Coronavirus: International flights suspended till August 31; Nagaland CM under home quarantine

11.04 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

11.03 pm: The Maharashtra Police say they have found a body of a missing Covid-19 patient in a well in Washim, ANI reports. The patient had run away from a Covid Care Centre in the district on July 29, they add.

11.01 pm: The Supreme Court advocates opening of temples, churches and mosques for the public during the “Unlock” period for special occasions, as it says that witnessing temple rituals through live streaming cannot be a substitute for a physical visit, the Hindustan Times reports.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra says that a limited number of devotees can be permitted in temples, provided adequate safety measures and social distancing guidelines are adhered to.

10.58 pm: Karnataka minister BC Patil says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports.

9.47 pm: Himachal Pradesh’s tally of coronavirus cases rises to 2,564, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. Of these, 1076 cases are active and the toll from the disease is 12.

9.43 pm: Rajasthan has recorded 1,147 coronavirus cases and 13 deaths till Friday 8.30 pm, ANI reports. With this, the state’s total tally rises to 42,083 and the toll stands at 680.

9.41 pm: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy announces the lockdown in the Union Territory will be extended till August 31, but with relaxation in restrictions, PTI reports.

9.40 pm: West Bengal records 2,496 coronavirus cases and 45 deaths on Friday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. With this, the total tally of infections in the state rises to 70,188 and the toll is now 1,581.

9.37 pm: Goa’s tally of coronavirus cases rises to 5,913 after 209 infections were reported on Friday, ANI reports. The toll stands at 45.

9.35 pm: Uttarakhand on Friday registers 118 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total to 7,183 . The toll stands at 80.

9.32 pm: The global coronavirus outbreak is the sort of disaster whose effects will last far into the future, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says. “The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come,” he adds at the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Covid-19.

9.31 pm: Manipur registers 116 new coronavirus cases and one death on Friday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 2,261, including five fatalities, ANI reports.

9.29 pm: Haryana registers 711 coronavirus cases and four deaths on Friday, ANI reports, quoting figures by the state health department. The total number of infections in the state now stands at 34,965 and the toll is 421.

9.26 pm: Karnataka reports 5,483 coronavirus cases and 84 deaths on Friday, pushing the state’s total tally to 1,24,115 and the toll to 2,314, ANI reports.

9.25 pm: Punjab records 665 new coronavirus cases and 16 deaths on Friday, taking the total tally in the state to 16,119, ANI reports. The toll stands at 386.

9.22 pm: Mumbai registers 1,100 Covid-19 cases and 53 deaths on Friday, pushing the city’s total tally of infections to 1,14,287. The toll rises to 6,350.

9.20 pm: Maharashtra registers 10,320 coronavirus and 265 deaths on Friday, ANI reports, With this, the total tally of infections in the state rises to 4,22,118 and the toll stands at 14,994.

7.10 pm: Andhra Pradesh registers 10,376 coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Friday, ANI reports. With this, the state’s total tally of infections rises to 1,40,933 and the toll is 1,349.

7.06 pm: Kerala registers 1,310 coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Friday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The state’s total caseload stands at 10,495.

7.05 pm: Jammu and Kashmir record 490 coronavirus cases on Friday, ANI reports. Of these, 143 were reported from Jammu and 347 infections were registered in Kashmir. With this, the total tally of infections in the Union Territory rises to 20,359. The toll stands at 377.

7.03 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 5,881 new coronavirus cases and 97 deaths on Friday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 2,45,859, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The toll rises to 3,935.

7.02 pm: The Nagaland government extends the lockdown enforced in Kohima till August 7, ANI reports.

5.25 pm: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal cancels the government’s decision to allow hotels and hospitality services to resume in accordance with the Centre’s “Unlock 3” guidelines amid the coronavirus crisis.

5.22 pm: Punjab issues guidelines for Unlock-3. Gyms and yoga institutes will open on August 5, while night curfew will remain in place from 11 pm to 5 am.

5.20 pm: International flight services will remain suspended till August 31, ANI reports.

