The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India crossed the 1.45-lakh mark on Monday at a time the country resumed domestic flights after two months of complete lockdown.
Total number of cases now stand at 1,45,380, including 60,490 who have recovered and 4,167 deaths. The number of active cases is now at 80,722.
India added more than 6,000 infections in a day for the fifth straight day. Authorities reported 6,535 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s update at 8 a.m. on May 26. While the number of recoveries stood at 2,770 in the last 24 hours, deaths were at 146.
Domestic flight operations resumed across the country in a phased manner, exactly two months after they were grounded to a halt on March 24.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri made the announcement on Twitter, that barring Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, which will resume operations on May 26 and May 28, respectively, domestic flights will restart across the country starting May 25.
There will also be limited flights from Mumbai, the minister said. Mumbai has crossed 30,000 positive cases as of Sunday evening.
Global Update
Japan ended its state of emergency everywhere in the country and made reviving the economy its top priority. Singapore is set to unveil a fourth stimulus package. The World Health Organization temporarily halted tests on hydroxychloroquine in its Covid-19 drug trials pending more data because of safety concerns.
Globally, total confirmed cases have topped 5.4 million, with over 346,000 dead, according to data by Johns Hopkins.
Track latest news and updates on the coronavirus situation in India, here:
India To Expand Vande Bharat Mission
India is planning to bring back home its one lakh stranded nationals from 60 countries under the second phase of the Vande Bharat mission, officials said on Tuesday.
The second phase of the mission was to end on May 22. However, the government has extended it till June 13.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting on Tuesday with all the agencies and ministries involved in the mega evacuation exercise. In a series of tweets, he said the focus of the meeting was to ramp up the scale of the Vande Bharat Mission and enhance its efficiency.
In the first phase of the mission from May 7 to 15, the government evacuated around 15,000 people from 12 countries.
38 New Cases Recorded In Dharavi
Thirty eight new cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Dharavi on Tuesday. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the Mumbai-slum stood at 1,621.
Source: BMC
Death Of Mumbai Hospital Worker Sparks Protest By Colleagues
The death of a health worker at the King Edward Memorial hospital in Mumbai triggered a protest by employees on Tuesday, alleging apathy by the city civic body towards their working conditions during the coronavirus crisis.
The paramedics and doctors protested outside the hospital in masks and protective gear.
A staff union official at KEM, a municipal hospital, claimed the worker was not sanctioned sick leave despite complaining about body pain. "The worker had complained of body ache and weakness over the last two days but he was not sanctioned leave," the official said. He also claimed the worker hardly received any treatment and was not even tested for coronavirus.
"His death shows the civic administration's apathy towards us. If we are not given (basic protection like) gloves and face shields, our life could be in danger," he said.
Like other healthcare facilities, the KEM Hospital, run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has been stretched to the limit because of rising virus cases and inadequate staff.
Source: PTI
Charge Sheets Against 82 Foreign Attendees Of Nizamuddin Event
The Delhi Police on Tuesday filed charge sheets against 82 foreigners for attending a religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in violation of visa conditions and indulging in missionary activities amidst the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, officials said.
The police has filed 20 charge sheets against the foreigners belonging to 20 countries, they said.
A large congregation organised by the Tablighi Jamaat in the Nizamuddin area of the national capital in March had emerged as a major hotspot for the coronavirus. More than 25,500 Tablighi members and their contacts have been quarantined in the country after the Centre and the state governments conducted a "mega operation" to identify them.
"They not only violated government guidelines issued in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and regulations regarding the Epidemic Diseases Act, but also flouted the Disaster Management Act and subsequently the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure," the police said.
According to the police, the foreign nationals entered India on tourist visas and participated in the gathering at Markaz illegally. "Besides, violating the provisions of visa, these foreign nationals also led to a situation where a highly infectious disease spread and threatened the lives of the inmates and the general public at large," they said.
The police also said that more than 900 foreign nationals who are accused in the case belong to 34 different countries and charge sheets are being prepared country-wise, under sections of the Foreigners Act, Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 271 (Disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code.
Source: PTI
Complete Lockdown In Thane’s Mumbra Area From Midnight
The Thane Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra has ordered complete lockdown in Mumbra area from Tuesday midnight in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the city.
