Covid-19: Masks mandatory inside eateries, no touching of religious idols, says Centre in new rules

10.50 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

10.46 pm: Gujarat reports 492 new Covid-19 infections and 33 deaths in the last 24 hours, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. With this, the state’s total tally of cases rises to 18,601 and the toll is now 1,155.

10.45 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Goa rises to 166 after 40 new infections were reported today, ANI reports, quoting the figures given by the state health department. Of these, 166 are active cases and 57 have recovered.

10.43 pm: Telangana records 127 new cases of the coronavirus today, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The state now has 3,147 cases.

10.42 pm: Delhi reports 1,359 new infections today, taking the total tally of cases in the Union Territory to 25,004, ANI reports, quoting the Delhi government’s figures. The toll is 650.

10.41 pm: Jammu and Kashmir report 285 more positive cases of the coronavirus today, taking the total tally of infections to 3,142, ANI reports.

9.11 pm: In its guidelines for hotels and other hospitality units, the health ministry says that separate entry and exits for guests, staff and goods/supplies should be preferably arranged. All staff members and guests should maintain physical distancing of a minimum of six feet, when queuing up for entry and inside the hotel as far as feasible. Details of the guest (travel history, medical condition etc.) along with ID and self-declaration form must be provided by the guest at the reception, it adds.

8.59 pm: Only asymptomatic staff and customers shall be allowed in the restaurants, the health ministry says in its guidelines.All entrances to have mandatory sanitizer dispensers and thermal screening provisions. Takeaways are to be encouraged instead of dine-in, it adds.

8.54 pm: In its guidelines for malls, the health ministry says that all gaming arcades, children play areas, cinema halls inside shopping malls will remain closed. Physical distancing of at least six feet is to be followed as far as feasible, it adds. Use of face covers/masks is mandatory.

8.52 pm: All places of worship located in containment zones shall remain closed, the health ministry says in its SOP. Thermal screening arrangements should be made at the entrance and large gatherings at religious places is prohibited.

8.49 pm: The health ministry issues the Standard Operating Procedure for offices and says all persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women are advised to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.

8.25 pm: The number of infections in Uttarakhand rises to 1,153 after the state reports eight new cases today, ANI reports, quoting the state health department.

8.20 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai rises to 44,704 after the city reports 1,442 infections and 48 deaths today, Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai, says, according to ANI. The toll is now 1,465.

8.07 pm: Sikkim reported its third case of the coronavirus, after a man who returned from Mumbai, tested positive, PTI reports.

8.04 pm: The Lok Sabha Secretariat bans the entry of all retired officials and personal guests or visitors of officials below the rank of joint secretary to the Parliament House Complex, in light of the coronavirus outbreak, ANI reports.

7.56 pm: Tamil Nadu records the biggest single-day rise of 1,384 cases and 12 deaths, taking the infection tally to 27,256 and the toll to 220, PTI reports. Of these, Chennai alone accounted for 1,072, which is the biggest single-day increase for the state capital, pushing the case count to 18,693.

7.52 pm: Maharashtra reports 123 deaths in the biggest single-day jump, taking the toll due to the outbreak in the state to 2,710, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The total number of cases rises by 2,933 and is now 77,793.

7.45 pm: The number of infections in West Bengal rises to 6,876 after the state reports 368 more cases today, ANI reports, quoting the state health department’s figures. The toll due to the outbreak rose by ten and is now 283.

7.43 pm: Airport Authority of India closes its operational office at Chennai airport till June 7 for sanitisation, after two employees test positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports.

7.27 pm: The Centre tells the Supreme Court that while hospitals are responsible for implementing the Infection Prevention and Control activities to stop the coronavirus from spreading among its workers, its their own responsibility to protect themselves from the outbreak, PTI reports.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a doctor, questioning the Centre’s new Standard Operating Procedure of May 15 for front line Covid-19 Health Care Workers, by which it has ended the 14-day mandatory quarantine for them.

7.19 pm: Uttar Pradesh records 371 cases of the coronavirus and 15 deaths due to it in the last 24 hours, ANI reports, quoting the state government. The total number of infections in the state is now 9,327 and 245 people have died so far.

7.17 pm: Punjab reports 39 more Covid-19 cases today, taking the state’s tally to 2,415, ANI reports, quoting the state health department.

7.15 pm: An Assistant Sub-Inspector of Delhi Police was suspended for not wearing mask and failing to maintain physical distancing norms in office, PTI reports.

7.13 pm: A woman in Delhi alleges that her father, who tested positive for the coronavirus, died because he was denied timely treatment at the Lok Nayak Hospital, PTI reports. However, hospital authorities have denied the charges, claiming that her father was brought dead.

