Escalating coronavirus cases, threat of Cyclone Nisarga — there is no dearth of crises in Maharashtra, which accounts for nearly 35% of India's total case count. Along with Mumbai, Delhi too registered the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
India currently has over 2.08 lakh coronavirus infections, with a death toll of over 5,800. In a significant step, scientists have identified the second most common coronavirus type in India , offering insights into how the virus has evolved over time. This could prove valuable in the development of a vaccine for the infection.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers . You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here .
Here are the latest updates:
U.P. reports 141 new cases
With a single new death, in Mau district, the toll in UP rises to 230, while total cases rise to 8,870 with 141 fresh cases, the state health department said. Active cases stand at 3,383. Total recoveries are 5,257.
Delhi reports 1,513 new cases
1,513 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 23,645, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Wednesday.
This is the biggest single-day jump in the number of cases in the city so far.
Also, 50 more deaths have been reported taking the total number of deaths to 606. But only nine of these deaths were declared in the past 24 hours.
Of the total cases, 9,542 people have recovered and there are 13,497 active cases.
Rajasthan reports 279 new cases
Six persons' death - 4 in Jaipur and 1 each in Baran and Jhunjhunu - takes the COVID-19 related mortality figure in Rajasthan to 209. A total of 279 new COVID-19 positive cases were detected in the State today, taking the tally to 9,652. Of them, 6,744 have recovered and 6,208 have been discharged. The number of active cases in Rajasthan, as of now, is 2,699.
One more dies of virus in Punjab, 34 new cases push infection count to 2,376
Punjab reported another fatality due to coronavirus on Wednesday, pushing the death toll to 47 in the state while 34 more people contracted the infection.
So far, 2,376 cases have been reported from the state.
According to officials, a 64-year-old Jalandhar resident died of the virus at a Ludhiana hospital.
Madhya Pradesh reports 168 new COVID-19
Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday recorded 168 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 8,588. The number of active cases stands at 2,772. Seven deaths owing to the illness were reported on the day. Three patients died in Indore, while Khandwa, Neemuch, Sagar and Sehore reported one death each. The State-wide death toll climbed to 371 on the day. As regards recoveries, 224 patients were discharged from hospitals on the day. So far, 5,445 persons have been cured of the illness, says the State Directorate of Health Services.
Maharashtra records its highest fatality surge of 122 deaths
Maharashtra recorded its highest fatality surge of 122 deaths on Wednesday along with another massive spike of 2,560 new Covid-19 cases to take the State's total death toll to 2,587 and its total case tally to 74, 860. However, only 39, 935 of these cases are active. As many as 996 patients were discharged today, taking the total number of discharged till date to 32,329.
Mumbai's total case tally has now crossed the 43,000 mark to reach 43,492 with the city reporting 1,276 new cases, while it's death toll has risen to 1,417. As many as 49 of the new deaths reported today were from Mumbai city, 19 from Pune district and ten from Solapur district among other parts of the state.
Gujarat reports 485 new cases
Gujarat adds 30 deaths and 485 COVID-19 cases, taking its total numbers to 1,122 deaths and 18,117 infection. Today, 318 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of total discharges to 12,212.
RT-PCR test for COVID-19 crosses 40 lakh-mark
The number of test for detection of COVID-19 crossed the 40 lakh-mark on Wednesday morning, the Union Health Ministry said as the coronavirus cases shot up to over 2 lakh in the country. A total of 41,03,233 samples have been tested as of 9 AM on June 3, with 1,37,158 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours since 9 AM on Tuesday, officials of the Indian Council of Medical Research said.
The testing capacity has been increased to 1.4 lakh per day through 480 government and 208 private laboratories (total 688 laboratories).
82 fresh cases in Kerala, COVID-19 tally touches 1,494
Kerala continued to witness a surge in COVID-19 cases with 82 people, including a doctor and four health workers, testing positive for the virus, taking the infection count to 1,494, while over 1.6 lakh people are under observation.
In the highest single day spike, 86 cases were reported in Kerala yesterday.
Of the new cases, 53 people had come from abroad and 19 from other states, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reportersafter a COVID-19 evaluation meeting.
Himachal’s Kinnaur reports first virus cases as state tally rises to 358
A couple in Himachal’s remote Kinnaur has contracted coronavirus, the first cases in the district, as the state reported 12 fresh infections, pushing the COVID tally to 358 on Wednesday.
Barring Lahaul-Spiti, now 11 of the 12 districts in the state have infection cases. So far, six people have succumbed to the virus in Himachal Pradesh.
