Covid-19: Mumbai revokes permission to open liquor shops; Telangana extends lockdown till May 29

11.02 pm: Here are the top Covid-19 updates from Tuesday:

1. The lockdown in Telangana will extend till May 29, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced on Tuesday. The state has reported 1,096 cases so far. India’s tally, meanwhile, rose to 46,711 coronavirus cases and 1,583 deaths.
2. Non-essential outlets such as liquor and paan shops in Mumbai will be shut from Wednesday. Only essential items – groceries and medicines – will be available. The city’s count of coronavirus cases rose to 9,758 on Tuesday, and Maharashtra’s tally went up to 15,525. Maharashtra also declared a freeze on new capital works till March next year.
3. The government will send 64 flights to bring stranded Indians back from different countries between May 7 and 13. Since the passengers will be paying for the journey, the government has fixed ticket prices.
   
4. The Border Security Force on Monday closed two floors at its headquarters in New Delhi, a day after a head constable tested positive for the coronavirus. Shastri Bhavan, another prominent building in Delhi, was also sealed after a law ministry official tested positive.
   
5. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said on Tuesday that India’s unemployment rate hit 27.1% for the week ended May 3. This is higher than the 23.8% unemployment rate recorded during the last week of March, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

11.00 pm: Pakistan’s Covid-19 toll rises to 514, PTI reports. The country’s tally crosses 22,000.

10.57 pm: Haryana imposes tax on the sale of liquor, ANI reports.

10.55 pm: The Delhi government issues a standard operating procedure for the screening of stranded people, moving in and out of the city.

10.30 pm: “Public should complete purchase of essential items by 6 pm and they should reach their residences. There will be curfew in the state from 7 pm. If anyone is found outside, police will initiate action,” Rao says, adding that only essential shops will be open in red zones.

10.25 pm: The lockdown in Telangana will extend till May 29, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao says, according to ANI.

10.10 pm: New cases reported today

Odisha: one new case, total rises to 176

Telangana: 11 new cases, total rises to 1,096

Rajasthan: 97 new cases, total rises to 3,158; toll stands at 89.

10 pm: Non-essential shops in Mumbai will be shut, ANI reports. Only shops selling essential items such as groceries and medicines will be open. This would mean that liquor and paan shops will be shut.

9.35 pm: The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said on Tuesday that India’s unemployment rate hit 27.1% for the week ended May 3. This is higher than the 23.8% unemployment rate recorded during the last week of March, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more here:

Covid-19: Unemployment rate surged to 27.1% amid coronavirus crisis, says CMIE

9.30 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a coronavirus task force meeting and reviews India’s progress in developing a vaccine, diagnosing and testing, ANI reports.

9 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi rise to 5,104. Of these, 206 cases were reported on Tuesday. Sixty-four people have died so far.

8.48 pm: Maharashtra reports 841 new Covid-19 cases. The state’s tally rises to 15,525.

8.45 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh rises to 3,049. The toll reaches 176.

8.38 pm: Mumbai’s Covid-19 tally rises to 9,758 with 635 cases. The toll stands at 387.

8.33 pm: Ahmedabad reports 349 Covid-19 cases and 39 deaths, PTI reports. The city’s tally rises to 4,425 and the toll goes up to 278.

8.30 pm: The Delhi Police file 90 cases and detain 2,488 people for violating lockdown guidelines, PTI reports .

8.28 pm: Punjab’s Excise and Taxation Department proposes that online delivery of liquor be allowed in the state, PTI reports.

8.24 pm: Liquor contractors in Madhya Pradesh approach the high court seeking that their contracts be reviewed or recalled amid the “unstable” market condition, PTI reports. The high court issues a notice to the state government.

8.20 pm: The Tamil Nadu government approves a proposal for treating people with mild Covid-19 symptoms at their homes, PTI reports.

8.17 pm: New York reports more than 1,700 previously undisclosed Covid-19 deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it has protected vulnerable residents, AP reports.

8.07 pm: Here is a list of areas in Delhi not marked as containment zones anymore:

8.06 pm: Over 3 lakh Indian citizens in Gulf nations register for evacuation, PTI reports, quoting government sources.

8.02 pm: Gujarat reports 441 new Covid-19 cases, ANI reports, quoting the state’s health department. The state’s tally rises to 6,245. The toll rises to 368 with record 49 deaths.

7.58 pm: The Mumbai Police allows 900 migrant labourers to travel in a special train to Andhra Pradesh, PTI reports.

7.55 pm: Mumbai’s Dharavi slum reports 33 new Covid-19 cases. The total number of positive cases in the area rises to 665.

7.43 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 508 Covid-19 cases, the second consecutive day of a huge increase. The state’s tally reaches 4,058.

7.35 pm: Multinational corporation Wipro says it will re-purpose one of its campuses in Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care Covid-19 hospital and hand it over to the state government by May 30.

7.29 pm: Haryana reports 31 new Covid-19 cases. The state’s tally reaches 548.

7.25 pm: Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra isolates himself after coming into contact with two Covid-19 patients.

7.11 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says bringing back Indians stranded abroad will increase the risk of Covid-19 infection, ANI reports. Vijayan adds that he has taken up the issue with the Centre.

7.09 pm: The home ministry issues detailed standard operating procedures for the movement of Indian citizens who will be brought back from foreign countries on special planes from May 7.

7.02 pm: Three members of a policeman’s family in Punjab’s Kapurthala city beat a depot holder to death for refusing to give them free ration, PTI reports.

6.57 pm: The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a Mumbai-based think tank, says the country’s unemployment rate rose to 27.11% for the week ending May 3, up from the under 7% level in mid-March, PTI reports.

6.54 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa urges migrant workers to stay back, Deccan Herald reports. “Don’t rush to travel back to your native states and return to the places where you have been employed,” he says.

6.45 pm: The Ministry of Home Affairs says right of multiple entry long-term visa for visiting India for any purpose, granted Overseas Citizens Of India, will remain suspended till the prohibition on international air is lifted by the government. All existing visas granted to foreigners, except certain categories, will also remain suspended.

6.41 pm: Customers line up outside liquor stores in Delhi for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, even as the government imposed 70% extra tax – dubbed “special corona fees” – on the sale alcohol.

Read more here

Covid-19: Huge crowds seen outside Delhi liquor shops even after government increases prices

6.38 pm: Britain becomes the first country in Europe to confirm more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths, becomes the epicentre of the pandemic in Europe, AP reports.

6.31 pm: The Gujarat government says it does not keep money collected from the sale of train tickets to migrant workers, PTI reports. The clarification came after the Congress alleged that the state government was not providing free of cost travel to the migrant workers.

“The Gujarat government doesn’t keep any money collected from sale of train tickets,” Ashwani Kumar, an official from the chief minister’s office says. “On the other hand, we are facilitating the travellers in registration, providing transportation till train station and assisting in smooth boarding of passengers.”

6.29 pm: The police in Singapore charge a woman of Indian origin for not wearing a protective mask outdoors and assaulting a woman who asked her to put one on, PTI reports.

6.24 pm: World leaders and organisations on Monday pledged $8 billion to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for Covid-19 but the United States refused to contribute to the global effort, Reuters reported.

The organisers of the event included the European Union and non-EU countries Britain and Norway and Saudi Arabia. Leaders from Japan, Canada, South Africa and dozens of other countries joined the virtual event, while China, where the virus is believed to have originated, was only represented by its ambassador to the European Union.

6.19 pm: The Telangana government directs schools to promote students of classes one to 10 without examinations, ANI reports.

6.16 pm: Almost everything related to Covid-19 testing in India, starting from whom to test to orders placed by the Indian Council of Medical Research to procure test kits, have been subjects of heated debate. The mechanics of involving the private sector to test people for Covid-19 has been no exception.

Read our special report:

Why does the coronavirus test cost Rs 4,500 in India?

