Days after the Centre and States rolled out guidelines for Lockdown 4.0, parts of India saw buses plying and shops providing limited services.
Providing clarity on school examinations, the HRD Ministry said that students will appear for pending class 10 and 12 board exams at the schools where they are enrolled instead of an external test centre. The Ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end.
The Hindu has brought out a multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information, in addition to covering the developments related to the coronavirus pandemic as it unfolded. Here is a collection of our daily cartoons on COVID-19 .
Here are answers from experts on your queries about the virus, a list of State Helpline numbers , a State-wise tracker for COVID-19 cases, deaths and testing, and a map of confirmed cases in India.
Here are the latest updates:
1041 inter-state migrants have tested positive in U.P.
A total of 1041 inter-state migrants have tested positive in U.P. so far, the state health department said. This is out of a total of 5175 cases in UP as of today, while the death toll went up to 127.
About 50 fresh cases were reported in Barabanki, 21 in Ayodhya, 15 in Etawah, 12 in Prayagraj and 11 in Pratapgarh.
The total number of samples collected of such migrants stands at 43625, while over 5.36 lakh are under the surveillance of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists).
MHA amends Lockdown 4.0 guidelines issued on May 17 to permit domestic air travel for stranded persons. Detailed guidelines for operation of airports and travel of passengers to be issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation, says an order by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla
COVID-19 death toll in Rajasthan mounts to 147
Four deaths, including 3 in Jaipur, take the COVID-19 related death toll in Rajasthan to 147. The State's tally of COVID-19 positive cases crosses the 6,000-mark with the detection of 170 new cases today. The tally is now 6,015. Of the total number of patients, 3,404 have recovered and 3,000 have been discharged. As of now, the State has 2,464 active cases.exam
Railway Board allows opening of catering, vending units at stations
The Railway Board has given its nod for the opening of catering and vending units at stations, but said that food plazas and refreshment rooms will open only for takeaways, an order said on Wednesday.
These units will include shops for selling packaged goods, essential items, chemist shops, bookstalls and others which were shut soon after the coronavirus crisis hit the country.
CISF cancels all transfers till March next year
All due transfers in the 1.62 lakh personnel-strong Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have been cancelled till March next year in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, an order issued by the paramilitary force said on Wednesday.
The measure will affect about 12,000-13,000 personnel and is aimed at “minimising” their “hardship” and saving transfer allowance worth a few crore of rupees that is given to the under-transfer staffers to join the new place of their posting.
Maharashtra reports 2,250 new cases; State tally rises to 39,297
Maharashtra reported a fourth consecutive surge of more than 2,000 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, with a total 2,250 cases taking the cumulative tally to 39,297. This is the second-highest single-day surge in the State till date . As many as 679 patients were discharged today to take the total number of discharged till date to 10,318.
65 new deaths were reported today, taking the total number of fatalities to 1390. Mumbai's case tally has now crossed the 24,000 mark to reach 24,118 cases, while it's death toll has risen to 841. As many as 41 of the new deaths reported today were from Mumbai city, while 13 were reported from Pune district and three from Navi Mumbai among other parts of the state.
3 more test COVID-19 positive in Punjab; tally rises to 2,005
Three people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Punjab on Wednesday, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 2,005, according to a medical bulletin. One person each in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar tested positive for the coronavirus, it said.
As many as 152 coronavirus patients were discharged from different hospitals in the state after they recovered from the infection, taking the total number of recovered patients to 1,794, the bulletin said.
25 new coronavirus cases in Dharavi, no new death reported
Twenty-five new coronavirus patients were detected in Dharavi here on Wednesday, taking the tally of cases to 1,378, according to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official.
Six cases were found in Matunga Labour Colony within the area.
As many as 74 people, including two pregnant women, tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday in J&K.
Spread of coronavirus controlled to a large extent: Uddhav Thackeray
The Central government feels that the spike in coronavirus cases will be higher by May-end and in June, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday and added that the spread has been controlled to a large extent in the state.
