Covid-19: Maharashtra’s tally crosses 54,000, SC sends notice to Centre, states on migrants’ plight

10.56 pm: Here are today’s top 10 coronavirus updates

10.50 pm: The World Health Organization says the Americas are the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian reports. WHO Regional Director Dr Carissa Etienne says outbreaks were accelerating in Brazil, and were expected to rise in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

10.43 pm: Pune has recorded 327 more cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 6,480, PTI reports quoting health officials. Nine more people have died, taking the toll to 289.

10.37 pm: Thirty-three more cases have been reported in Gurugram city in Haryana, according to ANI. The total positive cases in the district stand at 317, which includes 134 active cases.

10.22 pm: Karnataka has decided to reopen all temples from June 1, the Hindustan Times reports. Muzrai minister Kota Srinivas Poojary has said that the state will issue a Standard Operating Protocol in this regard. Also, nearly 50 prominent temples will offer online booking of service and prayers to ensure social distancing norms are maintained.

10.10 pm: Jharkhand has reported 18 more cases of Covid-19, taking the total number to 426, including 247 active cases, the state health department says according to ANI.

9.55 pm: Zomato and Swiggy have started home delivery of alcohol in Odisha, PTI reports. Zomato says in a statement that starting with Bhubaneswar, the company will soon expand to other cities like Rourkela, Balasore, Balangir, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Cuttack.

9.34 pm: As many as 229 more cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Uttar Pradesh. The total number of cases in the state is now 6,724, and the toll 177.

9.03 pm: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to all chief secretaries of states, asking them to direct hotels, identified as institutional quarantine, to refund foreign returnees who were made to pay advance for 14 days’ stay.

“You are requested to issue necessary directions to hotels earmarked/used for institutional quarantine to ensure that foreign returnees who were quarantined in hotels and paid advance of 14 days, shall be refunded their balance amount, without any delay,” the letter reads. “Since they can now leave after seven days, amount of rest seven days is to be refunded, that few hotels are refusing”.

8.55 pm: Budget carrier IndiGo says it has grounded its crew after a passenger on a Chennai to Coimbatore flight tested positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI.

8.50 pm: Gujarat records 361 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours. The state’s total number of cases stands at 14,289. The toll rises to 915 after 27 deaths were reported in one day, says the state health department, according to ANI.

8.45 pm: In Telangana, 71 new Covid-19 cases and one death have been reported today, taking the state’s tally to 1,991. The toll rises to 57, reports ANI, citing the director of public health and family welfare.

8.40 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reports 1,002 new coronavirus cases and 39 deaths in Mumbai today, reports ANI. The city’s total number of cases rises to 32,791 and toll stands at 1,065.

8.35 pm: Maharashtra’s Health Department says 2,091 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the state today, taking the state’s tally to 54,758, reports ANI.

8.27 pm: The Hungarian government expects to lift the state of emergency in the country on June 20, reports Reuters.

8.25 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases in the world has crossed 55 lakh to reach 55,22,931. The worldwide toll stands at 3,46,873.

8.20 pm: Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country has “passed peak” of the coronavirus outbreak, reports AFP.

8.17 pm: Karnataka minister Kota Srinivas Poojary says temples in the state will open from June 1, reports PTI.

8.13 pm: Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says people will have to pay for institutional quarantine in the state in the future. “The state will introduce different ranges and a lesser amount for financially backward people,” he says, according to ANI. “Lakhs of people will be coming to Kerala and government won’t be able to bear the expenses of all.”

8.09 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 91 new coronavirus cases today, reports ANI. Of these, 54 cases are from Jammu division and 37 from Kashmir. The Union Territory’s tally stands at 902.

8.07 pm: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant says the Aarogya Setu app has amassed 50 million users in 15 days and 100 million in 40 days. The application has also identified over 3,000 hotspots between three and 17 days ahead of time, he adds, according to News18.

8.04 pm: Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India Ji Rong says his country is planning to send “temporary flights” to repatriate its citizens “who are facing difficulties in India”, reports ANI.

Also read:

Covid-19: China to evacuate its citizens from India amid rising cases and increasing border tension

7.59 pm: A large number of dead bats have been found in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur area, triggering panic among locals of Belghat area, reports PTI. The carcasses have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly for analysis.

