Coronavirus: TN tally crosses 54,000 with 2,115 new cases; Delhi health minister’s condition worsens

10.58 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

10.56 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh rises to 11,582 after 156 more infections were reported on Friday, ANI reports, quoting state health department’s figures. The toll from the disease rises by nine and is now 495.

10.54 pm: West Bengal reports 355 cases of the coronavirus and eleven deaths in the last 24 hours, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The state now has 13,090 infections and the toll from the disease is 540.

10.51 pm: Maharashtra reports 142 deaths and 3,827 cases of the coronavirus on Friday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. This is the biggest-single day rise in infections in the state. With this, the state now has 1.24 lakh cases.

8.50 pm: Delhi tested 12,680 people for the coronavirus using rapid antigen testing kit on Friday, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia says. He adds that 951 were found positive.

8.30 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research directs all states to increase testing, ANI reports.

8.05 pm: The Delhi Police has issued challans to over 800 people in the national Capital for allegedly not wearing face masks violating physical distancing guidelines, reports PTI.

7.57 pm: The Kerala government says from June 25 all overseas travellers must get themselves tested before boarding, reports PTI. “Passengers travelling on flights from overseas to Kerala from June 25 should get themselves tested and have Covid negative results before boarding the flights,” says a government press release.

7.44 pm: Mumbai’s Dharavi area reports 17 new coronavirus cases, taking its total to 2,151, according to ANI.

7.30 pm: Karnataka reports 10 deaths and 337 new cases. With this, the toll touches 124 and the total number of positive cases in the state rises to 8,281.

7.20 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 2,115 new coronavirus cases and 41 deaths today. With this, the state’s tally has risen to 54,449 and the toll stands at 666.

7 pm: Andhra Pradesh records 465 more Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s tally to 7,961, PTI reports, citing the latest bulletin. The Covid-19 infection has killed 96 people in the state.

6.57 pm: A deputy commissioner of police from the Delhi Police force tests positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports, citing unidentified officials. The police officer is currently under home quarantine.

6.47 pm: The number of containment zones in West Bengal increased to 2,428 from 1,907 in a week, amid the rising number of coronavirus cases, PTI reports.

6.37 pm: Eight coronavirus patients in Mizoram discharged from a hospital after they recovered, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified health department official.

6.33 pm: Chandigarh records two new cases of the coronavirus, taking the state’s tally to 375, ANI reports, citing the state health department.

6.31 pm: Rajasthan’s Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ramlal Sharma writes to Returning Officer, demanding a criminal case against Congress MLA Wajib Ali for violating Covid-19 quarantine norms and casting his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections, ANI reports. Ali had returned from Australia on a repatriation flight recently and he cast his vote wearing a personal protective equipment suit.

Ali said that he returned to India on Thursday and before casting his vote, he took a Covid-19 test. “As an MLA, it was my duty to vote and I cast my vote in a separate enclosure,” he said. “Today, I took a Covid-19, it’s result was negative. [The] Opposition has no issue so they’re making this an issue.”

6.18 pm: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda says the rate at which coronavirus cases are increasing in the state is “worrisome”, The Hindu reports.

He says the government needs to wake up in time. “If they don’t react now, the situation in Haryana could be similar to Delhi, Gujarat or Mumbai,” Hooda tells the newspaper. “The government needs to take more strict steps to prevent infection. The number of tests should be tripled and the rates of these tests should be reduced by half.”

6.05 pm: Nagaland records five new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 198, Health and Family Welfare Minister S Pangnyu says.

6 pm: Kerala health minister’s office says that 118 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the state, ANI reports. Currently, the state has 1,380 active cases.

5.58 pm: Himachal Pradesh has a total of 619 coronavirus cases, ANI reports, citing the state health department. The Covid-19 infection has killed six people in the state.

5.49 pm: The Maharashtra government tells the Bombay High Court that it has drafted a set of guidelines to safeguard prison inmates across the state in view of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni tells a bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta that the prison authorities will conduct daily thermal screening for all inmates, and those who show symptoms of Covid-19 will be quarantined.

5.45 pm: Nepal records 426 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The country now has a total of 8,274 cases, PTI reports, citing Nepal’s health ministry.

5.38 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says that a 700-bed hospital is being built in the Burari constituency, in order to treat coronavirus patients.

5.15 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says the number of Covid-19 testing laboratories in the state has now increased to 100, PTI reports. He adds that doctors are being provided all the required equipment like masks, personal protective equipment kits and hand gloves, as they fight the coronavirus pandemic.

