Coronavirus latest updates: India's role key in fighting pandemic, says Bill Gates

NEW DELHI: With 3,967 new cases and 100 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the COVID-19 tally in India reached 81970, the Union Health Ministry stated on Friday. And two states, Goa and Manipur, which were declared COVID-19 free, have reported fresh corona positive cases.
Of the total cases, 51401 are active and 2,649 are fatalities so far while at least 27,919 people have recovered from the disease.
Here is a look at the latest updates —
World Bank announces $1 billion aid to India
The World Bank on Friday approved $1 billion social protection package for India linked to Central government's programmes.
World Bank also said that the billion-dollar social protection package was in addition to the previous package of $1 billion allocated to India for Covid-19 emergency response and health systems.
India's role key in fighting pandemic: Bill Gates
Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Friday thanked PM Narendra Modi for the interaction and stressed that combating the coronavirus pandemic requires global collaboration.
"Thank you for the conversation and partnership PM Narendra Modi. Combating the pandemic requires global collaboration. India's role is key as the world works to minimize social and economic impact, and pave the way to vaccine, testing, and treatment access for all," Bill Gates said.
Global coronavirus death toll exceeds 300,000
Global deaths linked to the novel coronavirus passed 300,000 on Thursday, while reported cases of the virus are approaching 4.5 million, according to a Reuters tally. About half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.
The first death linked to the disease was reported on January 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments. It took 19 days to go from 200,000 to 300,000 deaths.
Maharashtra's Covid-19 toll crosses 1,000: 55% of deaths are in May alone, Mumbai's share 621
With the addition of 44 deaths on Thursday, the Covid-19 toll in Maharashtra breached the 1,000 mark to reach 1,019. The state has crossed 1,000 deaths in just over two months since the first case was reported here. About 55% of the total deaths have come in the past 14 days of May alone. Gujarat, which has reported 566 deaths so far, is a distant second among the states in terms of fatalities.
India has ensured there’s been no starvation: Piyush Goyal
The government has focused on the health of citizens and ensured that no one was left wanting for food during the Covid-19 pandemic, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. “We have gone through the entire three months without a single person starving. That’s not just the effort of the Centre or state governments. It is the effort of 130 crore Indians,” he said
Second-highest spike in new cases as Maharashtra, Delhi numbers soar
In the biggest surge in Covid-19 infections in Delhi, 472 people tested positive for the virus on Thursday, even as India’s total caseload crossed 80,000 with 3,995 fresh cases reported, the second-highest rise in a day. While this was the fifth consecutive day of over 3,500 cases being added to the country’s Covid count, the growth rate of the infection has gradually decreased during this period. However, the infection continues to spiral in several states, led by Maharashtra, which again reported a huge surge in cases — 1,602, the highest so far if the 770-odd back-dated cases reported along with others on Sunday are not counted.
Vande Bharat: Nearly 2 lakh register, buy tickets to return home
The second phase of Vande Bharat Mission starting May 16 will see India fly 32,000 citizens home, official sources said on Thursday. Until Thursday evening, 12,000 Indians had returned on 56 flights.
The foreign ministry has also announced a schedule for 229 repatriation flights until June 3. However, with 188,646 registrations for return, the repatriation will likely be a protracted affair.
'US faces 'darkest winter' if pandemic planning falls short'
Despite White House claims, the US still lacks a comprehensive battle plan against the coronavirus in critical areas including masks, testing, treatments and vaccines, whistleblower Rick Bright warned Thursday in testimony before a House committee. "Our window of opportunity is closing," he declared.