The Evening Wrap Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying home and staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: Lockdown extension? The big story today is that the lockdown is very likely to be extended. When the three week period was announced, it seemed too long a period to be closing down the country. But with less than a week left of the lockdown, it increasingly appears as if several states are only now getting to grips with the scale of infections they might be facing, and the need to identify clusters and ramp up testing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Parliamentary floor leaders of both Houses today and said it may not be feasible to lift the lockdown as per the original schedule of April 14. He added, however, that he will consult the Chief Ministers before deciding the exit strategy. Already, the chief ministers of Telangana and Madhya Pradesh have requested an extension of the lockdown, while the chief minister of Tamil Nadu looks certain to extend restrictions in some form. No coincidence that all of these states are now dealing with exponential rises in reported cases of COVID-19. Speaking to The Hindu, senior Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra, who was part of the meeting said, “PM told us it doesn’t seem likely the lockdown will be lifted for now. He didn’t give a deadline, but said he will be consulting the Chief Ministers.” Misra said he flagged the urgent need to refinance industries and ensure cash in the hands of labourers who find themselves without a job because of the lockdown. That is going to be a big question to consider in the coming days. We have a data analysis of the effect that the lockdown has had on the unemployment rate here and that is something that may be on the top of any economic package that the Centre may announce now. Bigger economic package? Speaking of which, IANS reports that the central government may come out with another big package to address the demand and supply side issues facing the country. But contours and timing of the announcement are yet to be worked out. The report indicated that the next stimulus package would be bigger than the ₹1,70,000 crore worth of schemes announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month. As of now, however, these are just whispers. SC on testing The Supreme Court, in an interim order, has directed the Centre to ensure that all tests for coronavirus infections – be they in government labs or approved private labs – are made available free of cost to patients. The SC said the Centre should issue necessary directions in this regard immediately. The court also held that the tests must be carried out in NABL-accredited Labs or any agencies approved by WHO or ICMR. It said that the question of whether the private labs should be reimbursed their costs shall be settled later. The apex court was responding to a petition filed in March 31 challenging a government advisory that capped testing charges at ₹4,500. In passing its order, it agreed with the petitioners’ contention that amidst a pandemic, in a country like India where a large section of the population won’t be able to pay ₹4,500 for a test, no individual should be deprived of a screening test for COVID-19 simply because he or she can’t afford it. Tax joy Elsewhere, there are concrete moves being made. The Income Tax Department today announced that it will release all pending income tax refunds upto ₹5 lakh immediately to help ease the economic burden imposed by Covid-19. The move will benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers across India. The I-T department will also release all GST and customs refunds to around 1 lakh business entities, including micro, small and medium enterprises. The total refunds thus granted would around ₹18,000 crore, according to an official statement. “In the context of the Covid-19 situation and with a view to provide immediate relief to the business entities and individuals, it has been decided to issue all the pending income-tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakh, immediately. This would benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers,” an official statement said. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to nearly 5,600 with over 180 deaths. Globally, over 1.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, with the death toll now standing at more than 80,000. With the case count in Maharashtra now standing at 1,135, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced a ‘four stage special structure’ to treat COVID-19. “There will be three types of hospitals to treat these patients. Those with no coronavirus symptoms, those with mild symptoms, and those with severe stage and facing other health issues,” he said, adding that coronavirus-affected patients will be treated only in specialised hospitals to reduce the risk to other patients. All citizens with fever, cough and cold will now have to approach special ‘fever clinics’ for the treatment. Behind the mask The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has made it mandatory for everyone, including officers on COVID-19 duty, to wear a mask in public places. BMC has cited studies that show that wearing masks can reduce the spread of coronavirus substantially. That is a point on which renowned virologist Jacob John concurs, as he has written for The Hindu here. Orders were, therefore, issued by municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi that any person moving around in a public place for whatever reason must wear a 3-ply mask or cloth mask compulsorily. This applies to all essential services, traffic police, and officials who are outdoors for work purposes as well. Anyone violating this order will be punishable under section 188 of Indian Penal Code (48 of 1860). In brief: Indian officials are negotiating essential medical supplies from China in anticipation of a possible rise in COVID-19 infections after the current nationwide lockdown is eased. Official sources told The Hindu that talks with suppliers were taking place at a time when global demand for Chinese medical products was exploding, with deeply impacted countries such as Italy, United States, Spain and Germany ready to make a grab in a typical sellers market. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to all State Chief Secretaries on Wednesday to ensure the availability of essential goods by invoking the provisions of the Essential Commodities (EC) Act 1955. The Tokyo Olympic flame has been taken off public display in Japan. It’s not clear when it will reappear again or where or under what conditions. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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