The number of cases in Maharashtra crossed the 5-lakh mark on Saturday as the state saw 12,822 new cases in 24 hours. This took the total number of cases in the state to 5,03,084 and the toll to 17,367.

Union minister Kailash Choudhary on Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus and has been admitted to a hospital for treatment while actor Abhishek Bachchan recovered.

Kerala minister KT Jaleel said one of the 18 passengers, who died when an Air India Express plane crashed in Kerala’s Kozhikode city, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The state urged those who had engaged in relief works to go into quarantine.

India recorded 61,537 new coronavirus cases on Saturday morning, taking the country’s tally to 20,88,611. With 933 deaths, the toll rose to 42,518. Over 14.27 lakh patients have recovered so far.

The global coronavirus count crossed 1.94 crore, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The toll rose to 7.22 lakh. More than 1.17 crore people have recovered.

The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.

These are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.


8.55 pm: The Indian Medical Association on Saturday said nearly 200 doctors, mostly general practitioners, had lost their lives due to the coronavirus. The health body, which represents 3.5 lakh doctors across the country, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that frontline healthcare workers and their families received the assured treatment when infected.

Read more here:

Coronavirus: Nearly 200 doctors have died, mortality rate ‘alarming’, IMA tells PM Modi

8.45 pm: Karnataka reports 7,178 new coronavirus cases and 93 deaths in 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state now rises to 1,72,102. The toll is now 3,091.

8.29 pm: Uttar Pradesh records its highest daily rise in cases with 4,660 new infections. The tally rises to 1,18,038, and the toll to 2,028.

7.51 pm: Maharashtra reports 12,822 new coronavirus cases and 275 deaths in a day. This takes the total number of cases in the state to 5,03,084 and the toll to 17,367.

This is the highest single-day rise in cases in the state.

7.48 pm: Gujarat reports 1,101 new coronavirus cases and 23 deaths in a day, ANI reports.

7.28 pm: Punjab reports 998 new cases of the coronavirus in 24 hours. The state now has 22,928 cases, including 562 deaths.

7.25 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 463 new cases. The total is now 24,390 cases and 459 deaths.

7.20 pm: Andhra Pradesh reports 10,080 new coronavirus cases and 97 deaths in a day. The state’s total has gone up to 2,17,040. As many as 85,486 cases are currently active while the toll is 1,939.

7.15 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 5,883 new coronavirus cases and 118 deaths in a day. The total number of cases have increased to 2,90,907 and the toll is now 4,808.

7.08 pm: Kerala records 1,420 new coronavirus cases and four deaths in 24 hours, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announces. This is the state’s highest single-day increase so far.

The state now has a total of 33,120 Covid-19 cases. Of this, 20,862 people have recovered.

7 pm: Delhi reports 1,404 new cases and 16 deaths in 24 hours. The total number of cases in the national Capital is now 1,44,127. The toll has gone up to 4,098.

6.50 pm: The 13 districts are:

  • Kamrup Metro in Assam
  • Patna in Bihar
  • Ranchi in Jharkhand
  • Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala
  • Ganjam in Odisha
  • Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh
  • 24 Parganas North, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata and Malda in West Bengal
  • Delhi

6.45 pm: Thirteen districts in eight states and Union Territories have reported 9% of India’s active coronavirus cases, the Centre says. These districts also account for 14% of the fatalities.

5.02 pm: Puducherry reports 268 new coronavirus cases, taking the Union Territory’s total to 5,087, according to ANI. The toll stands at 80 after five more deaths.

4.39 pm: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur says the coronavirus cases in the state have risen after return of residents stranded in other parts of the country, reports PTI.

4.37 pm: Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. “Following the test done last night after showing symptoms, the report for coronavirus has come out positive,” he tweets. “All friends who came in contact with me in the last few days should keep distance from their family members and get themselves tested. There is fever with little breathing problem. I am taking treatment under the supervision of doctors in the hospital.”

3 pm: Himachal Pradesh reports 56 new coronavirus cases in a day, ANI reports. The state now has 3,206 total cases and 12 deaths.

2.37 pm: Actor Abhishek Bachchan has recovered from the coronavirus.

1.21 pm: Arunachal Pradesh’s coronavirus tally crosses the 2,000-mark on Saturday as 101 more people, including 46 security personnel, tested positive, PTI reports. With this, the total number of infections in the state now stands at 2,049.

1.18 pm: The Central Industrial Security Force directs its personnel to go into preventive quarantine after at least one passenger of the Air India Express flight that crashed at the Kozhikode airport on Friday, tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reports. “We are identifying our personnel, who rescued the passengers who have tested positive for coronavirus,” CISF Special Director General (Airports) MA Ganapathy tells the news agency.

