As parts of the economy opens up, a question mark remains over the future of India's education system. India has almost 25 crore school students from Classes 1 to 12, all of whom have been affected by the shutdown of educational institutions for the past two-and-a-half months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With over 2.36 lakh infections, India is now the sixth worst-affected nation in the world after the U.S., Brazil, Russia, Spain and the UK, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Here is a list of State Helpline numbers. You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here.
Here are the latest update:
Uttarakhand reports 31 more; tally rises to 1,245
Uttarakhand reported 31 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,245, according to the State Health department bulletin.
The fresh cases were reported from Pithoragarh (8), Dehradun (6), Chamoli (6), Almora (4), Nainital (3), Tehri (3) and Uttarkashi (1), it said. Most of the new cases have a travel history to Mumbai, Delhi and NCR, the bulletin said.
Out of a total of 1,245 patients, 422 have recovered, five have migrated out of the State and 11 have died.
- PTI
MP’s Mahakal temple to reopen from June 8
Nearly eleven weeks after the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh was shut due to the coronavirus outbreak, its doors will be reopened for devotees from Monday, its office-bearer said.
However, those who wish to visit the temple will have to register their names first, he said.
The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, located around 175 kms from Bhopal, is one of the 12 “jyotirlingas” in the country and attracts lakhs of devotees every year.
- PTI
Plea in Delhi HC for resumption of normal judicial work via videoconferencing
A plea has been moved before the Delhi High Court seeking resumption of normal judicial work in all courts in the national capital via videoconferencing and e-filing.
In an administrative order issued on May 29, the high court had said it would only hear urgent matters via videoconferencing till June 14 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order also applies to all district courts in the city.
- PTI
Special buses for teachers involved in exam work from June 8 in Chennai
For teachers and officials involved in preparatory work ahead of the class 10 public exams, special buses will ply at 9 a.m. and at 4 p.m. from June 8 onwards in Chennai.
As many as 41 MTC bus routes have been identified for this.
DMK moves HC to bring back Tamils stranded in foreign countries
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has filed a public interest litigation petition in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the State government to accord necessary clearances for landing of aircraft, so that Indians stranded in foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could be brought back and sent to their native towns after quarantine.
The petition is expected to be listed for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and R. Suresh Kumar. Filing an affidavit on behalf of the party, its Press Relations secretary T.K.S. Elangovan said, hundreds of Indian nationals had lost their jobs in foreign countries and were stranded over there due to the lockdown to fight COVID-19.
Highest single-day spike of 210 new cases in Andhra Pradesh
The State witnessed the highest single-day spike in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases during the past 24-hours.
210 fresh cases, including 161 cases of locals - which is also the highest single-day spike so far, were detected after 12, 771 samples were tested.
The tally went up to 4,460 and the number of active cases are at 1,786. The number of patients discharged so far is 2,601; death toll at 73, with no new deaths reported in the past day.
- Tharun Boda
Russia reports 8,855 new cases
Russia reported 8,855 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, pushing the total number of infections to 4,58,689.
Officials said 197 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the official nationwide death toll to 5,725.
- Reuters
CM urges industries to employ Tamil Nadu workers in place of migrant workers
In view of migrant workers leaving for their home States following the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami called upon industries in Tamil Nadu to employ native workers to avoid any dip in industrial production. The State government was “closely monitoring the changing times and it would announce more relaxations [from the lockdown] depending on the circumstances,” he said.
Nagaland COVID-19 count crosses 100
Nagaland has become the fourth north-eastern State after Assam, Tripura and Manipur to have more than 100 COVID-19 positive cases.
Nagaland’s Health Minister S. Pangnyu Phom on June 6 said the number of infected persons in the State reached 107 with the addition of 13 fresh cases out of 252 swab samples tested in the last 24 hours.
“All the 13 who tested positive are returnees from Chennai,” he said.
At the last count, Assam led the table among the eight north-eastern States with 2,244 positive cases followed by Tripura with 694 and Manipur with 143.
While all of Nagaland’s cases are active, the number of those undergoing treatment in Assam, Tripura and Manipur are 1,727, 521 and 93 respectively.
