Covid-19: Amit Shah to meet all political parties tomorrow to discuss the situation in Delhi

9.10 pm: Here are the top updates of the day.

9.06 pm: Goa’s health department reports 41 new today, taking the tally to 564. This includes 74 recoveries, reports ANI.

9.05 pm: Rajasthan reports 293 new cases and 10 deaths till 8.30 pm today. The state’s tally rises to 12,694 and toll to 292, reports ANI, citing the state health department’s bulletin.

9 pm: Maharashtra records 3,390 new Covid-19 cases, the state’s tally rises to 1,07,958, reports PTI. The state’s fatalities go up by 120 to 3,950.

8.45 pm: The Indian Railways has deployed 204 isolation coaches in four states, officials said, according to PTI.

8.30 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday requested the Centre to make arrangements to carry out COVID-19 testingfor those returning from various countries through Indian embassies abroad.

8.08 pm: The total number of containment zones in Delhi is now 242.

8 pm: Kerala records a slight dip in its new Covid-19 cases after 54 people test positive today, according to PTI. The state’s tally rises to 2,460.

7.55 pm: A 19-year-old truck driver from Delhi tests positive for the coronavirus, taking the tally in Himachal Pradesh to 519, according to ANI.

7.52 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases in Beijing has reached 54 after eight new cases were reported today, reports PTI.

7.45 pm: The Delhi government has asked district magistrates and other authorities to set up nearly 20,000 more beds within a week amid rising cases in the Capital, reports PTI, citing an official. Around 40 hotels and 80 banquet halls will be turned into health facilities for coronavirus patients.

7.42 pm: West Bengal reports 389 new infections and 12 deaths today. The state’s tally is 11,087, including 5,060 recoveries, 5,552 active cases and 475 deaths, reports ANI, citing the state health department.

7.39 pm: Punjab reports 77 more coronavirus cases, taking the state tally to 3,140. This includes 2,356 recovered, 717 active cases and 67 deaths, reports ANI, citing the state health department.

7.32 pm: The Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration reports 70 new Covid-19 cases today. The district has a total of 935 cases and 12 deaths, according to ANI.

7.30 pm: The district administration in Odisha’s Ganjam announces a total lockdown in the district till the end of June in an attempt to break the chain of infections, reports PTI, citing the district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange.

6.30 pm: In Tamil Nadu, 1,974 new Covid-19 cases and 38 deaths have been recorded today. The total number of cases in the state is 44,661, including 19,676 active cases, 24,547 recovered and 435 deaths, reports ANI, citing the state health department.

6.15 pm: The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology in Pune says it has developed a cotton mask using a herbal extract. The institute claimed that it acts as a “virus-neutraliser” and resists pathogens, reports PTI.

6.10 pm: Karnataka records 176 Covid-19 cases and 5 deaths today. The state tally is now 7,000, including 2,956 active cases, 3,955 recovered and 89 deaths, says the state health department, adding that three of the deaths are due to “non-COVID cause”, according to ANI

6 pm: A plea in the Supreme Court raises concern over the safety of healthcare workers, including nurses and paramedical staff, reports PTI. The petition has asked the court for directions to authorities to provide proper personal protective equipment to those working in Covid-19 wards or in close contact with suspected cases.

5.59 pm: Congress’ Delhi unit chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary says that an all-party meeting has been called tomorrow. “I have received a message from [the] Union Home Ministry that an all-party meeting has been called for tomorrow over the Covid-19 situation in Delhi and all over the country,” he tells ANI.

5.50 pm: Home Minister Amit Shah calls for an all-party meeting tomorrow to review the Covid-19 situation in the Capital, reports PTI, citing officials.

5.30 pm: An Air Arabia flight ferrying 216 passengers has landed in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, reports ANI.

5 pm: Five more people test positive for the coronavirus in Nagaland, taking the state’s total to 168 cases, says Health and Family Welfare Minister S Pangnyu.

4.58 pm: The Meghalaya government extends night curfew till June 22 to contain the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reports. “In view of the prevailing situation regarding Covid-19 in the state, district authorities have promulgated night curfew with effect from June 15 up to June 22 between 9 pm and 5 am each day,” an unidentified senior government official tells the news agency

4.47 pm: Five more people test positive for the coronavirus in Mizoram, taking the state’s total to 112 Covid-19 cases, PTI reports. Of the five new patients, three are from Aizawl district, while two are from Siaha district, unidentified officials tell the news agency. “All of them had recently returned to the state from Delhi.”

4.41 pm: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari speaks at the “Gujarat Jan Samvad rally” via videoconferencing, ANI reports. “The corona crisis will not last long,” Gadkari says. “Our scientists and scientists in other countries are working day and night to develop the vaccine. I am confident that we will get the vaccine very soon.”

4.33 pm: With 294 more coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh crosses the 6,000-mark, PTI reports. The state now has a total of 6,152 Covid-19 cases.

4.28 pm: The peak stage of the coronavirus pandemic in India has been delayed by the eight-week lockdown, along with strong public health measures in place, reveals a study, according to PTI.

