With that it's a wrap to the LIVE coverage on the coronavirus pandemic. Do joing us tomorrow for the top developments on the outbreak from India and around the world, until then, stay safe. Good night.
Coronavirus in Haryana LIVE updates: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij says will seal borders with Delhi
Haryana Minister Anil Vij has said that the state will close its border with the capital due to a spike in cases of coronavirus in Delhi. He announced that it is going to seal its border with Delhi once again and Home Minister Anil Vij has written to the home secretary. In the letter, Vij cited the rise in cases over the past one week and pointed out there were 98 fresh COVID-19 cases in Faridabad, 111 in Gurugram and six in Jhajjar and 27 in Sonipat.
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE updates: 2,598 new coronavirus cases in state, 85 deaths reported
Maharashtra on Thursday reported 2,598 new coronavirus patients which took the tally of cases in the state to 59,546, a health official said. With 85 new COVID-19-related deaths, 38 of them in Mumbai, the death toll due to the pandemic reached 1,982. On the other hand, 698 patients were discharged from hospitals on Thursday, taking the tally of recovered persons in the state to 18,616, the official added. "Out of 85 deaths, 37 deaths occurred in the last two days while remaining 48 had taken place between May 15 and May 25," he said. Apart from 38 deaths in Mumbai, 10 patients died in Pune city, nine in Satara, seven in Solapur city, five in Akola city, four each from Vasai Virar and Thane, three from Aurangabad, two from Navi Mumbai, one each from Raigad, Jalgaon and Nanded city, he said.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: Government lifts restrictions on export of paracetamol APIs
The government issued a notification on May 28 removing restrictions on export of Paracetamol APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) with immediate effect. Earlier, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification that restrictions on exports of Paracetamol APIs or raw materials will continue. The government on March 3 had put export restrictions on 26 pharma ingredients and medicines, including paracetamol. However on April 6, it removed the export restrictions on 24 APIs and formulations excluding Paracetamol. India exported formulations made from Paracetamol worth $5.41 billion during April-January 2019-20. It was $5.8 billion in 2018-19.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: 1,438 new COVID-19 cases in Mumbai; 38 more patients die
The tally of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai crossed the 35,000-mark on Thursday with the addition of 1,438 new infections, while the death toll rose above 1,100, the city civic body said. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with 1,438 new cases, the tally increased to 35,273. The death toll reached 1,135 after 38 more patients succumbed to the viral infection in the city, it said. The BMC said the number of recoveries rose to 9,817 after 763 more persons were discharged from city hospitals. Also, 839 new suspected coronavirus patients were admitted in hospitals in the metropolis, the civic body said, according to PTI.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: Entire country heard cries of migrants but not government, says Sonia Gandhi
The entire country has heard the cries of migrants "except the government", Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Thursday, while her party's leaders hoped that the Centre will wake up from its slumber and help those affected by the COVID-19-induced lockdown. In a video message posted as part of the Congress' 'Speak Up India' campaign, which was launched on Thursday, she also demanded that the government provide Rs 7,500 to each needy family for the next six months and Rs 10,000 as immediate cash to them. Sonia Gandhi said that "there is no dearth of money, it should be utilised properly".
"That 20,000 crore which the government has kept for beautifying the central vista project in Delhi should be used to help these famished people walking on the roads," she said, PTI reported.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: Covid-19 vaccine -- Indian academia, start-ups adopting 3-pronged strategy
Indian academia and start-ups are working, through a three-pronged strategy, on vaccine candidates for coronavirus in the "very strong" Indian vaccine industry, top officials said on Thursday, IANS reported. During a press briefing, Dr Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog and professor K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Centre, summarised activities on COVID-19 related to science and technology in the areas of vaccines, drug discovery, diagnostics and testing. The officials said that the vaccine development process is usually slow and fraught with uncertainties. But, in order to succeed against Covid-19, a large number of parallel efforts are needed, which is being done globally and nationally. "Indian academia and start-ups are working on vaccine candidates in the very strong Indian vaccine industry. There are three kinds of attempts being made," they said.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: HC takes cognisance of woman's death on train, 2 more die on 'Shramik Specials'
The Patna High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of the death of a woman on board a train carrying migrants from Gujarat to Bihar, after a video clip of her little son fiddling with the shroud placed on her body while it lay at a railway station went viral and provoked outrage. Meanwhile, two more deaths were reported on board 'Shramik Special' trains in Khagaria district carrying migrant workers back home from different parts of the country amid the lockdown. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sanjay Kumar took up the matter soon after the latter brought to the notice of the court a newspaper report about the incident that took place on Monday last but came to light two days later. The court directed Additional Advocate General S D Yadav to return with details in the post-lunch session.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: Advance reservation for special trains increased by 120 days
The Ministry of Railways has increased the advance reservation period for all 30 special Rajdhani-type trains and 200 special Mail Express trains running since May 12 and to run from 1 June from 30 days to 120 days. Booking of parcel and luggage to be permitted in all these 230 trains. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways ferried over 50 lakh migrant workers on board 3,736 'Shramik Special' trains since May 1, according to official data, PTI reported. Of these, 3,157 have already reached their destination. The top five states and UTs from where maximum trains originated are Gujarat (979), Maharashtra (695), Punjab (397), Uttar Pradesh (263) and Bihar (263).