6.58 pm: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a 45-minute meeting with business minister Alok Sharma on Tuesday, a day before Sharma tested for the coronavirus, Reuters reports.

6.52 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan expresses concern about the rise in infections and deaths related to Covid-19 in Delhi and says there is a need for ramping up testing, “coupled with aggressive surveillance, contact tracing, and stringent containment and perimeter control measures”, PTI reports.

6.47 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Karnataka rises to 4,320 after the state reports 257 more cases today, ANI reports, quoting the state health department’s figures. The toll rises by four to 57.

6.42 pm: The Maharashtra government eases lockdown restrictions, allowing inter-district movement of people within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, NDTV reports. With 56,794 COVID-19 cases and 1,742 deaths so far, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region – which includes Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Palghar and part of Raigad district – is the worst affected by Covid-19 in the state.

6.36 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 1,373 cases and 12 deaths due to the coronavirus outbreak, ANI reports, quoting figures from the state health department. The total tally of Covid-19 infections in the state is now 27,256. The toll is 220.

6.31 pm: The Bombay High Court directs the Maharashtra government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to file an affidavit with details about how the bodies those who died of Covid-19 are being handled and disposed, PTI reports.

6.24 pm: Four more people test positive in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total number of Covid-19 infections in the state to 42, PTI reports.

6.21 pm: Kerala reported three deaths and 94 new cases of the coronavirus today, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says, according to ANI. The total tally of infections in the state is now 884.

6.14 pm: People who violate restrictions in containment zones will be put under institutional quarantine in Chennai to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, says J Radhakrishnan, the city’s special nodal officer for Covid-19, according to PTI.

5.57 pm: The Home Ministry blacklists 2,550 foreign nationals who are members of the Tablighi Jamaat members and are staying in India amid the lockdown, for violating visa rules, PTI reports. These members will not be allowed into the country for ten years, an unidentified official tells the news agency.

5.56 pm: The Uttarakhand government announces a complete lockdown in Dehradun on every weekend, adding that only essential goods and services will be available during those two days, ANI reports, quoting the Chief Minister’s Office.

5.48 pm: Nagaland registers the highest single-day rises in Covid-19 cases with 22 infections, Health and Family Welfare Minister S Pangyu Phom says, according to PTI. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state has increased to 80.

5.42 pm: The Tamil Nadu government fixes the price for Covid-19 treatment at private hospitals in the state which are covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, ANI reports. Under this, hospitals can charge up to Rs 5,000 per day for treatment of patients with mild or no symptoms in general wards. For intensive care unit, hospitals can charge between Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000.

5.22 pm: The Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi announces that it will remain closed till June 30 after a senior clerk in the Centre for Theoretical Physics dies of the coronavirus, IANS reports.

5.15 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressing concern over the “decreasing number of Covid-19 tests” in Mumbai amid “increasing fatalities,” ANI reports. “Mumbai labs have capacity to test 10,000 sample every day, but only 3,500 to 4,000 tests per day are being conducted,” the former chief minister says.

5.10 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announces a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of those who die of Covid-19 in the state, PTI reports.

5.08 pm: The toll due to the coronavirus outbreak in Kerala rises to 12 after the swab samples of a 73-year-old woman, who died two days ago, test positive, PTI reports.

4.57 pm: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visits a containment zone.

4.52 pm: The Indian Railways stations ten isolation coaches for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms in North Delhi.

4.47 pm: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state minister Jayant Patil urge Nationalist Congress Party workers not to organise public events to mark the party’s foundation day on June 10, PTI reports.

4.40 pm: Nepal records 334 new coronavirus cases, ANI reports, quoting the country’s health ministry. The country’s tally rises to 2,634 and the toll stands at 10.

4.29 pm: Belur Math, the global headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, says it will allow entry to devotees from June 15 after putting proper safety arrangements in place, PTI reports.

4.20 pm: All India Institute of Medical Sciences Director Dr Randeep Guleria says the World Health Organization’s decision to resume clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus was “a step in the right direction towards larger public interest”, PTI reports.

4.13 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum rises to 1,872 after 23 more people test positive, ANI reports, quoting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The area’s toll stands at 71.

4.08 pm: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur says the state has been successful in checking community spread of the coronavirus by ensuring institutional quarantine for returnees from other parts of the country, according to PTI. The state has reported 359 cases and five deaths so far.

4.06 pm: The Maharashtra government allows inter-district movement of people in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, PTI reports.

