Coronavirus roundup: Developments in India and rest of world

* India has registered 19,693 deaths from the virus, a much lower number than many other badly hit countries.

* The Centre on Monday said the average number of samples being tested per day for COVID-19 has gone up in Delhi from 5,481 to 18,766 in about a month and in spite of increased testing, the positivity rate has declined from around 30 per cent to 10 per cent in the last three weeks.

* The Indian Academy of Sciences, a Bengaluru-based body of scientists, has said the Indian Council for Medical Research's (ICMR) target to launch a coronavirus vaccine by August 15 is "unfeasible" and "unrealistic".

* Pharmaceutical major Mylan NV on Monday said it has received approval from Indian drugs regulator DCGI to manufacture and market its remdesivir for restricted emergency use in the country for the treatment of Covid-19.

* The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 crossed the one-crore mark in India on Monday, an ICMR official said.

* Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and a host of other centrally-protected monuments in Delhi reopened for visitors after being shut for over 3 months.

* Private carrier SpiceJet said it is operating 25 repatriation flights from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman to India under the Vande Bharat Mission to help bring back close to 4,500 Indians.

* The High Commission of India in Islamabad has said that they will be facilitating the return of 114 Indian nationals from Pakistan to India on July 9.

* Three more personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. There are a total of 151 active cases & 273 have recovered to date.

* BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who recovered from Covid-19 last month, donates blood plasma. Requests all those who suffered from Covid-19 and have regained fitness to donate

* Vistara airlines on Monday announced that a passenger planning to travel on one of their flights will soon be able to book the adjacent seat as well at a discounted rate so as to keep it vacant.

* The Maharashtra government on Monday allowed hotels, lodges and guest houses outside containment zones to operate from July 8 at 33 per cent of their capacity.

* The Goa government is planning to expand the scope of Covid-19 testing in the state by designating special teams at the primary health centres and community health centres to collect samples of suspected coronavirus patients.

* Diamond polishing units in Surat in Gujarat will remain shut till July 13 while diamond trading markets will be non-operational till July 9 in view of the pandemic.

* The Delhi High Court Monday sought the AAP government's reply on suggestions for setting up a helpline for nurses to complain against private hospitals for failing to providing N-95 masks and PPE kits as also considering ex-gratia to those who die attending to COVID-19 patients.

* Various central and state government offices were shut, shops and business establishments closed and public transport was off the roads in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits, as triple lockdown measures came into force on Monday.

* Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday termed leader of opposition Siddaramaiah's allegations of misappropriation against his government in the purchase of Covid-19 equipment as "unnecessary" and asked him to examine all the documents personally.

* Rajasthan reported three Covid-19 deaths and 99 fresh cases of the virus on Monday, according to an official report.

* Twenty-four people died from coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh as 929 new cases took the state's infection numbers to 28,636, a senior official said on Monday.

* People travelling to Punjab from other states will have to compulsorily register themselves on the state government's web portal or ‘COVA Punjab' mobile application from Monday midnight.

* The Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, has developed an indigenous easy-to-operate Emergency Breathing Assist System (EBAS) in an effort to meet the shortage of ventilators.

* The pandemic has killed at least 534,306 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Monday based on official sources.

* The United States is the hardest-hit country with 129,947 deaths. It is followed by Brazil with 64,867, Britain with 44,220, Italy with 34,861 and Mexico with 30,639 fatalities.

* Stock markets in Asia and Europe rallied, choosing to pin their hopes on the economic recovery from the coronavirus as lockdowns end, rather than worry about the spread of cases.

* Pakistan's health minister Dr Zafar Mirza on Monday tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the latest senior minister in the country to be hit by the deadly virus.

* Australian officials say they plan to effectively seal off the state of Victoria from the rest of the country after it announced a record 127 new cases as the virus spreads through Australia's second city Melbourne.

* Meanwhile in the Balkans, Kosovo's government re-imposed nightly curfews in the capital Pristina and three other towns in a bid to curb an increase of coronavirus infections.

* Chinese authorities detained Xu Zhangrun, a law professor who published essays criticising President Xi Jinping over the coronavirus pandemic and Xi's efforts to consolidate power, according to friends of the man.

* The world's most visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, reopened after nearly four months of coronavirus closure, with a restricted number of visitors enjoying a rare chance to view the "Mona Lisa", the "Venus de Milo", and the Louvre's vast antiquities collection.

* The first-ever online Paris fashion week clicked off with the world of glitzy and sweaty catwalk shows thrown into an existential crisis by the coronavirus.

* The British government has said it will spend nearly $2 billion to help theatres, art galleries and other cultural institutions survive the coronavirus crisis.