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: 367 domestic flights operated until 5 pm on May 28, airports in WB resume services
A total of 367 domestic flights carrying 30,136 passengers operated throughout the country till 5 pm on Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, even as the airports in West Bengal resumed operations after a gap of two months, PTI reported. Earlier in the day, Puri had said 460 domestic flights carrying 34,336 passengers were operated on Wednesday. Domestic flight operations resumed in India on Monday after a gap of two months. However, on Sunday night, Puri had said that West Bengal will handle domestic flights from Thursday. "Figures for domestic flights for 28th May 2020 are in. Departures 367, 30,136 passengers handled. Arrivals 310, 25,530 passengers handled. Total movements 677 with 55,666 passenger footfalls at airports. Total number of flyers 30,136. These are numbers till 1700 hrs for Day 4," Puri said in a tweet.
Coronavirus in Sri Lanka LIVE updates: Island nation facing worst financial crisis due to COVID-19: Minister
Sri Lanka is facing the worst financial crisis in the country's history due to the economic curbs imposed after the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 10 people and infected 1,453 others, a senior minister said on Thursday. "We are facing the worst foreign exchange crisis in history. The government decision to curb imports imposed since the COVID-19 pandemic was based on reality," Bandula Gunawardena, who is the minister for Information and Communication and the government's spokesperson, said. The statement by the minister came as Sri Lanka early this month said it is yet to receive any monetary foreign assistance in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic despite signing an agreement with the World Bank for USD 127 million assistance.
Coronavirus in UK LIVE updates: EPL could restart on June 17, says report
The English Premier League season could restart on June 17, the BBC reported. It claimed that the first games on June 17 would be played between Aston Villa vs Sheffield United, and Manchester City vs Arsenal. The British public service broadcaster said that the fixture would then continue on the weekend of June 19-21. There are 92 fixtures remaining of the 2019-20 seasons. Meanwhile, AFP had reported that two Fulham players tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of testing, the Championship club announced on Thursday. The English Football League said tests were carried out on 1,030 players and staff between Monday and Wednesday. According to worldometers.info, the UK had reported 2.6 lakh COVID-19 positive cases, with 37,460 deaths.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: Karnataka says sought reduction of flights form Maharashtra, TN, Gujarat, MP and Rajasthan
The Karnataka government has clarified that it has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to reduce the number of flights, emanating from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to the state, in view of the high number of COVID-19 cases prevalent. In a clarification, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs JC Madhuswamy said that Karnataka has not sought for imposing a ban on flights emanating from these places. Karnataka has appealed to take steps to reduce air traffic to the state, with the intention that there may not be adequate quarantine facilities, if there is a huge turn-out at a short span of time, he said.
Coronavirus in Mumbai LIVE updates: Mumbai's 6 civic wards together reported 14,000 COVID-19 cases
Six out of the total 24 civic administrative wards in Mumbai together constitute more than 14,000 of the over 33,000 coronavirus positive cases detected in the city so far, the data published by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has revealed. Each of these six wards has recorded more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases, the BMC's infographic about the ward-wise break-up of such cases said. The G-North ward, which comprises areas like Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim, tops the list with 2,728 cases, followed by E, F-North, L, H-East and K-West wards with 2,438, 2,377, 2,321, 2,094 and 2,049 cases respectively, it showed. The tally of COVID-19 cases from these six wards stood at 14,007. Mumbai is the worst-affected COVID-19 hotspots in the country with 33,835 positive cases and 1,044 deaths recorded till Wednesday night.
