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: Protecting frontline workers Today saw two major developments connected to the safety and security of healthcare workers at the frontlines of the battle against Covid 19. The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, making violence against medical staff a cognizable and non-bailable offence. It also provides for compensation in cases of injury to healthcare personnel or damage to their property. There have been several instances of medical teams being attacked as they went about collecting samples of suspected COVID-19 patients. For instance, in Tamil Nadu, a doctor who died of COVID-19 infection was denied burial and his colleagues were attacked. “We have seen that they (healthcare workers) are doing crucial work for the country but at some places they are being attacked, harassed, and their property damaged. We will not allow this to happen,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The ordinance proposes that in cases of attacks on healthcare workers, the investigation will be completed within 30 days and the final decision arrived at within one year. The punishment for such attacks will be three months to five years and the fine ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh. In severe cases, where there are grievous injuries, the punishment will be six months to seven years, and the fine ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Home Minister’s assurance The move by the Cabinet immediately followed the day’s earlier development, when the Indian Medical Association (IMA) withdrew a protest planned in the wake of attacks on healthcare personnel, after receiving an assurance by the government that necessary steps, including relevant legislation, will be introduced for their safety and dignity. Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan convened a video conference with representatives of the IMA and other doctors to address the issue. “The way our doctors are performing their duties in these testing times is exceptional. I urge every Indian to cooperate with doctors in this fight against COVID-19. Safety and dignity of our doctors at their workplace is non-negotiable. It is our collective responsibility to ensure a conducive atmosphere for them at all times,” the Home Minister tweeted after the meeting. The Union Cabinet also approved a ₹15,000-crore investment package for the COVID-19 emergency response and health system preparedness for the short and medium term. The funds will be used in three phases, with ₹7,774 crore being for immediate use, and the rest over a period one to four years. WB squabble Despite these reassuring steps by the Cabinet, squabbles with State governments on COVID-19 counter-measures continue. A day after the Centre accused the West Bengal government of obstructing the visit of a Central team that had been despatched to take stock of the COVID-19 situation, the State government said that “up-to-date” reports have been shared with the team and “it is not a fact” that there was no cooperation. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also slammed the Centre for sending teams to look into West Bengal’s preparedness for tackling the Covid-19 outbreak and alleged faulty testing kits were dispatched to the state. Covid Watch: The numbers India’s Covid-19 case tally stands at 22,212 at the time of publishing this newsletter. The number of deaths stands at 682. An official from the Ministry of Civil Aviation tested positive for the coronavirus. The employee was present in office on April 15 and tested positive on April 21, the Ministry said in a tweet. All colleagues who came in contact with the official were asked to go into self-isolation as a precautionary measure. An inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday for a two-day visit to assess the State’s preparedness to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the team had recommended an increase in the capacity of quarantine facilities in Mumbai from 1,200 beds to 2,000 in light of the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city. These projections by the central government regarding an expected spike in the number of cases in Maharashtra were the subject of heated debate yesterday. Meanwhile, India on Wednesday sent 23 tonnes of essential medicines to Nepal to help it fight the coronavirus, which has infected 45 people in the country. Testing for pregnant women Pregnant women residing in clusters/containment areas or in large migration gatherings/evacuee centres in hotspot districts and likely to deliver in five days should be tested for COVID-19 even if asymptomatic, according to new guidelines released by the ICMR. The ICMR has noted that asymptomatic pregnant women should be tested in the health facilities where they were expected to deliver and all arrangements should be made to collect and transfer samples to testing facilities. Jio Facebook Deal Facebook has announced it has bought a 9.99% stake in Reliance-owned Jio Platforms for $5.7 billion, or ₹43,574 crore, as the social media giant looks to expand its footprint in the Indian market. Facebook chairperson Mark Zuckerberg said the investment deal will help people and businesses in India create new opportunities amid the countrywide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Reliance-owned News18. “Today [Wednesday], we are announcing a $5.7 billion, or ₹43,574 crore, investment in Jio Platforms Limited, part of Reliance Industries Limited, making Facebook its largest minority shareholder,” the company said in a statement. Second Wave? A top health official has warned that a second wave of the novel coronavirus will hit the U.S. later this year with even more difficult ramifications than the current crisis, which has claimed more than 45,000 American lives. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told The Washington Post that the U.S. could have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time over the winter. Meanwhile, President Trump announced more details on his immigration ban, saying it would last for 60 days and apply to those seeking “green cards” for permanent residency. He added that this ban would help Americans seeking to regain jobs lost because of the coronavirus. Trump plans to institute the ban through an executive order, which he said he was likely to sign on April 22. He said it would not apply to individuals entering the United States on a temporary basis, and would be re-evaluated once the 60-day period had passed. Kim Jong-un sick? Addressing a rather mysterious development on the international stage, Trump wished North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “well” amid reports of him undergoing a serious surgery. He did not, however, confirm or deny news reports that the North Korean leader was ailing and in grave danger. “Well, these are reports that came out, and we don’t know. I’ve had a very good relationship with him. I wish him well because if he is in the kind of condition that the reports say, that the news is saying, that’s a very serious condition, as you know, Trump told reporters during his daily White House news conference on COVID-19. In brief: Kerala continues to have new positive cases on a daily basis even though the 28-day quarantine period of those who came to Kerala on the last international flight (on March 22) is long over. On Tuesday, 13 of the 19 persons who tested positive had come from abroad. What explains this mystery? Could this be because of a longer incubation period? Video streaming giant Netflix has added 15.8 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, which is a growth of 22 per cent (year-over-year), registering quarterly revenue of $5.77 billion. Netflix now has over 182 million subscribers worldwide. | 
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