7.57 pm: West Bengal’s total count rises to 4,009 after 193 new infections today, reports PTI.

7.50 pm: Himachal Pradesh reports 10 new Covid-19 cases, the state’s tally rises to 234, according to PTI.

7.45 pm: Tamil Nadu records nine more deaths due to Covid-19. The toll in the state stands at 127, reports PTI. The state health ministry reports 646 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 17,728.

7.40 pm: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says Indian airports have handled 325 departures and 283 arrivals with 41,673 passengers till 5 pm today. This is the second day of resumption of domestic flights. The minister adds that final report for the day will be prepared after more details are recieved at midnight.

6.41 pm: Tamil Nadu’s coronavirus tally comes close to 18,000 after 646 new cases. The toll rises to 127 as nine new deaths are reported.

6.34 pm: Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, explains how anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine works. The World Health Organization has suspended the trials of HCQ as treatment for the coronavirus over safety concerns.

6.30 pm: Chinese President Xi Jinping says his country will step up its preparedness for armed combat and improve its ability to carry out military tasks as coronavirus pandemic impacts its national security, Reuters reports.

6.23 pm: The Delhi Police file chargesheets against 82 foreign nationals from 20 countries over the Tablighi Jamaat gathering, PTI reports.

6.17 pm: Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam blames Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for the worsening coronavirus situation in the state. “He keeps changing his decisions everyday, decisions that are delayed and often wrong,” he says. “The coronavirus cases are rising as a consequence.”

6.13 pm: The top court tells the Centre that “effective and concentrated efforts” are required to redeem the situation.

6.10 pm: “Media reports have been continuously showing the unfortunate and miserable conditions of migrant workers walking on-foot and cycles from long distances,” the court says.

5.58 pm: The Supreme Court takes note of the plight of migrant workers and issues notices to the Centre and states, Live Law reports. The top court will hear the matter on Thursday.

5.53 pm: Scores of commuters were stuck in a traffic jam on Tuesday at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border after the Uttar Pradesh administration sealed its border in view of the rising coronavirus cases.

Read here: Heavy traffic jam after Ghaziabad seals border with Delhi over surge in coronavirus cases

5.49 pm: Maharashtra Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta says 80% of the cases in the state are asymptomatic, ANI reports. He adds that cases are now doubling every 14 days in the state.

5.45 pm: The Thane Municipal Corporation orders complete lockdown of the city’s Mumbra area amid rising coronavirus cases, PTI reports. Only milk and medical shops will be allowed to open. Of Thane’s, 2,172 cases, 288 have been reported from Mumbra.

5.40 pm: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia says around 1.25 lakh migrants have been sent to Bihar, 96,610 to Uttar Pradesh and 3,000 to Jharkhand aboard special trains.

5.37 pm: New cases in other states:

Karnataka: 101 new cases, tally rises to 2,283; toll at 44.

Assam: Two new cases, tally rises to 597; toll at four.

5.33 pm: Mumbai’s Dharavi slum records 38 new coronavirus cases, ANI reports. The area’s tally rises to 1,621. The toll stands at 60.

5.30 pm: Kerala reports 67 new coronavirus cases, according to ANI. The state’s tally rises to 964.

5.27 pm: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hits out at the state government over its response to the coronavirus crisis. He says Uddhav Thackeray must make bold decisions to tackle the escalating health crisis.

5.11 pm: Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal says the government had planned 145 trains for Tuesday on Maharashtra’s request but only 13 trains could be run till 3.00 pm due to lack of passengers. “I request Maharashtra Government to fully cooperate in ensuring that the distressed migrants are able to reach their homes and bring passengers to Stations in time, and not cause further delays. It will affect the entire network and planning,” he says.

5.06 pm: A huge crowd came out on the streets in Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati on Monday to welcome former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu as he returned to the city after two months amid the nationwide lockdown to control the coronavirus.

Read here: Coronavirus: YSR Congress accuses Chandrababu Naidu of violating lockdown in Amaravati

5.04 pm: Officials prepare for the fifth flight to evacuate Indian citizens from Bahrain.

4.58 pm: The Indian Consulate in Dubai says four flights have been scheduled for the day to Kochi, Kannur, Kozhikode and Trivandrum with around 725 passengers.