AIIMS Nurses’ Union protest over working condition; 329 workers contracted COVID-19 so far
Protest by the AIIMS Nurses’ Union over their working condition entered the third day on Wednesday as the number of workers infected by COVID-19 at the premier hospital in the national capital stood at 329, with 47 of them being nursing staff.
In a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the nurses body has put forward a number of demands including implementation of a uniform four-hour shift with personal protective equipment in COVID-19 areas of the hospital, a uniform rotation policy between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 areas, and establishment of proper donning and doffing area.
After 242 trains, Shramik Specials end run from Capital; no new demand from Delhi govt.: Officials
With no new demand for more Shramik Specials from the Delhi government, the operation of such trains from the capital city has ended, officials said on Wednesday, adding that the trains will be run again if there is any fresh request.
“There is no demand for Shramik Special trains from the Delhi government as of now. There are no migrant trains scheduled from railway stations in Delhi. However a train from Gurgaon to Odisha’s Balasore is scheduled today,” a railway official said.
The last trains to run from any of the five stations in Delhi was on May 31, when three trains were operated: Anand Vihar— Purnia, Anand Vihar— Bhagalpur, Hazrat Nizamuddin—Mahoba.
COVID-19 tally rises to 29 in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday reported one more COVID-19 case after a person from Itanagar was found infected with the virus, a senior government official said.
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the state has now risen to 29, including 28 active cases, the official said.
Uttarakhand records 23 fresh COVID-19 cases
Twenty-three more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,066, a health department bulletin said.
The fresh cases were reported from Dehradun (8), Haridwar (9), Chamoli (4), Nainital (1) and Pauri (1), it said.
MHA relaxes visa restrictions to permit entry of foreign businessmen who want to come here on chartered flights. Entry of foreign health care professionals, engineering, managerial or design specialists and technical experts also allowed. They will have to seek fresh business visas. Entry of all other foreigners is suspended since March 22 in wake of COVID-19.
256 Shramik trains cancelled by states: Railways
As the operation of Shramik Special trains move towards culmination, Railways’ data showed of the 4,040 trains run till Sunday, 256 trains were cancelled by state governments since May 1, with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh being the top defaulters.
Maharashtra cancelled 105 trains, Gujarat 47, Karnataka 38 and Uttar Pradesh 30 trains, the data showed.
As on Wednesday, the Railways has run 4,197 Shramik trains since May 1. While 81 trains are in transit, 4,116 have reached their destinations. Only 10 more Shramik trains are in the pipeline.
Hair cuts, an expensive affair
Salons and beauty parlours are opening in many cities as the Ministry of Home Affairs gave its nod. However, saloon shops must ensure precautionary measures to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Foot, hand and head rests must be sanitised after attending to customers. Combs and scissors too must be thoroughly sanitised. Both hairdressers and customers should wear masks. Seating arrangements should be maintained in keeping with social distancing norm.
Nevertheless, this also meant rise in grooming charges. Barbers have reportedly doubled their fees in Vijayawada. Some salons have started charging extra for paper towels and masks in Bengaluru.
5 SAIL employees test positive for COVID-19
Steel major SAIL on Wednesday said a few of its employees working at the company’s corporate office in the national capital have tested positive for COVID-19.
There are five employees whose coronavirus test results have come positive, a source said.
“In the wake of rising COVID-19 infections in the country, a few employees at Corporate Office at Lodi Road, New Delhi have been tested Corona positive. This is the first case of confirmation at the company HQ since the outbreak of the pandemic,” Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) said in a statement.
In a video message to all employees across offices and plant sites, SAIL Chairman A K Chaudhary asked them to adhere to all safety measures and follow government advisories.
180 fresh COVID cases and four deaths in a day in AP
The State has witnessed four new COVID-9 deaths and 180 fresh cases, the highest single-day spike ever seen since the first case was registered, during the past 24 hours as 8, 066 samples were tested. The State has crossed the four-lakh mark in testing.
Out of the total 79 are of local people, 94 are of migrant returnees or other state persons and seven are of foreign returnees.
The district tallies are as follows: Kurnool (740), Guntur (527), Krishna (481), Chittoor (272), Nellore (261), East Godavari (250), Anantapur (231), West Godavari (135), Kadapa (134), Visakhapatnam (107), Prakasam (81), Srikakulam (29) and Vizianagaram (26). - Tharun Boda
COVID cases among junior doctors rising in Hyderabad
Four resident doctors and three staff members from Cardiology speciality department at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Punjagutta, tested positive for coronavirus.