He made these remarks during his meeting with representatives of the entertainment industry in Mumbai.
“The number of (coronavirus) patients is growing and the health crisis is not over yet,” a statement quoted Thackeray as saying.
South Western Railway completes operating 100 special trains, ferries over one lakh stranded
Signalling its achievement amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the South Western Railway said it completed operating 100 Shramik special trains on Wednesday and ferried 1.4 lakh stranded migrant workers, students and others in its zone since the services started in the region on May 3.
Lockdown has little impact on containing COVID-19: Congress
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Central government’s strategy of handling the COVID-19 pandemic through lockdown and gave out statistics to argue that it had little impact on containing infections.
Addressing an online press conference, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said COVID-19 positive cases went up from 28,000 to 1 lakh cases between May 3 and 18 when lockdown 3.0 was in force.
Lockdown has little impact on containing COVID-19: Congress
COVID-19 death toll in Delhi mounts to 176; cases cross 11,000-mark
The coronavirus death toll in Delhi has climbed to 176, while 534 fresh cases of COVID-19 infection reported on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike here, took the total in the city over the 11,000-mark, authorities said.
The previous highest spike in fresh cases -- 500 -- was recorded on May 19.
In a bulletin issued on Wednesday, the Delhi health department said, the death toll from coronavirus infection has risen to 176, and the total number of cases has mounted to 11,088.
24 new cases in Kerala, COVID-19 tally touches 666
In a steep spike in COVID-19 cases in Kerala, 24 people were infected on Wednesday, taking the infection tally to 666, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
At least 74,000 people are under observation, 533 in various hospitals, including 156 admitted today
Bihar Health Secretary transferred as COVID-19 crisis peaks
In a sudden move, the Bihar government Wednesday transferred Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar, who has been at the forefront of the state’s fight against coronavirus .
According to a notification issued by the General Administration Department, the 1990-batch IAS officer has been made to swap posts with 1993-batch officer Uday Singh Kumawat, who is the state’s Principal Secretary for Tourism Department.
Bihar Health Secretary transferred as COVID-19 crisis peaks
Bihar reports 27 new cases
As many as 27 more COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar taking the total number in the state to 1607. About 571 have been recovered yet and total 53, 361 sample testing done.
Domestic flight services to resume from 25th May
Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020. All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May, tweets Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri.
555 labs, including 391 of ICMR network are operational currently: Health Ministry spokesperson
"New guidelines have been issued for the fourth round of lockdown, as per circumstances, the State/UT governments have issued necessary directives to the respective areas, as per Health Ministry standards, they are earmarking different zones," says the Health Ministry spokesperson.
Till noon today 25,36,156 tests conducted. Yesterday 1,07,609 tests were conducted.
Currently, 555 labs, including 391 of ICMR network are operational.
As per revised policy, based on evidence, it was found that the cases which are pre-symptomatic, mild or with moderate symptoms, if they do not have fever for 10 days, they cannot spread infection. That's why we have given permission to them to go home after 10 days. However, thereafter, they should isolate themselves at home for seven days as a precautionary measure, adds the Health Ministry spokesperson.
Mortality per lakh is 0.2 in India compared to 4.2 in the rest of the world, says Health Ministry spokesperson
"As many as 42,298 cases have recovered so far, total active cases stand at 61,149. About 62 cases per lakh reported in the rest of the world, in India it is 7.9 per lakh of population affected," says the Health Ministry spokesperson.
Mortality per lakh is 0.2 in India compared to 4.2 in the rest of the world. In Spain it is 59 per lakh, the highest, the official adds.
India vis-a-vis 10 most affected countries: 14,77516 cases reported in U.S., Russia: 2,9941, U.K.: 2,46410, Brazil: 2,41,080, Spain: 2,31,606; Italy: 2,25,886; Germany: 1,75,210, Turkey: 1,50,593; France: 1,40,497; India: 1,06,750 cases.
