Covid-19: Delhi surpasses Tamil Nadu to become second worst-affected region with over 62,500 cases

11.06 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

10.51 pm: Mumbai reports 1,128 more Covid-19 cases and 20 deaths on Monday, ANI reports, quoting the figures by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. With this, the city now has 67,635 infections and the toll from the outbreak is 3,735.

10.49 pm: Haryana records 309 more cases of the coronavirus on Monday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. With this, the state now has 11,025 infections. The toll from the disease is 169.

10.47 pm: “The world is learning the hard way that health is not a luxury item; it’s the cornerstone of security, stability and prosperity” Adhanom adds at a virtual press briefing. “That’s why it’s essential that countries not only respond urgently to the coronavirus pandemic, but also that they invest in strong health systems domestically, and in global health security.”

10.45 pm: The World Health Organization warns that the drug dexamethasone should only be used for patients with severe or critical Covid-19, and under close clinical supervision. “There is no evidence this drug works for patients with mild disease or as a preventive measure, and it could cause harm,” global health body chief Tedros Adhanom says.

10.42 pm: Three Pakistani cricketers – Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan – have tested positive for Covid-19. “The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men’s national cricket team’s tour to England,” the Pakistan Cricket Board says in a statement. “The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation,” the board said in a statement.”

Read more here:

Coronavirus: Three Pakistan cricketers test positive ahead of team’s tour of England

10.36 pm: The global tally of coronavirus cases crosses the 90 lakh-mark with 90,03,042 infections recorded so far, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The toll from the disease rises to 4.49 lakh.

9.40 pm: Delhi reports 2,909 new cases and 58 deaths in a day. This takes the total number of positive cases to 62,655, including 36,602 recoveries and 2,233 deaths.

9.30 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi asks the Centre to extend the provision of free food grains for three more months.

9.25 pm: The KR Market and Kalasipalyam market in Bengaluru will be sealed for 15 days, ANI reports. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has said that several cases of the coronavirus have been linked to the markets.

9.20 pm: Maharashtra reports 3,721 new cases and 62 deaths in a day. This takes the total cases in the state to 1,35,796, including 67,706 recoveries and 6,283 deaths, ANI reports.

9.10 pm: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani says the state government has decided to approach the Gujarat High Court seeking permission to hold the Jagannath yatra in Ahmedabad since the Supreme Court permitted Odisha earlier in the day, ANI reports.

9 pm: New cases reported today:

Gujarat: 563 new cases, 21 deaths; state tally rises to 27,880, toll now 1,685,

Punjab: 177 new cases, two deaths; total rises to 4,235, toll at 101,

Kerala: 138 new cases, total rises to 3,310; number of fatalities stands at 21,

Jammu and Kashmir: 132 new cases, total rises to 6,088; toll at 85,

Manipur: 57 new cases, taking total to 898,

Goa: 46 new cases, total now 864; toll is one,

West Bengal: 413 new cases, 14 deaths; total rises to 14,358, toll now 569,

Rajasthan: 302 new cases, 7 deaths; total cases now 15,232, toll stands at 356,

Telangana: 872 new cases, 7 deaths; total rises to 8,674, toll now 217.

7.33 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 2,710 Covid-19 cases and 37 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 62,087 and toll to 794, ANI reports. As many as 27,178 of these are active cases, according to the state health department.

7.12 pm: The Assam Health Department has recommended a ward-wise lockdown in Guwahati, Sarma says. He says that 144 people without travel and direct contact history have tested positive in Guwahati since June 15. Out of them, 114 people had voluntarily got themselves tested.

“We got 100 positive cases in Guwahati only yesterday,” Sarma says. “Cases have been discovered across the city. We have recommended that there be total lockdown in wards where cases have surged sharply. The district administration will determine when it will happen.”

7.04 pm: Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says the state’s recovery rate is 63.3% while the mortality rate is 0.16%, with 10 deaths, ANI reports. The total number of cases in the state is 5,586, of which 2,170 patients have been hospitalised and 3,521 patients have recovered.

6.59 pm: The Gujarat Health Department says that in the last 24 hours, 563 new cases and 21 new deaths have been reported. Gujarat’s tally is now 27,880, including 19,917 cured cases, and 1,685 deaths.

6.54 pm: World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells countries not to politicise the pandemic, saying that politicisation was making the situation worse, AP reports. Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that while it took three months for the world to reach 10 lakh cases, the last 10 lakh came in just eight days. He adds: “The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself, it’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership. We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world.”