The four resident doctors are pursuing super specialty course in Cardiology at the institute and attend patients. The three staff members used to work in Cath Lab.
In case of Osmania Medical College, at least 12 Post Graduate (PG) students tested positive till Tuesday night. Six among the 12 PGs used to work at Modern Government Maternity Hospital, Petlaburj.
Chunnambar reopens for boating
The Chunnambar Boat House is ready to resume activity after a gap of around 70 days.
A tourism department staff said that the boats would operate with 50% capacity to ensure personal distancing norms. Visitors would have to get cleared by thermal scanners and also wear masks for boating, he said.
Vaishno Devi Shrine Board begins drills to put in place SoPs for pilgrimage
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has begun drills for putting in place SoPs that will be followed once pilgrimage to the cave shrine in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir resumes.
The pilgrimage to the shrine in Reasi district was stopped on March 18 in view of the spread of coronavirus.
The markers of social distancing are being painted, horse owners and their animals are undergoing medical check ups and other safety measures are being put in places en route to and at the cave shrine, officials said.
Similar drills are being carried at Mata Kali temple at Bahufort in Jammu.
Flight with 180 Indians stranded in Dubai lands in TN
A repatriation flight under the Vande Bharat mission, carrying 180 Indians, who were stranded in Dubai, arrived at the Coimbatore international airport.
The Air India Express (IX 1611) flight with 94 male, 66 female adults, 17 children and three infants onboard landed here after a gap of over two months.
It is the first repatriation flight to the city.
16 active cases in Meghalaya
A person recovered from COVID- 19 in Meghalaya on Wednesday, Chief Minister Conrad k Sangma said.
With this, the number of patients who have recovered from the disease increased to 13, he said.
The person tested positive for COVID-19 in West Garo Hills district on May 19 after returning from Tamil Nadu, the chief minister tweeted.
There are 16 active cases in the state at present, while a person has died due to the infection.
Give ₹10,000 each to migrant workers, Mamata urges Centre
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appealed to the Centre to give one-time assistance of ₹10,000 each to migrant workers amid the COVID-19 crisis.
In a tweet, she said financial aid should also be provided to those engaged in the unorganised sector to help them cope with the ongoing economic crisis arising out of the lockdown.
The new normal...
Rajasthan hikes liquor prices to boost revenue
Liquor has become costlier in Rajasthan, with the state government imposing a surcharge of up to ₹30 to mop up revenue amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The State finance department said the decision has been taken to mitigate natural or man-made calamities like floods, epidemic etc.
The surcharge on Indian-made Foreign Liquor will be ₹5 for 180 ml and 375 ml bottles, breezers, miniature and other packaging, while it will be ₹10 on 750 ml bottles. For beer, ₹20 will be charged for 650 ml and 500 ml bottles besides ₹30 on BIO (bottled in origin).
A surcharge of ₹1.5 has been imposed per bottle of country liquor and Rajasthan Made Liquor (RML). - PTI
AAP MP to use his entitlement to send 33 migrants to Patna
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday said that he will use 34 domestic flight tickets entitled to him in a year as an MP to take 33 migrant workers from Delhi to Patna in Bihar.
“Today 21 workers will be going to Patna in the evening flight and 12 workers will be going tomorrow. I will be travelling to Patna with both the groups,” Mr. Singh said.
Mr. Singh said that apart from this, 180 workers will be taken from Delhi to Patna via flight on Thursday with the help of NGOs. - Nikhil M. Babu
Protest delays burial of Tripura woman who committed suicide after testing positive
The district administration and Agartala Municipal Corporation had a tough time in organising the funeral of a patient who committed suicide on Tuesday after she found out she was COVID-19 positive. Attempts to bury the 51-year-old woman at a graveyard failed amid protests by locals.
The impasse continued till midnight and the body was taken back to the mortuary at the GBP Hospital where she ended her life by hanging herself from the ceiling in the toilet attached to a ward. She was first admitted in a general medical ward of the dedicated COVID-19 hospital with fever and cough.
143 new cases in Odisha
Odisha saw 143 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the State’s total to 2,388. The number of active cases stand at 1,054; while 1,325 people have recovered from the infection, nine have died, officials said.
Of the 143 new cases, 132 were detected in quarantine centres and remaining 11 were local contacts, State Health Department said.
Over 400 active cases in Jharkhand
Jharkhand registered 51 new COVID-19 positive cases today, taking the total number of cases in the State to 726.
Till date, 320 patients have recovered, while five people have succumbed to the infection. The number of active cases in the State is 401, according to the State Health Department.