4.47 pm: Himachal Pradesh government extends lockdown to tackle coronavirus crisis in containment zones till August 31, reports ANI.

4.44 pm: Delhi reports 1,195 new coronavirus cases and 27 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to a health bulletin released by the government. With this, the national Capital’s tally has risen to 1,35,598 and the toll stands at 3,963.

4.41 pm: The Sikkim government has extended the lockdown to rein in the coronavirus pandemic till August 3, reports PTI. A set of revised guidelines with regard to restrictions on movement and gathering of people, however, will come into force on August 3 and will be applicable till August 31, says Chief Secretary SC Gupta.

3 pm: The United Kingdom announces stricter lockdown rules for north England ahead of the Eid festival, reports PTI.

1.43 pm: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has quarantined himself at his home after a few of his staff members in his residential complex tested positive for coronavirus.

1.19 pm: Odisha’s coronavirus case count crosses the 31,000-mark with 1,499 fresh cases, and eight more deaths pushes the toll to 177, reports PTI.

1.17 pm: At least nine people have died after consuming alcohol-based hand sanitiser in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district in the last two days, the police tell Hindustan Times.

1.16 pm: A 56-year old woman succumbs to the coronavirus infection in Puducherry, taking the toll to 49, reports PTI. The Union Territory hit a single-day high of 174 new cases.

1.11 pm: Manipur records the fifth death of a coronavirus patient after a 38-year-old patient, reports PTI.

12.22 pm: The Supreme Court grants three weeks’ time to state governments to file reply regarding compliance of earlier directions in the case relating to the “miseries and difficulties” faced by migrants across the country following lockdown.

12.21 pm: West Bengal extends the restriction on arriving flights to Kolkata from 6 cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad – till August 15, reports ANI.

12.20 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says India’s recovery rate has improved to 64.54%. The doubling rate is right now 21 days, he adds, according to ANI.

12.18 pm: At least 45 Kolkata Police personnel have tested positive, reports PTI. With this, over 1,100 police personnel have been infected by the virus. “These police personnel tested positive yesterday [Thursday], “ an official tells PTI. “While a few have been sent to home isolation the others with severe problems have been hospitalised.”

12.15 pm: Telangana reports 1,986 new cases – highest single-day surge so far – and 14 deaths, reports PTI. The state’s tally is 62,703, including 519 fatalities.

12.00 pm: Odisha reports 1,499 new cases in 24 hours.

11.49 am: The top court also tells the Centre that the quarantine period of health workers cannot be treated as leave.

11.46 am: A 105-year-old Afghan woman in Noida, suffering from Alzheimer’s, recovers from the coronavirus, Hindustan Times reports.

11.43 am: The Supreme Court directs the Centre to ensure that frontiline health workers are paid salaries on time, Live Law reports. The Centre had told the court that Delhi Maharashtra Punjab Tripura and Karnataka had not complied with its orders on the salaries.

10.50 am: Rajasthan now has 41,298 confirmed cases of the coronavirus after the state registers a single-day surge of 362 cases. The toll due to the infection rises to 674.

10.31 am: China reports 127 new cases on the mainland for July 30 – the highest daily number since March 5 for locally transmitted cases.

10.20 am: Dr Anthony Fauci, a top infectious diseases expert in the United States, says India’s private sector will have a key role to play in developing a vaccine against the coronavirus. “India’s manufacturing capabilities is going to be very important,” Fauci, the head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, adds. “We have made it clear that all tests on vaccines will have to meet regulatory standards and include all ethical review and strong data monitoring and safety boards.”

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Coronavirus: India will have key role in developing vaccine, says US health expert Anthony Fauci

10.18 am: Mexico registers 639 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s toll 46,000. The total confirmed cases have surged to 4,16,179 with a daily surge of 7,730 cases.

9.34 am: Vietnam’s Danang city records 45 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its biggest single-day jump in cases, Reuters reports. Vietnam has 509 cases in all and no deaths.

9.31 am: Philippines extends coronavirus restrictions in its capital Manila till mid-August, Reuters reports.