Assam and Meghalaya are the only States where people succumbed to the novel coronavirus.
Four died in Assam and one in Meghalaya. — Rahul Karmakar
143 confirmed cases in Manipur so far
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Manipur increased to 143 today morning. Dr. Khoirom Sashikumar Mangang, Additional Director of Health department and spokesperson said 50 persons had shown improvement.
There are now 93 active cases in the State. He further said the recovery rate in the State was 34.96%.
Meanwhile Chief Minister N. Biren appealed to the people to use face masks while venturing out of houses. "It will help in protecting against the spread of COVID-19," he said.
- Iboyaima Laithangbam
Chikkamagalur district is now COVID-19-free
The Chikkamagaluru district has become free from confirmed cases of COVID-19. All 16 persons, who were tested positive to the infection, were discharged on Saturday after they were treated and tested negative.
Of the 18 cases of COVID-19 in the district, two turned out to be false negative. The remaining 16 who were treated at district hospitals were discharged after the follow-up tests showed negative.
Govt fixes tariff for private hospitals treating COVID-19
The Tamil Nadu State Health department has determined maximum applicable rates for per day treatment of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals.
The hospitals have been classified under two categories - Grade A1/ A2 and Grade A3 / A4. An official release said, in the general ward, Grade A1 and A2 hospitals may levy a maximum of Rs. 7,500 per day; whereas Grade A3 and A4 hospitals may levy up to Rs. 5,000 per day of admission.
However, in case of admission to intensive care unit, all hospitals, irrespective of the grades they fall under, have been instructed that the charges may not exceed Rs. 15,000 per day.
Some private hospitals engaging in black marketing of beds: Kejriwal
"There are a few private hospitals which are engaging in the black marketing of beds in Delhi even in the midst of this pandemic," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
He said to such hospitals, "There will be no negotiation; you will have to reserve beds and treat coronavirus patients."
"We will take very strict action against hospitals engaging in this black marketing of beds; we will also issue an order today that even suspected Coronavirus patients will need to be admitted by hospitals if approached and cannot be turned away under any circumstances," he said.
The government is meeting representatives of private hospitals on a daily basis to get to the bottom of the problem and to resolve their issues, Mr. Kejriwal said.
Admitting that there were some issues with the app launched to track the availability of beds and ventilators, the CM said they were working to resolve the problems.
- Jatin Anand
Now, petitioners can video call Tiruvallur SP
After setting up kiosks to collect petitions and complaints, the Tiruvallur district police have gone a step ahead and introduced a video call facility for petitioners to directly interact with the district Superintendent of Police (SP).
In the first phase, the video call facility has been introduced at the district police head-quarters alone.
“We are trying various initiatives to ensure that there is no physical contact between policemen and the petitioners,” said a police officer.
In Tiruvallur district, 10 policemen have tested positive for COVID-19.
Stranded 74-member crew of Malayalam film return to State from Djibouti
The 74-member crew of Malayalam film Djibouti reached Cochin International Airport early morning on June 6 after being stranded in Djibouti, an East African nation for over 45 days following the COVID-19 outbreak. They reached the airport in a special chartered flight and were shifted to paid, institutional quarantine facilities to undergo the mandatory quarantine.
The film crew included actors Dileesh Pothan, Amit Chakkalakkal, Anjali Nair, Gregory, a one-year-old child — who plays a key role in the movie — and his parents.
5 ED officials test positive, headquarters sealed
Five Enforcement Directorate (ED) employees, including a special director rank officer, have tested positive for COVID-19, following which the headquarters of the central probe agency have been sealed for 48 hours till Monday, officials said.
Out of the five, two are contract employees. The employees were found infected after the agency carried out section-wise testing at its headquarters in the wake of some COVID-19 cases being reported from other floors of the Lok Nayak Bhawan in Khan Market, where the ED office is located, the officials said.
Former footballer dies of COVID-19 in Malappuram
A 63-year-old former Santhosh Trophy football player from Parappanangadi in Malappuram district died of COVID-19, raising the total number of coronavirus deaths in Kerala to 15. He was under treatment at Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri.
He tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to hospital after he returned from Mumbai in the last week of May. He acquired pneumonia while under treatment and died at 6.30 a.m. today.
Five members of his family, including his wife and son, were also shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, the only COVID-19 designated hospital in Malappuram district.
- Abdul Latheef Naha
Pakistan registers record 97 COVID-19 deaths in one day, total number of infections approaches 94,000
Pakistan has reported a record 97 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,935, while the number of confirmed cases in the country approached 94,000 after over 4,700 infections were detected, the health ministry said on Saturday.
Punjab registered 35,308 COVID-19 cases, Sindh 34,889, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 12,459, Balochistan 5,776 Islamabad 4,323, Gilgit-Baltistan 897 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 331 cases, the Ministry of National Health Services said.
The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 93,983 after 4,734 new infections were detected across the country, it said.
COVID-19 could be opportunity for India to speed up Ayushman Bharat: WHO chief
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has presented challenges for several nations, could be an opportunity for India to speed up the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary healthcare, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.
WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was responding to a question on the COVID-19 situation in India, where the number of coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly. India went past Italy on Friday to become the sixth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 24 to May 30, 2020 will be a time that won't be easy for Indians to forget. The intense lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience of the nation, its systems and its people.
Uthenge Hum is a video by Virtual Bharat in collaboration with The Hindu, that captures India in the midst of this unprecedented lockdown.
Most of 51 new South Korea cases linked to door sales
South Korea on Saturday reported 51 new cases of COVID-19, mostly in the densely populated capital region, as authorities scramble to stem transmissions among low-income workers who can’t afford to stay home.
The figures announced by South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,719 workers and 273 deaths.
At least 34 of the new cases were linked to door-to-door sellers hired by Richway, a Seoul-based health product provider.
China orders pangolin protection amid pandemic
China is ordering its highest level of protection for the armadillo-like pangolin as part of its crackdown on the wildlife trade following the global coronavirus pandemic.
While the virus is believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, most scientists say it was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via an intermediary animal such as the pangolin.
The order Friday from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration does not explicitly mention the virus outbreak as a reason for the measure, but the timing appears to indicate that was a consideration.
Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy by some Chinese and its scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. - AP
India now sixth worst-hit nation by COVID-19, surpasses Italy with an infection tally of 2,36,657
COVID-19 pandemic with the country registering a record single-day spike of 9,887 cases which pushed the nationwide tally to 2,36,657.
India’s death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 6,642 with a record increase of 294 deaths in the 24 hours till Saturday 8 a.m.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 1,15,942, while 1,14,072 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the Union Health Ministry said.
“Thus, around 48.20% patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. - PTI
Trump says India, China will have more COVID-19 cases with more tests
US President Donald Trump has said that countries like India and China would have much more coronavirus cases than America if they conduct more tests.
Mr. Trump, in his remarks at Puritan Medical Products in Maine, said that the U.S. has carried out 20 million tests. India has so far conducted over 4 million coronavirus tests, according to the health ministry.
Commenting on the COVID-19 tests in the U.S., Mr. Trump said: We will be well over 20 million tests. Remember this, when you test more, you have more cases.
Jair Bolsonaro threatens to pull Brazil from WHO
President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to withdraw Brazil from the World Health Organization, following in the footsteps of his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, accusing it of “ideological bias.”
“I'm telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we're studying that, in the future. Either the WHO works without ideological bias, or we leave, too,” the far-right leader told journalists outside the presidential palace. - AFP
China reports 3 new COVID-19 cases, 2 asymptomatic cases
China recorded three new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus as of the end of Friday, down from five the day before, the national health authority reported.
All of the cases were imported, involving travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website.
Maharashtra government, BMC may use private ambulances
The Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday told the Bombay High Court it was considering requisitioning privately-operated ambulances in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing for the State, and BMC counsel Anil Sakhare told the court the authorities are exploring other options to ensure privately-operated ambulances start plying on the roads.