India registered its highest surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths on Tuesday with 3,875 cases and 194 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in its May 6 update said that 49,391 have been tested positive and the death toll stands at 1,694
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:
Delhi sees highest single-day jump with 428 new cases
One death and 428 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Wednesday, taking the total number of deaths to 65 and cases to 5,532, according to the State government.
This is the highest single-day jump in the number of cases so far.
Of the total cases, 1,542 people have recovered and there are 3,925 active cases.
One more COVID-19 positive case of an 18 year old male from Bhagalpur district in Bihar takes the total number in the state to 542.
14 more personnel with the JJ Marg police station in Mumbai have tested positive for COVID 19, taking the total number of patients in the police station to 26.
Tripura reports 22 fresh cases
As many as 22 more COVID-19 cases detected on Wednesday taking the number to 64 in Tripura. Active cases stand at 62. Tripura now have highest number of cases in northeast India. All new cases detected in headquarters of 138 battalion of BSF at Ambassa in Dhalai district that has become coronavirus hotspot in the state.
Rajasthan reports 159 new cases
Four deaths - one each in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur - reported in Rajasthan today, taking the toll of COVID-19 related deaths to 93. A total of 159 COVID-19 positive cases detected in 15 districts of the State today, including 30 BSF personnel in Jodhpur. The tally of positive cases in Rajasthan is now 3,317. Of them, 1,739 have recovered and 1,275 have been discharged from hospitals. As of now, the State has 1,485 active cases, says the Medical & Health Department.
Two men die in Tamil Nadu; Record high of 771 new cases
COVID-19 cases continued to surge in Tamil Nadu as the state on Wednesday recorded a new all-time single day high of 771 additions, a big chunk linked to the hotspot of Koyambedu market here, and two fresh deaths, taking the total number of infections to 4,829, authorities said.
20 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka; Govt. announces Rs 1,610 cr package
Seeking to provide much needed succour to people, including barbers and cab drivers, hit by the COVID-19, the Karnataka government on Wednesday announced a ₹1,610 crore relief package and hiked excise duty on liquor by 11% to mop up revenues as the state reported 20 new cases, taking the total to 693.
Maharashtra sees second highest single day rise with 1233 new cases
Maharashtra reported a massive surge of 1233 new COVID-19 cases as the cumulative tally breached the 16,000 - mark to reach 16,758. 34 fatalities were reported to take the total death toll to 651. As many as 275 patients were discharged today taking the total number of discharged till date to 3,094. Mumbai's case tally breached the 10,000- mark to reach 10,714 cases, while it's death toll stood at 412. 25 of the new deaths reported across the State today were from Mumbai city.
118 fresh cases reported in U.P
With deaths in Prayagraj, Etah, Meerut and Aligarh, the COVID-19 death toll in UP climbs to 60.
Total cases stand at 2998, with 118 fresh cases, according to the UP health department. UP has 1808 active cases.
With three new cases, Chitrakoot comes the 67th district in UP to report a positive case. Only eight districts in UP have not reported any cases so far.
COVID-19 cases rises to 6625 in Gujarat
Gujarat records 380 cases and 28 deaths, bringing the COVID-19 tally to 6625 cases and 396 deaths. So far, 1500 persons have recovered and discharged.
J&K reports 34 new cases
As many as 34 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Total number of cases rises to 775, say officials.
COVID-19 cases rise to 541 in Bihar
Two more COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar takes the total number to 541. One male, 25, from Kaimur district and one female, 28, from Patna are the new cases.
MHA writes to West Begal govt. for violation of lockdown measures
Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla writes another letter to West Bengal, says "Lockdown violations have been noted in Kolkata and Howrah by specific groups in specific localities with media reports of 'corona warriors' including even the police being attacked in such localities. This necessitates stricter enforcement of lockdown."
"Instances of overcrowding in bazaars with poor sanitation, free movement of people in large numbers without masks, bathing of people in rivers, people playing cricket and football, serious laxity in enforcing lockdown measures in containment zones, plying of rickshaws...Many examples of poor supervision and implementation of crowd control measures by the district authorities."
