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 guidelines A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the national lockdown till May 3, the Ministry of Home affairs released a set of new guidelines for allowing the resumption of certain activities from April 20. All industries operating in rural areas, outside city limits, will be allowed to reopen from April 20, provided they follow social distancing norms and other safeguards. The “wearing of face covers and masks is compulsory in public places and workplaces.” Spitting is a punishable offence and sale of liquor, gutkha, and tobacco is to be strictly prohibited. The guidelines permit relaxations in several sectors, to be implemented at the discretion of State and district authorities, in areas that have not been identified as infection hotspots. Apart from rural industries, the guidelines permit construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings, and industrial projects in rural areas. In urban areas, only in situ construction projects will be allowed. Among private, commercial establishments, courier services and e-commerce companies will be allowed to operate after April 20. For a complete list of what will be allowed and what will remain restricted, we have an exhaustive list here. U.S. cuts WHO funding President Donald Trump said he has instructed his administration to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. At a White House news conference, Trump said the WHO had ”failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China's “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred. The United States contributes roughly 15% of the WHO’s total budget and is its biggest donor. In 2019, it gave the UN organisation more than $400 million. It must be noted that alongside President Trump, the right wing media ecosystem of the U.S. has taken square aim at the WHO for its handing of COVID-19, essentially accusing it of being a vassal organisation of China. COVID watch: the numbers The number of people infected with coronavirus in India has reached 12,073, with 406 deaths. Globally, the number of infections has crossed 2 million, with nearly 127,000 deaths. While Dharavi reported its eighth COVID-19-related fatality, government officials have said that all five persons who died due to coronavirus in Bhopal were victims of the 1984 gas tragedy. Meanwhile in Tamil Nadu, two more people perished to the virus, taking the death toll in the State to 14. As for new cases, 38 more tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the State to 1,242. A health ministry spokesperson today said that 170 districts in the country have been designated as hotspots with 207 potential hotspots/non-hotspots. There is no community transmission in the country so far, what we are witnessing is local cluster outbreaks, for which containment measures are being implemented, the official added. Delayed spread Some reporting on two important bits of research related to COVID-19. Patients spread the infectious coronavirus two to three days before showing the first symptoms, says a modelling study. In other words, control measures taken after symptoms appear may have a reduced effect in curbing the pandemic. The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine. And a story we missed from yesterday. The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has warned that vertical transmission (transmission from mother to baby antenatally or intrapartum), of the novel coronavirus infection is probable as per emerging evidence. However, the Council said the proportion of pregnancies affected and the significance to the neonate is yet to be determined, adding that, “At present, there are no recorded cases of vaginal secretions testing positive for COVID-19 and there are no recorded cases of breast milk testing positive.” In brief: The German economy entered a recession in March and the slowdown is expected to continue until the middle of the year, the economy ministry said. “Collapsing global demand, interruption of supply chains, changes in consumer behaviour, and uncertainty among investors are having a massive impact on Germany,” the ministry said in its monthly report. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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