With that it's a wrap to the LIVE updates of coronavirus news from India and around the world. Do join us tomorrow of all the top developments on the COVID-19 pandemic. Until then, stay safe. Good night.   

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh LIVE Updates: With 21 fatalities, states death toll climbs to 550

As many as 21 COVID-19 fatalities were reported from Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, taking the death toll due to the disease to 550 in the state, a senior state government official said. Principal Secretary, Medical and Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here that 21 COVID-19 deaths were reported from the state in the last 24 hours. As many as 10,995 or 62.01 COVID-19 patients have completely recovered from the illness in the state, he said. Over 5.60 lakh samples have so far been tested for the disease in the state, including 16,125 on Saturday, Prasad said, adding that testing is continuously being expanded. Prasad said soon antigen testing will also be started in select cities of the state. It will be started in the National Capital Region (NCR), Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

Coronavirus in West Bengal LIVE Updates: Death toll climbs to 555 with 15 more fatalities

The death toll due to COVID-19 in West Bengal rose to 555 on Sunday after 15 more people succumbed to the disease, while the tally reached 13,531 with 441 fresh cases, the state health department said in a bulletin. All the fresh deaths were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, it said. With 432 patients being discharged from hospitals on Sunday, the recovery rate in the state has improved to over 59 per cent, the bulletin said. West Bengal now has 5,093 active cases. Since Saturday, 10,549 samples have been tested in the state.

Coronavirus in Goa LIVE Updates: 64 new COVID-19 cases reported across state, tally climbs to 818

The number of COVID-19 cases in Goa rose by 64 to 818 on Sunday, which is the second biggest single day rise in the recent past, state Health department said. Most of the new cases were reported from Mangor Hill hotspot in Vasco which had contributed a large number of cases earlier. Six patients were discharged in the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 135, as per the Health department bulletin. The coastal state now has 683 active cases. A total 338 people from Mangor Hill have tested positive for coronavirus so far while 205 others have some kind of links to this area, as per the government data. New cases were also reported from Margao town in Salcette taluka and its surrounding areas like Ambelim, Navelim, Curtorim and Raia.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Cipla gets regulator nod to manufacture Gilead's COVID-19 drug remdesivir

Pharmaceutical major Cipla on Sunday received Indian drug regulator’s approval to make generic versions of Gilead Science’s experimental COVID-19 treatment drug remdesivir. Cipla’s drug will be called Cipremi. “Cipla has been granted regulatory approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted emergency use in the country as part of the accelerated approval process considering the urgent and unmet medical need,” Cipla said in a statement. It added: “As part of a risk management plan, Cipla will provide training on use of the drug, informed patient consent documents, conduct post marketing surveillance as well as conduct a Phase IV clinical trial on Indian patients.”

Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates: 3,000 fresh cases reported in Delhi; 63 more die of COVID-19

The national capital recorded 3,000 fresh novel coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the COVID-19 tally in the city near the 60,000-mark, while the death toll due to the disease increased to 2,175, authorities said. It was the third day on the trot that the number of cases touched or crossed the 3,000-mark. On Saturday, Delhi had witnessed 3,630 cases, the highest single-day spike here. On Friday, the number was 3,137. As many as 63 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 2,175 and the total number of cases at 59,746, according to the latest Delhi health department bulletin. It said as many as 33,013 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far, while there are 24,558 active cases.

Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates: Apparel makers eye global PPE market, seek end of export ban

Indian apparel manufacturers have scaled up production of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to 800,000 kits a day in four months and are now eyeing a share in the $60 billion global PPE market, according to A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). In a statement on Sunday, Sakthivel reiterated the industry's demand for lifting of ban on PPEs exports to allow the companies to cater to the global demand. "The entrepreneurial apparel industry is prepared to play a key role in the global PPE market, which is estimated to be $60 billion plus in the next five years," he said.

Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates: Health Minister Satyendar Jain improving as fever subsides, say officials

The condition of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has improved and fever subsided, officials said on Sunday, a day after he was administered plasma therapy at a private COVID-19 facility here. Also, a team of senior doctors from a few government and private hospitals has been kept on standby to ensure the best medical care for Jain who is admitted in ICU of Max hospital, Saket, according to sources. The condition of the 55-year-old minister is improving and he is being monitored by doctors, the officials said. His fever has subsided and his oxygen saturation level (Spo2) has increased, and he's likely to come out of the ICU by Monday, they said. Jain was administered plasma therapy at the Max Hospital in Saket on Saturday and his condition is stable now, they said. A team of doctors from a few government and private hospitals has been kept on standby to assist the doctors attending to him, if needed, the sources told PTI.

Coronavirus in Meghalaya LIVE Updates: State extends night curfew, bans inter-state movement of people until June 30

The Meghalaya government has extended the night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am till June 30 to contain the spread of coronavirus, officials said on Sunday. The night curfew was to be in force till Monday. The state government has also extended the ban on inter-state movement of people till June 30, they said. "District deputy commissioners have been asked to issue extension of night curfew orders and directives to extend ban on inter-state movement of people," a senior government official told PTI. The official orders, however, will not apply to security forces, medical teams on duty, wholesale and retail pharmacies and other essential services, he said. As part of measures to ease the lockdown norms, the Meghalaya government has allowed operationalisation of over 400 shops out of th e 1,222 shops identified at the IewDuh market, from Monday.