Only milk and medical shops will be open in Mumbra from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., while all other shops, including that of vegetables and groceries, will remain shut till further orders, municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal said in an order.
Till Monday night, Thane city recorded 2,172 Covid-19 cases, including 288 in Mumbra area, as per official figures.
"Despite warnings and directives issued by the civic authorities, people were not following the lockdown and social distancing norms and were crowding public places," an official release said. "Hence, the corporation decided to enforce a total lockdown in Mumbra area."
Source: PTI
The Supreme Court Takes Suo-Motu Cognizance Of Migrant Labourers' Issues
The Supreme Court issues notices to the Central and state governments taking suo-motu cognizance of the problems faced by migrant labourers left stranded in different parts of the country. The hearing will begin on Thursday.
"The crises of migrant labourers is even continuing today with large sections still stranded on roads, highways, railway stations and State borders," the Supreme Court said. "Adequate transport arrangement, food and shelters are immediately to be provided by the Centre and State Governments free of cost."
The top court asked the Solicitor General for information on the measures taken up and proposed to be taken up by the Central Government. All the State Governments will also have to file their responses by Thursday.
Recovery Rate, Fatality Improves
With 60,491 patients cured of Covid-19, India's recovery rate has improved to 41.6%, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary at the Health Ministry said at a briefing on Tuesday. The recovery rate stood at 7.1% in March and 11.42% before lockdown 2.0.
The fatality rate has reduced from 3.38% in April to 2.87%, among the lowest in the world, he said.
"If there are 69.9 cases per lakh population reported in the world, in India it is 10.7 cases per lakh population," Agarwal said. "This compares with 504.6 cases per lakh population in Spain, 499 cases in Belgium and 486 in the U.S."
India is now testing 1.1 lakh samples a day, with the testing capacity ramped up to 612 laborataries, of which 430 are government labs and 182 are private, ICMR DG Balram Bhargava said.
Zoomcar Resumes Operations In 35 Cities After Easing Of Lockdown Rstrictions
Self-drive car rental platform, Zoomcar on Tuesday said it has resumed operations in as many as 35 cities spanning across various states in the country after the easing of lockdown restrictions.
The company has also launched a special 'Zoom to Atmanirbharta' sale to help customers avail personal mobility options that are safe, convenient, and affordable, the car rental firm said on Tuesday.
The operations have restarted in the South and East Zones, including cities such as Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Vizag, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Calicut, Guwahati, Siliguri, and Bhubaneswar, among others, following the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines easing the restrictions for lockdown 4.0, it said.
However, in the north and west zones and in some cities like Mysore cars will only be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., it added.
"The need for personal mobility solutions has become more important than ever in the wake of the Covid-19 emergency. We are delighted to be able to resume our operations in most cities in the country.
"Our vehicles will be sanitised thoroughly after every single use to ensure the safety of passengers. We are strictly abiding by the government rules and regulations, and we will continue to update our customers on the status of various cities and safety instructions as further clarity emerges," said Greg Moran, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Zoomcar.
Moran further said keeping the current situation and its impact in mind, the company has come up with a curated offering for its customers.
As part of the special sale, the company will offer a 100% discount with 50% off on initial booking amount and 50% cashback -- on all short-term rental bookings made from May 26 May 29, it said. Under the offer, the customers can now book for the travel period starting from June 1 onwards, using the code ZAN100, it added.
Source: PTI
West Bengal Has Highest Fatality Rate Among States With Highest Cases
Mizoram Allows Home Isolation Of Returnees Due To Inadequate Number Of Quarantine Centres
The Mizoram government has allowed returnees clearing rapid antibody tests to be placed under home isolation, due to an inadequate number of quarantine centres in the state, a senior official said.
The administration has encouraged home quarantine for Mizoram residents returning from outside provided they meet the requirements laid down in the standard operating procedure as government facilities might not be enough to accommodate all the returnees, Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo said.
"Returnees seeking home isolation must apply to the district-level Covid-19 task force after obtaining permission from the medical officer or the district medical board, subject to clearance of rapid antibody test upon arrival at any designated quarantine centre," he told PTI on Monday.
The applicant should also furnish the recommendation of the local-level or village task force, certifying the availability of dedicated bedroom and toilet facilities for the person(s) to be placed under home quarantine, Chuaungo said.
