The number of coronavirus cases stood at 1,58,333 on Thursday. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)

Coronavirus India Updates: The COVID tally in the country inched towards the 1,60,000 mark on Thursday even as the Centre prepared to hold a meeting with municipal commissioners and district magistrates of 13 affected cities to formulate a plan for post May 31, when the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown ends.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba is scheduled to hold the discussion with officials from various cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, a Home Ministry official said, PTI reported.

Here is a look at all the latest developments today:

Nearly 23 lakh people in quarantine across India

According to the Central government, as on May 26, a total of 22.81 lakh people were in quarantine facilities arranged by states and union territories across India. The figure is almost double from 12 days ago (May 14) when the people put under quarantine were 11.95 lakh, a government official told PTI.

As Maharashtra is worst-hit by the coronavirus, the number of people in qurantine facilities is also the highest, reporting 6.02 lakh people, followed by Gujarat which has 4.42 lakh in quarantine centres. Those currently in quarantine facilities are people who have reached different states by trains, buses or by the special international flights.

The Mahalaxmi racecourse parking space has been converted into quarantine and hospital facility for treating Covid-19 positive patients.

Passenger on Indigo’s Bengaluru-Madurai flight tests positive for virus

An asymptomatic passenger who took an Indigo flight bound to Madurai on Wednesday was tested positive for the coronavirus during mandatory testing on the same day at a quarantine facility in Madurai, the airline said. “An asymptomatic passenger who travelled on IndiGo on 6E 7214 from Bangalore to Madurai on May 27, 2020 was discovered to be COVID-19 positive during the mandatory testing at the quarantine facility in Madurai on 27th May,” the airline said in its statement.

The crew members of the flight have been sent to quarantine for 14 days and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol, the airlines assured. Ever since air travel resumed in the country from Monday, at least five passengers of three different airlines have tested positive for the Covid-19.

Passengers at the Srinagar airport today. (Photo courtesy: Srinagar airport authorities)

‘Indian economy to contract 5 pc in FY21’

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday said the Indian economy will shrink by five per cent in the current fiscal due to the virus lockdown. Stating that the pandemic has not yet been contained in India, the rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown — longer in some areas — have led to a sudden stop in the economy. That means growth will contract sharply this fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021),” it said. “Economic activity will face ongoing disruption over the next year as the country transitions to a post-COVID-19 world.”

The rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic. (Express photo/Gajendra Yadav)

Chennai returnee tests positive in Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh reported its third case after a 19-year-old student, who recently returned to the state from Chennai in a Shramik Special train, tested positive, a senior official said on Thursday. The student had returned on May 24 and was placed under institutional quarantine, he said.

“The person is asymptomatic and has been shifted from a quarantine facility to a COVID care centre. His test reports arrived on Wednesday night, Health Secretary P Parthiban was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Migrants at Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi before leaving for UP and Bhar Delhi. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)

Panic grips Bishanpura village in UP after bats found dead

Panic gripped Bishanpura village after some bats were found dead during the past few days, officials said on Thursday. According to news agency PTI, the villagers complained of incidents of bats falling from trees and dying in the Maniyar police station area.

Teams of health, forest and veterinary doctors reached the village on Wednesday to take the samples for testing.

District Forest Officer Shradha Yadav said the matter has come to the knowledge of the Forest Department and four samples have been taken into custody for testing. The reasons for their death will be known only after receiving the report, Yadav added.

Migrant labourers continue to return home as they walk along the Delhi border. (Express photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

Maharashtra minister blames ‘reckless behaviour’ for contracting COVID-19

Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad has blamed his “reckless behaviour” for getting infected with the novel coronavirus. Awhad, who has now recovered, said he was kept on ventilator support for over two days.

“It was recklessness in my behaviour that was the cause of COVID, probably I did not take peoples advice seriously. Thats why I was caught in a trap,” the NCP leader was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Wednesday.

Under the #PradhanMantriGaribKalyanPackage, the Government is providing free ration of food grains to under-privileged families who are facing shortage of food due to #lockdown.#IndiaFightsCorona@PIB_India@FinMinIndia

— PIB in Maharashtra 🇮🇳 #MaskYourself 😷 (@PIBMumbai) May 27, 2020

Two migrants commit suicide after returning home in Uttar Pradesh

Two migrant workers, who returned to Uttar Pradesh a few days ago from Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, committed suicide allegedly due to financial problems, police said on Thursday.

Suresh (22) committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his Lohara village under Mutondh police station area on Wednesday, SHO Mutondh Ramendra Tiwari said. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and investigations are on, the SHO said.

In a similar incident in Sindhan Kala village under Pailani police station area, Manoj (20) who had returned from Mumbai 10 days ago committed suicide by hanging in his room.

Mizoram class-12 board exams 2020 to resume on June 16

With the relaxation of lockdown curbs, the Mizoram government has decided to resume class-12 board examinations from June 16, an official said. The examinations of Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) for remaining subjects in arts, science and commerce streams will be conducted between June 16 and 18, according to a notification issued by the Mizoram Board of School Education (MBSE) on Wednesday.

The examinations were suspended in March due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus, the official said. About 4,700 students could not complete their board examinations in Economics, Chemistry, Sociology, Computer Science and Home Science, he said.

A police official directs migrant labourers outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai. (Express photo/Prashant Nadkar)

Maharashtra police COVID-19 count crosses 2,000 mark

The number of COVID-19 positive cops in Maharashtra police force crossed the 2,000 mark on Thursday as the tally reached 2,095 among the two lakh strong force. An addition of 131 positive cases were found among cops the previous day.

As per the numbers shared by officials from the Maharashtra police headquarters, among the 2,095 cases, 236 are officers and 1,859 are constables. Of these, a total of 897 — 75 officers and 822 constables — have recovered. Till date, 22 police personnel have died due to the disease. Cases among cops are around 3.6 per cent of total Maharashtra count which is nearing 57,000 as on Thursday.