Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on the coronavirus outbreak, the arrival of 26,000 Indians in Mumbai from the Gulf region, the postponement of CBSE board exams and uncertainty surrounding the census to commence on April 1 dominate headlines Thursday.
The financial newspapers dwell on the Supreme Court’s strictures against the telcos and Department of Telecommunications as it bans any self-assessment, calling it a fraud.
The lead story is somewhat alarming: Mumbai is set to welcome 26,000 Indians coming from the Gulf (‘Mum prepares to quarantine…’). “As the total number of coronavirus cases in India went up to 171 and Maharashtra, with four more patients testing positive on Wednesday, continued to lead the list at 45 (by a wide margin), the Mumbai civic body prepared to welcome around 26,000 Indians expected to land in the city between Thursday and March 31 from Covid-19-hit Gulf nations such as the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman”, reports TOI.
But there appears to be reassuring news too, in ‘Results in, no community spread so far’. “All the 820 randomly collected samples…’’ have tested negative, “providing scientific evidence that community transmission is yet to manifest itself,’’ writes TOI.
“India does need to test more, and is already moving in that direction by looking at atypical pneumonia patients which presents symptoms slightly different from pneumonia”, writes the paper.
An accompanying report (`One COVID-19 positive infects 1.7 in India, lower than hot zones’) notes “climate to lockdown may be factors” argues that “a possible reason for the slow increase’’ in the number of infections is that each patient has been passing on the virus to only 1.7 persons but it notes that scientists say they don’t know the exact reason yet and the figures may change.
Another important report (‘Taken for tests, youth back from Sydney jumps to death at hospital’) covers the suicide of a man back from Sydney who was “admitted only as a suspected coronavirus patient” at Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital.
As the COVID-19 panic grows, another report covers how “Subhash Chandra to Anil Ambani and Naresh Goyal: 5 slip ED summons, cite virus, illness, House duty”. All these businessmen have been cited in the Yes Bank probe.
Unusually, it carries a front page piece, on the flap, by its editor R. Sukumar ‘Covid-19: What you need to know today’, which points out the main developments in the battle against coronavirus in India and argues that perhaps more aggressive testing is required.
The HT lead story is about India’s coronavirus tally crossing 150 cases, with 14 new cases reported. “States intensify curbs, malls shut in Gurugram, Rajasthan imposes Sec 144 in state. Global Mayhem: Cases cross 200,000 worldwide, with at least 8,300 people dying, European Union seals borders”.
Also making news is the ‘1st case in the army…’ as a soldier tested positive and “The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday postponed ongoing Class 10, 12 examinations till March 31 due to the coronavirus outbreak.”
It states that “with 255 Indians testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Iran and another 21 in other countries, the total number of Indian nationals afflicted with the pandemic rose to 413.” While cases within the country touched 162, including 25 foreigners Wednesday.
Away from coronavirus is the report, ‘With two weeks to Census start, uncertainty clouds NPR’. The article notes, “At least 13 States, and Delhi, covering almost 60% of the total population of India, are opposed to the National Population Register (NPR) being updated in the format being prepared by the Centre, even as the nationwide exercise is scheduled to kick off on April 1.”
In other news, the Bengal health department is tracking down passengers who were on the same flight as the 18-year-old boy student who tested positive for COVID-19.
Another report covers Tamil Nadu’s second coronavirus case (‘TN records second COVID positive case’) who “hails from Delhi, in isolation and is stable under the observation of an expert team.”
There’s also a report on how Kerala is tackling the situation (`Kerala plans mass screenings at bus stands, railway stations’) as “fears of community transmission of coronavirus grows.”
The daily notes, “The coronavirus pandemic has claimed thousands of lives… It has, however, failed to crush the indomitable spirit of a few brave Mumbaikars who have been working inhuman hours, in conditions of extreme risk, to keep the rest of us safe. The brave few who have been at the frontlines of the outbreak include doctors, nurses and other staff at Kasturba and SevenHills hospitals – the last place those of us lucky enough to practice social distancing would dream of venturing.”
The newspaper highlights the Centre’s advice on cutting public transport — ‘Cut public transport use to prevent spread: Centre’, as the paper notes this “effectively means curbs on metros and bus transport.”
Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi also made it to the front page as his Rajya Sabha nomination has been challenged in the top court. The report (‘Gogoi’s RS nomination challenged in top court’) notes activist Madhu Kishwar challenged it on the grounds that “it compromises the independence and credibility of our judiciary at the highest level.”
Supreme Court’s slamming of telcos makes second lead (“SC slams DoT & Telcos over AGR self-assessment) as it bans “any further reassessment or self-assessment of telcos adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, dubbing attempts to reopen the issue as tantamount to fraud and contempt of court, and ordering that operators pay interest and penalties in full.”
The anchor story features chairperson of Bengaluru-based Biocon Ltd Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who has a warning for all those celebrating India’s low rate of infection: “India has one of the lowest coronavirus testing rates in the world and must scale up efforts by involving accredited private labs.”