Coronavirus Updates: India Adds 6,767 Cases In 24 Hours, Total Tally Nears 1.32 Lakh

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India neared the 1.32 lakh mark even as the country scrambles to contain the spread while opening up a battered economy.

India added 6,767 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, according to the health ministry's 8 a.m. update. 147 people died while 2,657 recovered over the same period.

The total tally now stands at 1,31,868. This includes 5,444 who have recovered and 3,867 deaths. The number of active cases, which is now rising faster than before, stood at 73,560.

On Friday, a government official heading the panel charged with formulating India's Covid-19 response said that the country cannot remain in a perpetual state of lockdown and will have to move on while taking all necessary precautions.

“Lockdown cannot go for an unlimited time. It was meant for a purpose and it has broadly achieved that purposes,” said VK Paul, Chairman of the empowered group of officials to tackle Covid-19. “Now it is very important that we continue in a manner which is creating headwinds for the virus. We need to maintain the balance between resuming livelihood and containing the virus.”

India has continued to assert that the lockdown has been effective in saving lakhs of lives which would've been lost had it not shut down the economy.

Globally, cases crossed 52 lakh, leaving over 3.4 lakh dead as of Sunday morning.

Japan is set to lift the state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding regions on Monday as new virus cases tail off, while restrictions are being eased further in Australia.

The increase in new U.S. cases trailed the daily average of the past week, and remained below 2% for the eighth day. Brazil’s new infections climbed 5%.

Track all the news updates on the coronavirus situation in India here:

Number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra has crossed 50,000, according to the state government’s health ministry. 33,988 of these cases are live right now. Mumbai alone accounts for three-fifth of the cases, a count of over 30,000.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to keep domestic flights in Maharashtra to a minimum.

“He communicated his views that till such time Mumbai International Airport Ltd. plans and fine tunes airport operations, they should initiate minimum possible domestic flights from Maharashtra from May 25, which are purely emergent in nature like for international transfer passengers from these cities, medical emergencies, students, and cases on Compassionate grounds only,” the Chief Minister’s office said in a statement.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said it was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly, and now it cannot be lifted all at once.

Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, Thackeray also said there was a need to be extra cautious during the upcoming monsoon.

“It was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly. It will be equally wrong to lift it in one go. It will be a double whammy for our own people,” he said in a televised message.

Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena parted ways with long-term ally BJP last year, said though the Union government has been of little help, he would not indulge in any political mudslinging.

"The Maharashtra government has not yet received its due GST amount. The Centre’s share of train ticket cost (for facilitating transportation of migrant labourers to their native places) is yet to be received. There is still shortage of some medicines. Earlier, we did face shortage of PPE kits and other equipment," he said.

India will have an important role to play in the mass production of medicines and vaccines for coronavirus infection once the treatment for the deadly disease is found, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has said.

"It is very important for states to coordinate if we want the Covid-19 vaccine and/or medicines to be produced and distributed equitably worldwide. India will have an important role to play as a producer of medicines and vaccines," French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain told PTI in an interview.

India is a leading manufacturer of vaccines and generic drugs globally. Several research institutes in India are also working on separate programmes to find a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The French Ambassador's comments also came in the backdrop of efforts by a large number of countries as well as the 27-nation European Union to ensure equitable access to any vaccine or medicine for treatment of coronavirus infection through their mass production under voluntary patenting.

The issue figured prominently at the recent two-day conference of the World Health Organisation where many countries pressed for making the vaccine available to all countries and not only to those who have deep pockets.

"France and India have supported the European resolution (at the WHO) for universal, timely and equitable access to all necessary products for countering the pandemic, and underscored the role of extensive immunisation against Covid-19 as a global public good," he said.

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday allowed 17 industrial estates in Chennai to resume work from Monday with conditions, including confining the workforce to 25 percent and implementing safety measures.

The industrial estates situated in non-containment zones, including the Ambattur and Guindy clusters can resume work from May 25, the government said, adding however that employees residing in containment zones would not be allowed to report for work.

The strength of the workers should be capped at 25 percent and thermal scanners must be used for screening employees, an official release said. Following social distancing, disinfecting work places twice a day and practising personal hygiene were among the other norms.

