Covid-19 is 10 times more ‘deadly’ than swine flu, says WHO, urges countries to lift measures slowly

10.56 pm: Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong says the lockdown in the state will continue till April 30, reports ANI.

10.55 pm: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren says the state will follow the Centre’s decision on the extension of lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus as it is a “collective responsibility”, reports PTI.

10.52 pm: The Greater Chennai Corporation says people must wear masks compulsorily once they step out of their homes with immediate effect. The civic body warns of action in case of violation.

10.45 pm: Meghalaya reports its first case of the coronavirus after a doctor at the Bethany Hospital in Shillong tested positive, The Indian Express reports. The government has imposed a 48-hour lockdown in the city and asked people who went to the hospital on or after March 22 to approach authorities.

With this, the total number of infections in North Eastern states has risen to 35 – 28 from Assam, two each from Manipur and Tripura, and one each from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

10.33 pm: The total cases in Delhi rises to 1,510 after 356 new Covid-19 cases are reported, according to ANI.

10.25 pm: In Uttar Pradesh, 75 new cases were reported on Monday, taking the total cases to 558, ANI reports.

10.15 pm: In Telangana, 61 new cases and one death were reported on Monday. The state now has a total of 472 active cases and 17 deaths.

10 pm: The chief information commissioner and information commissioners will take a 30% cut in their basic salary to contribute towards funds to fight Covid-19, PTI reports.

9.52 pm: Italy’s toll from the coronavirus pandemic has crossed 20,000, reports AFP.

9.50 pm: Opposition leader Sharad Yadav warns that the economy will be “ruined” if the country’s huge labour force is not quickly rehabilitated, reports PTI.

“There is no doubt that Covid-19 is a worldwide natural disaster but this could have been managed in a systematic manner in our country, and our labour force would not have to leave for villages and face hunger,” the former Union minister says in a statement. “The government needs to act fast to find ways and means to rehabilitate our labour force otherwise not only the economy but the country will be ruined.”

9.46 pm: Rajasthan reports 96 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number to 897, says the state health department.

9.44 pm: Cuomo says “the worst is over” and the state is controlling the spread of the virus. “If you isolate, if you take the precautions, your family won’t get infected,” he adds. “We can control the spread. Feel good about that.”

9.42 pm: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the toll from the coronavirus outbreak has crossed 10,000 in the state, reports AFP.

9.39 pm: The World Health Organisation urges countries to lift control measures slowly. “It cannot happen all at once,” says Tedros. “Control measures can only be lifted if the right public health measures are in place, including significant capacity for contact tracing.”

9.35 pm: Tedros says testing and contact tracing is essential to stop the transmission of the virus. “We know that in some countries, Covid-19 cases are doubling every 3 to 4 days,” he adds “However, while coronavirus accelerates very fast, it decelerates much more slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up.”

9.33 pm: World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says some countries and communities have now endured several weeks of social and economic restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak. “In both cases, these decisions must be based first on foremost on protecting human health, and guided by what we know about the coronavirus and how it behaves,” he adds.

9.30 pm: The World Health Organisation says coronavirus is 10 times deadlier than the virus responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.

9.26 pm: The Bharatiya janata Party accuses Congress of playing a “negative” role in the government’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, reports PTI. BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy says Congress is far removed from the truth and is “misleading” the public.

9.25 pm: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has moved the Madras High Court, challenging a press release issued by the Tamil Nadu government, prohibiting distribution of relief materials by political parties, charitable organisations and volunteers during the lockdown period, reports PTI.

9.22 pm: Maharashtra Health Department says 352 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths have been reported in the state, reports ANI. The total number of positive cases in the state has risen to 2,334.

8.20 pm: The Kolkata Police arrest 895 people since Sunday 5 pm for defying lockdown, PTI reports.

8.15 pm: The number of cases in Gujarat rises to 572 after 34 new cases are reported on Monday. Of these 26 people have died so far and 56 have been discharged.

8.10 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation fined people not wearing masks Rs 1,000, PTI reports. “The BMC’s Market and Establishment department has set up teams in all wards to fine those not wearing masks Rs 1,000,” an official says.

8.05 pm: The number of containment zones in Delhi rises to 47, ANI reports.

7.58 pm: The toll in the United Kingdom rises by 717 to 11,329, AFP reports.

7.55 pm: Globally, the coronavirus has infected 18,64,629 patients and killed 1,15,286 people, according to an estimate by Johns Hopkins University.

7.53 pm: Puducherry also extends lockdown till April 30. The lockdown was scheduled to end at midnight on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 am tomorrow and is expected to announce if the lockdown will be extended.

