Coronavirus: Railways to run special trains in Mumbai for JEE-NEET students on exam days

11.09 pm: Read today’s top updates here.

11.02 pm: Haryana records 1,450 new coronavirus cases, 1,052 recoveries and seven deaths on Monday, ANI reports.

11.00 pm: Mumbai registers 1,179 cases and 32 deaths in 24 hours on Monday, ANI reports. The city’s tally of infections rises to 1,45,805 and the toll stands at 7,655.

10.59 pm: The West Bengal government allows serving of liquor in service areas of bars in the state, ANI reports.

10.58 pm: West Bengal records 2,993 new coronavirus cases and 52 deaths on Monday, taking the state’s tally to 1,62,778 and the toll to 3,228, ANI reports.

10.56 pm: Maharashtra registers 11,852 new cases, 11,158 recoveries and 184 deaths on Monday, taking the state’s tally of Covid-19 infections to 7,92,541, ANI reports. The toll from the disease is 24,583.

10.55 pm: Railway minister Piyush Goyal announces the Railways will permit students appearing for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and Joint Entrance Examination, and their guardians to travel by special suburban services in Mumbai on exam days.

10.54 pm: Rajasthan registers 1,466 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths on Monday, pushing the state’s tally to 81,693, ANI reports. The toll stands at 1,056.

8.19 pm: Odisha Agriculture and Higher Education Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo tests positive for the coronavirus. He is the second state minister to have contracted the infection after Odisha Rural Development and Labour Minister Susant Singh, according to PTI.

8.16 pm: Karnataka records 6,495 new cases on Monday, taking its tally to 3,42,423. The state’s toll rises by 113 to 5,702.

8.06 pm: Veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam is “stable, fully awake and responsive”, MGM Healthcare in Chennai says.

8.03 pm: Pubs and bars in Karnataka can serve liquor from September 1, The Indian Express reports.

7.57 pm: Maharashtra allows hotels to operate with 100% capacity. Metro services, educational institutions and malls will however stay shut. Private offices in the state can operate with a 30% capacity, up from the 10% limit.

7.42 pm: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes asks the Andaman and Nicobar administration to submit an action taken report on the spread of the coronavirus among the members of the Great Andamanese tribe within two weeks, PTI reports.

7.36 pm: Delhi’s coronavirus tally rises to 1,74,748 as it reports 1,358 new cases on Monday. The Capital’s tally rises by 18 to 4,444.

7.35 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 5,956 new coronavirus cases and 91 deaths on Monday. The state’s tally rises to 4,28,041 and the toll reaches 7,322.

4.52 pm: The West Bengal government extends the lockdown till September 30, ANI reports. Under the new guidelines, metro services in the state will resume in a graded manner from September 8.

4.43 pm: The Delhi High Court has asked the Aam Aadmi Party government to start online registration of legal documents at the earliest in order to minimise difficulties of the public at large, but to also reduce the scope of physical contact between officials and citizens during the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.

4.34 pm: All visitors to Punjab will also have to sign an undertaking on the portal that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days, which includes a week of paid institutional quarantine, followed by seven days of isolation at home, Sidhu adds.

4.32 pm: The Punjab government issues revised guidelines for international arrivals to the state, ANI reports. Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu says all visitors will have to submit a self-declaration form on the government’s online portal at least 72 hours before their scheduled travel.

4.14 pm: The Rajasthan government announces that all schools, colleges and other learning centres in the state will remain closed till September 30, under the “Unlock-4” guidelines for activities outside Covid-19 containment zones, PTI reports.

4.11 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pays tributes to a block development officer in Murshidabad, who died of the coronavirus, and says her government will extend all possible help to his family. “Grieved to know about the untimely demise of Krishna Chandra Das, who was posted as BDO Nowda in Murshidabad,” she writes.

4.08 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says the Arvind Kejriwal-led government is doing “aggressive testing” to ensure no case was left untraced, PTI reports. Jain adds that the government has sufficient stock of Covid-19 testing kits for 10 to 15 days, but it will also procure more from the market to meet the target of 40,000 tests per day.