The study says that the peak may arrive in mid-November when there could be a shortage of Intensive Care Unit beds and ventilators. The study was conducted by researchers from an Operations Research Group constituted by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

4.19 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urges Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for another six months.

4.16 pm: The Maharashtra government sanctions Rs 15 crore to set up a 1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital in the Mira-Bhayander municipal limits, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik tells PTI. The work on the hospital will start from Monday and 376 beds will be available in the first phase, Sarnaik says.

4.11 pm: The Centre says an updated Clinical Management Protocol for Covid-19 has been released by the Ministry of Health in which, drug remdesivir has been included as an “investigational therapy” only for restricted emergency use purposes along with off-label use of tocilizumab and convalescent plasma, ANI reports.

4.04 pm: Iran’s daily coronavirus toll exceeds 100 for the first time in two months, reports AFP. Health ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari announces 107 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll to 8,837.

4 pm: Uttar Pradesh records 499 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, says Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad, according to ANI. The infection has killed 399 people so far. There are a total of 4,948 active cases in the state, Prasad says.

3.55 pm: Two more police personnel test positive for the coronavirus in Palghar, taking the total number in the district to 50, an unidentified official tells PTI. “Of the 50 who have tested positive so far, 17 have been discharged after recovery,” the official says.

In Thane, a total of 269 police personnel have tested positive till Saturday evening, and two have died of the infection. “So far, 187 Thane police personnel have been discharged. The active cases are [at] 80,” an official said.

3.47 pm: South Western Railways will operate a ‘Shramik Special’ train from Bengaluru to Guwahati, The Indian Express reports. The train is scheduled to leave Bengaluru at 8 pm on Sunday and reach Guwahati at 6 am on Wednesday.

3.41 pm: The Delhi government declares Bara Hindu Rao Hospital under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation a designated Covid-19 hospital, ANI reports. The hospital’s medical superintendent directs to make all hospital beds available to admit coronavirus patients.

3.37 pm: Uttarakhand records 31 more coronavirus cases, ANI reports. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the state is now 1,816. The infection has killed 24 people so far, the state health department says.

3.35 pm: Andhra Pradesh records 253 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 4,841, ANI reports, citing the state health department. Covid-19 has killed 84 people in the state.

3.31 pm: Home Minister Amit Shah directs immediate transfer of four Indian Administrative Service officers to New Delhi to assist the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi in management of the coronavirus pandemic. IAS officers Awanish Kumar and Monica Priyadarshini will be transferred Andaman and Nicobar, and Gaurav Singh Rajawat and Vikram Singh Mallik from Arunachal Pradesh.

The home minister also directs attachment to Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi of two senior IAS officers – SCL Das and SS Yadav – from the Centre.

3.23 pm: The Gujarat government in a circular said the police and not the civic body will collect fines from people for not wearing masks in public during the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reports, quoting unidentified officials. The fine for not wearing masks in public is Rs 200 in the state.

3.21 pm: Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar says there is no question of reimposition of the coronavirus-induced lockdown amid speculation that it will be done, PTI reports.

3.17 pm: Authorities in Pakistan identified and sealed over 1,300 coronavirus hotspots across the country on Saturday, AP reports.

2.54 pm: Britain’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak says the government will review its two-metre physical distancing rule put in place to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

2.08 pm: Himachal Pradesh reports six new coronavirus cases on Sunday. The state’s tally rises to 508 and the toll stands at six.

2.04 pm: The people in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district are seen attending a BJP event, without wearing masks or practicing physical distancing.

2.02 pm: Tripura records 45 new cases on Sunday, PTI reports. The state’s tally rises to 1,046.

1.42 pm: Puducherry reports 18 new cases on Sunday, according to PTI. The union territory’s overall count rises to 194.

1.40 pm: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal inspects the Radha Soami Satsang Beas campus in Chhattarpur, where the government plans to set up 10,000 beds.

1.24 pm: Assam reports 43 new cases.

1.21 pm: Shah says the Centre has decided to constitute a committee of senior doctors in AIIMS to provide correct information and guidelines to small hospitals in Delhi. The helpline number will be released tomorrow.

1.20 pm: Amit Shah says a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Dr. Paul to provide 60% of the Covid beds in private hospitals at a low rate, to fix corona treatment and testing. The committee will submit its report by tomorrow.

1.19 pm: Kejriwal calls the review meeting “extremely productive” . “We will fight against corona together,” he tweets.

1.12 pm: Aarogya setu app is now compulsory for residents in Delhi’s containment zones.

1.10 pm: Testing will be doubled in the next couple of days in Delhi and tripled in 6 days, says Shah.

1.09 pm: Shah says considering the shortage of beds for coronavirus-infected patients in the Delhi, the Centre has decided to give 500 railway coaches to the Capital. These railway coaches will not only increase Delhi’s bed capacity to 8,000 beds, but they will also be equipped with all facilities to fight Covid-19.

