India on Sunday became the eighth most-affected country in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. According to the tracker, India has 1,84,735 cases. However, the Union health ministry on Sunday said India’s tally stood at 1,82,143 infections after a record daily jump of 8,380 new coronavirus cases.
Delhi, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Sunday recorded the highest single-day spike. Maharashtra’s tally went up to 67,655 with over 2,400 new infections.
Meanwhile, several state governments issued guidelines for the next phase of lockdown. Most of them have decided to extend the lockdown till June 30 but with phased relaxations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the country to be more vigilant as large parts of the economy open up on June 8. The Centre has extended the nationwide lockdown until June 30 only in the containment zones, but permitted restaurants, malls and religious places to reopen elsewhere after two weeks.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected 59.23 lakh people and claimed over 3.69 lakh lives.
Lockdown 5.0: What is allowed, what’s not – here’s everything you need to know
The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.
These are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.
Here are the biggest updates of the day
8.55 pm: Rajasthan reports 214 cases as of 8.30 pm today. The state’s tally is now 8,831.
8.52 pm: New lockdown guidelines released by the Gautam Budha Nagar district magistrate state that the Noida-Delhi border will continue to be sealed.
8.50 pm: Cases in Gujarat rise by 438 to 16,794. The state reports 31 fatalities, taking the toll to 1,038.
8.48 pm: “We need to tread cautiously as we begin our lives in new way,” says Thackeray on latest relaxations in lockdown rules.
8.47 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray addresses the people of the state.
8.45 pm: Jharkhand reports 16 new cases, taking the state’s overall count to 610.
8.42 pm: Cases in Jammu and Kashmir rise to 2,446 after 105 more people tested positive.
8.38 pm: Uttarakhand registers 105 new infections. State’s total count rises to 907.
8.37 pm: Maharashtra reports 2,487 new cases and 89 deaths. The state’s tally is now 67,655 and toll is 2,286.
8.36 pm: There are 38 new cases in Dharavi area of Mumbai, says the BMC. The slum has 1,771 infections and toll stands at 71.
8.34 pm: Karnataka issues protocol for inter-state travellers during the Unlock 1 period.
8.33 pm: The total number of cases in Goa is 71, including 27 active cases.
7.41 pm: Haryana reports 168 new cases today. The total number of infections in the state is now 2,091.
7.32 pm: Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have express reservations about running special trains planned from June 1, reports PTI.
7.30 pm: Entry and exit plan for passengers at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Delhi Junction and New Delhi Railway Station have been notified.
6.53 pm: Chandigarh’s tally rises to 293 after three more people tested positive.
6.50 pm: The Meghalaya government extends the ongoing lockdown till June 6, but allows more shops selling non-essential items to reopen, reports PTI.
6.45 pm: Tamil Nadu’s tally rises to 22,333 with the addition of 1,149 new cases and 13 deaths.
6.40 pm: West Bengal reports 371 new cases and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the state’s tally is now 5,501 and toll is at 245.
6.23 pm: Kerala reports 61 new infections. Of these, 20 have returned from abroad, 37 have come from other states and four have been infected through contact, says state Health Minister KK Shailaja.
6.20 pm: The Nagaland government removes the health department principal secretary after a a person, who had returned from Chennai, was released from a quarantine centre before his test results arrived, reports PTI. The person later tested positive.
6.11 pm: Telangana government extends lockdown in identified containment zones till June 30. However, it lifts restrictions on inter-state movement of people.
6.10 pm: Himachal Pradesh says all government offices shall remain open on all working days with 100% attendance. However, the timings will be staggered into two groups – 10 am to 5 pm and 10.30 am to 5.30 pm.
6.09 pm: Karnataka’s tally rises to 3,221 after 299 new cases in the last 24 hours.
6.05 pm: Delhi reports 13 deaths and 1,295 new cases today. The total number of cases in the Capital is now 19,844 and toll is 473.
5.58 pm: The Railways says it will begin operations of 200 special trains from June 1 and more than 1.45 lakh passengers will travel on the first day. Passengers will have to reach station at least 90 minutes before departure and only travellers with confirmed or RAC tickets will be allowed to enter the station and board trains.
5.55 pm: Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says the state today achieved the milestone of conducting more than 1 lakh tests. “Assam has developed the capacity to test 10,000 people per day,” he adds.
5.44 pm: The National Green Tribunal asks all its staff to attend the office from June 1, reports ANI.
5.43 pm: Arunachal Pradesh gets its fourth patient after a 12-year-old boy who recently returned from Delhi tested positive, reports PTI.
5.42 pm: Six people, including four Railway Protection Force and state Home Guard jawans, tested positive in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, reports PTI.
5.26 pm: Bangladesh reopens offices and transport services in a restricted manner.
5.10 pm: Singapore’s health ministry confirms 518 more coronavirus cases.