1.16 pm: The Tamil Nadu government announces that small temples with an annual income below Rs 10,000, mosques, dargah, churches and other religious places in the corporation areas will be opened from August 10, PTI reports. Besides this, driving schools across the state will also reopen from the same date.

12.51 pm: Odisha recorded 1,643 new cases, 1810 recoveries, and 12 deaths on Friday, taking the state tally to 44,193, including 15,189 active cases, 28,697 recoveries and 259 deaths, reports ANI.

11.59 am: One of the 18 passengers, who died when an Air India Express flight crashed while landing on Friday, has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI, citing Kerala’s Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel.

11.28 am: Telangana on Friday registered its biggest single-day rise in Covid-19 cases with 2,256 new infections, PTI reports, quoting a state health bulletin. With this, the state’s overall tally rises to 77,513. The toll rises to 615 with 14 more fatalities.

10.45 am: Rajasthan’s case count rises to 50,656, and toll to 776, reports ANI, citing a state health ministry bulletin. There are 13,570 active cases in the state.

10.30 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath inaugurates a 400-bed coronavirus hospital in Noida’s Sector 39, reports ANI.

10.28 am: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja says all those involved in rescue operations at Kozhikode Airport should go into self-quarantine, reports ANI. The state Government will conduct their Covid-19 tests of all, she adds.

9.53 am: India’s coronavirus case count rises to 20,88,611 after 61,537 cases and toll goes up to 42,518 after 933 deaths. There are 61,9088 active cases, and 14,27,005 patients have recovered so far.

9.14 am: Empty streets in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district, where a weekly lockdown is in place, reports ANI.

8.49 am: Jharkhand registered six deaths on Friday, taking the state’s toll to 151, reports PTI. There are 8,840 active cases while 7,491 patients have recovered.

8.45 am: Assam’s coronavirus tally crossed the 55,000-mark on Friday after 2,679 new cases and the toll rose to 132, reports PTI, citing state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. There are 16,552 active cases in the state and 38,809 patients have recovered.

8.18 am: United States’ tally of coronavirus cases rises to 49,40,939, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The toll goes up to 1,61,328.

8.12 am: The Union health ministry asks states and the Union Territories to take up coronavirus testing of grocery shop workers, vegetable and other vendors, stating if undetected they can potentially spread the infection to a large number of people, PTI reports. In a letter, Secretary in the Health Ministry, Rajesh Bhushan also stressed the need for operationalising ambulance transport system with oxygen facility and quick response mechanism.

8.08 am: Here are the top updates from Friday:

  1. The Ministry of Home Affairs allowed the entry of Overseas Citizenship of India cardholders from countries having “air bubble” arrangements with India.
  2. Maharashtra’s coronavirus tally rose to 4,90,262 after 10,483 new cases. The toll in the state went up by 300 to 17,092. Tamil Nadu recorded 5,880 new coronavirus cases and 119 deaths. The state’s tally rose to 2,85,024 and the toll reached 4,690. Andhra Pradesh’s case count rose to 2,06,960 after 1,20,464 recoveries and 1,842 deaths. The number of active cases stood at 84,654.
  3. The Madhya Pradesh government relaxed night curfew by two hours and restrictions will now apply from 10 pm to 5 am. The weekend lockdown has also been partially lifted in coronavirus-affected districts of state. Meanwhile, Manipur extended complete lockdown in the entire state till August 15 or until further orders.
  4. The Bombay High Court quashed two Maharashtra government resolutions to not allow cast and crew members above 65 years of age from entering film and television sets amid the coronavirus pandemic. A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and Riyaz Chagla set aside the government resolutions issued on May 30 and June 23.
  5. Serum Institute of India said it has entered into a partnership with the international vaccine alliance Gavi, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for India and other low income countries.
  6. The Delhi government extended the timings for opening of liquor shops in the national Capital by one hour. According to an order issued by the excise department on Thursday, liquor shops in the city will now open from 10 am to 10 pm instead of the earlier timing of 10 am to 9 pm.
  7. The United States on Thursday lifted its highest advisory warning for American citizens against travelling abroad amid the coronavirus outbreak, saying conditions no longer warrant a blanket worldwide alert. Americans are still advised against travel to India because of the increasing coronavirus cases.
  8. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation made home quarantine for all domestic passengers arriving in Mumbai compulsory to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The civic body added that government officials wanting an exemption from this must write to it two days prior to the arrival.