6.08 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit launches helpline to address queries on Covid-19. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari says over 30 doctors will be available for consultation through the helpline.

6.03 pm: Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district reports first Covid-19 case, according to PTI.

6.00 pm: Punjab reports 219 Covid-19 cases, taking the total in the state to 1,451.

5.55 pm: The Delhi Police arrest a shopkeeper for cheating migrant workers by selling them fake forms, claiming that they would facilitate their travel to their natives states, PTI reports.

5.52 pm: Over 190 Pakistani citizens, who were stranded in India for over two months due the lockdown, return home through the Wagah Border, PTI reports.

5.45 pm: India’s Covid-19 tally rises to 46,711. The toll goes up to 1,583.

5.40 pm: Karnataka reports 22 new Covid-19 cases. The state’s tally rises to 673.

5.36 pm: The locals in Uttarakhand’s Nainital city line up outside a liquor store amid a hailstorm.

5.28 pm: Pune reports 99 new coronavirus cases today, taking the total tally in the district to 2,202, ANI reports, quoting the divisional commissioner of Pune.

5.25 pm: A notorious gangster in Punjab tests positive in Gurdaspur’s Batala area, where he was brought on a production warrant from a Patiala jail in connection with a murder case, PTI reports.

5.20 pm: Union minister Nitin Gadkari admits that the Centre “owes a big amount” to the micro, small and medium enterprises that are reeling under the severe economic whiplash of the pandemic. He adds that the government will soon announce an economic package crucial for the sector’s survival.

Read full story here:

Covid-19: Government owes ‘big amount’ to MSMEs, says Nitin Gadkari

5.11 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath claims the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in the state is 33%, which is 6% higher than the national average, PTI reports.

5.09 pm: Kerala reports three more coronavirus cases from Wayanad district, says Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, according to ANI. The state now has 502 Covid-19 cases.

5.04 pm: Twenty-seven migrant workers escape from a temporary shelter home in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar, PTI reports.

4.49 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa appeals to migrant labourers stranded in the state to not leave for their hometowns and assures them of getting work, PTI reports.

4.37 pm: Women in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, protest against the government’s decision to open liquor stores in the district, ANI reports. “Vegetable markets stay open for only three hours but liquor stores are allowed to be open for seven hours,” a protestor tells the news agency.

4.23 pm: Agarwal says that certain states were persuaded to send reports of the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths on time. “After this, the cases have been reported and we have seen spike in death cases today,” he says.

4.18 pm: Community participation is the need of the hour so that every person contributes in breaking the chain of Covid-19 infection, Agarwal adds.

4.15 pm: India has recorded 46,433 coronavirus cases and 1,568 deaths as of Tuesday, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the health ministry says. Out of these, 12,726 patients have recovered and the country’s recovery rate is 27.41%.

4.12 pm: All offices have to make available adequate masks and sanitisers for employees, the home ministry said. “Companies have to ensure social distancing and enough gap between shifts. Lunch in offices to be staggered and registration of all on Arogya Setu App is responsibility of institution.”

4.07 pm: The Centre has run 62 special trains for migrant labourers in the country with 70,000 labourers on board, the home ministry adds. “Thirteen more trains are expected to run today.”

4.05 pm: The government has prepared Standard Operating Procedure for return of Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the pandemic, the home ministry says. “Return of nationals would be arranged either via non-scheduled commercial flights or ships.”

4.02 pm: The Union Health Ministry begins its daily briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country.

3.55 pm: Puri gives a break-up of the scheduled flights.

3.48 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri confirms that 64 flights will be operated in the 1st week of operation to bring stranded Indians from different countries from May 7.

3.46 pm: India will operate two special flights from Doha, says the embassy. The first one will be from Doha to Kochi on May 7 and the second will be from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram on May 10.

3.37 pm: Pune district reports 3 new deaths, including an 11-year-old child, today, reports ANI. With this, the toll in the district rises to 118.

3.07 pm: 45 Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel have tested positive so far.