Read more here: Coronavirus: Centre to give Delhi 500 railway coaches, increase testing amid rising cases

1.06 pm: Home Minister Amit Shah says several important decisions were taken during the meeting with Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

He says the Narendra Modi-led government is determined to prevent the coronavirus infection in the national Capital.

12.59 pm: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLA K Palani tested positive for the coronavirus and is admitted to a private hospital, The Hindu reports. He is elected from the Sriperumbudur constituency.

12.49 pm: A 19-year-old truck driver from Delhi, who died in an accident in Shimla, tested positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports, quoting a senior health official. The man was injured while unloading goods in the city on Saturday night. He was then taken to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

12.44 pm: Rajasthan records 131 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 12,532, PTI reports. The Covid-19 infection has killed 286 people in the state.

12.36 pm: Pakistan records highest number of Covid-19 cases in a single day with 6,825 more testing positive, taking the total cases in the country to 1,39,230, PTI reports quoting Pakistan’s health ministry. The Ministry of National Health Services says the country’s toll reached 2,632 with 81 more fatalities.

12.32 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says beds for treating coronavirus patients in hospitals will increase by 5,000, after the government declared small and medium multi-speciality nursing homes as “COVID nursing homes”.

Read more here: Coronavirus: Delhi government to add 20,000 more beds in a week; hotels, nursing homes roped in

12.02 pm: Meghalaya now has 17 active cases after three more people from South West Garo Hills recovered, says Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

11.57 am: As many as 1,51,432 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours, says ICMR.

11.17 am: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan hold a meeting with Delhi LG Anil Baijal and CM Arvind Kejriwal along with members of State Disaster Management Authority.

11.09 am: Odisha reports 186 new cases in the last 24 hours, ANI reports citing the state health department. With this, the state’s overall count goes up to 3,909.

11.06 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrives at Ministry of Home Affairs for a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

10.59 am: In a fresh order, the Delhi government says 20,000 beds will be added in one week, reports ANI.

10.58 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan arrives at Ministry of Home Affairs for a review meeting with Delhi LG Anil Baijal and CM Arvind Kejriwal.

10.56 am: Rajasthan reports 131 new cases and four deaths till 10.30 am today. With this, the state’s tally is now 12,532 including 286 deaths.

9.26 am: The Bhopal administration allows religious places outside containment zones in the district to reopen from Monday, reports PTI. Authorities will have to ensure that physical distancing guidelines are followed and put in place all safety measures.

9.21 am: Germany reports 247 new cases. With this, the country’s tally is now 186,269, according to Reuters.

9.16 am: India reports 11,929 new cases, the highest single-day spike, including 311 more fatalities. The total number of cases has now gone up to 3,20,922, and the toll is at 9,195.

8.35 am: Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal approves a new set of rules, making violation of safety and physical distancing measures in the Capital punishable with fines. A fine of Rs 500 will be imposed on residents for not maintaining physical distancing, not wearing face masks in public and at workplaces and spitting and consuming tobacco in public places. Repeat offenders will have to pay Rs 1,000 as fine.

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Coronavirus: Not wearing masks, spitting in public to attract fines in Delhi as cases rise

7.55 am: Authorities screen people at the entry of Daryaganj Sabzi Mandi in Delhi.

7.34 am: All nursing homes with bed capacity of 10 to 49 have been declared Covid-19 facilities in Delhi, reports ANI.

7.33 am: Brazil’s tally rises to 850,514 cases and 42,720 deaths, reports Reuters.

7.30 am: China reports 57 new cases – the highest daily count since April.

7.20 am: Flouting quarantine rules, not wearing masks, failure to maintain physical distancing and chewing and spitting tobacco in public will attract a fine of Rs 500 in Delhi from today, according to new rules approved by Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal.

7.17 am: A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research shows Karnataka tested the most number of contacts of Covid-19 patients, reports The Indian Express. The study was conducted in different states between January 22 and April 30. It finds that Karnataka tested 93 on average while the national figure stands at 20. The worst-affected states like Maharashtra and Delhi have tested only eight and nine contacts on average.

7.10 am: Here are top updates from Saturday

• India reported 11,458 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Saturday morning, taking the total count to 3,08,993. This is the highest single-day spike so far. India is now the fourth most-affected country in the world. The country’s toll is currently 8,884.
• The Centre on Saturday added anosmia, the loss of sense of smell, and ageusia, an accompanying diminished sense of taste, as symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The other symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, body ache, sore throat and diarrhoea.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior ministers and officials on Saturday to review India’s response to the coronavirus situation.
• Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday that the state government has decided to reduce the rates of the coronavirus tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 per test to Rs 2,200. Testing is free at government laboratories.
• The Centre on Friday informed the Karnataka High Court that it is not mandatory for a person wishing to travel by rail or air to download the contact tracing Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones. Instead, passengers can fill a self-declaration form to undertake travel, it added.
• Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 76.93 lakh people so far, and killed more than 4.26 lakh people, according to the Johns Hopkins University. However, more than 36.5 lakh people have recovered.