Corona Updates You Must Track: India Cases Cross 75,000-mark, Small Businesses Get A Helping Hand

India entered the 11^th day of the third phase of lockdown on Thursday, with the COVID-19 count surging way past the 75,000-mark. At 78,003 cases, India is now the 12^th worst affected country by the coronavirus  in terms of total confirmed cases. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced an over Rs 5.5 lakh crore package, the bulk of which was aimed at helping the medium and small enterprises.  

Follow all the important developments related to COVID-19, in India and the world, here:

A package for small businesses: A day after Prime Minister announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a slew of steps to help the MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises), which have been badly hit by the lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

For professionals in the private sector, the statutory contribution of employees and employers to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) has been brought down to 10 per cent each of the employee’s monthly salary from 12 per cent for the next three months. The deadline for filing of Income Tax returns for the financial year 2019-20 has been pushed from 31 July to 30 November.

India cases and toll: India’s confirmed COVID-19 count rose to 78,003 cases on Thursday morning, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). While the number of active cases has climbed to 49,219, up from 47,480 on Wednesday, the death toll is now at 2,549, with 134 deaths being reported in the last 24 hours. The number of recoveries is growing at steady pace too—1,849 people recovered from the illness in the last 24 hours. At 26,235 recoveries so far, more than 33 per cent of the total confirmed COVID-19 patients have been cured of the illness.

COVID-19 tracker/Photo: @MIB_India/Twitter

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu report maximum cases: Maharashtra once again reported its single-biggest surge in COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 1,495 new cases. The state became the first in India to cross the 25,000-mark—Maharashtra’s total coronavirus count is now at 25,922. Mumbai alone has reported more than 15,000 cases of coronavirus so far. The state’s death toll, 975 so far, is climbing at an alarming rate.

Tamil Nadu’s surge in COVID-19 cases is also not showing any signs of a let-up. After Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu reported maximum fresh cases (509) in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s total tally to 9,227 cases. Gujarat and Delhi have added more than 350 fresh cases each during this period.

Global corona update: While the US continues to be the worst affected country by COVID-19, Brazil, a major Latin American economy, is emerging as a global hotspot for coronavirus. Over the last two weeks, Brazil has seen the number of COVID-19 patients go up by more than 100 per cent—the country’s total confirmed coronavirus cases are now at 1,90,137, according to worldometer, a website that provides real-time data on COVID-19. Brazil reported 881 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday—13,240 people have succumbed to the virus in the country. 

Story of hope: One good deed can often lead to another. And that’s what has happened in the case of 60-year-old Subaida, a tea-seller from Kollam district in Kerala. Subaida, who sold her two goats to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, has now got five goats from a restaurateur, who wanted to repay her act of kindness with kindness. You can read more on this heartwarming story here.