4.53 pm: West Bengal’s coronavirus tally crosses 4,000 with 193 new cases. The toll stands at 211.

4.49 pm: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal holds a video conference with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Union Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers to review the coronavirus situation in the Capital.

4.41 pm: ICMR says it has found no major side-effects of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine. “We advised that there is no harm, benefit may be there. It’s use should be continued,” the top medical body’s Director General Dr Balram Bhargava says.

4.37 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research says more than 1 lakh Covid-19 tests are being conducted everyday.

4.32 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says 58,318 passengers flew to their destinations on 832 flights on the first day of the resumption of domestic flights. This is a revision of the earlier number – 532 flights carrying 39,231 passengers.

4.26 pm: The Union health ministry says while the figures are promising, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is not over.

4.13 pm: Agarwal says India has reported 10.7 cases per lakh of population as compared to 69.9 cases per lakh of population for the whole world.

4.11 pm: Here are two graphs showing improvement in India’s recovery rate and decline in fatality rate.

4.04 pm: Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal says India’s Covid-19 death rate is 2.87%, which is much lower than the death rate in countries with a high number of cases. He attributes the low death rate to the government’s aggressive containment measures.

4.01 pm: The Centre begins its press briefing on the coronavirus.

3.51 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 197 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, State Principal Health Secretary Amit Prasad says, according to ANI. The tally of infections in the state is 6,548 with 170 deaths.

3.49 pm: “States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have shown that it is possible to recruit health personnel for permanent employment rapidly,” The United Nurses Association adds in its letter to the Maharashtra government. “We urge [the] state government to also opt for this long term approach.”

3.45 pm: The United Nurses Association in Maharashtra writes to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, expressing their unhappiness over the government’s intention to bring 100 nurses from Kerala to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the state, ANI reports. The association says the initiatives of the government are “temporary in nature” and demanded that health workers be recruited permanently instead of on a contractual basis.

3.37 pm: The police in the Capital tells the Delhi High Court that it has neither arrested nor detained anyone in the case lodged against members of Tablighi Jamaat for participating in the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in April, PTI reports.

The court had sought the response of the Delhi Police and the Aam Aadmi Party-led government on a plea seeking the release of 916 foreign nationals, who were allegedly being held in institutional quarantine since March 30 despite having tested negative for Covid-19.

3.27 pm: The Federation of Western India Cine Employees writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray proposing a set of guidelines for the resumption of work in the media and entertainment industry, ANI reports.

3.18 pm: The Union Health Ministry asks all states and Union Territories to provide real-time updates on the availability and consumption of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, ANI reports.

2.55 pm: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police files 20 chargesheets against 83 foreign nationals who attended the religious event in Nizamuddin area in April, organised by the the Tablighi Jamaat, ANI reports.

2.48 pm: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says his government is thinking of issuing a different set of Standard Operating Procedures for people who are coming to his state from Maharashtra, as 90% of the cases in Goa are from there, ANI reports.

2.42 pm: The Central Industrial Security Force reports 20 fresh coronavirus cases, PTI reports. Out of these 18 are from its unit that guards the Delhi airport.

2.30 pm: The number of cases in Rajasthan rises to 7,476 after the state records 176 new cases today. The toll rises to 168, ANI reports quoting the state health department.

2.23 pm: The Rajasthan government reverses its earlier order and restores the working hours for factory workers to eight hours per day, PTI reports. On April 24 the state government had increased the work hours to 12 in a day, in order to reduce the requirement of workers in registered factories.

2.19 pm: The Capital Region Urban Transport in Odisha resumes operations in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Khurda amid the lockdown, ANI reports.

2.12 pm: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conducts a meeting to review the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, to help repatriate Indian nationals stranded in other countries. Officials from the foreign ministry, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Home Ministry and Bureau of Immigration attended the meeting.

2.09 pm: Andhra Pradesh resumes domestic flight operations, a day after services were restarted across the country, PTI reports. The first flight that landed in the state was a SpiceJet aircraft from Bengaluru. It landed at Vijayawada airport with 79 passengers.

2.01 pm: Delhi reports 412 cases of the coronavirus today, taking the total tally of the Union Territory to 14,465, ANI reports, quoting the Directorate General of Health Services, Delhi. The toll is now 288.