5.10 pm: The Supreme Court reiterates it’s June 9 order directing the Centre and the state governments to identify and transport stranded migrant workers home within the next 15 days.

Read more: Migrant crisis: Supreme Court says stranded workers should be transported as per June 9 order

5.05 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat sanctions an amount of Rs 11.25 crore to purchase three testing machines for Dehradun, Haldwani and Srinagar medical colleges to increase coronavirus testing in the state, ANI reports.

5.04 pm: The coronavirus was already present in northern Italy’s two large cities in December, over two months before the first case was detected, a national health institute study of waste water has found, AFP reports.

4.58 pm: Maharashtra’s Pune city records 515 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 13,750, PTI reports, citing an unidentified health official. At least 12 deaths were reported, and the toll has now increased to 552.

4.32 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says that Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s latest CT scan report shows that the pneumonia patches in his lungs have increased, ANI reports. “He experienced increased giddiness and tiredness today [Friday],” Kejriwal says. “The advice of doctors will be followed.”

Read more: Coronavirus: Delhi health minister’s condition deteriorates, to be given plasma therapy, say reports

4.24 pm: Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal says that he is praying for the speedy recovery and good health of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. The health minister is said to have developed pneumonia and is currently on oxygen support. He had tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday.

4.15 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appeals to NGOs to join the government in its fight against Covid-19 in the national Capital.

4.13 pm: Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad says that 817 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the state, in the last 24 hours, ANI reports. The toll has increased to 507.

4.05 pm: Uttarakhand records 25 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s tally to 2,127, PTI reports, citing the state health department bulletin. The infection has killed 26 people in the state so far.

4.01 pm: The Centre says 10,386 patients recovered from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, ANI reports. The total number of recovered patients is now 2,04,710 and the recovery rate is 53.79%.

3.54 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain is being shifted to Saket’s Max Hospital, where he will be administered Plasma therapy for Covid-19, ANI reports.

3.44 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says he is praying for the speedy recovery of Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who is battling the Covid-19 infection.

3.27 pm: South Delhi District Magistrate BM Mishra says that the Radha Soami Satsang Beas centre will be a Covid Care Centre with 10,000 beds, of which 10% will be oxygenated.

3.17 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who is admitted at a Covid hospital, has also been diagnosed with pneumonia, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified official.

Jain’s condition has worsened, according to The Hindu. “He has pnuemonia and the infection has spread in his lungs,” an unidentified Aam Aadmi Party source told the newspaper. “He has been on oxygen support through the night and also today.”

3.14 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s office-cum-residence in Bengaluru shut for a day, after an employee’s relative tested positive for the novel coronavirus, The Indian Express reports.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner BH Anil Kumar tells the newspaper that the entire premises at the chief minister’s home office ‘Krishna’ was shut, after a woman police constable on duty said her husband had tested positive for Covid-19.

3.11 pm: Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister KP Anbazhagan tests positive for the coronavirus, The Hindu reports.

3.05 pm: The Centre asks all states to replicate the best practices implemented by Karnataka in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports. This includes comprehensive contact tracing of Covid-19 cases and physical or phone-based household survey.

3 pm: Thirty-two Bangladesh nationals, who were stranded in India because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, were sent back to the neighbouring country through a checkpoint in Assam’s Karimganj district, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified senior police officer.

2.45 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who had tested positive for the coronavirus, put on oxygen support after his lung infection increased, ANI reports, citing the office of Delhi health minister.

2.39 pm: At least 15,000 samples were collected within 24 hours for testing of the coronavirus in the national Capital, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified senior official. A total of 7,040 samples were collected for rapid antigen test and 7,972 samples were collected for the RT-PCR or reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction test on Thursday, the official added.

2.30 pm: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb says 20 more people in the state tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the tally to 1,159, PTI reports.

1.55 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extends his best wishes to Kazakhstan’s former President Nursultan Nazarbayev for early recovery and good health. The former president has tested positive for the coronavirus and is now in isolation, Reuters reports.

1.50 pm: The Supreme Court disapproves of the Maharashtra government order, which says patients or relatives cannot get the Covid-19 positive test reports, according to Live Law.

1.40 pm: The lawyer representing Delhi says that the government has withdrawn action against a doctor who had filmed the pathetic condition of a city hospital, Live Law reports.

1.32 pm: The Supreme Court says that all states should constitute a panel of experts for inspecting hospitals to ensure proper care of the coronavirus patients, PTI reports. The court says there should be uniformity in Covid-19 testing charges in all states.