"There remains gaps in the surveillance and contact tracing of positive cases. The State has not furnished any data regarding the number of households and individuals contacted and surveyed for signs of COVID19 symptoms. Inefinite delays in testing results has further affected the contact tracing process and has put patients at risk." the letter says.
COVID-19 cases rise to 185 in Odisha
Five more COVID-19 patients detected, four in Jagatsinghpur and one in Kendrapara, taking Odisha’s total to 185. Of the total cases so far, 122 are active cases, while 61 have recovered and two have died so far, according to Health Department.
No new positive cases, no new hotspots in Kerala
No new positive cases were reported in Kerala on Wednesday, while samples of seven people returned negative and only 30 COVID-19 patients are under treatment.
Eight of the 14 districts have zero positive cases, including Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthpuram and there are no new hotspots in the state, the Chief Minister said
89 fresh cases reported in U.P., total number of COVID-19 cases rise to 2,969
With 89 fresh cases being reported in Uttar Pradesh, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state went up to 2,969 on Wednesday.
Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said so far, 2,969 COVID-19 cases have been reported from 66 districts out of 75 in the state. Six districts have no active case, he said.
West Bengal records highest jump in COVID-19 cases
West Bengal records highest jump in COVID 19 cases. As many as 112 new cases recorded in one day, while four persons died in the past 24 hours. Containment zones has increased in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas.
Only pharmacies & dairy parlours to remain open in Ahmedabad
In wake of surging infections in Ahmedabad, local authorities have imposed stringent norms. Now only pharmacies & dairy parlours to remain open. All vegetable, fruit and provision stores & online services like Swiggy and Zomato to be shut. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has also directed all private medical clinics, nursing homes and hospitals to open within 48 hours or else their licenses shall be cancelled.
Delhi govt. issues guidelines for screening, handling of people returning by repatriation flights
The Delhi government on Wednesday issued guidelines for screening and handling of passengers on their return to the city airport from abroad by repatriation flights amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
In an order, the Delhi heath department said this is in view of the planned phased return of Indian nationals stranded abroad by the Ministry of External Affairs in coordination with the Indian Missions overseas.
The order issued by the Delhi health secretary said guidelines have been issued for screening and handling of such passengers on their return to the city airport to mitigate the possibility of spread of COVID-19.
Passengers returning to Delhi airport will be quarantined in a paid facility for 14 days from their date of arrival, the order said.
Delhi government orders release of 4,000 Tablighi Jamaat members who have completed their required quarantine period in centres.
- PTI
COVID-19 cases rise to 539 in Bihar
Three more COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar taking the total number to 539. Two male and one female from Madhubani, Patna and Sheohar districts are the new cases.
30 BSF jawans test positive for COVID-19 in Jodhpur
Thirty BSF jawans, forming part of a company deployed earlier in the Walled City area in Delhi on internal security duty, tested positive for COVID-19 here on Wednesday, an official of the border guarding force said.
According to the BSF official, all these jawans were the part of a BSF company comprising 65 jawans, which had been sent to Delhi from Jaipur on internal security duty and had been put up at the Jama Masjid in the national capital.
30 BSF jawans test positive for COVID-19 in Jodhpur
COVID-19 cases rise to 180 in Odisha
One more COVID-19 positive case detected in Jajpur district taking Odisha’s total number to 180. Of the total cases, while 117 are active, 61 have recovered and two have died so far, according to officials.
85 more BSF personnel test positive
As many as 85 BSF personnel tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number of infected personnel to 154 so far.
Two of them have recovered from the disease.
Two floors of the BSF headquarters in the CGOs complex on Lodhi Road here were sealed on Monday after a staff member was found COVID-19 infected and the headquarters was shut for sanitisation.
Two more COVID-19 cases — one each in Balasore and Jajpur districts — were detected in Odisha on Wednesday, taking the State’s total 179. - Prafulla Das
Now, UP hikes petrol, diesel, liquor rates
Uttar Pradesh has joined the list of States to hike prices of petrol, diesel and liquor to increase the revenue during the times of COVID-19 pandemic.