9.17 am: On Friday, India registers a record 55,078 new cases. With this, the country’s tally climbs up to 16,38,870. The toll also rises to 35,747 with 779 fresh fatalities.

8.28 am: Ganeshotsav Mandals in containment zones will have to immerse idols in a metallic tank or something else inside containment zone itself, says the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. People living in buildings that are sealed must immerse idols at their homes.

7.55 am: The Delhi government has allowed hotels and hospitality services to resume in accordance with the Centre’s “Unlock 3” guidelines amid the coronavirus crisis, PTI reports. Night curfew in the Capital is also lifted. However, an unidentified senior Delhi government official says the decision on opening gymnasiums and yoga centres was yet to be made.

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Coronavirus: Delhi government allows hotels to resume services, no decision yet on opening gyms

7.49 am: Brazil’s first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, tests positive, reports AFP. This comes five days after her husband, President Jair Bolsonaro, said he was over his illness.

7.46 am: World Health Organization experts say careless young people driving Covid-19 spikes, reports AFP.

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Coronavirus: ‘Young people are not invincible,’ warns WHO, says they are partly driving new cases

7.45 am: United States registers 1,379 new deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University. It was the third day in a row with more than 1,200 deaths. The US now has a total of 1,51,826 deaths from Covid-19.

7.38 am: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers flout physical distancing norms as they welcome Tamil Nadu minister Sellur Raju who had recovered from Covid-19 in Madurai.

7.37 am: India tested more than 6 lakh samples on Thursday, ANI reports citing the health ministry. “The objective is to raise testing capacity to 10 lakh tests per day in medium term,” says the ministry.

7.32 am: West Bengal reports 46 new deaths – the highest so far – taking the state’s toll to 1,536. The state also records 2,434 new cases.

7.30 am: Odisha’s total count crosses the 30,000-mark with 1,203 fresh infections. Ten more fatalities takes the state’s toll to 169.

7.28 am: States can now de-notify containment zones in two weeks – down from 28 days – from the day the last Covid-19 patient in the area recovers, said the health ministry, reports The Times of India. The move is likely to bring relief to residents of red zones that have been contained for months.

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Covid-19: Containment zones can be denotified after 14 days from discharge of last case, says Centre

7.25 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday

• India reported a record 52,123 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking its overall count to 15,83,792. The toll rose to 34,968 with 775 more deaths. In India, 10,20,582 people have recovered from the coronavirus.
• Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday said that herd immunity was not a strategic option in a country with the size and population of India. He added that India’s recovery rate – 64.4% – and fatality rate – 2.21% – were better than that of many other countries.
• Maharashtra registered a record single-day rise of 11,147 coronavirus cases on Thursday. The state now has 4,11,798 infections. This includes 14,729 deaths, 2,48,615 recoveries and 1,48,454 active cases. The Maharashtra government said it will keep indoor gyms and fitness centres shut in “Unlock 3”. Outdoor fitness spaces will be allowed to open from August 5 in accordance with the Centre’s guidelines.
• A priest and 16 police officers on duty in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya city have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony of a Ram temple on August 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the “bhoomi poojan” or the foundation ceremony.
• The Tamil Nadu government extended the lockdown in the state till August 31 but allowed relaxations like dine-in services in hotels and restaurants. Tamil Nadu’s coronavirus case count rose to 2,39,978, after 5,864 new cases were reported. The toll in the state went up by 97 to 3,838. The Bihar government has also extended the lockdown due to coronavirus till August 16, while Nagaland extended it till August 31.
• Brazil reopened international flights even as coronavirus cases in the country continue to increase at an alarming rate. The country has reported more than 25 lakh cases and over 90,000 deaths so far. Meanwhile, Italy extended the state of emergency due to the coronavirus crisis till October 15. The country reported 289 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total to 2,46,776. Italy’s toll also rose to 35,129 with six new deaths.
• The global coronavirus count crossed 1.70 crore and the toll reached 6,67,935, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of recoveries went up to 99,95,227.