Coronavirus in Kerala LIVE Updates: 133 new COVID-19 cases recorded, overall tally rises to 3,170

Thiruvananthapuram, June 21 (PTI) Kerala on Sunday reported a record single-day spike of 133 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the state to 3,170. Of the fresh coronavirus cases detected today, 80 had reached Kerala from abroad and 43 came from other states. The Health department informed that nine people in the state contracted the disease through their contacts while one health health worker was also infected. In the bulletin issued on Sunday evening, Health Minister K K Shailaja said 93 people tested negative for the deadly virus, taking the total number of cured persons to 1,659. "A total of 1,43,969 people are under observation in the state of which 2,050 are in isolationwards across various hospitals. As of now, 1,490 persons are under treatment in the state," she said in a release. Thrissur districthad the most number of positive cases with 16 today, followed by neighbouring Palakkad with 15.

Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu LIVE Updates: 53 deaths in state; 2,532 fresh cases reported

Tamil Nadu has reported 53 COVID-19 related fatalities taking the toll in the state to 757 as 2,532 more tested positive for the virus pushing the aggregate to 59,377, the health department said on Sunday. With the government enhancing its measures on testing of samples, the state reported its highest ever single day spike of 2,532 fresh cases, the health department said in a bulletin. Following the addition of 2,532 cases, the total number of those affected in the state nears 60,000 at 59,377 cases in Tamil Nadu, it said. The number of recoveries also witnessed a quantum jump on Sunday with 1,438 people getting discharged after treatment totalling 32,754 so far, the bulletin said. The state has been reporting over 2,000 cases over the last few days. According to the bulletin, 31,401 people were tested on Sunday alone taking the overall figures in the state to 8,92,612, the bulletin said.

WORLD REPORT: Spain opens border to tourists; Trump wants less testing

 

Spain reopened its borders to European tourists Sunday in a bid to kickstart its economy while Brazil and South Africa struggled with rising coronavirus infections. At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump said he told the U.S. government to reduce testing for the virus, apparently to avoid unflattering statistics ahead of the U.S. election in November.

 

The head of the World Health Organization has warned that the global spread of the virus is accelerating after a daily high of 150,000 new cases was reported last week.

 

The new coronavirus has infected over 8.8 million people and killed more than 464,000, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The true number is thought to be much higher because many cases go untested.

 

At a campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma, Trump said Saturday he has told his administration to slow down virus testing. He said the United States has tested 25 million people, but the “bad part” is that it found more cases.

 

“When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases,” Trump said. “So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’″

 

The infections would still exist, of course, but Trump’s campaign would not have to be embarrassed by how many cases and deaths were actually occurring in the United States, which tops the world in both categories by far. Health experts say not testing for coronavirus should increase the overall number of cases because infected people won’t know that they should quarantine themselves.

 

The outbreak has infected 2.2 million people in the United States, killing nearly 120,000, according to Johns Hopkins.

 

Brazil’s Health Ministry said the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 in a day. President Jair Bolsonaro has been downplaying virus risks even as his country has seen nearly 50,000 fatalities in three months, the second-highest death toll in the world.

 

South Africa reported a one-day high of 4,966 new cases on Saturday and 46 deaths. Despite the increase, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a further loosening of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. Casinos, beauty salons and sit-down restaurant service will reopen.

 

In Europe, one meatpacking plant in northwest Germany alone has 1,029 cases, so the regional government issued a quarantine for all 6,500 workers, managers and family members at the Toennies meat processing facility in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government will announce next week whether Britain will ease social distancing rules for people to remain 2 meters (6½ feet) apart. Business groups are lobbying for that to be cut to 1 meter (3 feet) to make it easier to reopen pubs, restaurants and schools, but that could also lead to more infections.

 

Britain has Europe’s highest virus death toll — and the world’s third-highest — at more than 42,500 dead.

 

In Asia, China and South Korea reported new coronavirus cases Sunday in outbreaks that threatened to set back their recoveries.

 

In South Korea, authorities reported 48 new cases. Half were in the capital, Seoul. Ten were in the central city of Daejong, suggesting the virus was spreading more widely as lockdown measures are relaxed.

 

Nearly 200 infections have been traced to employees at a door-to-door sales company in Seoul and at least 70 other infections are tied to a table tennis club there, but South Korean officials are reluctant to enforce stronger social distancing to avoid hurting the country’s fragile economy.

 

In the Middle East, the Palestinian Authority reimposed restrictions in the West Bank after 86 people tested positive. Access to the city of Hebron was suspended and residents were put under a five-day curfew. The city of Nablus is to be isolated for two days.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will weigh possible steps to halt the spread of the coronavirus after the country has seen a major uptick of more than 300 confirmed cases in recent days.

Beijing can screen almost 1 million people daily for coronavirus, say officials

The Chinese capital is capable of screening almost 1 million people a day for the coronavirus, an official said on Sunday, as testing continued across the city to try to contain the spread of a fresh outbreak.

