Coronavirus latest updates: Evacuation flight ticket from US to cost ₹1L, from UK ₹50,000

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: May 6, 2020, 09:23 IST

NEW DELHI: Covid-19 deaths in India rose sharply on Tuesday, hitting triple digits in a single day for the first time with 199 casualties reported from across the country in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 1,694. New cases remained high at 2,801 in the last 24 hours, the second-highest so far after Monday’s spike, as the total coronavirus count came within touching distance of the half-lakh mark at 49,391.
Here is a look at the latest updates on the outbreak of coronavirus —
Evacuation flight ticket from US to cost ₹1L, from UK ₹50,000
Flying back from the United States and the United Kingdom to India will cost Rs 1lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively, for the special flights being operated by Air India. The fare range starts at Rs 12,000 for a Dhaka-Delhi flight and one of the highest demand routes — Dubai-Kochi — will cost Rs 15,000 per person.
Covid-19 deaths soar by 199; West Bengal adds 72 from earlier
Of the 199 deaths reported from across the country, Bengal alone accounted for 79 — 72 of these were earlier termed as deaths due to co-morbidities — followed by 49 in Gujarat and 34 in Maharashtra. Gujarat toll was the highest recorded by any state so far in 24-hours.
Coronavirus outbreak: Complete coverage
Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates
One in 4 employed lost job across India in March-April: CMIE
A jobs crisis is staring the country in the face as several crucial sectors of the economy have been severely impacted by the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. It is threatening to push more people into poverty, engulfing both formal and informal sector workers. The latest monthly data from economic think-tank CMIE showed that India’s unemployment rate shot up to 23.5% in April.
Among large states, unemployment was highest in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Bihar at 49.8%, 47.1%, and 46.6% respectively. It was lowest in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana at 2.9%, 3.4%, and 6.2%, the CMIE survey results showed.
From Thursday, 64 flights to airlift 15k Indians stuck abroad in a week
A massive airlift operation will get underway on Thursday with 64 flights bringing back close to 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries in the first week of the ambitious exercise to repatriate lakhs of people. The operation, as foreign minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet, is titled ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
The number of Indians lining up to return is expected to far exceed the 1,90,000, who initially registered and could be as many as 4 lakh, civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri said.
More on Covid-19

70 special trains deployed in last 5 days to ferry 80,000 stranded migrant workers: Railways
The Indian Railways has deployed over 70 special trains to ferry nearly 80,000 stranded migrant workers, students and tourists in the past five days. Railway officials said 55 special trains had started or completed the single one-way trip till Monday and nearly 30 more trains were scheduled on Tuesday, primarily from stations including Bengaluru, Surat, Sabarmati, Jalandhar, Kota and Ernakulam. Each train carries about 1,000 passengers.
Telangana government extends lockdown till May 29
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao extended the lockdown till May 29 across the state on Tuesday in order to contain the spread of coronavirus. Curfew from 7pm to 7am will continue during this period. However, all liquor shops will be opened except for those in containment zones from Wednesday from 10am to 6pm.
30 Covid jabs at various stages of development, experts tell PM
Over 30 Indian vaccine formulations are in different stages of development and four existing drugs are being repurposed to treat Covid-19 patients, scientists informed PM Narendra Modi during a meeting of the task force on ‘Corona Vaccine Development, Drug Discovery, Diagnosis and Testing’ on Tuesday.