6.45 pm: Bihar has recorded 206 new cases of the contagion in the last 24 hours, the state Health Department says according to ANI. The total number of cases is now 7,808, including 5,767 recoveries and 52 deaths.

6.40 pm: A Delhi court has granted bail to Kapil Nagar, arrested along with AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal in connection with a case of alleged suicide of a doctor in South Delhi in May, because his father has tested positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports. Special judge Sanjay Bansal has granted bail for one month to the accused, saying the severity of the pandemic cannot be underestimated.

6.32 pm: Trials of a vaccine being manufactured by scientists in Thailand have reached a new stage, The Bangkok Post reports. The scientists have administered a second dose of an experimental vaccine to monkeys on Monday. Thirteen monkeys have been immunised on Monday.

“We’re going to analyse the immune response once again,” says Kiat Ruxrungtham, director of Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development. “If the immune response is very, very high, then this is a good one.”

6.24 pm: Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde has been discharged from Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being cured of the coronavirus, The Times of India reports.

6.22 pm: A complete shutdown has been imposed in Puri district of Odisha from 9 pm on Monday till 2 pm on Wednesday, due to the Rath Yatra to be held on Tuesday, ANI reports.

6.13 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will operate 50 mobile dispensaries in the northern suburbs of Mumbai, where coronavirus cases have been growing rapidly, PTI reports. Under the programme, that covers Borivali, Dahisar, Malad, Kandivali, Bhandup and Mulund, the mobile vans will go to different localities to conduct preliminary checkups for the next two to three weeks.

6.06 pm: Karnataka reports 249 new cases of Covid-19, and five deaths. The total number of cases now stand at 9,399 including 142 deaths.

5.58 pm: French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain has visited a ration shop in Tughlaqabad in Delhi to inspect the distribution of ration by the state government, ANI reports. France and India had earlier signed an agreement by which France pledged over Rs 1,700 crore to support Delhi’s response to Covid-19.

5.50 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari has issued orders for implementation of all precautions necessary to check the spread of the virus in all women’s shelter homes, orphanages and juvenile homes in the state, PTI reports. The move comes a day after 57 girls at a state-run shelter home in Kanpur were found to have contracted the virus.

5.43 pm: Nepal has recorded 535 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 9,561, the country’s health ministry has said according to PTI. “Of the total coronavirus cases, 8,667 are males and 894 females,” the ministry spokesperson says. The virus has claimed 23 lives so far.

5.39 pm: Spain has reopened its borders to visitors from most European countries, three months after shutting down due to the serious nature of the pandemic in the country, BBC reports. Spain has also ended its state of emergency.

5.32 pm: Indian scientists have for the first time detected genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater, PTI reports. A study, led by scientists from Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, has shown that increased gene copies of the virus in Ahmedabad’s wastewater matched the high incidence of the disease in the city, compared to that in other cities.

Water-based epidemiology can help understand the extent of the outbreak of the disease in a certain catchment by monitoring viral load in wastewater, Andrew Singer, an environmental microbiologist at the United Kingdom Centre for Ecology and Hydrology says.

5.26 pm: The Chandigarh Health Department says the total number of positive cases in the city is now 410, including 82 active cases, six deaths and 322 cured cases, ANI reports.

5.18 pm: “On behalf of devotees of Lord Jagannath, Government of Odisha welcomes this decision of the Supreme Court ,” says Odisha minister Arun Kumar Sahoo according to ANI. “All guidelines will be followed strictly. It’s our duty to look after how Rath Yatra can be conducted peacefully and safely.”

5.10 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been shifted out of the intensive care unit to the general ward of Max Superspecialty Hospital in Saket, following improvement in his health, ANI reports. Jain had been diagnosed with Covid-19 on June 17.

4.59 pm: Nearly 300 workers in diamond mills in Surat city of Gujarat have so far tested positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports. This has led authorities to impose new curbs on the industry. Three main diamond trading markets will remain shut twice a week, and canteens of all the diamond polishing units will remain closed on all days.

4.53 pm: Congress leader Veerappa Moily attacks the Centre for “fleecing” people during the pandemic by increasing fuel prices, PTI reports. “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic which is creeping day by day and the deflation in the economy, the government is fleecing the people of the country and making them shed tears,” Moily says. “It is sadistic on the part of the Modi government to increase the prices of petrol and diesel despite the slump in crude prices at the cost of the sufferings of the people of India.”