5.05 pm: Religious places and places of worship, hotels, restaurants, hospitality services, shopping malls, barber shops, spas, salons and beauty parlours to remain closed across Maharashtra.
5.03 pm: Maharashtra government allows all private offices to operate with up to 10% strength from June 8. Intra-district bus services will be allowed. However, inter-district buses will not be permitted to ply.
4.55 pm: All markets, market areas and shops, except malls and market complexes, will be allowed to function on odd-even basis from 9 am to 5 pm from June 5, says the Maharashtra government.
4.53 pm: In phase 1, individual physical exercises shall be permitted in open public spaces like beaches, playgrounds, gardens and promenades between 5 am and 7 pm.
4.51 pm: Maharashtra extends the lockdown till June 30. Movement of individuals to remain strictly prohibited between 9 pm and 5 am except for essential activities.
4.44 pm: Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 286 to 181,482.
4.30 pm: Karnataka will continue lockdown measures till June 30. However, places of worship, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services as well as shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8.
4.17 pm: Awasthi clarifies that the prohibition on entry of people from containment zones in Delhi to Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad will remain.
4.10 pm: The Rajasthan government issues guidelines for the fifth phase of lockdown till June 30. Shops, beauty parlours, community parks will be allowed to open following physical distancing guidelines and other precautions. Government offices will function with full strength.
4.08 pm: Awasthi says state buses will be allowed to operate on the condition that only passengers according to the seating capacity of the buses travel. “Passengers cannot travel while standing in the bus,” he adds.
4.02 pm: Awasthi says salons and beauty parlours can remain open with conditions of physical distancing and other measures. “Staff working at salons/beauty parlours should wear face shields and gloves while working,” he adds.
3.58 pm: UP Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi says all markets will remain open from 9 am to 9 pm. Super markets will be allowed to open with conditions of physical distancing and other precautionary measures. Weekly markets will be allowed in rural areas.
3.56 pm: Tripura registers 11 new cases, taking the state tally to 280. All the newly-detected patients had recently returned from Chennai.
3.53 pm: In Uttar Pradesh, all government offices will operate with 100% workforce but staggered timings.
3.48 pm: Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Awanish Awasthi says lockdown will continue in the state till June 30. “Religious places, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls to reopen from June 8,” he adds.
3.38 pm: In the last 24 hours, Uttar Pradesh reported 262 new cases, says Principal Secretary (Health), Amit Mohan Prasad. With this, the state’s total count of active cases is now 2,901.
3.33 pm: Puducherry reports nine new infections. The total number of active cases is now 46, reports PTI.
3.31 pm: Jammu and Kashmir will continue the lockdown measures till June 8.
3.26 pm: Seven people who had returned from Chennai test positive in Nagaland, says Health and Family Welfare minister S Pangnyu Phom. The total number of cases in the state is now 43.
3.18 pm: Nepal extends the nationwide lockdown until June 14, reports PTI. The country has also decided to deploy the Army in the worst-hit areas.
3.01 pm: Indonesia reports 700 new infections.
2.49 pm: Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district reports 55 new cases.
2.36 pm: The HRD ministry releases datesheets for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations.
2.34 pm: Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh says doctors and nurses will be hired on honorarium basis for the pandemic in Mumbai, reports PTI. “They will be paid Rs 80,000 per month,” he adds. “Apart from doctors, physicians will also be hired on honorarium basis. Anaesthetists and intensivists will be paid Rs two lakh per month. Qualified nurses will be hired for Rs 30,000 per month. The honorarium will be paid by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Eligible doctors and nurses should apply for it online.”
2.27 pm: Uttarakhand reports 53 new cases, taking the state’s total count to 802.
2.21 pm: The Delhi government seeks an immediate assistance of Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre to pay salaries to its employees and meet its expenses, says Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. “We need around Rs 3,500 crore every month just to pay salaries and bear office expenses,” he adds. “In last two months, GST collection was Rs 500 crore each and combining that with other sources, the government has Rs 1,735 crore.”
2.20 pm: In last 24 hours, Andhra Pradesh reported 98 new infections.
2.17 pm: Assam reports 56 new cases today. With this, the state’s tally now stands at 1272.
1.40 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath says guidelines for lifting the lockdown restrictions in the state will be released after 2 pm, reports ANI. He adds that mass gatherings will continue to be forbidden with mandatory abidance of physical distancing and masks.
1.25 pm: In Haryana, Faridabad’s Deputy Commissioner says the state government’s existing orders on the lockdown will continue, reports ANI. “Until Haryana government’s new directions come, existing directions will continue to remain in effect,” he says. “Delhi High Court and Haryana Home Minister had issued certain guidelines, inter-district and inter-state movement will continue based on them. New directions will come by tomorrow.”
