“Forward ever, backward never: onwards with Breaking Through”

Lockdown, Day 35: A look at the road ahead

As May 3 draws closer, colour codes may decide who gets to go out and who stays in. The spread of infection, however, looks far from contained as the country recorded the highest single-day jump in casualties - 62 - as well as 1,543 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the working class has taken a major hit, with 12 crore blue collar workers having gone without pay so far. The impact is also being felt higher up the ladder, with the IT sector reportedly in for a hiring freeze this year with senior level executives taking salary cuts.

Here are the developments so far:




COUNT SO FAR:
    One dead in West Bengal.
    522 new cases in Maharashtra, state count now 8,500.
    190 new cases in Delhi, total cases up to 3,108.
    82 new cases in Andhra Pradesh, total cases at 1,259.
    73 new cases in Rajasthan, total rises to 2,335.
    Eight new cases in Karnataka, total now 520.
    Eight new cases in Agra; district count now 389.
    Seven new cases in Odisha, total now 118.
    Three new cases in Haryana, cases total 304.
    One new case in Bihar, state total up to 346.
    One new case in Mohali; district tally at 64.

World
India
Tally Toll Tally Toll
30,42,444 2,11,216 29,974 937


LIFE & HEALTH:
    Delhi government allows vets, plumbers, electricians to work.
    Medlife launches at-home testing in few cities.
    Government to recall faulty antibody test kits.
    "Expect indigenous test kits ready by May," says Dr Harsh Vardhan.
    Maharashtra to send 100 buses to Kota and bring students back.
    Gujarat allows migrants to travel home in batches.
    Thiruvananthapuram no longer a hotspot.

ECONOMY:
    Sensex goes up for the second day in a row, closes 371 points higher; Nifty just short of 9,400.
    Asian Development Bank approves $1.5 billion COVID-19 loan to India.
    Rupee slips 15 paise to 76.40 against USD.
    States seek GST compensation beyond 2022 to bolster reserves.
    Crude steel output slips 23% in March.
    Axis Bank logs Rs 1,388 crore loss in Q4 on COVID-19 provisions.

AROUND THE WORLD:
    Germany reports 1,144 new cases, 163 deaths.
    Singapore reports 528 new cases, closes in on 15,000 total.
    Spain considers easing lockdown as daily death toll falls to 301.