Mortality comparision: India reported 3303 deaths, while U.S.: 89,272, U.K.: 34,796, Italy: 32,007, France: 28,190, Spain: 27,709, Brazil: 16,118, Germany: 8007, Iran: 7,057,, Turkey: 4171.
Top 15 most impacted countries: total population is 142 crore, India's population is 137 crore, compared to 36.45 lakh cases in these countries, India reported 1,06,750 cases, compared to 2.73 lakh deaths in these countries, India reported 3,303 deaths. Nearly 83 times total deaths were reported in these countries compared to that in India.
Recovery rate
At the start of the lockdown the recovery rate was 7.1%, with early identification of cases and clinical management initiatives and it went up to 11.42% when the second lockdown began. The current recovery rate stands at 39.62%, he says.
About 2.94% of the active cases requiring oxygen support, 3% need ICU support and 0.45% are on ventilator support. Only 6.39% cases are requiring hospital management. We have upgraded our hospital infrastrcture in the past about two months. 1.5 lakh beds are available today, the official adds.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to ease lockdown in view of rescheduled Board examinations for Classes X and XII. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to State Chief Secretary regarding this.
However, exam centres won't be allowed in containment zones. Face masks will be mandatory for all staff, teachers and students. The exam centres must have provision for thermal screening and hand sanitizers.
4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Tripura
Four more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the total number of cases in the state to 173, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.
He said the four persons who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently returned from Chennai and are now under treatment.
Dy Collector’s driver tests positive
The driver of a deputy collector in Chhattisgarhs Rajnandgaon district tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 102.
He worked as the driver of a deputy collector, who was deputed at Baghnadi check post on Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border.
Thousands of migrant labourers from Maharashtra and southern states have been coming to Chhattisgarh on foot or in goods vehicles via the Baghnadi border area, where officials are deployed for making arrangements of various facilities and medical screening of those entering the state.
“Prima facie, it seems the driver might have contracted the disease from an infected migrant,” an official said.
Delhi COVID-19 cases cross 11,000-mark
The COVID-19 death toll in Delhi has climbed to 176, while 534 fresh cases of the infection reported on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike so far, took the total in the city over the 11,000-mark.
In a bulletin issued on Wednesday, the Delhi Health Department said the death toll from the coronavirus infection has risen to 176, and the total number of cases mounted to 11,088.
Nanegaon villagers in Patan Tehsil of Satara district, Maharashtra made their own strict arrangements to quarantine their family, friends, visitors from Mumbai and Pune in the tent at outskirts of the village for 14days.
Meghalaya Assembly gathers for budget session
The three-day re-assembled budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly started on Wednesday amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Wearing masks was made compulsory for all, including the chief minister and MLAs. Before entering the assembly, they were made to undergo thermal screening and also had to sanitise their hands.
12 fresh cases of coronavirus in Himachal
Twelve people, who had recently returned from Mumbai, have tested positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking the virus tally in the state to 105.
The 12 were among the 697 people, who had returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai in a special train on May 18.
The total number of infected people in the state stands at 105, while 51 of them have been cured. Four people have died due to COVID-19. - PTI
Aurangabad reports two more deaths; cases mount in Pune
Two more deaths were reported from Aurangabad district in Marathwada which, along with other parts of the region and Pune and Nashik districts, continued to witness an uptick in new COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday with the former district reporting at least three fatalities and the latter reporting one.
Meanwhile, at least 41 new cases have been reported in Aurangabad district since Tuesday evening, taking the cumulative case tally to 1,117, said district authorities.
63 new COVID cases in Karnataka
A day after recording the highest spike on a single day with 149 cases, as many as 63 new cases have been reported on Wednesday.
With this the total number of cases has touched 1,458.
Without giving a break up of the travel and contact history of the new cases, the Health Department has released the midday bulletin with just district wise numbers.
Kerala postpones Class 10, 12 exams
The Kerala Government on Wednesday walked back from its contentious decision to hold SSLC, higher secondary and vocational higher secondary public examinations as per schedule from May 26 t0 30 despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would hold the exams in the first week of June as per the Central Government's guidelines.