Besides Puducherry, nine states – Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal and Karnataka – have also extended the lockdown.

7.50 pm: West Bengal has 110 active COvid-19 cases and seven deaths, ANI reports.

7.40 pm: Mizoram also extends the lockdown till April 30. The lockdown was scheduled to end at midnight on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 am tomorrow and is expected to announce if the lockdown will be extended.

Besides Mizoram, eight other states – Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal and Karnataka – have also extended the lockdown.

7.35 pm: Twenty-five more people test positive in Kashmir division. With this, the total cases in the Union Territory rises to 270.

7.30 pm: The Jammu and Kashmir Police arrest 12 people in Lar, Ganderbal for defying lockdown orders.

7.25 pm: In Mumbai, 150 new cases and nine deaths reported on Monday, ANI reports. There are now 1,549 cases and 100 deaths in the city.

7.22 pm: The Delhi government has started a massive sanitisation drive in the city’s coronavirus containment areas, reports PTI.

7.18 pm: In Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 49 after two more people test positive, reports ANI.

7.14 pm: The Federation of Western India Cine Employees has urged artists to not collaborate with Pakistanis. “Artistes were seen collaborating with Pakistani singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,” says a statement. “We are pained to inform all members that FWICE has issued a total non-cooperation circular advising all members not to work in any manner whatsoever with all Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians.”

7.07 pm: In Punjab, 176 people have tested positive for the coronavirus so far. Of these, 139 patients are still being treated while 25 have been cured.

7.02 pm: Vijayan adds that the decision on lockdown relaxation will be taken based on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, reports News18. “We cannot afford to reduce our vigilance,” he adds. “Our big concern now is the status of expat community. We have repeatedly highlighted their plight to the Centre. Today too, we have sent a letter to the prime minister on the plight of expats.”

7 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says that the state has recorded three more coronavirus cases, taking the total to 378, reports ANI. “Till date 15,683 samples tested, out of which 14,829 tested negative,” he adds. “Number of positive cases are decreasing and that of negative cases increasing.”

6.45 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 98 fresh coronavirus cases, says Health Secretary Beela Rajesh. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 1,173 with 11 deaths and 58 recoveries, according to The Hindu.

6.38 pm: Arunachal Pradesh extends the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of novel coronavirus from April 14 to 30, reports PTI, citing Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. “Only state-run buses will be allowed to ply on the roads,” says Kumar. “Construction work will be allowed to resume after contractors seek permission from authorities concerned, but migrant labourers cannot be employed.”

6.26 pm: The top court states that private labs can continue to charge for coronavirus testing from people who are able to make payments as fixed by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The court also directs Centre to inform within a week about others who are eligible under the Economically Weaker Section categories.

6.24 pm: The Supreme Court modifies its April 8 order making coronavirus testing free of cost in both government and private labs, reports Bar and Bench. The court says that free testing will be available to the Economically Weaker Section categories and those eligible under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana.

6.19 pm: Six contacts of people who attended the gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area test positive for the coronavirus in Nagpur, reports PTI. “All the six patients have been admitted in the government hospital in Nagpur,” says a press release issued by the District Information Office.

6.17 pm: In Mumbai, 25 staff members of a hospital test positive for Covid-19, reports ANI. All of them are being treated at the intensive care unit of the hospital and are reportedly in stable condition.

6.06 pm: Nepal reports two more positive coronavirus cases, taking the total to 14, according to ANI.

6.03 pm: Chouhan says all chief ministers have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the nation-wide lockdown, reports ANI. “Everyone is together,” he adds. “This battle is being fought under the leadership of Modi. Tomorrow when he addresses the nation, he’ll put forth before the people the strategy for lockdown.”

6 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attacks Congress leader Kamal Nath for his comments accusing BJP of delaying the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak so that they can form the government in the state.

“I had never imagined there’ll be such bad politics at the time of this crisis,” he tells ANI. “Kamal Nath had said Rahul Gandhi warned about this [coronavirus] on February 12. Who was the chief minister then? What did he do till March 23? Can someone be this selfish to stop working as they won’t be the chief minister anymore?”

5.52 pm: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya says construction work on government projects will resume from April 15 in the state, reports ANI.

5.50 pm: In the last 24 hours, 905 new positive cases and 51 deaths have been reported in the country.

5.46 pm: The health ministry has updated the coronavirus patient count. India now has 9,352 coronavirus cases with 324 deaths. Of these, 979 have recovered.

5.40 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure food security for people affected by the nation-wide lockdown. She says lakhs of vulnerable people across the country are facing chronic food insecurity.