2.42 pm: A complete lockdown has been enforced across West Bengal today, reports PTI. Those who stepped out were asked to provide proof to justify their need for leaving home amid the shutdown. All government and private establishments, banks, shops and marketplaces are closed.

2.35 pm: The Supreme Court has issued standard operating procedure for the resumption of physical hearings, reports Live Law. Initial hearings will commence in three court rooms and the same may be increased or decreased as per situation.

• Only a limited number of advocates/parties in person shall be allowed to enter the courtroom at any given time.
• Special hearing passes will be issued by the registry for limited entry of counsels/parties after thermal screening.
• Entry through high security zone through proximity cards/long term passes shall be suspended.
• On completion of the hearing, advocates/parties shall move out of the high security zone through the movement corridor and exit from designated gates. 

2.04 pm: The Philippines has reported on Monday 3,446 coronavirus infections and 38 deaths, taking its total caseload to 220,819 and fatalities to 3,558, its health ministry says, according to The Guardian.

1.59 pm: Russia reports 4,993 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing its nationwide tally to 995,319, the fourth largest in the world, according to The Guardian. Russia’s coronavirus task force says 83 people died over the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 17,176.

1.56 pm: In Himachal Pradesh, the tally of cases is now 5,983, including 1,475 active cases and 33 deaths, ANI reports.

1.49 pm: Shopkeepers in Ludhiana say they will not follow the Punjab government’s order to open shops according to assigned odd-even numbers, ANI reports. “We have to go against government’s order as there is no other survival method,” a shopkeeper says. “So we will disregard this order and will open shops on all days.”

1.41 pm: Puducherry has reported 291 fresh cases and seven new deaths, PTI reports. The total number of cases is now 14,411 and the toll 228.

1.32 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says the doubling rate in the national Capital is 85 days, so it is at “comfort level”, PTI reports. He adds that teams have been deployed to issue challans for breach of coronavirus safety norms, and police authorised to penalise violators.

1.25 pm: The ban on international commercial flights has been extended till September 30, except those designated for repatriating Indians from abroad.

1.17 pm: The Indian Medical Association has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking that all doctors who have died of the coronavirus be treated on a par with soldiers dying on duty in the Armed Forces, The Hindu reports. The IMA says only an “inclusive national solatium” for all doctors who have lost their lives fighting the pandemic would render justice to the sacrifice of their families.

1.11 pm: Three hundred and forty two more Maharashtra police personnel tested Covid-19 positive while two died in the last 24 hours, the Hindustan Times reports. Total number of positive cases in the Maharashtra police force rise to 15,294, including 2,832 active cases, 12,306 recoveries and 156 deaths.

1 pm: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said that the increase in Covid-19 cases in the state over the past month is the result of increased testing. “We are aggressively focussing on four Ts – tracking, tracing, testing and treatment,” Tope says. “There are 400 labs for Covid-19 testing and more than 50,000 tests are done daily in the State. The antigen test and RT-PCR tests are being done to the optimum capacity.”

12.52 pm: New Zealand lifts lockdown imposed on the city of Auckland, but face masks have been made mandatory on public transport across the country, reports Reuters. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says “a bit of smiling with the eyes behind the mask” and kindness to Aucklanders in particular, would help get the country through the latest outbreak.

12.50 pm: Biju Janata Dal MLA Byomkesh Ray has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI. On Sunday, BJD Vice President and Badamba MLA, Debi Prasad Mishra, was diagnosed with the infection.

12.47 pm: Twenty people, including three women, have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for not complying with government order on religious gatherings and taking out processions on Muharram, reports PTI.

12.45 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan says he has given instructions to arrange free transport services for students appearing in the NEET-JEE examinations, from the district headquarters, amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI. “A guardian with students especially girls will also be given free pick and drop service,” he adds.