The state government is taking all necessary steps to ensure screening of returnees by employing rapid antibody test and other measures at entry points to Mizoram or at the quarantine centres, the chief secretary said.
The state government has set up more than 500 quarantine centres, including 170 community halls offered by churches, to accommodate around 14,000 people, a Covid-19 task force official said. However, the administration needs facilities to accommodate at least 20,000 people if all the stranded Mizoram residents return to the state, he said.
Source: PTI
145 Trains Being Run From Maharashtra Today, Reports ANI
Flight Services Resume In Andhra Pradesh
After two months of Covid-19 induced lockdown, domestic flight operations resumed in Andhra Pradesh as the first Spicejet plane from Bengaluru landed at Vijayawada airport early Tuesday with 79 passengers.
According to the Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao, the aircraft returned to Bengaluru at 7:40 a.m. carrying 68 passengers. He said the airport also received an Indigo flight from Bengaluru with 48 passengers and departed with 50 travellers.
He said as per the state government instruction all the passengers who landed here had to register their details with the state government's spandana website. "As Bengaluru is a non-high sensitive area (as far as Covid-19 cases are concerned), the passengers who landed here were advised home quarantine for seven days. In case of high- sensitive areas the passengers will have to undergo either institutional quarantine or paid quarantine," Rao told PTI.
He said the passengers were handled as per standard operating procedures laid out by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Though the flight services were supposed to resume from Monday, they did not begin.
Source: PTI
State-Wise Breakup
The state of Maharashtra alone accounts for more than one-third of India’s total coronavirus infections reported.
Four states - Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu - account for 67.5 percent of India’s total cases.
India Is One Of The World's Covid-19 Hotspots
As of today morning, India ranks 10th on the list of countries with the highest number of infections, according to data provided by the John Hopkins University.
Note: There is a slight difference between the numbers reported by Johns Hopkins and the Health Ministry Of India
Another Day Of Over 6,000 Fresh Cases
Coronavirus Infections in India show no signs of abating as the country added another 6,535 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the data made available by the Health Ministry.
This is the fifth straight day of more than 6,000 new cases.
- Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 145380
- Active cases: 80722
- Cured/discharged/migrated: 60491
- Deaths: 4167
Air India Evacuates 115 Stranded Indians From Israel
Some 115 Indians, including out of work and broke caregivers, students and pregnant women, were all smiles as they boarded an Air India flight here on Tuesday and left for India after being stranded in Israel for more than two months due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
The flight took off at 1 a.m. IST and also carried a Nepalese national Prabha Baskota, married to an Indian, and five Israeli diplomats posted in Delhi.
Out of the 121 passengers aboard flight AI 140, some 85 of them would take a connecting flight to Kochi on Tuesday from Delhi. Most of the Kochi passengers are caregivers who have wished to be quarantined close to their home.
"These are very challenging times and the Vande Bharat Mission flight to India is one of our many efforts to reach out to our community of students and caregivers here in Israel," India's ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Singla told PTI at the airport.
"The Ministry of External Affairs, the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Home Ministry, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the embassy have taken all possible steps to ensure that our nationals stranded and facing hardships for various reasons are able to return home", Singla said.
Source: PTI
Assam Breaches 500-Mark In Covid-19 Cases, 156 New Infections
Assam recorded its highest single-day spike of 156 cases on Monday, taking the total count past the 500-mark, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
With these fresh cases, the total number of Covid-19 infections has gone up to 548 in the state, of which 479 are active, Sarma said.
"Alert ~ Nine new cases of #COVID19+ reported. Swabs for testing taken before people sent for quarantine. All from Barpeta," he tweeted.
In a series of tweets earlier during the day, the minister said samples of 147 people from across the districts tested positive for coronavirus, the highest being in Golaghat with 59 Covid-19 cases.
Karimganj district recorded 21 positive cases, followed by 17 in Lakhimpur, 15 in Guwahati, six in Kokrajhar, five each in Cachar and Sivasagar, four each in Dhemaji and Hailakandi, three in South Salmara Mankachar, two each in Tinsukia and Nalbari, and one each in Nagaon, Jorhat, Morigaon and Goalpara, he said.
Source: PTI
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