Amit Shah reviews lockdown situation from MHA's COVID-19 control room
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday chaired a review meeting on the Ministry's control room that has been set up to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The Home Minister reviewed the prevailing situation amid the nationwide lockdown from the control room, where the NDRF and CRPF have reportedly been deployed to keep it functional round the clock. Here are more details.
Control room allows government to 'touch base' with stakeholders
The control room has been set-up in the North Block of the Secretariat and a Home Ministry functionary told NDTV that there are 36 helplines operational. The helplines allow them to "touch base with every stakeholder" and get feedback from state governments, NGOs, and private individuals. The official said they mostly receive calls about the non-availability of food, medical emergencies, or movement of consignments.
Shah was apprised of migrant workers' situation at meeting
Shah was briefed about the supply chain of essential commodities. According to NDTV, top officials also told Shah about steps taken by the Home Ministry to enhance the capacity of shelters housing migrant workers in various states. Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai and G Kishan Reddy were present at the meeting along with senior officers of the control room.
Defence Minister also chaired meeting over coronavirus
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also chaired a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to "mitigate the hardships faced by the people" and provision of relief. It was the fifth GoM meeting chaired by Singh and was held at his residence. Government sources told PTI that the ministers reviewed measures to allow partial economic activity in "non-hotspot zones" from April 20.
Health Ministry confirms over 15,000 COVID-19 cases, 507 deaths
According to the Union Health Ministry's latest update, the total COVID-19 cases in India rose to 15,707 by 8 am on Sunday morning. The cases include 507 deaths and 12,969 active cases along with 2,230 cured/discharged patients and one patient who migrated out of India. However, a compilation of data released by state/UT governments showed that India's death toll was 521 till late-Saturday.
