States as the latter have had to ramp up spending to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. According to senior officials in the Finance Ministry, the idea has been circulated and since the GST Act prohibits withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund, raising loans is being seen as a way out.”
And, the economic slump continues as ‘MGNREGA jobs crash to 1% of normal’. The paper reports, “Employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has collapsed to just over 1% of the usual rate this month due to the COVID-19 lockdown…”
The Telegraph’s lead story reads ‘”Economy in doghouse, balance cry’. This is accompanied by a photo of a solitary dog sitting on an empty street.
“Economists and industry experts have started toting up the losses of the 21-day lockout with estimates ranging between Rs 8 lakh crore and Rs 9 lakh crore.’’
In an unusual story, the paper reports, ‘Know any Corona Asana? Govt will fund you’. According to the Kolkata daily, “The Union science and technology ministry has offered to fund researchers who can develop “protocols” from yoga and meditation to fight the new coronavirus, leaving sections of scientists, in the words of one, ‘completely mystified’. The department of science and technology (DST) has called on scientists, doctors and practitioners of yoga and meditation “with a proven track record” in these fields to submit a “concept note” to combat the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Tribune’s lead echoes Express. In ‘No new infection in 25 districts in last 2 weeks’, it notes that the “rate of discharge in India is 10 per cent and has improved in recent days”. A small graphic at mid-page covers the ICMR highlighting a US study that suggests the virus could be transmitted through an infected shoe sale.
The newspaper predicts PM Modi will speak to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia very soon on “the possibility of a mass exodus of its expatriate population” — that’s nearly 50 lakh Indians across the Gulf Cooperation Council. A report finds that this is the reason India is “stepping up medical diplomacy”. It notes: “A 15-member medical team is already in Kuwait to train its medical staff and thus increase its capability to independently handle the outbreak. India has also lined up several of these countries as the first recipients of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)”.
In its anchor story, ‘Nihangs’ foreign funding, drug link under lens; police get remand’, the newspaper reports Punjab Police’s probe into “the financial links of 11 Nihangs, arrested following the Sunday attack on police at Sanaur mandi here”. So far, they’ve found that two of the accused had “links to a US-based woman, Rani, who sought political asylum in the country and later continued to send money to the accused”.
Giving the prominent hospital chain SevenHills Hospital a spin off, the Mumbai Mirror refers to it as the SevenHells Hospital. The hospital “is the second most important centre after Kasturba in the city’s fight against coronavirus..’’ but the Mumbai daily describes alarming sanitation issues there: “…an aged patient’s diapers [are] not being changed for close to a day and when changed the used diaper left by the bedside for another 24 hours; nurses and ward boys [are] throwing medicines at patients because they don’t want to come too close; patients not getting a change of clothes for over a week; and plates with half-eaten meals and used tea cups lying around in rooms for days.”
In another story, the Mirror reports, “CM’s relief fund sees a trickle, PMCares a gush”. According to the paper, “India Inc has loosened its purse strings for Covid-19 relief, with some leading firms pledging between Rs 100 crore and Rs 1,500 crore…’’ However, in Maharashtra, there appears to be a huge disparity between donations to the chief minister’s relief fund and Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s recently announced PMCares fund.
The chief minister’s relief fund received at last count Rs 189 crore. While PMCARES has reportedly received Rs 6,500 crore in donations in the first week of its launch, albeit from all over India.
Talking of economic concerns, The Economic Times’ second lead predicts that revenue for some of India’s top listed companies may fall by 8 per cent while net profit is expected to slide 21.4 per cent. According to ET Intelligence Group’s findings — automobiles, cement, metals and mining will be the “worst-hit” while banks and finance companies, FMCG firms, IT and pharma sectors may be impacted “moderately”.
However, there may be a ray of hope for rural India if not the stock markets. In ‘Centre may Put ₹1-L cr into Rural Hands’, the newspaper says the “rural economy will get a big boost in the weeks ahead as massive grain purchase by official agencies and direct cash transfers will inject ₹1 lakh crore into villages”. This is supposed to come as a “big relief as the harvest is already two weeks late”, add the report.
Business Standard
’s second lead notes that in view of an extended lockdown, the Rajasthan government has decided to extend working hours at factories from a maximum of 8 hours to 12 hours a day “to ensure production doesn’t take a hit with a limited workforce”. It adds: “The template is set to be followed by other states such as Punjab.”
Reportedly, the extra four hours of work will count as ‘overtime’ for which a worker will be paid “double the wages in normal working hours”.