Niti Aayog senior officer tests positive for Coronavirus; building to be sealed for 2 days

Ajit Kumar, Deputy Secretary (Administration), of the NITI Aayog on Tuesday informed that one officer of the director level in the government's apex planning thinktank has tested positive for COVID-19. He said that the necessary protocol is being followed, including sealing of the building for two days for thorough disinfection and sanitisation. Those who came in contact with the person have been asked to self-quarantine.

'We would have had over 10 lakh +ve cases today'

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Sunday shared a study which showed that the lockdown imposed by the government has increased the doubling rate from to 12.53 days, versus the three days it would have been but for the lockdown; which could have witnessed the country recording over 10 lakh positive - almost 44 times higher than the then number of cases. The graphical representation of data analysed was based on mathematical modelling.

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The death toll due to the novel Coronavirus rose to 934 and the number of cases climbed to 29,435 in the country on Tuesday, with 62 more deaths and 1,543 fresh cases being reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 21,632 as 6,868 people were cured and discharged, and one patient migrated, the ministry said. This is the sharpest ever increase in death cases in the country.

Of the 934 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 396 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 162, Madhya Pradesh at 110, Delhi at 54, Rajasthan at 46, Andhra Pradesh at 31 and Telangana at 26. The death toll reached 31 in Uttar Pradesh, 24 in Tamil Nadu while Karnataka has reported 20 cases.

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