Over the last few days, over 8,000 new cases have been reported from across the country daily.

With India reporting 8,908 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus infections in the country crossed the 2 lakh-mark to reach 2,07,614 on Wednesday. This includes 5,815 deaths and 1,00,302 cured/discharged. As many as 217 people have died in the last 24 hours across the country. Also, for the first time in nearly two months, the growth rate of infections in Maharashtra has slowed to fall below that of the country as a whole. The seven-day compounded daily growth rate (CDGR) for Maharashtra has remained below the national average for three consecutive days now.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Nivedita Gupta has said that the country is still “very far away from the peak”. In an infectious disease, a peak signifies the point at which the daily case count will start to fall. “We are very far away from the peak. Our preventive measures have been very effective. We are in a much better position vis-a-vis other countries and you will see the data soon,” Dr Gupta said. Follow Coronavirus LIVE Updates

Also, according to the new findings by ICMR’s National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, only seven per cent of coronavirus samples have a “high viral load” — meaning these people would, on average, transmit the infection to 6.25 other people. The vast majority (84%) have a low infectiousness, transmitting to only 0.8 persons on average. Nine per cent have a moderate viral load.

As India enters ‘unlock 1.0’, here’s a curated list of some interesting stories from across the country on Day 71 of lockdown.

Disinfectant sprayer-fitted motorbikes to aid personnel sanitise alleys in TN

Disinfectant sprayer-fitted new motorcycles are set to help personnel sanitise narrow streets better in containment zones with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami inaugurating the clean-up service on Wednesday. As part of Covid-19 prevention measures, the customised motorcycles would be used by Fire and Rescue Services personnel in congested localities.

Palaniswami flagged off nine two-wheelers at his camp office marking the launch of disinfection work by the personnel using 25 new Royal Enfield motorcycles bought at a cost of Rs 1.36 crore, an official press release said. The fire services department is among the government agencies involved in disinfection activities across the state and they have sanitised about 45,000 locations, including hospitals and markets.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh send migrants home in flights with tickets from MP quota, flies with them 

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said on Wednesday he would use the air tickets he is entitled to as an MP to help stranded migrant workers reach Patna from Delhi by flights. He would take migrant workers on two flights to Patna on Thursday.

In a tweet, Singh said that he will use 34 flight tickets received by an MP during the year to send migrants to Patna with the help of colleagues and voluntary organisations.

Here’s how an MP and a migrant messiah went beyond his duty to reunite families.

Senior AAP leader & Hon’ble MP @SanjayAzadSln sponsors flight tickets for migrant workers out of his air travel allowance, flies with them to ensure they reach safely. pic.twitter.com/l137uxtpHn

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 3, 2020

An MP is entitled to 34 business class tickets in domestic flights annually.

The decision was praised by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said it would be an inspiration for everyone. “Everyone will be inspired by this unique initiative of Sanjay ji. Those whom God has given means, it is their responsibility to put their resources in the service of others. Sanjay ji deserves to be congratulated,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

Robbers wearing masks during Covid-19 crisis posing challenge for Kolkata police

Incidents of miscreants wearing face masks attempting to break open bank ATMs have posed a new challenge with the city police trying to find a way out to keep a check on such crimes, a senior officer of Kolkata Police told PTI.

Since wearing masks have been made mandatory for the Covid-19 outbreak, the police is having a “tough time” in identifying the culprits, the officer said. “Not only employing guards will be enough to prevent such incidents. An alarm system needs to be strengthened in such a way that once an attempt is made to break open an ATM, the nearby police station is alerted to respond in quick time. “This can be done for the time being to counter such crimes and then we need to put in place some other plans,” the IPS officer said.