11.42 am: Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain says that the Arvind Kejriwal-led administration does not need any specific support from the Centre as long as they are not opposing against more tests. “Instead of taking kits from the Centre, we are buying from Punjab,” he says, according to ANI. “Like Union Health Minister [Harsh Vardhan] said, we also hope coronavirus pandemic ends till Diwali.”

11.34 am: Rajasthan’s coronavirus tally rises to 80,872 after 645 new cases, toll goes up by five to 1,048, according to ANI.

9.42 am: India records 78,512 new cases and 971 deaths in 24 hours. The country’s tally stands at 36,21,245 and toll at 64,469.

9.40 am: A nationwide lockdown has adversely impacted the psychological profiles in the form of an increase in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to a dip-test, pan-India, online survey conducted through Google forms during the last week of April. The survey was conducted by the Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, and Safdarjung Hospital, reports The Hindu.

9.37 am: Mumbai’s civic body sealed singer Lata Mangeshkar’s home on Saturday as a precautionary step against the coronavirus, reports NDTV. The singer and her family are safe, a statement said.

9.35 am: Cardiologist Dr Sivaramakrishna Iyer Padmavati, who had set up the country’s first cardiac care facility at Delhi’s Govind Ballabh Pant hospital, died of Covid-19 late on Saturday, reports Hindustan Times. She was 103 years old.

9.25 am: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been in Delhi’s All India Institute Of Medical Sciences for post-Covid-19 care, has been discharged, reports NDTV. He was admitted on August 18 after he complained of fatigue and body aches.

9.18 am: Supreme Court Justice Arun Mishra, who will demit office on Wednesday, has turned down an invitation for a farewell ceremony by the bar due to the “severe situation and sufferings the world over” because of the pandemic, reports NDTV.

9.14 am: Over 2,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Delhi in 24 hours – a first since July 10, reports NDTV. The government’s health bulletin showed 2,024 new cases were recorded that took the overall case count to 1.73 lakh. The toll stands at 4,426 after 22 more deaths.

7.50 am: United States, has recorded 59 lakh cases of infection, reports AFP. The country’s toll is over 1,83,000 now.

7.45 am: West Bengal’s recovery rate nears 82% after 3,308 more patients recover, reports PTI.

7.39 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says India should have “very significant control” over Covid-19 by Diwali, reports PTI. “But, the virus has taught us a certain lesson, it has taught us there has to be a new normal and we need to be more diligent about, more cautious about our lifestyle...,” he adds.

7.36 am: Andhra Pradesh is now the second worst-affected state in India after it registered over 10,000 new cases for the fifth consecutive day, reports NDTV. With a tally of more than 4.24 lakh coronavirus cases, the state has surpassed Tamil Nadu that has reported over 4.16 lakh infections so far. The number of active cases in the state nears 1-lakh mark.

7.30 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday

• India’s number of recovered cases on Sunday crossed 27,13,933, taking the recovery rate to 76.61%, the Union health ministry said. The country’s overall case count reached 35,42,733 after a record 78,761 new cases were registered in 24 hours. The toll rose by 948 to 63,498. India has 7,65,302 active cases now.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly “Mann Ki Baat” radio programme, on Sunday congratulated the farmers of India for proving their mettle at the time of the coronavirus crisis.
• The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday extended the coronavirus lockdown in containment zones till September 30, but announced significant relaxations in restrictions in other places. The ease on curbs included permission to open all places of worship, restarting metro services and doing away with e-passes for inter-district travel.
• The Haryana government withdrew an order directing shops, offices and malls to remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays because of the coronavirus crisis.  
• Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre’s decision to hold national entrance exams for engineering and medical courses in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot listed guidelines for the resumption of metro services and said that the use of smart cards and masks will be mandatory when travelling. “Masks are mandatory, otherwise a fine can be levied on those violating norms,” he said. 
• Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 2.5 crore people and killed 8,43,286 others, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 1.64 crore people have recovered from the infection.