Mr. Vijayan had on Tuesday overruled an earlier decision by the General Education department to postpone the examinations until the fourth phase of the COVID-19 lockdown ended on May 31.
A.P. has 68 new COVID-19 cases
Andhra Pradesh had 68 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the last 24 hours out of 9,159 samples tested.
With this, the total number of cases increased to 2,560 including 153 from other States — Maharashtra (101), Gujarat (26), Odisha (10), Rajasthan (11), Tamil Nadu (3), West Bengal (1) and Karnataka (1).
The number of active cases is 843. The death toll stands at 53. As many as 1,664 persons have been discharged from hospitals so far.
Of the 68 new cases, 10 cases — six in Chittoor district and four in Nellore district — have links to the Koyambedu market in Chennai.
61 new cases in Rajasthan
Sixty-one new COVID-19 positive cases have been detected in Rajasthan today, taking the State's tally to 5,906.
However, no new deaths were reported so far today.
Of the total number of patients, 3,354 have recovered and 2,929 have been discharged. As of now, the State has 2,409 active cases, said the State Medical and Health Department.
After 54 days, Kerala RTC restarts operations
Intradistrict ordinary services of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) commences operations in all 14 districts of Kerala after a 54-day lockdown. They will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. only.
Passengers maintain social distancing as KSRTC services resume in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Wednesday.
The fare has been hiked in view of the social-distancing norms to be followed on the buses. The minimum fare for 2.5 to 5 km has gone up from ₹8 to ₹12 and the fare for the subsequent kilometres has been increased from the existing 70 paise to ₹1.10. For the subsequent 15 farestages, the minimum fare of ₹12 and ₹1.10 per km travelled will be levied from the commuter.
Those travelling on concessional fare will have to pay only 50% of new fare.
Flight carring 168 seafarers land in Goa
A Neos Air chartered flight carrying 168 seafarers has landed in Goa from Milan in Italy.
The aircraft has been chartered by Costa Cruises.
All seafarers will be tested for novel coronavirus at the airport itself before being moved to paid quarantine facilities.
Two airports in AP receive 459 stranded Indians
An Air India flight carrying 145 people stranded in London, landed at Vijayawada Airport here on Wednesday, as part of the biggest ever off-shore evacuation drive of Indian citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission.
The international airport in Visakhapatnam received two flights, one from Manila (Philippines) and the other from Abu Dhabi with 166 and 148 passengers respectively on Tuesday night, airport authorities said.
- PTI
In Karnataka, infection rate highest among those in 20-29 age bracket
Sixty-five percent of those who died in Karnataka due to COVID-19 were aged above 60. And all other patients who lost their lives were aged above 40.
Among those infected, a majority in the State fall under the 20-29 age bracket. As many as 24.7% of the total 1,373 patients tested positive in the State belong to this category.
J&K admin imposes restrictions around quarantine centres in Udhampur
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has imposed restrictions around quarantine centres in Udhampur district where stranded people brought back from other states through special trains have been kept, officials said on Wednesday.
These directions were issued soon after the visit of Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu to the railway station in Udhampur on Tuesday, they said.
- PTI
New 24-hour high in COVID-19 cases
India added 5,611 new COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases in the country to 1,06,750, according to a Wednesday morning update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
This includes 51,149 active cases and 3,303 deaths.
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) noted that it has tested 25,12,388 samples so far, of which 1,08,121 were tested in the last 24 hours.
74 new cases in Odisha
Odisha registers 74 new COVID-19 positive cases, taking the total number of cases in the State to 1,052. The number of active cases is 739.
Migrant labourers are seen from a truck as they collect food packets donated by social workers in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar as they are returning to their home districts on May 17, 2020.
Seventy two of the new cases were detected in quarantine centres for returnees, and the other two were locals, according to the State government. Six people have died and 307 people have recovered so far.