3.05 pm: One more person tests positive in Uttarakhand, taking the total number of cases to 61.

3.04 pm: 24 people, including serving and retired armed forces personnel, have tested positive in Army’s RR hospital in Delhi, reports ANI citing the spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand.

2.32 pm: Rajasthan’s tally rises to 3,127 after 66 fresh cases. The toll also rises to 82 with five new fatalities.

2.18 pm: The Maharashtra government declares a freeze on new capital works until March next year. The state, which has been worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, slashes spending in development projects under government schemes by 67% for the 2020-’21 period.

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Covid-19: Maharashtra freezes all spending on development projects until March, say reports

2.17 pm: Vardhan says there is no community transmission. He adds that the government has to do a balancing act between health and economy.

2.03 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says every decision must be weighed and consequences should be predicted to ensure that there is no spike in cases.

1.53 pm: 8 more people test positive in Pimpri Chinchwad today, reports ANI.

1.31 pm: Vistara CEO says senior employees will go on leave without pay for up to 4 days per month in May and June, reports PTI.

1.09 pm: Pokhriyal says they will soon decide on the pending CBSE Class 10 and 12 board exams.

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Covid-19: CBSE cancels pending Class 10 exams for most of India; 23 Class 12 tests to be conducted

1.08 pm: IIT-JEE (Main) examination will be held on July 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23. IIT-JEE Advance exam will be conducted in August. NEET will be held on July 26, says Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.

1.07 pm: The Non-banking financial companies have asked the Reserve Bank of India to allow them one-time restructuring of all loans till March 2021, reports PTI.

12.33 pm: The Central government is likely to operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring home around 14,800 Indians stranded abroad, reports PTI.

12.23 pm: The Tamil Nadu government decides not to open liquor shops in Chennai following a spike in coronavirus cases, reports The Times of India. Earlier, the state government had earlier said that TASMAC shops will be open from May 7.

12.21 pm: The Chhattisgarh government launches a web portal for home delivery of liquor in green zones of the state to avoid crowding at wine shops, reports PTI.

12.18 pm: A floor of the Shastri Bhavan, which houses several ministries, has been partially sealed after a law ministry official tested positive, reports PTI.

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Coronavirus: Part of Shastri Bhavan in Delhi sealed after law ministry official tests positive

12.16 pm: Karnataka reported 8 new cases between 5 pm on Monday and 12 noon today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 659.

12.02 pm: The Delhi government increases the value-added tax levied on petrol and diesel, resulting in a sharp rise in the prices. A litre of petrol in the Capital will now cost Rs 71.26 and diesel will cost Rs 69.39.

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Covid-19: Price of petrol in Delhi goes up by Rs 1.67, diesel by Rs 7.10

11.31 am: In the last 24 hours, Andhra Pradesh reported 67 new cases reported. The state’s overall count stands at 1,717.

11.30 am: The Andhra Pradesh government increases liquor prices by another 50% a day after a 25% hike. Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Rajat Bhargava says the revised rates are meant to “discourage” people from consumption.

11.27 am: There are 67 cases in the Border Security Force so far, reports PTI. While a battalion in Delhi alone accounts for and 41 of these cases, Tripura follows suit with 24.

11.02 am: As many as 58 jawans from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force and the Central Industrial Security Force are currently admitted to the referral hospital in Greater Noida dedicated for Covid-19 patients, ITBP Director General SS Deswal tells ANI. “Teams of specialist doctors are treating our jawans 24×7,” he adds.

10.41 am: A special train carrying about 1,200 migrant workers leaves for Khagaria in Bihar from Telangana. This is the second train arranged for the workers in Telangana. “All the passengers were screened before they were allowed to board,” a senior South Central Railway official tells PTI.

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Coronavirus: Telangana to run 40 special trains each day for a week to send back migrant workers

10.38 am: The number of cases in Madhya Pradesh’s worst-hit Indore district climbs to 1,654 after 43 people tested positive in the last 24 hours, reports PTI.

10.30 am: A meeting of Union Group of Ministers is under way at the health ministry.