1.57 pm: The Supreme Court issues notice to the Centre on a batch of petitions seeking exemption from payment of wages to workers during the lockdown, The Indian Express reports. The apex court directed the Centre to treat the matter “with urgency”.

1.54 pm: Two men in Mumbai had to take the body of their father, who died of Covid-19, to a crematorium in Ghatkopar area because of the unavailability of hearse vans in the city, PTI reports.

1.17 pm: Delhi Minister of Transport and Environment Kailash Gahlot says the government wants to resume metro services in the Capital soon, ANI reports. However, there is no confirmation yet as to when that will happen. “Whenever the direction to reopen comes, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will require at least two days for [making] preparations,” he adds.

1.13 pm: The Gujarat Congress claims that the ‘Namaste Trump’ event held in February in Ahmedabad was responsible for more than 800 coronavirus deaths in the state, PTI reported.

Read more here:

Covid-19: Congress blames ‘Namaste Trump’ event for 800 deaths in Gujarat, BJP calls it ‘baseless’

1.07 pm: Karnataka reports 100 coronavirus cases between 5:00 pm Monday till 12:00 pm today, taking the state’s tally to 2,282, ANI reports, quoting state health department’s figures. The toll is now 44.

1.01 pm: Three more persons test positive for the coronavirus in Manipur, taking the total number of cases in the state to 39, PTI reports.

12.57 pm: The ruling YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh accuse Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu of violating the lockdown after he returned to his home in Amaravati from Hyderabad on Monday, NDTV reports.

12.44 pm: Gandhi urges the government to provide financial support to people and industries by infusing cash in the economy.

12.27 pm: In his live address, Rahul Gandhi questions the Centre on its action plan, as cases across the country continue to rise. “In Congress -ruled states, we have a strategy,” he says. “But we cannot function without the national government.”

12.23 pm: Coronavirus cases in Pakistan rise to 57,705 after 1,356 new infections were reported today, PTI reports. The toll in the country is 1,197.

12.18 pm: West Bengal will resume domestic air travel in the state from May 28, ANI reports. Ahead of that, the state government issues guidelines for travellers. All passengers will be made to submit self-declaration forms on their arrival. Their health will be monitored for two weeks, it says. Those who exhibit moderate to severe symptoms will be taken to Covid-19 designated facilities, while passengers with mild symptoms will be asked to self quarantine at home.

12.12 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says India has failed to achieve the aim and purpose of the countrywide lockdown. “India is the only country where the virus is exponentially rising and [yet] we are removing the lockdown,” he says.

12.08 pm: The tally of coronavirus cases in Assam rises to 548, health minister Himanta Sarma says, according to ANI.

11.55 am: Ten migrant workers were injured after a private bus taking them from Bengaluru to Kolkata overturned in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, ANI reports.

11.54 am: Hong Kong will partly resume transit services at the international airport, as business hubs gradually reopen, AFP reports.

11.52 am: At least 115 Indian nationals boarded an Air India flight in Israel’s Tel Aviv this morning to return to the country.

11.43 am: As many as 39 more people test positive for the coronavirus in Indore in the last 24 hours, PTI reports. The death toll in the district rose to 117. Indore is the worst-affected district in Madhya Pradesh, which has 3,103 cases so far.

11.41 am: The Mizoram government allows returnees who clear the rapid antibody tests, to be placed under home isolation, in light of the inadequate number of quarantine centres in the state, Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo says, according to PTI.

11.36 am: At least 80 police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, ANI reports. Two of them have died. With this, the tally of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra Police rises to 1,889 with 20 deaths.

11.25 am: Uber India says it is laying off around 600 full-time employees. “Around 600 full time positions across driver and rider support, as well as other functions, are being impacted,” Uber India and South Asia president Pradeep Parameswaran says in a statement. “These reductions are part of previously announced global job cuts this month. The impact of COVID-19 and the unpredictable nature of the recovery has left Uber India SA with no choice but to reduce the size of its workforce.”

11.22 am: 39 people tested positive in Indore in the last 24 hours, reports PTI. The total number of cases in the district is now 3,103 and the toll is 117.

11.08 am: Andhra Pradesh reports 48 new cases in the last 24 hours. The state’s overall count is now 2,719.

10.54 am: All non-essential shops in the United Kingdom will reopen from June 15, says PM Boris Johnson, according to BBC.

