A new COVID-19 positive case related to Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat congregation was reported in Assam on Tuesday, taking the number to 26, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The new coronavirus positive case has been reported from Dhubri and the person attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi, the minister tweeted. Among the 26 positive cases so far, 25 are in some way linked to the Markaz event, including five women. The Health minister has held discussions with the Tablighi Jamaat leaders in the state and urged them to submit a list of people who attended the event.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported 32 new cases, and no deaths as of April 6 — the first time the country posted no deaths since January when it started publishing daily updates. That brings the country’s total to 81,740 confirmed cases, and 3,331 deaths, according to the NHC. Separately, there were 30 new asymptomatic cases, where people tested positive for the virus but did not show any symptoms.
President Donald Trump has warned India that the US may retaliate if it did not export anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine despite his personal request, saying he would be surprised if New Delhi did not relent as it has good relations with Washington. Hydroxychloroquine, an old and inexpensive drug used to treat malaria, is seen as a viable therapeutic solution by President Trump to coronavirus that has so far killed more than 10,000 Americans and infected over 3.6 lakh within weeks.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in hospital due to persistent coronavirus symptoms, has been shifted to the intensive care unit after his coronavirus symptoms “worsened”, Downing Street has said. Johnson, 55, asked UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him as he was moved on Monday to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, a move Downing Street said was a “precaution” should he require ventilation to aid his recovery. “Over the course of this afternoon (Monday), the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the ICU at the hospital,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. “The Prime Minister has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary,” the spokesperson said. Raab, speaking after taking temporary charge, said the “team spirit” within the government would be focussed on taking Johnson’s plans to defeat the pandemic forward.