Diesel and Petrol prices increased by ₹ 1 and ₹2 per litre respectively in UP, Suresh Khanna, UP Finance Minister said after a cabinet meeting.
The rate of country liquor has been increased by ₹5. Foreign liquor (economy class) rates have been hiked by ₹10 for 180ml bottle, by ₹20 for 180-500 ml, and ₹30 for more than 500 ml units.
Foreign Liquor (regular) will be costlier by ₹20 for 180ml, ₹30 for 180-500ml and ₹50 for 500 ml plus. Imported liquor will be dearer by ₹100 for 180 ml, ₹200 for 180-500 ml and ₹400 for 500 ml plus.
The state expects to achieve a revenue of ₹2,350 crore in the year 2020-21 from this change, said Mr. Khanna. - Omar Rashid
Railways to run 42 Shramik Special trains today
The Indian Railways on Wednesday said it plans to run 42 additional Shramik Special trains today (May 6).
“...Yesterday, we had run 38 Shramik Special trains . Today, we are planning 42 more trains,” a railways spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that till 1300 hours on Wednesday, 22 such trains were operated, taking the total tally of Shramik Special trains to 115.
Civilian in OTA tests positive
A civilian kitchen staff member, working at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, has tested positive for COVID-19. All the contacts of the civilian have been quarantined, a defence official said.
The individual was admitted to the government hospital on May 3, after reporting chest congestion and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4.
Govt extends validity of documents related to Motor Vehicle Act till June 30
Amid lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the government has extended the validity of documents related to Motor Vehicle Act and Central Motor Vehicle Rules till June 30.
The validity has been extended for the documents whose validity expires between February 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020.
“Since it is not possible to renew documents during lockdown, various documents related to MV Act 1988 and CMV Rules 1989 whose validity expires between February 1, 2020-June 30, 2020 will be treated as valid,” Road Transport, Highways and MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Colour codes for shops in Gurugram
Shops, other than those supplying essential commodities, will be divided into three categories in Gurugram.
They will be marked with colour strips and each category shop will be allowed to open only two days a week, Gurugram District Magistrate has said. - Ashok Kumar
The Delhi Police Commissioner has instructed senior officers to conduct a meeting with Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) officers and suggest them to execute liquor sale through online portal in order to avoid crowd at liquor shops. - Saurabh Trivedi
Health Ministry asks AIOCD to ensure availability of critical drugs for management of COVID-19
The Union Health Ministry has written to the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), saying its member should ensure availability of critical drugs for management of COVID-19 and other essential drugs during these “challenging times”.
The ministry has forwarded a list of 55 drugs for ICU management of novel coronavirus patients and a list of another 96 drugs for general availability and treatment of various co-morbid conditions.
Bagalkote reports 13 fresh cases
19 new cases have been detected in Karnataka on Wednesday morning taking the total number of positive cases to 692.
This includes 29 deaths, one non-Covid death and 345 discharged persons.
Among the new cases, 13 are from Bagalkote alone. Except in one patient who reported with Influenza Like Illness (ILI), the infection has spread to 12 others from Patient Number 607, according to the department”s midday bulletin.
While three from Dakshina Kannada have been reported, two are from Bengaluru Urban and one from Kalaburgi.
Sources said a delivery boy is among the two that have tested positive in Bengaluru. - Afshan Yasmeen
Two deaths, 60 fresh cases reported in AP
Andhra Pradesh has reported two more COVID-19 deaths and 60 fresh cases, including 13 cases of natives of other states, after 7,782 samples were tested during the past day taking the tally to 1,777.
One patient each in Kurnool and Krishna districts succumbed to the disease, according to the bulletin by the Health Department.
On the brighter side as many as 140 patients were discharged. It was the first time that a huge number of patients have recovered in a day. - Tharun Boda
One more COVID-19 death in Rajasthan
The COVID-19 death toll in Rajasthan increased to 90 with one more fatality reported on Wednesday, while 35 people tested positive for the disease, taking the number of cases to 3,193 in the state, an official said.
The state has 1,567 active cases now, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said.