5.35 pm: Jammu and Kashmir Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal says 25 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the region. “All from Kashmir,” he tweets. “Total now at 270. Further details in daily bulletin being released shortly.”

5.26 pm: The Supreme Court says that it is not inclined to pass interim orders in a plea seeking strict action against the media for communalisation of the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area that left many participants infected with the coronavirus, reports LiveLaw. “We cannot gag the press, says Chief Justice SA Bobde. “We will not pass interim order/ directions.”

5.22 pm: Karnataka has formed a six-member committee of experts to analyse the coronavirus related data in the state and advise the government on the interventions to be initiated to tackle the pandemic, reports PTI.

5.20 pm: The Supreme Court dismisses a Public Interest Litigation petition questioning the legality of the constitution of PM-CARES fund for the coronavirus relief, reports LiveLaw. “This is a completely misconceived petition” Chief Justice SA Bobde tells Advocate ML Sharma, the petitioner.

4.58 pm: Scientist and NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat says India is in the process of flattening the curve of Covid-19 infections, PTI reports. “I can only say that the rate is not going to go beyond what has been going on now, may be 700 to 800 cases per day,” he says. “So, we are in the process of flattening the curve.”

4.36 pm: Lav Agarwal says 25 districts in the country have not reported coronavirus cases in the last 14 days.

4.30 pm: “We want the peak of coronavirus not to come in India,” says Lav Agarwal in response to a question.

4.25 pm: On Covid-19 cases among health workers, government says personal protection equipment and adequate guidelines about usage are being provided.

4.21 pm: Tamil Nadu extends lockdown till April 30.

4.12 pm: ICMR says first set of testing kits from China to arrive by April 15.

4.04 pm: Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal says 857 people in India have recovered from Covid-19.

4.03 pm: Dr R Gangakhedkar from The Indian Council of Medical Research says 2,06,000 Covid-19 tests have been conducted. “The pace at which we are testing today, we have enough stock to conduct tests for next 6 weeks,” he says.

3.59 pm: The Centre begins daily press briefing on Covid-19

3.51 pm: Three more coronavirus cases were reported from Delhi State Cancer Institute on Monday, according to NDTV. The hospital has seen 28 cases so far. Several patients have been shifted to private hospital.

3.46 pm: Centre extends visas of foreigners stranded in India due to coronvirus till April 30.

3.42 pm: Two policemen test positive for coronavirus in Ahmedabad, reports PTI. One of them is a traffic constable who was posted at a Covid-19 hotspot in the city.

3.31 pm: Here’s how figures on Covid-19 tests being conducted in India look like until Sunday:

3.29 pm: Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gobind Chaudhary asks Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath to provide Rs 50-lakh insurance cover for journalists covering the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.

3.22 pm: Delhi government forms four special task forces to ensure social distancing in mandis, PTI reports. AAP leader and minister Gopal Rai says odd-even rules will be implemented in wholesale markets in Delhi under which traders will sell vegetables on alternate days.

3.18 pm: Kolkata police deploy drones in densely-populated localities like Hatibagan and Shyambazar to ensure lockdown measures are followed, PTI reports.

3.14 pm: Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav says Covid-19 testing in Bihar is “abysmally low” and the health infrastructure is in shambles, PTI reports. Bihar has 64 cases of coronavirus, including one death, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

3.00 pm: Congress leader Anand Sharma says Prime Minister Narendra Modi should declare an economic package worth at least 5 to 6% of India’s gross domestic product, PTI reports.

2.56 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Rajasthan rises to 847, ANI reports quoting the state’s health department.

2.53 pm: Supreme Court defers for four weeks the petitions to bring back Indians stranded abroad because of coronvirus, ANI reports.

2.49 pm: Union ministers are back in their offices nearly a month after the government issued directions to work from home.

2.42 pm: Indian Army postpones its written recruitment exam, scheduled to be held on April 26 in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, ANI reports.

2.24 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 am on Tuesday.

2.09 pm: Spain will partially relax its lockdown measures from Monday, reports BBC. Manufacturing and construction are among the businesses that will be allowed to reopen. Spain has 1,66,831 coronavirus cases, the second-highest after the United States. The country has reported more than 17,000 deaths.

2.08 pm: On a petition regarding decongesting jails amid Covid-19 threat, Supreme Court says prisoners who have been in detention centers in Assam for more than two years can be released on a personal bond with one surety, ANI reports.

2.00 pm: The government identifies 14 centres of excellence including PGIMER in Chandigarh and AIIMS Delhi to mentor all government and private medical colleges to create state-of-the-art molecular virology setups to enhance testing, PTI reports.