The industries in the clusters are expected to resume work partially from Monday after a gap of two months.

Source: PTI

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said it is "extremely ill-advised" to reopen airports in red zones amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister's comments follow Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's announcement that all domestic flights are set to resume in India from May 25 as part of the gradual reboot of air travel services.

"Its extremely ill-advised to reopen airports in red zone. Mere thermal scanning of passengers inadequate without swabs. Impossible to have autos/cabs/buses ply in current circumstances. Adding positive passenger will add Covid stress to red zone," Deshmukh tweeted on Sunday.

Of the 47,190 cases in Maharashtra, 28,817 are from Mumbai. The financial capital also accounts for 949 Covid-19 deaths. The worst-hit Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which includes Mumbai and surrounding satellite towns, has reported 36,173 cases and 1,069 deaths.

India added 6,767 new cases of coronavirus infection, the most in a day, to take the total tally to 1,31,868. The country witnessed 147 deaths and 2,657 recoveries over the same period of time. There are over 73,000 active Covid-19 cases now.

• Active cases: 73,560
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 54,441
• Deaths: 3,867

Source: Health Ministry (As of May 24, 8 a.m.)

Migrants returning to Manipur from various parts of the country and abroad who fail to undergo mandatory quarantine will be arrested and put in jail, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, as the northeastern state logged over two dozen Covid-19 cases in a little over a month of being declared coronavirus-free.

The chief minister said those found violating the Covid-19 protocol will be prosecuted under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005.

"This is a very serious issue. Returnees flouting the protocol will be arrested and put in jail," Singh told reporters on Friday.

He said the returnees testing negative for novel coronavirus will be allowed to be home quarantined.

"Our primary task is to prevent community spread of the disease," the chief minister said.

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Considering the resumption of domestic flight services on Monday, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Saturday said he has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to permit coronavirus antibody testing for passengers upon their arrival.

At least 15 flights are scheduled to arrive at the Goa International Airport at Dabolim in South Goa on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, Rane said he had requested the ICMR and Civil Aviation Ministry to permit coronavirus antibody testing for passengers, who will be issued a Covid-19 negative certificate before entering the state.

These tests will help the authorities identify asymptomatic patients at the airport itself to avoid community transmission, he said.

Speaking to PTI, Rane said he will discuss with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant the issue of developing a Standard Operating Procedure for air travellers who arrive in the state.

Meanwhile, Goa Airport director Gagan Malik said all guidelines issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry for boarding and arrival would be adhered to at the airport.

Source: PTI

Passengers of a Shramik Special train on way to Bihar's Darbhanga from Bengaluru, resorted to hurling brickbats in the railway station here on Saturday morning while protesting scarcity of food and water during the travel, an official said.

Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said the train had no stoppage at Unnao railway station. But since the route was not clear, the train had to stop at the staion, he said.

Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said the train had no stoppage at Unnao railway station. But since the route was not clear, the train had to stop at the staion, he said.

As soon as the train stopped at the station on Saturday morning, passengers got down and throwing stones. The Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel pacified the passengers and the train started its onward journey.

Kumar said the station master was directed to make all necessary arrangements including potable water at the platforms as per norms. Later, the DM and SP also visited the roadways bus stop and directed the officials concerning to make arrangements for drinking water.

Source: PTI

Among the top 10 states with over 1,000 recoveries, Punjab has the best track record.

Of the 2,029 coronavirus cases in the state, 1,847 have recovered, according to the union health ministry’s 8 a.m. update. That translates to a recovery rate of 91.03 percent.

The all-India recovery rate stood at 41.39 percent, as per the latest update.

Maharashtra continued to remain the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, reporting 2,940 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the western state now stands just shy of the 45,000 mark.

Overall, 10 states reported more than 100 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases crossed 44,500 in Maharashtra, leaving over 1,500 people dead.

Tamil Nadu neared the 15,000 cases mark, while Gujarat crossed 13,200 cases, as per the health ministry’s 8:00 a.m. update. Delhi is the other region with over 10,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The Covid-19 virus has infected 1,25,101 people in India so far, with 6,654 of those reported in the last 24 hours.

• Active cases: 69,597
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 51,784
• Deaths: 3,720

3,250 people have recovered and 137 have died in the last 24 hours.