"Around 4,000 Indians have been brought back by 23 flights under the Vande Bharat Mission," Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said during a press briefing.

"As the country eases interstate travel to enable movement of stranded people to reach their homes, the entire nation have to work more in a coordinated way," Arunachal CM Pema Khandu in a tweet said in a tweet.

As the country eases interstate travel to enable movement of stranded people to reach their homes, the entire nation have to work more in a coordinated way. Attending today the fifth video conference of Hon’ble PM @narendramodi Ji with CMs of all states. pic.twitter.com/BfGkEtdf3b

— Pema Khandu (@PemaKhanduBJP) May 11, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fifth 5th video conference meeting with Chief Ministers is currently underway. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are also present.

This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fifth meeting with the state Chief Ministers. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently holding his 5th meeting with state Chief Ministers via video-conference to discuss the way forward in the battle against Covid-19.

In Tripura, Gobinda Debnath spent Rs 30,000 out of his pocket to hire a car and two days on the road to reach his residence in Tripura’s Agartala. However, to the 37-year-old daily wager’s dismay, his family did not allow him to enter even after he tested negative for Covid-19 and spent a day at a quarantine centre.

“My wife, my child are telling me to go away. What can I say,” a dejected Gobinda told reporters outside his home.

Wuhan, the original epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, reported on Monday its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the central Chinese city was lifted a month ago, stoking concerns of a wider resurgence of the disease. The new infections add a layer of caution to efforts to lower coronavirus-related restrictions across China as businesses restart and individuals go back to work. Wuhan reported five new confirmed cases, all of whom live in the same residential compound. More details here.

They may have played a major role in the spread of civilisation, taking people and goods from one corner of the globe to the other. But ships have not always been bearers of growth and progress. Indeed, many have played very destructive roles, and spread death across the world. In fact, the very word “quarantine,” which is being used widely today in association with Covid-19 treatment, actually comes from the shipping business. History is replete with instances of ships that carried diseases across the world. Of the many, we list five that are perhaps some of the most (in)famous. Read here

Bring your own food and blankets and bedsheets from home if you are going to be travelling in one of the 15 special trains modeled on the lines of Rajdhani Express that are starting tomorrow. The tickets will be available from 4 PM today on the IRCTC website. Unlike the actual Rajdhanis, these will be a frugal affair. While pre-packed snacks, biscuits will be available with the onboard catering staff, they will be sold to passengers who need them, just like the airlines do. These trains are Rajdhani identical in terms of fare, speed, and route.

So far the decision is to carry the trains with full capacity and not cap the occupancy to two-thirds like has been for the Shramik Specials to ensure social distancing in the coaches. However, waiting lists will not be allowed so that the number of passengers will be equal to the number of berths, unlike in normal times.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), has said that the world will not have enough vaccines to fight Covid-19 if India is not involved in the vaccine manufacturing. She was speaking on the occasion of 22nd National Technology Day, during a virtual event orgainsed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday. " India has a key role to play in the fight against Covid-19. Scientists must lead the fight and it is happening now," observed Dr Swaminathan. Urging all countries to learn from the ongoing pandemic, Dr Swaminathan said, " This pandemic is a time when countries must review the weaknesses in their present healthcare systems."

After three days of marginal decline in the number of new cases, India saw a major spike on Sunday, with over 4,300 new infections being discovered, the highest so far. Maharashtra alone accounted for nearly 2,000 of these, while Tamil Nadu reported over 650.

In the last two days, Maharashtra has also reported over 100 deaths. Its death count has now reached 832, which is more than 37 per cent of all deaths in the country.

On the occasion of National Technology Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed all those at the forefront of research and innovation to defeat the virus and remembered the “exceptional achievement” of the country’s scientists in carrying out the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. Taking to Twitter, Modi said, “On National Technology Day, our nation salutes all those who are leveraging technology to bring a positive difference in the lives of others. We remember the exceptional achievement of our scientists on this day in 1998. It was a landmark moment in India’s history.”

Today, technology is helping many in the efforts to make the world free from COVID-19. I salute all those at the forefront of research and innovation on ways to defeat Coronavirus. May we keep harnessing technology in order to create a healthier and better planet.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 11, 2020

Pakistan has extended the suspension of domestic flight operations till May 13 as part of the government's plan to stem the spread of the coronavirus which has claimed 667 lives and infected over 30,000 people in the country. Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) extended the ban until Wednesday as part of the government instructions to minimise travelling of the people. The earlier ban ended on May 10. "As per the decision of the GoP, the suspension of domestic flight operations as effected earlier has been extended up to Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 2359 hours PST. Remaining provisions as applicable to the suspension of domestic flights reflected in previous orders remain unchanged," PCAA said in a tweet late last night.

Air India special evacuation flight from San Francisco landed in Hyderabad at around 11 am. The flight evacuated at least 118 Indians from US.

After a gap of 6 days, a new case of Coronavirus emerged today in Haryana's Nuh district, with officials saying the person who tested positive is a health worker at the COVID hospital in the district. "A health worker at the SHKM Government Medical College in Nalhar has tested positive for Coronavirus today. He belongs to Balai village in block Nagina," said a spokesperson of the Nuh district administration. The Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College is one of 43 dedicated COVID hospitals in the state. Nuh has so far recorded a total of 60 cases of Coronavirus, of which 57 people have recovered and been discharged and only 3 are undergoing treatment at present. 

Taking note of the several mishaps, the Home Ministry today directed all states and Union territories to ensure migrant workers do not resort to walking on roads, rail tracks and use available special trains

"Since their movement by buses and 'Shramik' special trains has already been allowed to enable their travel to native places, all State/UT governments should ensure that migrant workers do not resort to walking on road and on railway tracks," Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote in a letter. In case they are found in such condition, the home secretary said, they should be appropriately counselled, taken to nearby shelters and provided with food, water etc. till such time they are facilitated to board the Shramik Special trains or buses to their native places.

New Zealand businesses including malls, cinemas, cafes and gyms will be allowed to reopen from Thursday as tight restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus were further eased on Monday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the move to "level 2" restrictions will mean retail, restaurants and other public spaces including playgrounds can reopen from Thursday. "I am announcing that Cabinet agrees we are ready to move into level 2, to open up the economy, but to do it as safely as possible," Ardern told a news conference. Businesses will be required to have physical distancing and strict hygiene measures in place. Schools can open from next Monday while bars can only reopen from May 21, Ardern said. Gatherings would be limited to 10 people.

International tourism could decline by 60-80 per cent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the revenue loss of USD 910 billion to USD 1.2 trillion and placing millions of livelihoods at risk, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has said. The global international agency said that the pandemic has caused a 22 per cent fall in international tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2020. According to the United Nations specialized agency, the global health crisis could lead to an annual tourism decline between 60 per cent and 80 per cent when compared with the 2019 figures. “This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” it said.

Shramik Special trains will now have up to three stoppages other than the final stoppage in destination state and will run with its full capacity of around 1600 instead of the current 1200 passengers. The decision is in consonance with the government's latest move to restart passenger train services gradually from tomorrow. "We have to learn to live with the virus," govt had said a few days ago. The states were told about the move yesterday.