9.50 am: The Railways will run 40 special trains from Telangana to various states to ferry migrant labourers, reports Hindustan Times. “Migrant workers who have already registered their names with the local police stations to leave for their native places, would be allowed to travel by the special trains,” reads an official release. “The details of the travel will be given at the police stations.”

9.37 am: Rajasthan reports 38 more and five deaths. The state’s tally now stands at 3,099, including 82 deaths.

9.36 am: People make a beeline outside a liquor shop in Chander Nagar area in Delhi.

9.35 am: China reports one new case and no deaths. This is the third week since the country recorded a Covid-19 fatality.

9.31 am: He says there are two concerns – one is how to avoid chain of bankruptcies and the second is demand shortfall. He suggests writing off lot of debts and giving some cash into the hands of people.

9.28 am: Banerjee says India needs to take a chance of “going wrong by giving money to community structures”. He adds: “Being brave is the only option”.

9.20 am: Banerjee says the government ought to be willing to give money directly to states without fearing mismanagement of funds.

9.19 am: Banerjee talks about issuing temporary ration cards to ensure no one goes hungry. “We have enough stock to go on for a while,” he says. “We can give wheat and rice because of our reserves and give them to everyone through temporary ration cards.”

9.16 am: The economist says India needs a stimulus package like US, Europe and Japan. “While a monitor body for debt payments is a good step,” says Banerjee. “However, targeting MSME’s sector is not the correct approach because the idea is to raise demand.”

9.15 am: Banerjee says Aadhar-based public distribution system would have been really helpful during the current crisis. “The lack of a massive system leaves a large number of migrants behind which is a huge concern,” he adds.

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Coronavirus: India needs large enough stimulus package to revive demand, says Abhijit Banerjee

9.12 am: Rahul Gandhi talks to Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee on the pandemic and its impact on the economy.

9.08 am: In the last 24 hours, India has reported 3,900 fresh cases and 195 deaths. This is the highest single-day jump so far.

9.02 am: India’s tally rises to 46,433 cases, according to the health ministry’s morning update. The toll in the country jumps to 1,568.

8.26 am: People seen crowding at a marketplace in Okhla in south Delhi.

7.57 am: Three containment zones have been removed from the list in Delhi, reports ANI. The national Capital now has 90 active zones.

7.55 am: Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bars the gathering of more than four persons, has been imposed in Mumbai till May 17, reports ANI, citing Mumbai Police. Movement of one or more persons for all non-essential services, except for medical reasons, will be prohibited between 8 pm and 7 am.

7.52 am: The World Health Organisation says that it has received no evidence from the United States government to back up allegations by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the coronavirus could have originated at a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, reports AP.

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Covid-19: WHO says US claims on virus origin from Chinese lab is ‘speculative’, seeks proof

7.50 am: India has sent three naval ships to evacuate its citizens stranded in the Maldives and United Arab Emirates, reports PTI. The ships will return to Kochi, says a defence spokesperson.

Here are the top updates from Monday:

• The number of coronavirus cases in India reached 42,836, as the country began the third phase of a nationwide lockdown with fewer restrictions. The toll has risen to 1,389.
• The BJP and Opposition parties clashed over the Centre’s decision to charge migrant workers for providing special trains home amid the nationwide lockdown. The Congress said it will pay the fares while the Centre and BJP claimed that the government has already subsidised 85% of the fares and that states will pay the rest. This is despite an official circular directing states to collect the fares and hand it over to the Railways.
• The Centre said that it will start bringing back Indians stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic from May 7. The exercise would be conducted in a phased manner and the passengers will have to pay for their travel.
• Tamil Nadu saw its biggest single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases as 527 people tested positive. With this, the state’s tally rose to 3,550 and the toll stood at 31.
• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned people that his government will revoke relaxations allowed amid the Covid -19 lockdown if they do not adhere to physical distancing guidelines. His warning came after locals in some parts of the Capital crowded liquor stores, forcing them to shut down.