Reopening of cinema halls after assessing COVID-19 status in June: Information and Broadcasting Minister
Reopening of cinema halls will be examined after assessing the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the month of June, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday.
The minister conveyed this to the Association of Film Producers, Cinema Exhibitioners and Film Industry representatives during a video conference convened by him to discuss the problems being faced by the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an official statement said.
Advisory on infection control at Kerala hospitals
The government has issued an advisory for performance assessment of non-COVID-19 disease management to ascertain the level of functioning of hospitals, their adherence to standard operating procedures and the best practices adopted to raise the level of infection control.
The guidelines are issued as part of the COVID-19-prevention measures to be implemented in all hospitals.
Phased reopening of schools from July 1 proposed
The Department of Primary and Secondary Education has proposed to start schools in a phased manner from July 1. However, a final decision will be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders.
It has proposed that classes four to seven will commence from July 1, while classes one to three and eight to 10 can resume on July 15. Pre-primary classes have been tentatively slated to start on July 20. Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar at a meeting on Tuesday said that the opinion of parents will be collected between June 10 and June 12.
Weddings to be held at Kerala's Guruvayur Sreekrishna temple from tomorrow
Wedding ceremonies will be conducted at the Sreekrishna temple at Guruvayur in accordance with norms from June 4.
The Guruvayur Devaswom management committee decided to conduct the ceremonies after getting the green signal from the government. A meeting held at the Thrissur Collectorate on Tuesday prepared guidelines for conducting weddings.
Ten persons, including the bride and bridegroom, may attend the wedding ceremony. Only 60 weddings will be allowed in a day from 5 a.m. to 12 noon. Each wedding ceremony will be given a time slot of 10 minutes.
Record 8,909 new COVID-19 cases in India; toll 5,815
India registered a record jump of 8,909 novel coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2,07,615 on Wednesday, while the toll rose to 5,815 with 217 more deaths, the Health Ministry said.
The number of active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mounted 1,01,497 and 1,00,302 people have recovered so far, while one has migrated, it said.
Spain records no virus deaths for second day running
Spain recorded no deaths from the coronavirus for the second day running, the health ministry reported on Tuesday, while acknowledging some “discrepancies” in the reported daily figures.
The ministry's daily report recorded 34 deaths over the previous week, but none over the previous 24 hours. It was Monday's report on the previous 24 hours that first broke a run of daily reported deaths dating back to March 3.
To date, Spain has recorded a total of 27,127 deaths from the virus, making it one of the worst-hit countries in the world. - AFP
96% of active cases in Karnataka asymptomatic
With 96% of the total 2,026 active cases in Karnataka being asymptomatic, the State government is now contemplating reverting to its earlier decision to test and quarantine asymptomatic persons as well, especially from high prevalence States.
The Health and Family Welfare Department had last week done away with the mandatory COVID-19 test for asymptomatic individuals. Moreover, asymptomatic individuals had been exempted from institutional quarantine, barring Maharashtra.
13 employees from Delhi L-G’s office infected
Thirteen employees from Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal’s office have tested positive for COVID-19, a Raj Niwas spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson confirmed that the total tally of COVID-19 positive employees stood at 13 according to medical reports which were made available to it on Tuesday.
1,081 more US coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins
The novel coronavirus killed another 1,081 people in the United States in the 24 hours leading up to 8:30 p.m. (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
That means 1,06,180 people have so far officially died from the virus out of 18,31,435 official cases, according to the Baltimore-based school.
The U.S. has had by far the most COVID-19 cases and deaths of any country in the world. - AFP
U.S. to ship first tranche of 100 donated ventilators to India next week: White House
The U.S. will be ready to ship the first tranche of 100 donated ventilators to India next week, President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a conference call, the White House said.
Trump spoke with Modi on Tuesday and “the two leaders discussed the G-7 (summit), the COVID-19 response, and regional security issues”, it said.
4155 Shramik Specials run since May 1
Indian Railways said on Tuesday that it has operationalised 4,155 Shramik Special trains since May 1. “Till now, more than 57 lakh migrants have been transported through these trains in 33 days,” an official statement said.
As per data shared, the top five States/UTs from where the highest number of Shramik Special trains originated are Gujarat (1,027 trains), Maharashtra (802), Punjab (416), Uttar Pradesh (288) and Bihar (294). Likewise, the top five States where trains terminated are Uttar Pradesh (1,670 trains), Bihar (1,482), Jharkhand (194), Odisha (180) and West Bengal (135).
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