Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Govt Says India's Fatality Rate at 2.87%, One of The Lowest in The World

Glenmark to Study Drug Combination | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it would begin a clinical trial to test a combination of two anti-viral drugs, favipiravir and umifenovir, as a potential COVID-19 treatment. Glenmark has secured Indian regulatory approval for the study, which will aim to enroll 158 hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19, the company said.

India Has Significantly Expanded No. of Labs: ICMR | From just one COVID-19 testing lab in Pune to 430 public labs and 182 private labs across the nation, India has significantly expanded its testing in the last 3 months: Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR.

India Reported 0.3 Deaths Per Lakh Population | 4.4 deaths per lakh population have been reported for the world, while India has reported about 0.3 deaths per lakh population, which is amongst the lowest in the world. This has been due to lockdown, timely identification and management of COVID-19 cases: Ministry of Health

Testing 1.1L Samples Daily: ICMR | Testing has increased up in the last few months, and 1.1 lakh samples are being tested everyday, says Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR.

Delhi L-G Holds Meeting to Review COVID-19 Situation | Delhi L-G Anil Baijal held a video conference with CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Chief Secretary, Commissioner of Police and senior officers to review situation. The health department will ramp up medical infrastructure, ensure availability of hospital beds and oxygenation facilities keeping in view general trends and probable scenarios. Effective IEC and surveillance measures are important to contain the spread, Baijal said.

Health Secy Interacts with Officials of 5 States Reporting Surge in Cases | The Union health ministry suggested that five states reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases over the last three weeks analyse the trends in containment zones and adopt course correction measures through proper implementation of micro-plans. The states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

India's Fatality Rate 2.87% | A total of 60,490 patients have recovered so far from COVID-19. The recovery rate continues to improve and presently it is 41.61%. The fatality rate is one among the lowest in the world, it is 2.87% now: Lav Agarwal, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary

Nearly 60,000 Passengers Flew on Monday | 58,318 passengers flew to their destinations on 832 flights on the first day, May 25 till midnight. Operations have started in Andhra Pradesh from today. These numbers are all set to soar higher: Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Civil Aviation Minister.

Railways, Maharashtra Continue to Spar | Railways accused Maharashtra of not providing information about passengers as a result of which many Shramik Special trains could not be operationalised. The Railways said it had planned 125 trains for evacuating migrants from Maharashtra on May 25 but the state government was only able to give information for 41 trains till 2 am.

Maha United Nurses Association Writes to Uddhav Thackeray | United Nurses Association, Maharashtra writes to CM Uddhav Thackeray over the state government's intention to bring 100 nurses from Kerala, stating that ‘the initiatives are temporary in nature’. States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have shown that it is possible to recruit health personnel for permanent employment rapidly. We urge state government to also opt for this long term approach, the association said.

44 Lakh Passengers Ferried on Shramik Special Trains | 3,274 Shramik special trains have been run till May 25 carrying 44 lakh passengers to their home states. On May 25, 223 Shramik specials ferried 2.8 lakh passengers: Indian Railways.

Over 50  people from Mizoram including migrant workers who were stranded in Uttarakhand amid Coronavirus lockdown have left in buses for Mizoram.

Next 15 Days Are Challenging: Odisha CM | With more people coming into the state and resumed operations of trains and flights- next 15 days are challenging said Naveen Patnaik, Odisha CM. 

As many as 51 more positive cases reported in Uttarakhand in the last 24 hours. Taking the total number of cases to 400, of which 329 are active cases, the death toll is at 4, said state's Health Department. 

Akhilesh Questions Need for Migrant Workers' Commission in UP | Questioning the need to form a separate commission for migrant labourers in Uttar Pradesh when the employment exchange already exists, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said it is only a way to divert attention from failures and misuse of "manpower and money".

Indonesia Reports Over 400 Fresh Cases | Indonesia has today reported 415 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 27 deaths. This brings their total number of infections to 23,165, with 1,418 fatalities. So far, Malaysia in the last 24 hours has reported 187 new coronavirus cases and no new fatalities.

20 Fresh Cases Reported in CISF | The Central Industrial Security Force reported 20 fresh coronavirus cases, with 18 from its unit that guards the Delhi airport, officials said.

After meticulous planning and sustained effort, Railways mobilised its resources at very short notice and prepared 145 Shramik trains to depart from Maharashtra on May 26. These trains have already been notified for today said Central Railways. 

For May 25, Railways had offered 125 trains for evacuation of migrants from Maharashtra but State govt was only able to give info for 41 trains till 2 am on May 25. Out of these, only 39 trains could run as passengers couldn't be brought by local authorities: Central Railways pic.twitter.com/PfKzxcAdEp

— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2020

412 new COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 14,465. The death toll stands at 288, said Directorate General of Health Services. 

Odisha Govt Resumes Public Transport in Some Cities | Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) has resumed operations in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Khurdha amid COVID-19 lockdown. 

The Ministry of Tourism has extended the validity period of Approval/Classifications of hotels and other accommodation units till June 30. The Ministry has also decided to allow six months’ relaxation or extension to all categories of tour operators, travel agents and tourist transport operators.

Uber India's decision comes after the Centre, on May 17, extended the nationwide lockdown until May 31, but allowed several more relaxations outside containment zones to restart economic activity.

Japanese Face 'New Normal' after Coronavirus Emergency Lifted | Meanwhile, in Japan, a day after the country ended its state of emergency, Tokyo residents took to the streets with a mixture of relief and trepidation as they prepared for a "new normal" of living with the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency in the capital and four remaining prefectures on Monday, claiming victory for managing to keep total infections relatively low, at about 16,600 cases, Reuters reported.

Hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin Combo May be Potentially Lethal: Study | Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, which have been been proposed for treatment of Covid-19 patients, are a potentially lethal combination and may have a serious impact on the cardiovascular system, according to a study.

Zoomcar Resumes Operations in 35 Cities After Easing of Lockdown Restrictions | Self-drive car rental platform, Zoomcar said it has resumed operations in as many as 35 cities spanning across various states in the country after the easing of lockdown restrictions

Nurses in Maharashtra Unhappy With State Government's Decision to Call Nurses from Kerala

There is no confirmation yet on resumption of Delhi Metro rail services. Whenever such a direction comes, DMRC will require a minimum of two days for preparations, said Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot. 

After Jharkhand, Zomato to Start Home Delivery of Alcohol in Odisha | After Jharkhand, Odisha has become the second state where online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato will be home delivering alcohol starting with the state capital Bhubaneswar.

Karnataka Records 100 Fresh Cases, Tally Rises to 1,514 | With 100 fresh cases, Karnataka's total tally rise to 1,514, total death ​were recorded at 44.