12.30 pm: Uttarakhand Minister Satpal Maharaj’s wife and former minister Amrita Rawat tests positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI.
12.15 pm: In Maharashtra’s Pune city, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee has resumed operations, reports ANI. The market’s administrator says people’s temperature, oxygen levels are being checked and they are sanitised. “It is also checked if they are wearing a mask,” he adds. “Social distancing is being maintained.”
12 pm: Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, opens after over two months, reports AFP.
11.50 am: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says a total of 529 flights, ferrying 45,646 passengers, operated on Saturday, reports PTI.
11.45 am: Normal vehicular movement in Bengaluru after the Karnataka government lifted complete curfews on Sundays, reports ANI.
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Coronavirus: Karnataka asks Centre to limit number of flights coming in from five states
11.30 am: Manipur reports four new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 66. The number of active cases stands at 59, reports ANI, citing the state government.
11.15 am: “It is important to be even more vigilant as [a] major chunk of [the] economy has opened up, Modi says. “India’s fight against Covid-19 is people-driven and [the] country’s ‘seva shakti’ [power to serve] is visible in this battle.
11 am: “There is no class of people who did not suffer due to Covid-19 outbreak, but poor, labourers [have been] hit [the] hardest,” says Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his “Mann ki Baat” address.
Also read
Covid-19: PM Modi says people have to be ‘even more careful’ as nationwide lockdown is eased
10.43 am: Rajasthan’s tally rises to 8,693 after 76 new coronavirus cases, reports ANI.
10.30 am: Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district has started testing vegetable and fruit vendors for coronavirus, reports ANI.
10.20 am: Odisha records 129 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 1,948, reports ANI, citing the state health department. There are 889 people receiving treatment in the state.
10 am: China records five new coronavirus cases, including three asymptomatic ones, on Sunday, reports PTI.
9.25 am: India’s tally crosses 1.82 lakh. Of these cases, 89,995 people are being treated, 86,983 have recovered. The nationwide toll stands at 5,164 and one person has left the country.
9.22 am: Tamil Nadu extends lockdown in the state till June 30, reports ANI. The state’s districts will be divided into eight zones, with public transport prohibited in seven zones of Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur districts and eight zones of Chennai. People will not need an e-pass for movement.
The state allows IT companies and IT-enabled services to function with 20% employees.
7.55 am: China reports two coronavirus cases, both imported ones in the province of Shandong, according to Reuters. With this, the country has 83,001 infections and the toll stands at 4,634.
7.52 am: Karnataka government’s door-to-door survey has classified 44% of the households in the state in the at “risk category” because of the coronavirus spread, The Indian Express reports. “Covid has demonstrated that comprehensive public health data is the key to act decisively and swiftly,” state Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar says. “Our government is planning to maintain a Health Registry of Citizens.”
7.49 am: According to data by the Indian Council of Medical Research, the country’s nodal body for coronavirus testing, only 33.2 people per million population are infected in India, reports Hindustan Times.
7.47 am: The United States records 960 coronavirus deaths, bringing its total to 1,03,758 since the outbreak began, reports AFP.
7.45 am: Here are the top updates from Saturday:
- The Centre extended the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic till June 30, but said that all activities will restart in a phased manner outside containment zones. The first phase of this reopening, called Unlock 1, will focus on economic activities.
- The Union health ministry said that India’s coronavirus recovery rate had reached an all-time high of 47.4% as 11,264 patients were “cured” in a day. However, India’s coronavirus tally rose to 1,73,763 on Saturday morning as the country recorded 7,964 new infections in 24 hours. This is the highest daily rise in infections so far. The toll is at 4,971. India is now the ninth worst-hit country, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that migrant workers and labourers have suffered “tremendously” during the coronavirus pandemic and the countrywide lockdown enforced to contain it. In his letter to the nation on completing a year of his second term in office, Modi assured the people that his government was working hard to tackle the health crisis.
- An Air India flight from Delhi to Moscow returned midway after the airline’s ground team found out that one of the pilots had tested positive for the coronavirus. The flight’s crew members have been placed under quarantine. The plane did not have any passengers and was heading to Moscow to bring back stranded Indians citizens as part of the Vande Bharat mission.
- Data released by Railway Protection Force showed that nearly 80 migrant workers died of starvation or heat between May 9 and May 27 while travelling on special trains to their native places.
- The Prime Minister Office refused to provide details about the PM CARES Fund – created to tackle the coronavirus pandemic – to a Right to Information applicant, saying that the reserve was not a “public authority” under the RTI Act. Opposition parties have also raised questioned about the fund’s transparency.
- Maharashtra reported 2,940 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 65,168. The toll reached 2,197 with 99 more deaths. Delhi’s tally rose to 18,549 with 1,163 new cases and the toll rose to 416 with 18 more fatalities.