Read more: All states to have uniform Covid-19 testing charges and form panels to inspect hospitals, rules SC

1.29 pm: Himachal Pradesh records no new coronavirus case, ANI reports, citing the state health department. The total number of positive cases in the state is now 595 and six people have died of the infection so far.

1.21 pm: Pakistan’s coronavirus toll reaches 3,229 with 136 more fatalities in the last 24 hours, PTI reports. The total number of infections has risen to 1,65,062, according to the country’s health ministry.

1.19 pm: At least 165 more people, including 11 disaster response personnel tested positive for the coronavirus in Odisha, taking the state’s tally to 4,677, PTI reports, quoting a health department official.

1.16 pm: The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Thursday said the global health agency is hopeful that Covid-19 vaccines could be available before the end of this year, PTI reports.

The chief scientist also said clinical trials have now definitively shown that anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine does not have an impact on preventing deaths from the coronavirus.

1.01 pm: At least 55 new coronavirus cases detected in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 4,246 in the region, PTI reports, citing an unidentified health official.

12.40 pm: To increase testing capacity and quick delivery of results in Delhi, testing via Rapid Antigen testing methodology was started yesterday. At least 7,040 people have been tested in 193 testing Centres. Testing will continue with increased numbers in coming days, the ministry of home affairs says.

12.38 pm: According to the directions given by Home Minister Amit Shah, in a series of meetings chaired by him over last few days with regards to the coronavirus situation in Delhi, house-to-house health survey in 242 containment zones of Delhi was completed on Thursday. A total of 2.3 lakh people were surveyed.

12.32 pm: The Ministry of Home Affairs says that to provide relief to the common man in Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah constituted a committee under a member of the Niti Aayog to fix rates charged by private hospitals in the national Capital for isolation beds, intensive care units without ventilator support and intensive care units with ventilator support.

The committee has recommended Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 and Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 including PPE costs for isolation bed, intensive care units without and with ventilator to all hospitals as compared to the current charges of Rs 24,000 to Rs 25,000, Rs 34,000 to Rs 43,000 and Rs 44,000 to Rs 54,000 (excluding personal protective equipment cost).

Read more: Covid-19: Panel set up by home ministry recommends major cut in treatment costs in Delhi

12.26 pm: The Delhi High Court directs authorities to treat as representation a public interest litigation seeking free masks and free food twice a day and water in at least 200 containment zones in the national Capital, PTI reports.

12.22 pm: The meeting between Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and officials to discuss ways to increase the number of intensive care units beds in the national Capital has been rescheduled to 5 pm, ANI reports.

12.21 pm: Aurangabad Collector Uday Choudhari has asked private hospitals in the district to accommodate patients on regular beds if intensive care unit ones are not available, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified district official. Till Thursday, Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district recorded 3,106 coronavirus cases, and 166 people have died of the infection.

12.01 pm: A study published by a professor from Imperial College London shows that coronavirus patients with extremely high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood are more likely to deteriorate quickly and die.

11.53 am: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will hold a meeting with officials at 12:30 pm to discuss ways to increase the number of intensive care units in the Capital, ANI reports. Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who is recovering from the coronavirus, will attend the meeting through video conference.

11.48 am: Twenty-two trial sites in India will stop experiments with anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine after the World Health Organization said it is not effective in reducing the mortality rate among coronavirus patients, The Indian Express reports.

11.42 am: South Korea records 49 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to The Associated Press. The country’s overall count reaches 12,306 and the toll stands at 280.

11.36 am: A vegetable market in Chennai wears a deserted look amid strict restrictions to contain the coronavirus.

11.31 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath directs officials to prepare a plan for setting up coronavirus testing labs in all the districts of the state, PTI reports.

11.26 am: Top United States health expert Anthony Fauci says the country does not need more widespread lockdowns to control its coronavirus outbreak, AFP reports. “I don’t think we’re going to be talking about going back to lockdown,” he says. “I think we’re going to be talking about trying to better control those areas of the country that seem to be having a surge of cases.”

11.22 am: Rajasthan records 52 new coronavirus cases and one death on Friday. The state’a tally rises to 13,909 and the toll reaches 331,

11.19 am: An Oxford professor, whose team discovered that dexamethasone could reduce the risk of deaths among seriously ill coronavirus patients, says the drug can bring “very significant” benefits for India, News18 reports. “It [dexamethasone] can probably prevent most people from going on to ventilation, so in patients who require oxygen even via a mask, this drug would have a benefit,” Peter Horby says.