1.59 pm: Over 90 sailors from Goa, on board a cruise ship currently docked at Mumbai, ask Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to help with their repatriation, PTI reports. “Our ship has not had a single case of coronavirus or a suspect till date since the disease outbreak last year,” they say in a letter.

1.53 pm: The sale of fruits and vegetables at Azadpur Mandi in Delhi will be done from 6 am to 11 am and 2 pm to 6 pm from Monday, ANI reports.

1.46 pm: The Odisha government says home delivery of all goods through e-commerce platforms will be allowed during the second phase of the lockdown from April 15 to 30.

1.30 pm: According to the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held last month, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the global macroeconomic situation has abruptly worsened, and a global recession looks increasingly likely. The minutes were released on Monday.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is an invisible assassin which needs to be contained quickly before it spreads and wreaks havoc on valuable human lives and the macro economy,” he said. “The Reserve Bank will continue to remain vigilant and will not hesitate to use any instrument conventional and unconventional to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, revive growth and preserve financial stability.”

1.23 pm: Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad quarantines himself after he came in contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus, PTI reports.

12.50 pm: Karnataka reports 15 more cases, taking the total to 247. Six patients have died.

12.49 pm: A group of eminent citizens, civil society organisations and advocacy groups from Odisha have demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up a National Task Force to address the problems faced by migrant workers stranded in parts of the country.

“We urge the prime minister not lose time and set up a National Task Force, which could oversee interstate coordination, monitoring and resolution of issues relating to migrant workers,” said Citizens’ Action Group co-convenor Umi Daniel.

12.46 pm: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra will take a voluntary 30% reduction in their basic salaries for one year to contribute towards funds to fight Covid-19, ANI reports.

12.41 pm: The number of Covid-19 patients who have recovered in Odisha has risen to 13, PTI reports.

12.34 pm: Maharashtra health department says the state has 82 more cases – 59 of them in Mumbai, taking the total number in the state to 2,064, PTI reports. Twelve cases were reported from a single tehsil in Nashik district, five in Thane, and three each in Pune and Palghar.

12.25 pm: Andhra Pradesh reports 12 more cases since Sunday night, taking the number to 432, PTI quotes officials as saying.

12.13 pm: A Reuters photo of a municipal worker spraying disinfectant on a colleague after they cremated a Covid-19 patient’s body in Ahmedabad on Sunday:

11.48 am: Indore has 22 new positive cases and one death, taking the total number of cases to 328 and the toll to 33, Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Praveen Jadia tells ANI.

11.41 am: The chairperson of the Muzaffarnagar Nagar Palika and her seven family members have been quarantined in their home, PTI reports, quoting police.

11.29 am: Kerala minister Thomas Isaac says the state’s Covid-19 curve has started to flatten. The number of active cases in the state has declined in the last one week, he says.

As many as 36 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the number of recoveries to 179. The state, which had India’s first three cases and was second for long on the list of states with most cases, has a total of 375 cases, behind nine other states.

11.24 am: A small study of chloroquine, a drug that is closely related to hydroxychloroquine, has been halted in Brazil after coronavirus patients taking a higher dose developed irregular heart rates that could lead to a potentially fatal heart condition, The New York Times reports.

Many, including US President Donald Trump, have speculated on the use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for coronavirus, but scientists have found no evidence. India, which produces large amounts of hydroxychloroquine, had recently suspended its export to keep its stocks for domestic use, but had to loosen the curbs under global pressure.

11.18 am: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain says the government declares an area a hotspot if it has three or more positive cases. As many as 180 samples were collected randomly in Dilshad Garden locality on Sunday.

Dilshad Garden had earlier been a hotspot but has not reported any cases in 10 days after the Delhi government’s containment measures.

11.04 am: Pakistan reports 334 new infections, taking the total number to 5,374, including 93 deaths, PTI reports.

10.58 am: Gujarat confirmed 22 more cases and one death each in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. The total number of cases in the state is 538, including 26 deaths.

10.40 am: New York City alone has over 1 lakh Covid-19 cases now. The city’s toll is 6,898.

10.14 am: The Nagaland government has sealed two localities in Dimapur after a resident tested positive for Covid-19, ANI reports. The man is in a Guwahati hospital.

Read more: Nagaland reports first case as resident tests positive at Guwahati hospital

10.13 am: A total of 134 Bhutanese students stranded in their hostels at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar left for their country on a special flight, says Punjab Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu.

10.05 am: Jharkhand reports two more cases in Bokaro district, state’s total rises to 19, according to PTI.