10.53 am: Latin America’s largest air carrier LatAm files for bankruptcy, reports AFP.

10.35 am: Nine new cases in Assam’s Barpeta today.

10.30 am: Odisha’s tally crosses 1,500-mark with 79 new cases today, says the state health department.

10.25 am: Seven Railway Police Force personnel at Ludhiana station have tested positive, the director general tells ANI. Around 100 personnel have been quarantined.

10.11 am: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath to explain the basis of his claim that migrant workers who were returning from big cities such as Delhi were responsible for the rise in coronavirus infections in his state.

Also read

Covid-19: Priyanka Gandhi questions UP CM Adityanath’s claim on migrant workers

10.09 am: India tested less than a lakh samples on Monday, says the Indian Council of Medical Research.

10.01 am: Nagpur has a total of 406 cases so far, says the municipal commissioner. “Out of 406, 313 patients have recovered,” he adds. “This means our recovery rate is between 75%-80%. One of the major reasons for this is early identification, tracing, isolation testing and treatment.”

9.45 am: China reports 36 new cases, including 29 asymptomatic infections.

9.37 am: Passengers arrive at Vijayawada airport as domestic flight services in Andhra Pradesh resume today.

9.29 am: Rajasthan reports 76 new cases as of 9 am today. The state health department says the total number of infections in the state now stands at 7,376.

9.27 am: The King George’s Medical University in Lucknow says of the 1,219 samples tested on Monday, 21 are positive.

9.12 am: India records 6,535 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Its tally is now at 1,45,380, according to Ministry of Health figures.

8.53 am: There is heavy traffic at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border after authorities sealed it on Monday. Police personnel are checking people’s passes at the border, reports ANI.

8.49 am: A controversy boils over Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda skipping institutional quarantine after he flew from Delhi to Bengaluru on Monday, The Indian Express reports. Karnataka mandates 14-day quarantine for anyone flying into the state. Gowda reportedly cited immunity from institutional quarantine given by his job. He is the Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers. Karnataka later modified its rules to exempt government officials on duty from institutional quarantine.

Also read

Coronavirus: BJP minister skips quarantine after landing in Bengaluru, says he is exempted

8.33 am: US biotechnology company Novavax begins human trials for a coronavirus vaccine in Australia, reports AP. The results will be known by around July. “We are in parallel making doses, making vaccine in anticipation that we’ll be able to show it’s working and be able to start deploying it by the end of this year,” says the company’s research chief Dr Gregory Glenn.

8.25 am: A flash flood in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, inundated a quarantine centre on Monday, NDTV reports. Flash floods in the area have forced many people out of their homes due to their villages being under water.

7.52 am: Passengers arrive at the Delhi airport.

7.50 am: The Ministry of Civil aviation allows domestic air services, non-scheduled and private operators to fly.

7.46 am: Singapore lowers its GDP forecast to a contraction range of -7% to -4%, reports Reuters. Singapore’s economy, which acts as a barometer for the world’s economies, is bracing for its deepest ever recession.

7.43 am: The United States records 532 deaths in the last 24 hours, reports AFP. The country’s toll rises to 98,218 while the number of cases is now 1,662,375.

7.40 am: Here are the top updates from Monday

• India on Monday recorded 6,977 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours – the biggest single-day jump in figures so far. With this, the total number of cases reached 1,38,845 and the toll rose to 4,021 after 154 new fatalities. India is now among the 10 countries with most cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker.
• Long queues were seen at airports in Delhi and Mumbai as domestic flights resumed after two months amid the nationwide lockdown to control the spreading coronavirus. Several passengers also claimed that their flights had been cancelled without prior notice. Around 80 flights, to and from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, were cancelled on the first day of resumption.
• The Supreme Court allowed national carrier Air India to operate the flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad without leaving the middle seat vacant for a period of 10 days till June 6.  
• Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said his country’s fatality due to the coronavirus was less in comparison to other countries of South Asia. “Those coming from India are coming in without proper checking which has contributed to the further spread of Covid-19,” he said.
• Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said that the state has recorded 805 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths on Monday. The state has a total of 17,082 coronavirus cases. Maharashtra recorded 2,436 new coronavirus patients on Monday, taking the state’s tally to 52,667. This included 1,695 deaths and 15,786 recoveries.