 

Beijing has been expanding testing in the city of 20 million since a cluster of infections linked to a food wholesale market erupted over a week ago.

 

The outbreak, the first in Beijing in months, has now surpassed previous peak numbers in the city in early February.

 

Testing was initially focused on people who worked or shopped at the Xinfadi market or lived nearby but it has been expanded to include residents in many other parts of the city as well as food and parcel delivery workers.

 

Since the new outbreak, capacity has more than doubled to more than 230,000 tests daily at 124 institutions, Gao Xiaojun, spokesman for the Beijing Health Commission, told a press briefing.

 

The tests are done on samples collected from multiple people in one test tube, meaning the city can get results from almost 1 million people daily, he added.

 

The same pooling of samples was also carried out in Wuhan last month to quickly ramp up daily testing capacity after a cluster of new cases there raised worries about a second wave of infections. Reuters

Six fresh coronavirus cases in Himachal; total count 663

 

 

 

 

 

10 new COVID-19 cases in Nagaland, tally rises to 211

 

 

 

Nepal says 90% of its coronavirus cases are foreign returnees, mostly from India

 

 

 

 

Meghalaya extends night curfew, ban on inter-state movement of people till June 30

 

 

 

 

India Inc leaders reiterate the significance of yoga in COVID-19 times

 

 

 

 

Investors to monitor geopolitical developments, trend in COVID-19 cases, says analysts

 

Geopolitical developments and trend in COVID-19 cases will set the tone for equity markets this week, analysts said, adding that with no major events scheduled, indices may consolidate.  

"Going ahead, we expect the market momentum to continue in near term on back of changed sentiments and improved liquidity.  

"Apart from global cues and development around geo-political tensions, the monthly F&O expiry would be some of the key monitarables," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. 

According to analysts, besides stock-specific action, trend in global markets and foreign fund movement would also dictate sentiments.

Delhi govt issues revised order on home isolation

The Delhi government has issued a revised order stating that the novel coronavirus patients who do not have co-morbidities or require hospitalisation could opt for home isolation following withdrawal of the decision on five-day mandatory institutional quarantine.

"All individuals who are positive will be referred to the COVID care centres for assessment of clinical conditions, severity of illness and presence of co-morbidities," it said in an order on Saturday.

An assessment will also be done to check whether adequate facilities like minimum two rooms and a separate toilet exist so that the family members and neighbours are protected and a cluster of cases does not develop in that locality, according to the order.

Spain's national state of emergency ends

Spain's national state of emergency has ended after three months of restrictions on movement to rein in its COVID-19 outbreak.

As of Sunday, 47 million Spaniards will be able to freely move around the entire country for the first time since the government declared a state of emergency on March 14. The lockdown measures have been rolled back gradually over recent weeks.

This freedom that we now have, that we don't have to justify our journey to see our family and friend, this was something that we were really looking forward to, 23-year-old Pedro Delgado said at Madrid's airport.

Chennai comes to a standstill on first 'Sunday shutdown'

The first "Sunday shutdown" with exception only for hospitals and allied health services brought Chennai and its suburbs to a standstill while the city's civic body said its fever camps to help detect coronavirus cases have evoked tremendous response from the people.

It was a virtual curfew with deserted roads, bridges and intersections fully blocked by police using barricades and with the exception of police, sanitary workers and health personnel of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) most of others stayed indoors.

India playing ‘pharmacy of the world’ role during COVID-19 crisis, says SCO Secretary-General

 

India is playing the role as the “pharmacy of the world” during the COVID-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine, setting the tone for many regional and global initiatives, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Vladimir Norov has said.

India has so far supplied medicines to 133 countries in the fight against COVID-19, which shows India's generosity, despite the fact that the country's government has taken urgent measures to prevent and treat the disease on a national scale, Norov told PTI in an interview.

This is a worthy and responsible example of the behaviour of a major power, and at the same time demonstrates the complementarity and mutual support of the SCO member states, he said.

India last week overwhelmingly won the election to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a non-permanent seat.

Hetero gets DCGI nod to launch COVID-19 drug

Drug firm Hetero on Sunday said it has received approval from regulator DCGI to launch investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19.

The company has received the manufacturing and marketing approval for Remdesivir from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the treatment of COVID-19, it said in a statement. 

The company's generic version of Remdesivir will be marketed under the brand name 'Covifor' in India.

The drug has been granted approval by DCGI for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in adults and children, hospitalised with severe symptoms of the disease, it added.

"In the light of increasing COVID-19 cases in India, the approval of 'Covifor' (remdesivir) can prove to be a game-changer given its positive clinical outcomes. 

Another COVID-19 patient dies in Jammu

A 72-year-old COVID-19 patient died in Jammu, taking the death toll due to the novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir to 81, officials said on Sunday.

The patient, who hailed from village Chak Murar in Bishnah tehsil of Jammu, died of COVID-19 at a military hospital on Saturday.

The officials said the man had tested positive for the virus on June 12 and was suffering from various ailments including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma and acute respiratory distress syndrome.