10.02 am: Rajasthan reports 11 new cases – 10 from Bharatpur and one from Banswara – taking the state’s total to 815, according to ANI.

10.01 am: Agra district now has 134 cases after 30 new patients were found, says District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh.

10 am: Four new Covid-19 cases, including one death, reported in Dharavi. The number of patients from Dharavi slums rises to 47, says BMC.

Read more: Number of cases in Dharavi rises to 47, five deaths reported so far

9.53 am: A man from Nagaland has tested positive for Covid-19 after being admitted to a hospital in Guwahati.

9.30 am: In its latest data update, the Centre has confirmed 1,985 cases in Maharashtra, three more than the state government’s previous official update. The state has nearly half of all the deaths in India – 149.

9.28 am: China reports 108 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the number to 82,160. This is the highest increase in a day in nearly six weeks, as fears of a second wave rise.

9.20 am: Top oil producers on Sunday agreed to their largest-ever cuts in production in an effort to support crashing prices as the coronavirus pandemic continues to sap global demand of fuel. Oil prices soared promptly in Asian markets earlier on Monday, rising over 5%.

Read more: Crude oil soars 5% after producers agree to ‘historic’ production cut to support prices

9.15 am: In March, as lockdowns spread across the country, Indians withdrew almost four times more cash from bank accounts than the monthly average of 2019-’20, reports The Indian Express, citing data from the Reserve Bank of India. The currency with public jumped to all-time high of Rs 23.42 lakh crore in March, a jump of Rs 86,000 crore.

9.08 am: Three men who were detained under the National Security Act for attacking a police officer in Indore have tested positive for the coronavirus while in jail, NDTV reports. Two of them are currently in a prison in Satna and the third is in Jabalpur. Satna had no confirmed cases of the infection before this.

9.06 am: Indian-American epidemiologist Rajeev Venkayya tells PTI that a three-week lockdown was a reasonable starting point to contain the pandemic in a country like India, but says a successful fight against the coronavirus might require some more time. Venkayya was special assistant to President George W Bush for bio-defence.

9.04 am: Liquor shops in Assam and Meghalaya are set to reopen on Monday for seven hours a day, NDTV reports.

Read more: Liquor shops in Assam, Meghalaya to remain open for 7 hours a day amid nationwide lockdown

9.02 am: In Singapore, 59 Indians were among the 233 new coronavirus cases reported on Sunday, PTI reports. The number of patients in Singapore is now 2,532.

8.45 am: On Sunday evening, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the government must not allow “foreign interests” to take control of any Indian companies during the crisis.

In an exchange filing on Saturday, lending major HDFC said the People’s Bank of China had 1.01% stake in it. HDFC Vice Chairperson Keki Mistry told NDTV that the Chinese bank had already had 0.8% stake as of March 2019 and the disclosure had been made now as it has hit the 1% regulatory threshold. Mistry added that the PBOC had been accumulating shares in HDFC for over a year.

Read more: Rahul Gandhi asks Centre to protect corporate entities from foreign takeovers

8.35 am: Since the 8 am update on Sunday, India has confirmed 796 new cases and 35 deaths.

8.30 am: The number of confirmed cases in India has risen to 9,152, including 308 deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The number of patients who have been discharged rises to 856.

7.50 am: Scenes from new containment zones in Mumbai, Varanasi and Delhi:

Read more: Delhi expands list of containment zones to 43 areas as number of cases crosses 1,100

7.35 am: The United States has 1,514 new deaths in the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. The toll rises to 22,020.

7.30 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday:

• The Union health ministry said the country so far has 8,447 coronavirus cases, including 273 deaths.
• India is yet to receive any of the five lakh coronavirus rapid testing kits it has ordered from Chinese companies. As many as 2.5 lakh of the total number of kits were to be delivered by April 5, and then April 8 or April 9, but now may arrive only early next week.
• The Delhi government will launch a massive sanitisation drive on Monday in the infection hotspots in the Capital. While the containment areas have been declared as red zones, the high-risk zones have been identified as orange zones.
• The World Bank said South Asia is likely to experience its worst economic performance in 40 years during the 2020-’21 financial year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The toll in the United States from the novel coronavirus pandemic climbed to over 20,000 on Saturday, making it the country with the most number of deaths. The toll in the United Kingdom reached 10,612 with a total of 79,885 cases of the virus, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who tested positive for the coronavirus, was discharged from the hospital.
• Punjab Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu said that seven people, who had donned the robes of “Nihangs” and allegedly attacked police personnel in Patiala after defying the coronavirus-related lockdown, have been arrested.