The death was reported from Swai Madhopur. The death toll due to the virus in the state has climbed to 90, he said. Jaipur alone has reported 50 deaths.
Aarogya Setu team says no personal information proven to be at risk
Following allegations of security issues with the government’s Aarogya Setu application by French hacker Robert Baptiste, the application’s team on Wednesday said that no personal information of any user had been proven to be at risk.
One more COVID-19 case has been reported from Bihar's Purnea District. A 27-year-old male is the latest person to get infected. The total number of confirmed cases in the state stands at 536. - Amarnath Tewary
Karnataka COVID-19 package
Karnataka government announces Rs. 1,610 crore package to give relief to those in distress due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The relief package will benefit farmers, MSMEs, handloom weavers, flower growers, washermen, barbers, auto and taxi drivers among others.
The government also announces 11 per cent excise duty hike, which is in addition of six per cent announced in the budget.
90-year-old woman recovers from COVID-19
A 90-year-old woman was discharged from the civil hospital here in Maharashtra on Tuesday after recovering from COVID-19, the district administration said.
The district on Tuesday reported 121 new COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 1,399, an official release said.
So far, the district has recorded 38 deaths due to the disease, the release said. - PTI
Haryana liquor vends reopen today, booze to be costlier as ‘Covid cess’ imposed
Liquor vends in Haryana will reopen from Wednesday after nearly 40 days, but it will be costlier as the state government has imposed a variable ‘Covid cess.’ The State government has decided to open the retail liquor vends throughout the state barring in coronavirus ‘containment zones’, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said.
The shops will remain open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in both rural and urban areas, said Mr. Chautala, who also holds the Excise portfolio.
The ‘COVID cess’ will be levied on all types of liquor: ₹5 per quart in case of country liquor, ₹20 per quart for Indian-made Foreign liquor (IMFL), he said. It will be ₹5 in case of strong beer and ₹2 in case of other beer and ₹50 per pack greater than 375 ml in case of Imported Foreign Liquor (IFL).
A 77-year-old man from Bhubaneswar died on Tuesday rising the death toll in Odisha to two. Number of total cases has climbed to 177 with a Surat returnee testing positive in Ganjam district, State government said on Wednesday. - Prafulla Das
Trump says U.S. has flattened coronavirus curve
Asserting that the United States has flattened the curve on coronavirus, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the country is now in the next stage of the battle, which is a “very safe phased and gradual reopening”.
“Thanks to the profound commitment of our citizens, we have flattened the curve and countless American lives have been saved. Our country is now in the next stage of the battle. A very safe, phased and gradual reopening of our country,” Trump said in his remarks at Honeywell International in Phoenix.
Data | Sudden spike in cases results in fastest COVID-19 doubling rate in Punjab in the past week
Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu witnessed a spurt in the rate of growth of cases in the last week, with cases in Punjab doubling every three days as of Monday. The rate of growth of cases in Kerala slowed down even further, indicating a successful containment of the spread. Both cases and fatalities are increasing rapidly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Trump urges China to reveal all about origin of coronavirus
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged China to be transparent about the origins of the novel coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than a quarter of a million people since it started in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Mr. Trump, speaking before leaving on a trip to Arizona, said the United States would release a report detailing the origins of the virus, but gave no details or timeline.
15 new cases recorded in J&K
J&K has recorded 15 new cases of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, pushing the total number of cases in the Union Territory (U.T.) to 741.
“Seventeen patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals in the same period,” an official said
Telangana government extends lockdown till May 29
The lockdown in Telangana has been extended till May 29 with a few riders. The lockdown in State was to end on Thursday.
At a post-Cabinet press conference late on Tuesday night, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the decision to extend lockdown was taken irrespective of the Central government date for the same till May 17 for more effective implementation of restrictions to tackle COVID-19.
Will bring back Indians stranded in Nepal after May 7, Centre tells SC
The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that a decision has been taken to bring back Indian citizens stranded in Nepal due to the COVID-19 pandemic after May 7.
Appearing before a Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the government would also take necessary steps to repatriate Nepalese citizens stuck in India.
