Migrants rest for the night at Ghazipur along the Delhi Uttar Pradesh border

Coronavirus India update: Over three months after the first infection was detected in the country, the coronavirus cases in India crossed the 1 lakh mark. Of the 101,139 cases, 58,802 are active, while 39,173 people have recovered. With 134 deaths in the last 24 hours, the number of casualties has climbed to 3,163.

The exodus of migrants from urban centres has continued. At least 15 of them have been killed in three separate road accidents in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

As per a report in news agency PTI, it took 64 days for India to touch the 1 lakh-mark from 100. The data sourced from the health ministry and Worldometers, in the US, coronavirus infection cases increased from 100 to 1,00,000 in 25 days, while it took 30 days for the cases to reach the 1 lakh-mark in Spain.

Here’s all the latest COVID-19 news from India

An Expert Explains: Why you must not use sanitisers on vegetables and fruit

A lot has been said and written about the do’s and don’ts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but some basic questions about day-to-day living continue to be asked. Dr Sonu Goel, Professor at the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health at Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, clarified some common doubts and misconceptions to Hina Rohtaki of The Indian Express.

Almost all shops have been allowed to open in the latest phase of the lockdown that began on Monday (May 18), and many of us will again start going to the market in the normal fashion. How can we ensure vegetables and fruit are safe?

This virus is generally likely to remain active on fruit and vegetables for 6-8 hours, but for less than four hours if the fruit and vegetables are exposed to heat. As a general rule, try to not handle vegetables and fruit immediately after you bring them in — rather, keep them aside within the packets that you bring them in, for at least four hours. (This obviously means planning a little ahead for your shopping.) After this time, dispose of the packets and soak the vegetables and fruit in warm water for a while. For complete safety, wash them in warm water and a little baking soda.

Lockdown delayed 1 lakh figure

The 100,000 mark has been delayed by almost three weeks due to the nationwide lockdown. Computer modeling projections early last month had shown that at the rate the disease was spreading in the country at that time, if no lockdown had been put in place, this figure would be reached by the end of April, if not earlier. But as lockdown restrictions get progressively eased, to varying degrees in different states, the number of cases being reported daily are expected to shoot up, and signs of that already happening have begun to emerge.

Top ten states with maximum caseload

State	Total Cases	New Cases	Deaths
Maharashtra	35,058	2,005	1,249
Tamil Nadu	11,760	536	81
Gujarat	11,746	366	694
Delhi	10,054	299	160
Rajasthan	5,394	304	138
Madhya Pradesh	5,236	259	252
Uttar Pradesh	4,605	141	118
West Bengal	2,825	148	244
Andhra Pradesh	2,317	52	50
Punjab	1,980	16	37

Operate more special trains to transport migrants: MHA to states

The Ministry of Home Affairs Tuesday asked the states and the union territories to operate more special trains in coordination with the Indian Railways for transportation of migrant workers, adding that special attention should be given to women, children and elderly.

In an official letter, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla underlined that fear of Covid-19 infection and apprehension of loss of livelihood are the main driving factors for the movement of stranded workers towards their homes. He asked district authorities to ensure that migrant workers moving on foot should be guided to designated rest places nearby bus terminals or railway stations by arranging transportation, enlisting the migrants with their addresses and contact numbers, which may be helpful in contact tracing in due course and involvement of NGO representatives at rest places etc, said Bhalla.

At Dadri railway station (Express photos by Gajendra Yadav)

Paswan’s office, food ministry in Krishi Bhawan sealed after staff tests positive

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s office and part of his ministry located in Krishi Bhawan building in Central Delhi has been sealed, after an official in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying was tested positive for COVID-19. “Due to one recent corona positive case found in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, it has been decided that the Department of Food and Public Distribution office at Krishi Bhawan shall remain closed on May 19 and May 20 for intensive sanitization,” an official order said.

Some airlines start bookings for June travel: Report

Some airlines have started bookings for flights from June onwards, sources said, news agency PTI reported. Commercial flights remain suspended till May 31 in wake of the nationwide lockdown. A SpiceJet spokesperson, however, said its international bookings are closed till June 15. Sources at IndiGo and Vistara said they were taking bookings for domestic flights.

Workers walking back to report for work in Mumbai

Migrants killed in road accidents in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

Migrant workers were killed in separate accidents this morning. Nine migrants were killed on Tuesday morning after the truck they were travelling in collided with another vehicle in Naugachhia town in Bhagalpur district. The truck was carrying 15 migrant workers who had deboarded from a train coming from Bengaluru.

Three migrant labourers and a bus driver were killed and 22 others injured after their vehicle hit a stationary truck in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district in the early hours of Tuesday.

In Uttar Pradesh, three women were killed and 17 injured after a truck carrying migrant labourers overturned on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway. The labourers had come on foot from Delhi and had boarded the truck near Harpalpur along the UP-MP border. The truck overturned into a roadside ditch after a tyre burst, killing three women on the spot, Mahoba district, SP, Mahoba, Mani Lal Patidar, told news agency PTI.

A daily wage construction worker adjusts masks of his kids in Noida (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

UP govt asks Priyanka Gandhi to provide migrant buses to Noida, Ghaziabad

Hours after a letter war broke out between the Yogi Adityanath government and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over buses to take migrant workers home, the Uttar Pradesh administration has written another letter to the Congress leader, asking for 500 buses each to be sent to Noida and Ghaziabad. The development comes hours after Congress derided the UP government’s demand that the party handover the 1,000 proposed buses to the state administration in Lucknow by 10 am Tuesday.

Reacting to the development, UP Congress Convenor (Media) Lalan Kumar told PTI, “It is a victory for the migrant labourers who are stuck at UP’s border. We feel happy that they will now be reunited with their families.”

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in India

Stories that you shouldn’t miss from The Indian Express

Migrants at Chandigarh Railway Station for their onward journey to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh Stranded in cities due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, migrant workers have sought to go home (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey)