How states have planned for easing restrictions on inter-state travel

The Maharashtra government says that inter-state travel by road, air and trains from Maharashtra will remain prohibited in the latest phase of the lockdown until June 30.

After Centre allowed lifting of restrictions on inter-state movement of people, states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which have reported the highest number of coronavirus cases, and those in the Northeast on Sunday decided to continue with the curbs even after the end of the fourth phase of the lockdown.

Several others like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Telangana announced they are allowing inter-state movement as part of easing of restrictions under the 'Unlock-1'.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday decided to extend the coronavirus-induced lockdown till June 30 in the containment zones, while in the areas outside containment zones, lockdown will be in force till June 7.

According to an official statement from the CMO, Rao held discussions with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy and other senior officials in the backdrop of new guidelines issued by the Centre.

"It was decided to implement the relaxations in all the areas except in the Containment Zones as per the guidelines issued by the Centre. The CM has instructed the officials concerned to implement lockdown in the containment zones strictly," reads the statement.

The Karnataka government, while allowing inter-state movement, said separate orders will be issued by Health and Family Welfare Department for people coming to the state.

The UP government said there is no ban on interstate travel but left it to the district administrations of Ghaziabad and Noida to take a call on the movement of people from adjoining Delhi. The state has not restarted its inter-state bus service.

India coronavirus dispatch: Can RWAs really stop maids from coming to work?

From Mumbai migrant workers' struggle to get home, to rethinking school education, and why the coronavirus test costs Rs 4,500 in India - read these and more in today's dispatch.

Here is a selection of pieces from across publications on Covid-19. From Mumbai migrant workers’ struggle to get home, to rethinking school education, and why the coronavirus test costs Rs 4,500 in India – read these and more in today’s dispatch.

Expert Speak

Some Covid-19 patients are presenting with gastro symptoms: Some patients presenting with gastrointestinal or ENT (ear-nose-throat) symptoms are also testing positive for Covid-19. Every patient should be investigated for Covid-19 to reduce unnecessary exposure to healthcare workers and the larger community. Read this interview with Saibal Moitra, adjunct professor and senior consultant, Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata,

Long Reads

Why does the coronavirus test cost Rs 4,500 in India? A debate has broken out over the price that private labs are charging for Covid-19 tests. The pricing question turned out to be complex. Would the costs have come down if the government had allowed labs to assemble their own kits instead of mandating that they buy ready-made ones?

Citizens Under Lockdown

Confusion reigns as migrant workers in Mumbai struggle to get home: It took five weeks and two lockdown extensions for the government to finally announce measures to send migrant workers home. But the announcement has been followed by a slew of confusing orders, leading to more distress on the ground.

India coronavirus dispatch: Social measures to raise public consciousness

From risk stratification approach, to a game-changing vaccine, and what precautions you should take when visiting a shop - read these and more in today's India dispatch.

Here’s a round-up of important coronavirus-related articles from across Indian publications. From risk stratification approach, to a game-changing vaccine, and what precautions you should take when visiting a shop – read these and more in today’s India dispatch

Citizens Under Lockdown

NGO feeds 30,000 slum dwellers daily during lockdown: The Mumbai Roti Bank (MRB), a non-governmental organisation, founded by Sivanandan in January 2018, has tied up with the Mumbai Police to ensure that the city’s daily-wage earners and the poor living in areas like Dharavi, a containment zone, do not go without food.

Covid lockdown takes a toll on India’s red-light areas: Most residents of red-light areas live in cramped quarters, with poor sanitation and often no running water, ruling out social distancing and other hygiene measures that are supposed to contain the virus. Should a case of Covid-19 be detected in these areas, it would spread like wildfire, social workers as well as residents of red-light districts fear.

Long Reads

Essential outreach services hit in states with worst health indicators: Six of the eight most socioeconomically backward Indian states — together called the empowered action group — which have among the highest infant and maternal mortality rates have discontinued health outreach services during the lockdown, multiple government and media reports show. Immunisation, antenatal checks (ANCs) and nutrition drives have been halted in all these states except Odisha, which continues apace, and Uttarakhand, which has kept its immunisation services open

Explained: What is negative crude future and how does it affect consumers?

The price of a barrel of crude varies based on factors such as supply, demand and quality. Supply of fuel has been far above demand since the coronavirus forced billions of people to stop traveling.

The price of a barrel of benchmark US oil plunged below $0 a barrel on Monday for the first time in history, a troubling sign of an unprecedented global energy glut as the coronavirus pandemic halts travel and curbs economic activity.

The contract for West Texas intermediate crude, or WTI, is the benchmark for US crude oil prices.

Such a steep drop in the oil benchmark prompted strong reactions beyond trading floors. Here is an explanation of what negative crude prices mean in the real world:

What Does a negative future price mean?

The price of a barrel of crude varies based on factors such as supply, demand and quality. Supply of fuel has been far above demand since the coronavirus forced billions of people to stop traveling.

Because of oversupply, storage tanks for WTI are becoming so full it is difficult to find space. The US Energy Information Administration said last week that storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, the heart of the US pipeline network, was about 72% full as of April 10, the Reuters reported.

"There's no available storage anymore so the price of the commodity is effectively worthless," said Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho in New York. "So when it's minus a dollar, they'll pay you a dollar to get it out of there."

The price plunge was partly due to the way oil is traded. A futures contract is for 1,000 barrels of crude, delivered into Cushing, where energy companies own storage tanks with roughly 76 million barrels of capacity.

Each contract trades for a month, with the May contract due to expire on Tuesday. Investors holding May contracts didn't want to take delivery of the oil and incur storage costs, and in the end had to pay people to take it off their hands.

The June contract, with delivery a month away, is still trading at above $20 a barrel, but the price crash indicates that most storage space has been gobbled up

India coronavirus dispatch: A time for brave and imaginative action

From caring about the Indian migrant, to getting the containment strategy right, and when one could get infected from food - read these and more in today's India dispatch.

Here is a round-up of important articles on Covid-19 from across Indian publications – from caring about the Indian migrant, to getting the containment strategy right, and when one could get infection from their food.

Expert Speak

Now is the time to show india cares about its migrants: Benoy Peter, an expert on internal migration, and executive director of Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, a Kerala-based non-profit, says in this interview that this might be the time for India to show it cares about its migrant workers. He suggests the country should immediately take measures like ensuring food and decent living conditions, testing for Covid-19, and explaining properly to workers in their own language the intricacies of this virus.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Locked down and forgotten in Mumbai: The protest by thousands of stranded migrants at Mumbai’s Bandra railway station on Tuesday evening was yet another reminder of how the nationwide lockdown had been hardest on the poorest among us. It also exposed holes in the government’s repeated claims that it had been providing food and other essentials to those who needed it most. Read more here.

Don’t push yourself to excel in BYJU’S and Duolingo: People are trying new things during the Covid-19 lockdown but it is a problem if they pressure themselves to master those hobbies in these stressful times. Finding time to finally do something you always wanted to is indeed a productive, self-improving and satisfying way of spending time in isolation. Read here why it’s vital to realise that one doesn’t have to come out of this pandemic prim, proper, with a degree in hand and a new language on the lips.

Opinion

A long haul, spend wisely, but don’t skimp on the truly needy: The biggest worry right now is that a huge number of people will be pushed into dire poverty or even starvation by the combination of the loss of their livelihoods and interruptions in the standard delivery mechanisms. Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and Abhijit Banerjee, and former RBI Governor of India Raghuram Rajan explain why as part of the commitment to not miss the needy, there has to be funding available for state and local governments to find effective ways of reaching those suffering from extreme deprivation. If there was ever a challenge that required brave and imaginative action, this has to be it.

India coronavirus digest: Why we need a greater decentralisation of power

From risks posed by discarded medical waste, to why a strong scientific workforce is our best insurance against adversity, read these and more in today's world coronavirus digest.

Here is a roundup of articles from news publications on how India is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic — from the risk posed by discarded medical waste to sanitation workers, to federal limitations, and why a strong scientific workforce is our best insurance against adversity.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Sanitation workers at risk from discarded medical waste related to Covid-19: Sanitation workers and rag pickers are at risk from handling unmarked medical waste emerging from homes where Covid-19 patients are quarantined, medical experts and waste management specialists have warned. Discarded masks, gloves and tissues could be potential sources for the spread of this highly contagious virus, they have said.

Lockdown making you restless? Chances are you have cabin fever: Being cooped up in our homes for as long as we have is bound to stir up negative emotions. If you too are experiencing it, you might have cabin fever. Here are some steps that you can take to fight off this distress and irritability.

Long Reads

Neglected frontline workers need coronavirus safety gear: In Maharashtra, the worst-affected state, nurses, sanitation workers, and community health workers say they do not have adequate protection from virus exposure. Despite the high level of precaution that they have been asked to exercise, workers have not received any personal protective equipment from hospitals. Such equipment – masks, gloves, face shields, gowns and goggles – is needed to prevent exposure to the coronavirus.

Opinion

Needed, greater decentralisation of power: A crisis of the kind that Covid-19 has wrought will show us that India needs a greater decentralisation of power, and that administration through a single central executive unit is unsuited to its diverse and heterogeneous polity. We cannot continue to regard the intricate niceties of our federal structure as a nettlesome trifle.

India coronavirus dispatch: How is rural India managing the pandemic?

From empathy for those in isolation, to the challenges of managing a pandemic in rural India, and why pregnant women need to be monitored - read these and more in today's India coronavirus dispatch.

Empathy towards people in isolation, the challenges of managing a pandemic in rural India, and why pregnant women need to be monitored — here is a roundup of articles from Indian news publications on how the country is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Expert Speak

Those in isolation need support to deal with stress, guilt, fear, and stigma: With an increasing number of people going into isolation to battle the contagion, it is vital to ensure psycho-social intervention for those in distress, says Sukesh G, a psychiatrist at the district hospital in Kozhencherry in south-eastern Kerala’s Pathanamthitta. The district had the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Kerala until March 18, 2020 and had over 7,200 people in home isolation (as on March 31, 2020). Read his interview here.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Life and times of a foreigner during a lockdown: The ‘guest is god’, it is famously said. Except when there’s a coronavirus pandemic and niceties go out the window. If you don’t look Indian, you are likely to be viewed with suspicion as a conduit of contamination. Read more about the experiences of a foreigner in India during the pandemic.

Long Reads

As coronavirus reaches rural India, three cases reflect the steep challenge ahead: From detecting and isolating to treating cases, capacities are weak in rural India. Rural healthcare facilities are ‘under-staffed’ and ‘under-equipped’ even in the best of times with some districts lacking even a basic secondary-care hospital. How are rural health systems coping with the coronavirus outbreak?

Why private labs in India are struggling: While involving the private labs has been a welcome step, the roadblocks are far from over. From a shortage of supply kits to the lockdown obstructing movement, private labs are struggling to keep up with the testing requests. Read more about what can be done to alleviate this situation.

India coronavirus dispatch: Why we must prepare for the long haul

From a proposal for future lockdowns, to mapping of coronavirus hotspots, and how the civil society can aid government response to Covid-19 - read these and more in today's India dispatch.

Here is a roundup of articles from news publications in India on how the country is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic — from a proposal for future lockdowns, to mapping of coronavirus hotspots, and how the civil society could aid government response to Covid-19.

Expert Speak

How Covid-19 will hit India: Why is India at such a grave risk from the coronavirus? What are the different ways in which the rural and urban India are likely to be affected? And what has the disease laid bare about the long-term consequences of insufficient health systems? Read this interview with epidemiologist and economist Ramanan Laxminarayan, who directs the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy in Washington, DC.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Lockdown causing further shortage at blood banks: The situation at blood banks has worsened during the lockdown, with hospitals making do with fewer employees, and fewer donors coming forward due to restrictions on people’s movement and the fear of contracting Covid-19 at a hospital or clinic. Read more on how hospitals and patients are managing this crisis.

Exodus shows essential role migrants play in functioning of Indian cities: Most migrant workers live in cramped rented rooms or must sleep on the footpath, lack documents to access benefits such as rations in the city, do not have family members in the city, and have little savings to draw upon. Read this interview with Tariq Thachil, associate professor at Vanderbilt University, on India’s migrant labourer during a lockdown.

Long Reads

Covid-19 – Are we ready for the long haul? Policymakers must be prepared to provide relief to adversely affected individuals. Read this proposal, which details a comprehensive approach for a combination of in-kind transfers and cash support to be provided to all households with ration cards, during any lockdown that takes place over the next 24 months.

Covid-19 impact: Amazon won't require sellers to repay loans until April 30

Merchants of popular items from toys to apparel have worried that the temporary ban on stocking goods in Amazon warehouses.

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it temporarily would not require sellers in its marketplace to repay loans it had made to them, as merchants confront the prospect of declining sales during the coronavirus pandemic. The world's largest online retailer notified sellers that its programme known as Amazon Lending would pause repayments beginning Thursday until April 30. Interest would not accrue during that period, it said.

The programme has offered sums between $1,000 (846.5 pounds) and $750,000 to merchants looking for capital to acquire inventory, expand their product lines and advertise on Amazon.

"Loan repayments will restart on May 1, 2020 ... You will have the same number of remaining payments once repayment resumes," Amazon said in a seller message obtained by Reuters.

More than 20,000 merchants have gotten loans from Amazon, the company said in 2017. By the end of 2019, Amazon stood to receive $863 million from sellers to whom it provided financing through the lending program, according to a company filing. The loans' terms range from three to 12 months, carrying interest rates from 6 per cent to 19.9 per cent.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 impact: Amazon temporarily suspends sale of non-essentials

As Americans turn to online shopping while quarantined, many online sellers, who are small and medium-sized businesses, are facing cash flow constraints amid supply chain and logistics issues caused by the outbreak. EBay Inc , another major online marketplace, said on Wednesday it will defer most selling fees for merchants for 30 days.

Amazon's offer may provide relief to sellers, some of whom could be hard hit by Amazon's recent decision to restrict its US and European fulfilment services to household, medical and other essential goods during the outbreak.