As Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducts a video conference with all state chiefs amid rising speculations about lockdown extension in India as cases continue to surge, here are some positive developments that have taken place amid all the negativity.

Let’s throw some light on ‘good news’ about Corona:

Dilshad Garden free of COVID-19

East Delhi’s Dilshad Garden, which had been identified as one of the 10 hotspots in the country last month, was Friday declared “coronavirus-free” by the Delhi government, which said no new case had been reported in the area for the past 10 days.

Late last month, most parts of the area were completely sealed off,after a 38-year-old woman, who had returned to Delhi from Saudi Arabia, tested positive for COVID-19 and was eventually linked to several others, including a mohalla clinic doctor, testing positive.

The Delhi government Thursday named the exercise ‘Operation SHIELD’.“Under this operation, 123 medical teams screened more than 15,000 people living in 4,032 houses in Dilshad Garden. Thousands of people were quarantined and tests were done,” Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday.

Self-help groups make masks for villagers

Various self-help groups (SHG) in Ghaziabad are making masks for the poor. About 40-45 women from several SHGs in Loni are producing about 200 masks daily with the support of the administration under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. The masks are being sold in various gram panchayats.

Sangeeta, a member of Shilpa SHG, shared: “We are paid Rs 5 per mask. In times like these, apart from being a source of income, it also gives us satisfaction that we are doing our bit. We use polyester and cotton cloth and net for making different types of masks. It takes about 15 minutes to make one mask.”

Around 3,500 masks have been sold since February.

10 patients recover in Odisha

At least 10 persons in Odisha who were tested positive for coronavirus have now recovered. The number of active cases in the state that has been witnessing a surge in the infections, now stands at 35.

Of the cured, five are from Bhubaneswar, two from Bhadrak and one each from Cuttack, Jajpur and Puri district of Odisha.

The Health department of the state also congratulated the doctors and medics who treated them.