11.12 am: Chennai Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan monitors the city with the help of drones.

11.05 am: Two more coronavirus patients die in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the union territory’s toll to 74, PTI reports.

10.59 am: The Mumbai civic body issues a clarification on its order directing labs to not directly share test results with the people. “We have decided to ensure that no asymptomatic positive patient violates ICMR [Indian Council for Medical Research] guidelines in collusion with private hospital and occupies Covid-19 beds in these hospitals by just spending money,” Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Chahal says.

10.40 am: Odisha reports 165 new cases, taking the state’s tally to 4,677.

10.18 am: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered an inquiry after two relatives of a coronavirus patient fell unconscious and died during his cremation in Jammu.

Also read

Jammu: Two relatives of coronavirus patient die during last rites, probe ordered

10.12 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says Dehliites will now not face any problems in getting tested and the government is planning to conduct more tests in the coming days. He cites a tweet by news agency ANI that says 20,000 samples were tested in Delhi on Thursday.

10.10 am: China reports 37 new cases, including 25 in Beijing. No deaths were reported on Thursday.

10.05 am: India tested 1,76,959 samples in the last 24 hours, says the Indian Council of Medical Research.

9.25 am: India’s tally rises to 3,80,532 after 13,586 new cases and 336 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, says the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

8.38 am: Visuals from Anna Salai area in Chennai.

8.34 am: Four districts in Tamil Nadu will impose strict lockdown from today till June 30. Chennai, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur have all seen a steep rise in number of Covid-19 cases.

Also read

Coronavirus: Lockdown in Chennai, three neighbouring districts from June 19 to 30, CM announces

8.17 am: Twenty-nine people test positive in Ambala, Haryana, says Civil Surgeon Kuldeep Singh, according to News18. With this, the total number of cases in Ambala is 237.

7.18 am: Hong Kong’s Disneyland reopens after nearly five months, reports Reuters.

7.12 am: Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci tells AFP that the United States does not require more widespread lockdowns. “I don’t think we’re going to be talking about going back to lockdown,” he says. “I think we’re going to be talking about trying to better control those areas of the country that seem to be having a surge of cases.” The US has the maximum number of confirmed infections and deaths in the world.

7.10 am: Hospitals and medical institutions in Delhi will have to send claims for Rs 1 crore as ex gratia to beneficiaries of healthcare workers who died in the line of duty while fighting coronavirus, PTI reports citing an order by Delhi authorities. “Recommendations of such cases by the medical superintendent, head of department, in-charge of the hospital or medical institution will be processed by the Department of Health and Family Welfare,” it read.

7.06 am: The Odisha Cabinet has decided to follow the Supreme Court’s order of not holding this year’s Rath Yatra in the state, reports PTI. The nine-day annual festival was scheduled to start from June 23. All district magistrates have been asked to ensure proper implementation of the top court’s order, says the Chief Minister’s Office.

7.05 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday

• India on Thursday reported 12,881 new coronavirus cases and 334 deaths. This is by far the biggest single-day increase in the number of cases. India’s overall count of cases rose to 3,66,946 and the toll reached 12,237.
• Tamil Nadu reported 2,141 new cases, taking its tally to 52,334. With 49 new deaths, the toll in the state rose to 625. Maharashtra reported its highest rise in coronavirus cases with 3,752 new infections. The state now has 1,20,504 cases and 5,751 deaths.
• The Centre directed the states and Union Territories to ensure that the salaries of doctors and health workers are released on time, adding that any violation of the order will be treated as a punishable offence.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade lifted the export ban on anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and its formulations. This came a day after the World Health Organization halted trials hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, claiming it had showed no benefit in reducing the mortality rate.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the coronavirus situation in Delhi and the National Capital Region, including Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the meeting with Shah was focused on how to save the National Capital Region from Covid-19. “Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad are the same,” Kejriwal added.
• The Supreme Court ordered that the yearly Rath Yatra and related festivities at the Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri city will not take place amid safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allowed the Rath Yatra,” Chief Justice SA Bobde said while hearing a petition seeking the postponement of the Rath Yatra, which is scheduled to begin on June 23.
• A ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has advised all residential complexes within its purview to set up emergency isolation facilities, and stock up on oxygen cylinders for coronavirus patients amid a surge in infections. The K West ward of Mumbai comprises Andheri West, Jogeshwari West, Lokhandwala, Oshiwara, Versova and parts of Juhu.
• The global coronavirus tally rose to 83,51,427 while the toll reached 4,49,027, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 40 lakh people across the world have recovered.