An Assistant Superintendent in Rohini Jail, Delhi has tested positive for COVID-19. The policeman lives with his family in staff quarters in Tihar Jail premises.
More details are awaited.
Bihar's case count crosses 1,500
Bihar has registered 60 more COVID-19 positive cases. With this, the total number of cases in the State is now 1,579.
All new patients are from from Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Banka, Nalanda, Khagaria, Madhubani and Supaul districts.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have recovered from the infection is now 534.
Chennai returnee tests positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya
A man, who returned from Chennai, has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said.
The Chennai returnee coronavirus patient has been admitted at a COVID-19 hospital in the Garo Hills, the CM said.
With the new case, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state has risen to 14 but the Chennai returnee is the only active case in the state at present as 12 people have recovered from coronavirus and one has died.
- PTI
Dharavi sees a dip in COVID-19 cases
After reporting a spike of 85 COVID-19 cases that pushed its tally beyond 1,300-mark on Monday, Dharavi reported only 26 cases on Tuesday.
Dharavi, which has been reporting around 50 cases every day since May 14, saw a dip. The number of cases there now is 1,353 while 56 deaths have been reported thus far. One of the new cases is a 5-year-old boy from the Dharavi Police Chawl and a 7-year-old boy from the Matunga labour camp.
Data | Is India undercounting its COVID-19 deaths?
India’s COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR, deaths/cases) has always remained low. But data from some European and Asian countries show that since the 10th week of 2020, “excess deaths” have surged. In countries with relatively poorer income levels such as Indonesia and Ecuador, a very small % of those excess deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. With historically poor registration of deaths and medically-certified death rate, is India too undercounting its dead?
Hydroxychloroquine a ‘line of defence’ against virus, says Trump defending drug
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his taking antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a ‘line of defence’ against coronavirus.
"I think it’s worth it as a line of defence and I’ll stay on it for a little while longer. I’m just very curious myself, but it seems to be very safe," Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House, a day after he disclosed that he has been taking the drug to ward off the deadly infection.
The U.S. president said the drug has gotten a bad reputation only because ‘he was promoting it’. However, opposition leaders slammed Trump for taking the unproven drug.
How safe are your grocery packages?
Ever since the spread of COVID-19 , grocery runs are characterised by masks, sanitisers and gloves.
But, are you cleaning the groceries the right way ? Here are a few points to remember as suggested by experts during and after grocery shopping.
Assam registers 3 new cases
Assam saw three new COVID-19 positive cases late Tuesday night. With this, the total case count in the State is now 157.
According to State records, 110 of these are active cases. As many as 41 have recovered, and two cases have been shifted to other States. Four people have died due to the infection.
24 new cases in Bihar
Bihar registered 24 new COVID-19 positive cases, taking the total toll in the State to 1,519.
All 24 new patients hail from Katihar, Bhagalpur, Supaul, Kaimur and Patna districts. The death toll in the State remains nine. At least 475 people have recovered so far, according to State authorities.
Brazil surpasses 1,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
Brazil's daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and U.S. leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.
Mr. Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Mr. Trump, has been criticised for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.
Spike takes Tamil Nadu tally past 12,000
In yet another spike, Tamil Nadu recorded 688 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Chennai witnessed a sharp increase, accounting for 552, or 80% of the fresh cases. This took its total to 7,672, of which 5,691 are active cases. The city also accounted for 58 of the 84 deaths so far in the State.
In addition to Chennai, Chengalpattu reported 22 more cases and Tiruvallur eight cases. There were five cases in Kancheepuram, three in Thanjavur, two each in Kanniyakumari and Ramanathapuram, and one each in Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Nagapattinam, Ranipet, Theni, Thoothukudi and Tiruchi.
Premier League confirms six positive COVID-19 cases after testing
The Premier League said that six people from three different clubs had tested positive for COVID-19 out of a sample of 748 individuals. This includes three people from Watford F.C., and one from Burnley F.C.
The novel coronavirus tests were taken on Sunday and Monday ahead of the return to small group training. “Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days,” the league said in a statement.