4.01 pm: In Mumbai’s public hospitals, coronavirus patients have been asked to share beds, sleep on the floor, or share wards with corpses that have been left on beds for hours because families refuse to claim them. People calling the Covid-19 helpline are often told there are no beds available.

Read here: In Mumbai, Covid-19 patients are dying as they wait for ambulances and hospital beds

3.57 pm: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal says hospitals and the administration have been directed to ramp up measures to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

3.50 pm: France cancels the Bastille Day parade on July 14 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

3.48 pm: Spain says it will reopen land borders with France and Portugal on June 22, AFP reports.

3.33 pm: Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan, who tested positive for the coronavirus last month, has been discharged from hospital, PTI reports.

3.30 pm: The lockdown has left a big hole in the pockets of the domestic workers. About a quarter of the women received no salary for March even though they had worked for most of the month. There were many others whose salaries were cut for the days they could not work. In some cases, employers were willing to pay full wages but the women were unable to collect the money due to travel restrictions.

Read here: During coronavirus lockdown, women domestic workers have struggled to buy essentials, says survey

3.23 pm: Delhi adds five new areas to its list of containment zones, ANI reports. The Capital now has 163 such zones.

3.17 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath directs officials to make preparations for lifting lockdown restrictions in the state starting June 8, in line with the Centre’s guidelines, PTI reports.

3.13 pm: Arunachal Pradesh, the state declared coronavirus-free after its first patient was discharged from hospital on April 16, has reported 37 cases in 11 days, according to PTI.

3.10 pm: The Aam Aadmi Party government tells the Delhi High Court that people with medical emergencies will be issued e-passes to enter the Capital, PTI reports.

3.09 pm: Maharashtra’s Nashik city reports 63 new coronavirus cases and two deaths, according to PTI. The city’s tally rises to 1,356 and the toll reaches 77.

2.56 pm: The Delhi government accuses the Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia hospital of delaying coronavirus test reports and also giving wrong results.

“Recently, RML Hospital tested 94% samples as positive in a day, and on retesting we found 45% of these to be negative,” Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain says. “I have asked the Union health minister to fix this casual approach.”

2.50 pm: Uttarakhand’s coronavirus tally rises to 1,145.

2.44 pm: More than 170 migrants from Chhattisgarh, who had been stranded in Bengaluru, land in Raipur. Their flight tickets were arranged by law students.

2.41 pm: Over 2,500 Maharashtra Police personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus so far and 30 have died of the infection, PTI reports.

2.37 pm: Malls in Bengaluru install ultraviolet tunnels to disinfect visitors’ bags at the entrance ahead of reopening next week.

2.32 pm: Haryana’s Nodal Officer for coronavirus control Dr Dhruva Chaudhary and his daughter, who is also a doctor, test positive for the infection in Rohtak district, PTI reports.

2.30 pm: A migrant worker who returned to Uttar Pradesh from Gujarat dies of the coronavirus at a health facility in the state’s Banda district, PTI reports.

2.26 pm: A lawyer files a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking details of the donations and expenditure of the PM CARES Fund, PTI reports. The petitioner argues that the fund is a public authority and must be under the scope of the Right to Information Act.

2.23 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain says 61 private hospitals in the Capital have been ordered to reserve 20% beds for coronavirus patients, PTI reports.

2.19 pm: The Supreme Court directs a Mumbai-based lawyer to deposit Rs 25 lakh – the amount that he has offered to help migrant workers reach home – with its registry, PTI reports.

2.13 pm: The Bihar Education Department directs all district education officers to submit reports on reopening of schools after consultation with students, parents, teachers and the management of schools, ANI reports.

1.51 pm: The Supreme Court reserves its order for June 12 on a batch of petitions against the Ministry of Home Affairs’ March 29 order on the payment of wages during the lockdown, Live Law reports. The court says that no coercive action will be taken against any employer till then for failing to comply with the order.

1.33 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan holds a meeting to review the coronavirus situation in Delhi.

1.25 pm: The Centre tells the Supreme Court that its March 29 order on the payment of full wages to workers by their employers during the lockdown was legally valid and aimed at easing the troubles of migrant workers and the salaried class, News18 reports.

1.21 pm: A 3-year-old boy recovers from the coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur city, PTI reports.

1.09 pm: A full autopsy of George Floyd, the handcuffed African-American man whose death has sparked widespread protests in the US, showed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus in April, according to The Associated Press. Floyd’s autopsy report was released on Wednesday.

1.01 pm: Anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine failed to prevent healthy people, who were exposed to the novel coronavirus, from getting the infection, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. It was the first major randomised clinical trial looking at whether the medication might be useful as a prophylactic.

