1,000,000 AND COUNTING Plan staggered exit from lockdown, PM tells CMS

Cases hit seven figures worldwide, deaths exceed 50,000; spike in India

nNEWDELHI: At exactly 12pm IST on December 31, a 280-word report from news agency AFP made its way to newsrooms around the world. Citing local media, the report said a mystery virus was causing “viral pneumonia of unknown origin” in the city of Wuhan, where 27 people had been infected till then. The story drew little attention, as the world prepared to celebrate the beginning of a new year later that night.

In less than 100 days in the new year – Thursday is the 93rd day to be precise – the virus has infected 1 million people and killed 50,000, ripping through 203 countries in a rampage that will likely exact as severe an economic, social and psychological toll as the number of casualties by the time humanity can beat it. Till now, a little over 200,000 have recovered from the disease.

In India, infections crossed 2,000 on Wednesday and the country was on course to add 514 more on Thursday -- the first time daily new cases crossed the 500 mark. New fatalities too logged a big jump -- 19 -- taking the total toll to 72 in the country, which is in the middle of a three-week long nationwide shutdown to ensure the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak does not assume the proportions it has in countries such as Italy and the United States.

The United States is now the worst-hit region, accounting for more than a third of all daily new cases around the world. New York has lost 2,200 people and the virus was on course to surpass the 9/11 terror attacks in the next 36 hours as the deadliest tragedy in a city that is at the heart of modern day pop culture.

Almost 10 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the last two weeks.

The United States and Europe are largely being regarded as the current hot spots of the pandemic, with world leaders expecting “the roughest two or three weeks” in their country. “We’re going to lose thousands of people,” US President Donald Trump said earlier in the week, while projecting that up to 240,000 people could die.

Italy, with a large ageing population that is the most vulnerable to the Sars-cov-2 pathogen, has seen the highest number of deaths at 13,000. Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Germany together account for close to 20,000 fatalities.

China, where the pathogen is believed to have mutated in either bats or pangolins to jump to humans, has recorded 3,300 deaths – with a rate of growth that slowed into single digits only after what has been a close two months of lockdown in large parts of the country.

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nNEW DELHI: Underlining India’s goal of ensuring minimum loss of life and detailing the next steps in India’s strategy to deal with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday indicated that once the lockdown ends, the Centre and the states will together ensure a staggered re-emergence of the citizenry.

Interacting with the state chief ministers over a video conference from his residential office at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the PM emphasised that in the next few weeks, “testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine” should remain the focus areas of the local administrations, according to an official statement.

Many CMS praised the Centre’s role in dealing with the outbreak, especially in identifying and quarantining suspect cases arising from Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi. But nearly all states demanded more financial support and help with ramping

up health care facilities to meet the surge in the Covid-19 cases.

According to an official, all states were represented in the meeting. However, only few CMS spoke. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was the only CM not present at the meet, but the state was represented by its chief secretary.

During the interaction, Modi spoke about formulating a “common exit strategy” to ensure “staggered re-emergence of the population” once the lockdown