4.48 pm: The Tamil Nadu government imposes a complete lockdown within the limits of the Madurai Corporation, Paravai Town Panchayat and rural blocks of Madurai East, Madurai West and Thiruparankundram from June 24 to June 30, ANI reports.

4.38 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the country is fighting two wars against China – on the border and from the coronavirus, PTI reports. “The entire country is standing with doctors and soldiers,” he says. “We all have to fight these two wars together and there should be no politics and groupism in this.”

4.29 pm: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will chair the Rath Yatra preparatory meeting at 5 pm in Bhubaneswar, ANI reports.

4.21 pm: Andhra Pradesh reports 443 new cases, five deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 9372, including 111 deaths.

4.11 pm: The Supreme Court allows the Puri Rath Yatra to be held on Tuesday in a very restricted manner, without compromising on health safety standards, The Times of India reports. The top court says it leaves it to the Jagannath Temple management trust and the Odisha government to conduct the yatra without overcrowding.

3.59 pm: Gujarat Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki has tested positive for Covid-19, The Indian Express reports. Solanki developed fever and has been admitted to hospital.

3.51 pm: A chargesheet has been filed against 10 Tablighi Jamaat members from Kerala and Karnataka for assembling in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in violation of lockdown orders, PTI reports. The members of the Sunni Muslim sect have been charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases Act.

3.41 pm: A 65-year-old patient has died in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the toll in the Union Territory to 84, PTI reports. The patient was suffering from bilateral pneumonia, hypertension and diabetes. He died at a hospital in Srinagar on Sunday night, but his test results returned positive only on Monday.

3.31 pm: The number of Covid-19 cases in Indore have risen to 4,373 on Monday after 44 more people tested positive for the virus, PTI reports. Four people have died, taking the toll up to 201.

3.23 pm: A building in Mumbai’s upscale Malabar Hill locality has been sealed after 21 coronavirus cases were reported from there in the last seven days, PTI reports. As many as 19 of the 21 cases were house helps, drivers and security staff.

“House-helps work in different flats in the building and may have spread the infection,” Assistant Municipal Commissioner (D Ward) Prashant Gaikwad says. “The entire building had to be sealed to break the chain of spread.” The residents are being screened.

3.18 pm: Uttarakhand reports 57 new cases of the coronavirus, taking its total to 2,401. Twenty-seven people have died.

3.08 pm: The Mumbai Police have used an innovative strategy to convince Mumbaikars to wear a mask while heading out.

3.03 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa directs officials in Bengaluru to strictly impose lockdowns in clusters where a higher number of infections have been reported, according to PTI. “Lockdown shall be implemented strictly in the clusters which reported more number of cases, especially, KR Market and surrounding areas such as Siddapura, VV Puram, Kalasipalya etc,” the Chief Minister’s Office says. It adds that the streets adjoining these areas will be sealed.

2.55 pm: The Delhi High Court says it expects the AAP government to scrupulously follow the directions issued by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on June 8 in connection with testing asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, PTI reports. The court makes the observation while disposing of two cases challenging the Delhi government’s June 2 decision to exclude asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic patients from testing.

2.48 pm: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that according to the World Health Organization, India has one of the lowest cases per lakh population in spite of its high population density. India’s number of cases per lakh population are 30.04 while the global average is more than triple at 114.67.

2.44 pm: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says India’s recovery rate stands at 55.77%.

2.33 pm: Hong Kong has recorded 30 new imported cases of Covid-19, the highest daily number in over two months, the South China Morning Post reports. On April 3, at the height of the pandemic locally, there were 43 new local and imported cases recorded.

2.23 pm: South Korea reports 17 new cases of the coronavirus – the lowest figure in a month, according to The Korea Times. However, the Seoul government is thinking of reimposing physical distancing measures, which were eased on May 6.

2.18 pm: An engineering student in Kochi in Kerala develops an automatic thermal scanner that records body temperatures of people along with clicking their pictures, ANI reports. “It has been developed to be used at public places like airports, railway stations,” he says. “I took around three weeks to develop this device.”

1.51 pm: Russia will hold a grand World War II commemoration parade on Wednesday, even amid coronavirus fears, AFP reports.

1.44 pm: The Karnataka government says it has achieved a recovery rate of 61.39%, ANI reports.

1.34 pm: Kejriwal adds that 7,000 beds in Delhi are unoccupied. “We will not let the shortage of beds arise in Delhi,” he says.

