Coronavirus India Updates: Total Confirmed Cases Cross 40,000-Mark As Lockdown Extends 

Indian Air Force aircraft showered flower petals over hospitals treating Covid-19 patients on Sunday and also held a flypast of Sukhoi-30 aircraft to express their gratitude towards the coronavirus warriors.

From Srinagar to Hyderabad, Mumbai to Itanagar, the flypasts by the air force and the navy added to the tribute.

At the same time, an Indian Air Force chopper showered flower petals on the Police War Memorial in New Delhi to pay tribute to police officers keeping the law and order across the country in this time of crisis.

The first special train for Uttar Pradesh carrying more than 800 workers who were stranded in Maharashtra reached Lucknow today.

The railways is running Shramik Special trains to ferry migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded in various parts of the country since March 25. The first train left for Jharkhand from Hyderabad on Friday.

After the medical check-up was done, the passengers were given food packets and told to board the UPSRTC buses parked outside the station to return to their homes.

On Friday, around 5,000 migrant labourers from UP stranded in Madhya Pradesh returned in 155 buses, while around 1,341 labourers hailing from MP were sent back home from Uttar Pradesh.

Retailers Association of India said it will have to be seen how it works out at the ground as there is confusion, and many states are yet to come up with guidelines to follow the Centre's decision. It has already stated that what constitutes market places could be misinterpreted.

Similarly, Confederation of All India Traders also claimed they will be in a "dilemma" as there is confusion over "what constitutes a neighbourhood shop and a standalone shop", while organised retailers such as Future Group and V-Mart Retail said they are also seeking permissions from local authorities.

National General Secretary of the Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, V K Bansal said, "The biggest problem with the guidelines is that it all depends on the states. The states frame their own policies and do not want to take any responsibility. The Centre wants relaxation but states are restrictive".

India reported 2,487 new Covid-19 cases, 83 deaths and 869 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the health ministry as of 5 p.m.

• Total confirmed cases: 40,263
• Active cases: 28,070
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 10,887
• Deaths: 1,306

In a relief for engineering and medical aspirants, the HRD ministry on Sunday said fresh dates for competitive exams - JEE and NEET - will be announced on May 5. The exams were postponed due to nationwide lockdown announced to contain the COVID-19 spread.

"The fresh dates will be announced by HRD Minsiter Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on May 5. This will put an end to uncertainty for the aspirants. The minister will also interact with students online the same day," a senior ministry official said.

While Joint Entrance Exam-Mains (JEE-MAINS) is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is conducted for medical colleges.

Commercial passenger flights at Delhi airport will initially operate from Terminal 3 after the lockdown ends, said a senior official of its operator DIAL, adding that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allocated to airlines to avoid overcrowding by air travellers.

The airport will keep all food, beverage and retail shops open to avoid overcrowding at one place and use "ultraviolet disinfection tunnels" for all incoming baggage, according to a plan prepared by the GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd.

The DIAL's exit plan stated that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays would be allocated to airlines to ensure smooth flow of passengers from forecourt into check-in hall and security thereafter. The DIAL would be preparing stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs) for food, beverage and retail shops in order to ensure social distancing, the exit plan noted.

The plan said the passengers of Vistara and IndiGo would enter the airport through gates 1 and 2 only. AirAsia India and Air India passengers will use entry gates 3 and 4. SpiceJet, GoAir and other domestic airline passengers would enter through gate 5. All international airlines' passengers would be entering the airport using gates 6, 7 and 8

The domestic automobile industry might resort to cuts in spending on research and development and also exit unprofitable businesses and segments with the coronavirus pandemic taking a toll on companies' revenues and cash flows, according to a report by Deloitte.

The industry is likely to witness a prolonged U-shape recovery, with a best-case recovery to 2018-19 sales volumes expected by 2021-22, the report said.

Elaborating further, the report said the automotive dealers will have to resort to heavy discounting after the lockdown in order to clear inventory build-up.

The Haryana government is considering to impose a variable "COVID cess" on liquor to support the areas or institutions adversely hit by the pandemic, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Sunday. Asked how much cess the government is contemplating to impose, he said, "Discussions are on. Every product is different, fixed cess is not possible, so it will depend on product and quantity. The cess will be variable".

The deputy chief minister indicated that the cess could be anywhere between Rs 2-20. Chautala, who also holds the portfolios of Excise, Industry and Commerce Departments, said no decision has yet been taken on when to open the liquor vends.

With MSME sector being adversely hit, Chautala said the Haryana government will be extending a financial support of nearly Rs 250 crore to them.

As many as 19 people tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh on Sunday, taking the virus tally in the union territory to 41, officials said.

The new cases include 18 from Chuchot Yokma village of Leh, the biggest single-day spike in the region, the officials said. The village was declared a containment area on March 17 after three locals had tested positive for COVID-19.

The officials said a 52-year-old woman, a resident of Kaksar village of Kargil, also tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday. The woman had gone on pilgrimage to Iran and was evacuated and underwent quarantine for over a month in Rajasthan before being airlifted to her hometown last week, the officials said. The woman was admitted to a hospital after her test report came positive, they said.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India rose to nearly 40,000-mark on Sunday as India decided to extend its nationwide lockdown from May 4.

The home ministry has issued an order to extend the lockdown as the number of new infections being reported in the country has not fallen despite the 40-day lockdown.

However, there will be considerable relaxations in districts where there are no active cases to revive economic activity that’s been stalled since the stringent stay-at-home orders were put in place across the country on March 25.

India reported 2,644 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 39,980, according to the health ministry’s 8 a.m. update. This includes 10,633 patients who've been discharged and 1,301 who’ve died.

Over the last 24 hours, India has seen 682 recoveries and 83 deaths.

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