Read here: Hydroxychloroquine failed to prevent Covid-19, finds randomised clinical trial

12.56 pm: Chhattisgarh reports 86 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 680, according to PTI. This is the state’s biggest single-day increase in the number of cases. The toll stands at two.

12.54 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain says there will be no shortage of hospital beds for coronavirus patients in the Capital.

12.50 pm: Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal says schools in the state will reopen in a phased manner in July. He adds that the government will organise demo classes to prepare for the reopening.

12.48 pm: Andhra Pradesh’s coronavirus tally rises to 3,377. The toll reaches 71.

12.35 pm: Health officials in Delhi launch an inquiry against eight labs for collecting coronavirus testing samples against the Indian Council of Medical Research’s protocol, ANI reports. The labs will not be allowed to test samples anymore.

12.25 pm: Brazil records 1,349 new coronavirus deaths and 28,633 cases, according to Reuters. The country’s tally rises to 5,84,01 and the toll reaches 32,548.

12.22 pm: The Indian Navy’s INS Jalashwa reaches Maldives to bring back 700 citizens.

12.20 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Assam rises to 1,877 after 47 more people test positive.

12.16 pm: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants have been the worst-affected by the coronavirus crisis and called on nations to uphold human dignity and rights.

12.13 pm: Mudanjiang city in China’s Heilongjiang province bordering Russia orders coronavirus tests for all its 2.8 million people, PTI reports.

12.09 pm: Rajasthan’s tally rises to 9,720 with 68 new coronavirus cases.

12.06 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city rises to 3,633 after 36 more people test positive for the infection, PTI reports. The toll rises to 145.

11.54 am: The Supreme Court directs Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana to evolve a common policy for the movement of commuters.

11.50 am: Pakistan surpasses China’s coronavirus tally as cases reach 85,246 after 4,688 new infections, PTI reports. The country’s toll stands at 1,770.

11.30 am: The Australian prime minister praises Modi for his leadership. “I thank you for your leadership not just within India but broadly throughout G20, Indo-Pacific and the stabilizing, constructive and very positive role that you have played in these very difficult times,” he says.

11.26 am: “Our government has decided to view the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity,” Modi says. “In India, the process of comprehensive reforms has been initiated in almost all areas. It will soon see results at the ground level.”

11.24 am: The prime minister says India is committed to strengthening its relations with Australia. “This is important not only for our two countries, but also for the Indo-Pacific region and the world,” he says.

11.22 am: “This coronavirus pandemic has affected every kind of system in the world,” Modi says. “The digital format of India and Australia’s summit is an example of that.”

11.21 am: Modi offers his condolences to people affected by the coronavirus in Australia.

11.18 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.

11.14 am: Gandhi adds that the people need empathy to fight the health crisis. “Empathy has to be built where Indian citizens- big and medium business, farmer or labourer says yes we will come out of it,” he says. “When you have a top down situation, that empathy is not there and you break will of people to fight.”

11.05 am: The Congress leader adds that the lockdown has instilled fear in the minds of the people. “In early days of lockdown an expert told me that the moment you apply a full lockdown, you are changing the nature of disease,” he says. “You are making this non fatal disease a fatal disease in minds of the people.”

11.03 am: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hits out the Centre over the lockdown.

10.57 am: Britain’s Prince Charles on Wednesday said the recovery from the coronavirus crisis represented a “reset moment” for the world and was an opportunity to prioritise sustainability issues, according to Reuters.

The 71-year-old prince, who himself has recovered from the coronavirus, has championed environmental causes for decades.

10.51 am: Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rahul Bajaj, in conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, says the nationwide lockdown has decimated India’s economy. “You [the Centre] have flattened the GDP curve, not the curve of infections,” he says.

10.45 am: An Amazon employee in the United States sued the e-commerce giant on Wednesday for allegedly causing the spread of the coronavirus by mandating unsafe working conditions, according to Reuters. The employee contracted the disease while working and passed it on to two family members.

10.42 am: The United States reports 919 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,07,099, AFP reports. The country’s tally stands at 18,51,520.

10.38 am: The Mizoram government says it will open schools for the new academic session on July 15, PTI reports. The state has reported 14 coronavirus cases so far.

10.34 am: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday denied that migrant workers died of starvation on special trains. “None of the deaths in Shramik trains has been caused by hunger or starvation as per postmortem reports,” the party said in a statement. “Natural deaths have occurred on trains earlier too but the manner in which unfortunate deaths of shramiks have been politicised is unprecedented.”

10.32 am: The Indian Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar says it will conduct end semester examinations for outgoing students online, so that they graduate on time, PTI reports.

