With nearly 10,000 fresh cases registered within a span of 24 hours, the Covid-19 tally in India rose to 286,579.

The nationwide Covid-19 tally neared 2.9 lakh on Thursday with a record one-day increase of nearly 10,000 cases taking the count of infections detected this month to almost one lakh. The government, however, said the virus infection has not entered the community transmission stage as the lockdown and containment measures prevented a rapid spread.

The death toll also saw a record single-day increase of over 350 fatalities to move closer to the 8,500-mark, more than one-third of which have been recorded in 11 days since June 1 — the day that marked the beginning of a phased exit from most restrictions imposed under a nationwide lockdown with effect from March 25.

India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK, according to data issued by Johns Hopkins University. However, the gap is narrowing between India’s case count and that of the UK, which has so far recorded more than 2.92 lakh confirmed cases to make it the fourth most affected nation.

The country entered its first phase of unlock 1.0 on June 8 and here’s a curated list of some interesting stories:

Terminally-ill cancer patient flown from Singapore to India to fulfill her last wish

In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian mission in Singapore has facilitated the travel of a cancer patient to fulfill her last wish to unite with her mother in Tamil Nadu amid global travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian mission thanked Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Air India Express and passengers who gave up seats to her and her family. “Fulfilling the last wish of a person with few days left. Happy to unite a cancer patient with her mother in Trichy,” the Indian mission tweeted along with a picture of the patient and her family.

Navy ship brings back 233 stranded Indians from Iran

Under the Indian Navy’s ‘Samudra Setu’ operation, naval ship ‘INS Shardul’ on Thursday brought back 233 Indians to Gujarat from Iran, where they were stranded due to travel restrictions in view of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The ship set sail from Bandar Abbas port of Iran on June 8 with these 233 Indians, mostly fishermen from Valsad district of the state, and arrived at Porbandar port on Thursday, said defence PRO for Gujarat, Puneet Chadha. “The ship is docked at Porbandar port and passengers are being deboarded. The local administration has made arrangements to send them to their respective native places,” said Chadha.

Tribal women enact street play on Covid-19

Tribal women are enacting a street play on Covid-19 to spread awareness about the deadly virus among mostly illiterate tea garden workers in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district. The awareness campaign through the street play gains significance as many migrant workers from the area are scheduled to return from other states. The play ‘Corona Bhagao Desh Bachao’ (ward off Covid-19, save the country) has been written by Maxima Toppo in Hindi and Sadri languages and is being enacted by other local women in the Gairkata tea estate. While one woman dons the role of the novel coronavirus, others act as doctors and policemen.

“We are creating awareness about how Covid-19 spread across the globe. Through the street play, we are making the mostly illiterate people understand how the virus spreads and urging them to take safety measures by maintaining hygiene and social distancing,” Toppo said. “We are trying to make sure that Covid-19 does not spread among the people in the area as some returnees might be infected with the novel coronavirus,” she added.

McDonald’s resumes dine-in facility in 50 outlets of north, east regions

Quick service restaurant chain McDonald’s resumed dine-in facility in 50 outlets so far in the north and east regions. The company has madenearly 50 plus process changes to ensure safety and wellbeing of customers and restaurant staff, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL), which operates McDonald’s in north and east India, said in a statement.

“To date, we have opened more than 100 restaurants across our north and east India regions that are operational through various channels including delivery, drive-thru, takeaway and dine-in and we are progressing fast on re-opening more restaurants,” CPRL Head Robert Hunghanfoo said. Of these, dine-in is operational in 50 per cent thus far, with additional physical distancing and safety measures as mandated by the local authorities, he added. CPRL has enhanced safety procedures and is using thermal screening, masks and gloves for employees, frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitisers for employees and customers. “