1.28 pm: Kejriwal says coronavirus patients under home isolation will be provided with pulse oximeters to measure their oxygen levels every few hours.

1.24 pm: The Delhi chief minister adds that 18,000 people are being tested for the coronavirus in the Capital each day. “Earlier, we used to conduct 5,000 tests in a day,” he says.

1.21 pm: Kejriwal says that India is fighting two battles, one against the coronavirus and the other against China. “We have to remain united to fight both,” he says. “Our brave soldiers didn’t back down and we won’t retreat until we win.”

1.18 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal briefs media on the coronavirus.

1.11 pm: The Supreme Court will begin hearing petitions seeking modification of its order cancelling the Rath Yatra at 2:30 pm, Live Law reports.

Read here: Centre, Odisha urge SC to recall order staying Rath Yatra, CJI Bobde to hear matter shortly

1.03 pm: A disease control expert from China’s National Health Commission says coronavirus cases in Beijing will see a “cliff-like drop” if the source of the infection is controlled and the chain of transmission is cut, Reuters reports.

12.48 pm: The Aam Aadmi Party government informs the Delhi High Court that a high-powered committee has decided that the accused in dowry death cases are also eligible for interim bail under measures to decongest jails amid coronavirus risk, PTI reports.

12.42 pm: Pakistan on Sunday partially resumed international flights after three months to bring back its citizens stranded abroad, The Express Tribune reports.

12.38 pm: The Delhi High Court dismisses a public interest litigation seeking action against the manufacturers of faulty and substandard Personal Protective Equipment kits, ANI reports.

12.33 pm: A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Dinesh Maheshwari will soon begin hearing the petitions seeking modification of the Supreme Court’s order to cancel the Jagannath Rath Yatra, Bar and Bench reports.

12.17 pm: Australia’s Victoria state has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot, accounting for nearly 90% of the 126 cases detected in the country over the last week, Reuters reports. Australia has so far recorded 7,474 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

12.11 pm: Rajasthan reports 67 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the state’s overall count to 14,997. No new deaths have been reported. The state’s toll stands at 349.

12.07 pm: The Maharashtra police reports 55 new coronavirus cases and one death in 24 hours. The overall count in the police force rises to 4,103.

11.44 am: The Haryana government will involve 1,106 final-year MBBS students of 11 government and private medical colleges in its efforts to fight the coronavirus, PTI reports.

11.36 am: “If Lord Jagannath won’t come out tomorrow [Tuesday, June 23], he cannot come out for 12 years as per traditions,” Mehta tells the Supreme Court. “While maintaining the precautions to check the coronavirus, the Odisha government can impose curfew for a day.”

11.31 am: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells the top court that the Jagannath Yatra is a centuries-old ritual and must not be interfered with. He suggests that the yatra be telecast live for devotees.

11.24 am: The Centre and the Odisha government tell the Supreme Court that the annual Jagannath Yatra in Puri can allowed to take place without public participation, Bar and Bench reports.

11.01 am: Odisha reported 143 new cases on Sunday, taking the state’s overall count to 5,303.

10.54 am: The Delhi High Court stays probe against the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in connection with alleged violation of the government’s coronavirus norms, ANI reports. The court will hear the case on August 11.

10.49 am: Nagaland reports 69 new coronavirus on Monday, according to state Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom. This is Nagaland’s biggest one-day increase in cases.

10.45 am: Nearly 500 employees at a Tyson Foods plant in Arkansas in United States tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. China has reportedly suspended poultry imports from the facility.

10.39 am: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, which operates under the Union health ministry, is responsible for all things related to “safety, efficacy and quality” of medical products manufactured, imported and sold in India. It also sets safety standards for the clinical trials of drugs in the country.

Read here: Slow and opaque decisions during Covid-19 crisis put the spotlight on India’s drug regulator

10.28 am: Over 140 Indian students arrive in Madhya Pradesh from Kyrgyztan.

10.18 am: A study by the National Health Authority shows that there has been a 64% decline in cancer care services and 26% drop in institutional childbirth due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus, according to News18.

10.15 am: Arunachal Pradesh reports four new cases on Monday, according to PTI. The state’s tally rises to 139.

10.11 am: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Vladimir Norov told PTI in an interview on Sunday that India is playing the role of the “pharmacy of the world” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Norov said that India has so far supplied medicines to 133 countries to help them fight the disease.