10.25 am: The police in Assam arrested 61 migrants on Wednesday for pulling the emergency chain to jump off a special train so that they could avoid quarantine, according to NDTV.

10.21 am: Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha on Wednesday alleged that the Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi was giving out wrong coronavirus test results and violating government norms of submitting the tests within 48 hours, according to PTI.

“On behalf of the AAP, I will request the Delhi government to take stringent action against the RML Hospital for giving out 45 per cent erroneous COVID-19 test reports and for violating the government rules of submitting test results within 48 hours,” he said.

10.18 am: The Odisha government orders weekend shutdowns in 11 districts.

10.12 am: The number of containment zones in the Capital has gone up to to 158 as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. Delhi has reported 23,645 cases and 606 deaths so far.

10.08 am: The Delhi government on Wednesday said that there was no more demand for Shramik special trains, according to PTI. The Indian Railways has operated 242 special trains from Delhi since May 1.

9.25 am: India has tested 42,42,718 samples so far, the Indian Council of Medical Research says. Of this, 1,39,485 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours.

9.24 am: The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi announced on Wednesday that every person arriving in the city by train, bus or flight will have to undergo mandatory home quarantine for seven days, amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the national Capital.

Read more here:

Covid-19: All persons arriving in Delhi must undergo home quarantine for seven days, says state

9.22 am: Maharashtra, with 74,860 cases and 2,587 deaths, continues to be the worst affected region. This is followed by Tamil Nadu, which has recorded 25,872 cases and 208 deaths, and Delhi (23,645 cases and 606 deaths).

9.18 am: The total number of active cases in India is now 1,06,737, while as many as 1,04,106 people have been discharged after recovering.

9.15 am: India reports 9,304 new cases on Thursday morning, taking the total count to 2,16,919. The number of deaths increases by 260 to 6,075. This is the biggest single-day increase in the number of cases.

8.50 am: Assam recorded 269 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total count to 1,830 cases, PTI reports. This was the state’s highest single-day rise.

8.30 am: Mizoram has recorded 17 cases so far, ANI reports. While 16 cases are active, one person has recovered.

8.15 am: The Union health ministry on Wednesday issued a memorandum advising its employees to follow precautionary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, PTI reports.

“The number of Covid-19 positive cases is going up steadily and many officers of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have tested Covid-19 positive,” the memorandum read. “It has been noted that at times, social distancing is not being maintained on the office premises.”

8 am: Brazil reports a record 1,349 virus deaths in24 hours, taking the total toll to 32,548, AFP reports. Experts, however, have cautioned that the numbers may be higher in reality.

7.50 am: An official from the Defence Ministry has tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports.

7.45 am: Mexico reports more than 1,000 deaths in 24 hours for the first time ever, taking the total deaths to 11,729.

7.38 am: As many as 27.89 lakh people have recovered globally.

7.35 am: The global coronavirus tally reached 64.29 lakh and the toll rose to 3.85 lakh. The United States, Brazil, Russia, the UK and Spain are the five most-affected nations. India ranks seventh in terms of coronavirus numbers.

7.30 am: Here are the top updates from Wednesday:

1. The number of coronavirus cases in India crossed two lakh on Wednesday morning after 8,909 people tested positive for the infection in 24 hours. This was the biggest single-day increase in the number of cases. The country’s tally rose to 2,07,615 and the toll reached 5,815 with 217 new deaths. The Indian Council of Medical Research, the organisation at the centre of India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, however said that the country was far from the peak of the pandemic.
2. The Delhi government said that all asymptomatic travellers to the Capital will have to be in home quarantine for a week. The number of cases in Delhi has now risen to 23,645 and 606 patients have died.
3. The World Health Organization said that it will resume clinical trials of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, a week after the health body decided to temporarily halt the drug citing safety concerns. India, meanwhile, has approved Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir for treating coronavirus patients. Remdesivir is reportedly the first drug to show positive results in formal clinical trials.
4. The Centre eased visa restrictions for some categories of foreigners and said healthcare professionals and engineers will now be allowed entry to India as part of “Unlock 1” of a three-phase plan to lift the nationwide lockdown. India banned entry to foreigners on March 22 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
5. Maharashtra recorded 2,560 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total numbers to 74,860. With 122 deaths, the toll has increased to 2,587. Meanwhile, Mumbai crossed the 43,000-mark and the toll in the city rose to 1,417.
6. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the Centre to provide a one-time assistance of Rs 10,000 each to migrant workers, who have been left without jobs due to the nationwide lockdown. She added that a portion of the PM CARES fund must be used to provide financial assistance to migrants.