Restaurants open in Kolkata (Express photo by Partha Paul)
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Monday said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a crucial meeting on Tuesday to find out if COVID-19 has entered the community transmission stage in the national capital. Based on the outcome of the meeting, the AAP government will have to change its strategy to deal with the infectious disease. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the vice-chairman of the DDMA, has authorised his deputy, Sisodia, to attend the meeting on his behalf. Kejriwal has self-isolated himself after developing mild fever and sore throat, and is likely to undergo the Covid-19 test.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday announced that the lockdown in West Bengal will be extended till June 30 while Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga re-imposed total lockdown in his state for two weeks starting from Monday midnight. Apart from this, the quarantine period from now on will be 21 days in the northeastern state and home quarantine option will be limited to only extremely unavoidable cases, he tweeted.
India recorded a daily jump of over 9,000 for the fifth straight day, taking the number of total infections to 2,56,611. Of the 2.56 lakh cases, 1,25,381 are active cases, while 1,24,094 patients have been discharged. The death toll crossed the 7,000-mark to stand at 7135. Maharashtra, which is the worst affected state in the country, has now more cases than China. Maharashtra has 85,975 cases compared to China’s 84,191 cases. Globally, there are 7 million cases with 4 lakh deaths.
A priest cleans temple bells in Lucknow on Sunday. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastava)
Six new cases were reported in Arunachal Pradesh Monday, taking the total tally to 57, out of which 56 are active. According to an order from the Directorate of Health Services, signed by D L Jampa, the newly detected positive cases have been reported from Changlang, Lower Dibang Valley, Tirap and East Siang. “All were shifted to the Covid Care Centre. They were all detected at the quarantine facility” said the order.
Thirty eight more people tested positive with COVID-19 in Tripura on Monday, raising the state's total corona tally to 841. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted: "38 people found COVID-19 #POSITIVE in Tripura out of 1480 samples tested. All of them are from Sepahijala District and have returned from Chennai by train. #TripuraCOVID19Count". According to latest reports, 37,415 persons have been tested till date in the state at the rate of 9,359 tests per million.
There is no bigger sin than exploiting a pandemic that is claiming so many lives for monetary gains, says Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, as he speaks to The Indian Exptress about his ”swift action” in the PPE scam, the perception that he was mild, and the recent party survey that ranked Himachal as No 1 among the NDA-ruled states. Read excerpts from Jai Ram Thakur's interview here
With 18 new cases, the list of containment zones in Bengaluru now rises to 54
A total of 63 more COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Manipur late Monday evening taking the total tally of positive cases to 272 and active cases to 214. Monday recorded the highest single-day spike in the state with 100 cases of positive cases. Manipur Health Department said, of the total, 37 samples were tested late last night and 63 were tested on Monday. All those who have tested positive had returned from outside the state.
A total of 1,007 COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths reported in Delhi today. Total number of cases in the national capital is now at 29,943, including 17,712 active cases, 11,357 recovered/discharged/migrated and 874 deaths, Delhi Health Department.
INS Shardul cast off from Bandar Abbas, Iran with 233 Indian nationals onboard. The ship is headed to Porbandar, Gujarat and expected to arrive on 11th June. (Video Source: Indian Navy)
he BJP unit in West Bengal on Monday claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, is not devoting enough time to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, and demanded appointment of a full-time health minister in the state. In a letter to the CM, BJP president Dilip Ghosh suggested several measures to handle the crises of coronavirus outbreak and the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan, and demanded that those affected by the natural disaster be given financial aid and jobs through MNREGA. (PTI)
Using hashtag #Unlock 1.0, Twitter was flooded with netizens sharing memes and posts wondering how the relaxation in the rules would play out amid the new normal in a post-Covid-19 world.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal Monday directed the departments and agencies to “not deny” treatment to non-residents of the city, effectively striking down the AAP government’s decision on reservation of hospital beds taken on Sunday. In an order, issued in his capacity as the chairperson of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Baijal pointed out that the Supreme Court has time and again upheld the right to health as an integral part of “Right to Life” under the Indian Constitution. Read more
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a crucial meeting on Tuesday to assess whether COVID-19 has entered the community transmission phase in the national capital. Addressing an online media briefing here, Sisodia said if community transmission was taking place in Delhi, the AAP government would have to change its strategy accordingly to deal with the situation. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Kerala crossed the 2,000 mark with 91 new positive cases being detectedand a Madlives returnee succumbing to the virus onMonday, taking the death toll due to the infection to 16. With the fresh tests, the state's infection tally touched 2,004 while the active cases stood at 1,174 with 814 recoveries, including 11 who were discharged on Monday, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said. (PTI)
How UB City Mall in Bengaluru ensured safe entry of visitors on Day 1 of their operations post-lockdown.
The Golden Temple restarted its langar and distributed 'prasad' among devotees as it reopened on Monday, defying the Punjab government's lockdown guidelines. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal on Sunday had urged the government to review its guidelines prohibiting the offering of 'prasad' and langar at places of worship. According to the guidelines, there shall be no distribution of 'prasad', food or 'langar' (community kitchen) at religious places. The SGPC authorities said they ensured complete hygiene at the community kitchen centre. Meanwhile, other places of worship and shopping malls also reopened after a gap of more than two and half months while adhering to the guidelines issued by the state government. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of AAP government on a plea seeking direction to the government and private hospitals not to deny admission to asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 patients. The plea has also sought direction that hospitals should not insist for coronavirus test before admitting people even in emergency.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, issued notice to the Delhi government and listed the matter for further hearing on June 25. The bench was hearing a petition filed by advocate and petitioner Krishna Kumar Sharma who has also sought direction for not charging higher amount for personal protection equipment (PPE) from patients and that they be charged a reasonable amount. He also sought to ensure that hospitals are not forcing frontline health workers to wear used PPE. (PTI)
The Mamata Banerjee-led government had eased shutdown curbs in the state from June 1, allowing places of worship to reopen, and jute, tea and construction sectors to resume full-fledged operations. Meanwhile, shopping malls, restaurants and other establishments resumed operations in West Bengal on Monday after a hiatus of over two months, with the state government allowing further relaxations as part of "Unlock-1", the first phase of a calibrated exit from the coronavirus-induced lockdown across the country.
Mamata Banerjee in a cabinet meeting on Monday said since public transport is back on roads, number of infections is increasing. "There are high chances of further spike in cases. Hence, please be careful and follow guidelines," she said. She also added a number of relaxation to the existing lockdown rules such as increasing the number of people allowed in religious gatherings and marriage functions from 10 to 25.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday announced that the lockdown in West Bengal will be extended till June 30
Even as most parts of the country went for an Unlock 1.0, the malls in Noida wore a deserted look. "Only Big Bazaar is open inside the DLF Mall of India. Sanitisation/fumigation is taking place. Staff members are inside and there is no certainty as to when will the mall open," said Deepak Solania, security-in-charge. Even TGIP and Garden Galleria in Noida remained closed and sanitisation process is being carried out inside, said the guards-on-duty. DLF shopping malls, which includes malls such as DLF Promenade and Emporio in Delhi and Mall of India in Noida, had earlier said that they will reopen Monday.