10.07 am: A Mumbai-based builder on Sunday handed over a 19-storey building to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to be converted into a COVID-19 care facility, according to ANI. The building, situated in Malad, has 130 flats.

10.01 am: Mexico on Sunday recorded 5,343 new coronavirus cases and 1,044 deaths, Reuters reports. The country’s overall count rose to 1,80,545 and the toll reached 21,825.

9.53 am: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa calls an emergency meeting to discuss the rising coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, ANI reports.

9.46 am: Beijing reported nine new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, according to Reuters.

9.31 am: India’s tally rises to 4,25,282 cases with 14,821 new cases in 24 hours. The toll climbs to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities.

9.01 am: Goa reports its first Covid-19 death – an 85-year-old woman – says Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, according to PTI.

8.45 am: Union Home Minister Amit has asked the Delhi government to demarcate containment zones afresh and report each coronavirus death to the Centre. He also instructed officials to conduct a serological survey in the Capital from June 27 to July 10. Under this exercise, 20,000 people will be tested for the coronavirus.

Also read

Coronavirus: Amit Shah directs Delhi to report every death to Centre, mark containment zones afresh

8.34 am: The Supreme Court will hear petitions seeking modifications of its order staying the Jagannath Rath Yatra today.

8.04 am: Fifty-seven girls living in a government-run shelter home in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur city have tested positive for the coronavirus over the last week. Five of the girls were found to be pregnant.

Read here:

Coronavirus: 57 girls found positive at Uttar Pradesh shelter home, five of them are pregnant

7.25 am: During an election rally in Oklahoma, United States President Donald Trump blames China for the pandemic. He calls the disease “Kung Flu” – a reference to the Chinese martial arts practice.

“I can name - Kung flu,” he says. “I can name 19 different versions of names. Many calls it a virus, which it is. Many calls it a flu. What difference. I think we have 19 or 20 versions of the name.”

7.20 am: The toll in Brazil crosses 50,000, reports AFP.

7.18 am: Iraq is facing a surge in number of cases, reports AP. In less than a month, there has been a seven-fold increase in infections. As of Sunday, the country reported over 30,868 cases. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr says the increase in cases was due to more testing and a lack of public adherence to government measures. The country increased testing from nearly 4,000 a day in May to more than 13,000 now. Badr adds that they plan to test 20,000 samples daily by next week.

7.11 am: The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the biggest single-day increase in coronavirus cases, according to AP. In the last 24 hours, the United Nations health agency reported more than 183,000 new infections and 4,743 deaths.

7.10 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday

• India on Sunday reported 15,413 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours – its biggest single-day rise so far. The country now has 4,10,461 cases and the toll stood at 13,254. As many as 2,27,755 people have recovered. Tamil Nadu reported the highest single-day surge of 2,532 cases and 53 deaths, taking the state’s tally to 59,377.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and other senior officials on Sunday. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also participated.  
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that practising yoga can help strengthen the immune system and help fight the highly-contagious coronavirus. “The coronavirus attacks our respiratory system,” the prime minister said during his virtual address. “Pranayaam or breathing exercises help strengthen the respiratory system to fight the disease.”  
• The Delhi government said in an order on Sunday that all coronavirus patients will be referred to Covid-19 care centres to determine whether they can be isolated in their homes, or need institutional quarantine. The revised order came after Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal withdrew an order mandating five-day institutional quarantine for all those who test positive for the virus.
• The condition of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who was admitted to hospital earlier this week after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, has improved. A statement from Jain’s office said that his condition improved after he was provided plasma therapy. “His fever has subsided and his oxygen level has improved,” the office said. “Doctors say he can be shifted to the general ward by tomorrow.” The minister is currently in the intensive care unit.
• The chief servitor at the Puri Jagannath Temple in Odisha urged the Supreme Court to recall its order cancelling the yearly rath yatra because of the coronavirus pandemic. Pattajoshi Mohapatra told the top court that lakhs of devotees attend the Jagannath Rath Yatra every year. He added that the procession was an “essential religious practice” protected by the Constitution of India and its cancellation would affect the holiness of the temple. Mohapatra also claimed that the yatra had not been stopped even during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1919.  
• Indian pharmaceutical firm Hetero announced that it has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India to both manufacture and market the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, to treat coronavirus patients. Hetero’s generic version of Remdesivir will be sold under the brand name Covifor in India. 
• Globally, the coronavirus has infected 88,20,125 people so far, and 4,64,952 people have died of it, according to the Johns Hopkins University.