Coronavirus in Karnataka LIVE updates: Karnataka suspends flights, trains from Maharashtra, Gujarat, TN
The Karnataka government has suspended the arrival of flights from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Trains and vehicles moved from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have also been banned for 8-10 days into the state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Earlier in the day, the Congress came down heavily on the BS Yediyurappa government in the state for its failure to address the grievances of the migrant labourers during the COVID-19 lockdown, as the party launched the 'Speak Up India' nationwide online campaign against the 'cruelty of the BJP government' on Thursday. The BJP too launched a counter campaign highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "relentless battle against COVID-19."
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE updates: 2 Thane corporators test positive for COVID-19
Two corporators from the Thane Municipal Corporation were among 393 persons who tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Thursday. With the addition of 393 fresh cases in the district on Wednesday, the COVID-19 tally in the region has reached 6,690, he said. According to the report released by the administration late on Wednesday night, the district also recorded 17 deaths that took the death toll to 207. At least 156 COVID-19 cases were recorded in Thane city alone, which included two corporators of the Thane Municipal Corporation who tested positive for the deadly infection on Wednesday, the official said.
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates: 129 Indians return from Bangladesh, quarantined
In all 129 Indians, who returned to Tripura from Bangladesh, on Thursday were admitted to the institutional quarantine centre, here, officials said. The Indians, belonging to Tripura and Assam, arrived at the Akhaura-Agartala integrated check-post (ICP), near here, from different parts of Bangladesh. Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das also reached the check-post by road from Dhaka to supervise the return formalities. Lok Sabha Member and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pratima Bhowmik also visited the ICP. Tripura Education and Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said 133 people had approached the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, IANS reported.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Cricket Australia announces summer schedule with full series against India
Ending weeks of speculation, Cricket Australia on Thursday confirmed that India will make the trip Down Under starting October this year for a financially critical assignment comprising four Tests, ODIs as well as T20 Internationals. Cricket Australia announced the much-anticipated resumption of the game after the COVID-19 pandemic with a six-month home summer schedule, which will begin with a tour by Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series from August 9. India will tour the country for a T20 series, which will begin on October 11 at Brisbane followed by matches on October 14 (Canberra) and October 17 (Adelaide), the CA posted on its official website. This is to be followed by the T20 World Cup, the likelihood of which going ahead is slim owing to the pandemic. The CA did not even mention the event in its official schedule unveiled on Thursday.
9 more returnees test COVID-19 positive in Nagaland; total rises to 18
Nagaland reported nine more COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total number of people afflicted with coronavirus in the state to 18, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. All new patients returned to the state from Chennai on May 22 by a Shramik Special train.
The train brought back 1,328 residents of the state, who were stranded in different parts of Tamil Nadu due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus.
"Nine more tested COVID-19 positive. All returnees from Chennai. Six are from Dimapur and three are from Tuensang district," the minister said in a tweet.
Almost 80% of COVID cases in India asymptomatic: Harsh Vardhan
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said almost 80 percent of the COVID-19 cases in India are asymptomatic or at best with very mild symptoms.
In an exclusive interview to IANS, the Health Minister said, "Even today, in almost 80 percent of the cases of COVID-19, which are being reported in India, the patients tend to exhibit either nil or mild symptoms. These patients are mostly contacts of confirmed cases. Interestingly, had it not been for our contact tracing efforts, and if left to their own in isolation, these patients may not have even remembered or reported their infection."
Harsh Vardhan, who has recently been elected the chief of WHO's Executive Board, was answering a query on whether asymptomatic patients who are potential virus carriers and who can take the virus deeper into rural India are causing worry to the government.
He said, "I am aware about WHO's mention of some laboratory-confirmed cases that are truly asymptomatic. It is equally true, that as on date, there has been no documented asymptomatic transmission."
Supreme Court's Interim Directions on migrant workers crisis:
No fare either by train or bus shall be charged for migrant workers. Railway fare to be shared by states
Stranded migrant workers shall be provided food by state govt till hey are waiting for their turn to be transported.
Sate Govt must publicize, notify paces meant for the distribution of food.
Railways to provide food and water to migrant workers during the journey
