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:
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.