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A police officer uses a megaphone to urge people to maintain safe distance upon disembarking from the train in Tamil Nadu. | Rupak De Chowdhari/ Reuters

Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu’s tally crosses 18,000; Centre says India’s recovery rate now 42.4%

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to identify private hospitals where coronavirus patients could be treated for free or at minimum cost.

The Union health ministry on Wednesday said that India’s coronavirus recovery rate is 42.4% now. India’s total count of cases rose to 1,51,767 and the toll reached 4,337. Across the country, 64,426 people have recovered.

The number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu reached 18,545 after 817 more people tested positive. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, directed the Centre to identify private hospitals where coronavirus patients could be treated for free or at minimum cost.

More than 55.8 lakh cases of Covid-19 have been reported worldwide, including over 3.50 lakh deaths, according to a tracker by the Johns Hopkins University.

Read top 10 coronavirus updates.

The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.

These are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.

Live updates

8.15 pm: Gorakhpur’s Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Radha Mohan Das questions relaxations to the lockdown in the city, reports PTI. He asks if shops are allowed to open, the entire area may turn into a coronavirus hotspot.

8.15 pm: Ladakh’s coronavirus tally rises to 54, reports PTI, citing the health department.

8.14 pm: Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says 35 new coronavirus cases have emerged in the state, taking the tally to 714.

8.11 pm: Tamil Nadu records 817 new coronavirus cases – the highest single-day increase in the state. The tally rises to 18,545 cases and the toll is at 133 after six new fatalities today, reports PTI.

8.09 pm: A special repatriation flight, ferrying 185 passengers from Dubai, landed in Kochi today, reports ANI.

8.04 pm: Coronavirus cases in Mumbai’s Dharavi rise by 18 to 1,639, reports PTI, citing an official.

6.50 pm: The staff at Mumbai’s Sion Hospital cheer for a one-month-old baby who was discharged after having recovered from the coronavirus.

6.45 pm: The police in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh city launch an investigation over a viral video showing dancers performing at a wedding amid the lockdown.

6.31 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Ladakh rises to 54 after one more person tests positive, PTI reports.

6.25 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 817 coronavirus cases. The state’s tally rises to 18,545. The toll stands at 133.

6.21 pm: The European Commission proposes a $750 billion euro recovery fund to reboot the European economy, which has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reports.

6.14 pm: The Ministry of Railways says it has operated over 3,500 Shramik Special trains so far and transported over 48 lakh passengers. The ministry adds that nearly 80% of the trains went to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

6.06 pm: The Kerala government has criticised the Centre for its handling of special trains amid the lockdown, saying its method of sending trains without prior information could derail the state’s protocol to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Read here:

Coronavirus: Kerala criticises Centre for sending trains without prior information

5.46 pm: The Union health ministry says more than 32 lakh samples have been tested for the coronavirus so far. The Centre adds that 624 labs are conducting the tests.

5.40 pm: Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal says students who went back to their homes amid the lockdown will be permitted to take CBSE exams in the districts they are presently in.

5.35 pm: Kerala reports 40 new coronavirus cases. All of them are returnees are from other states. The tally reaches 2,003.

5.30 pm: The Union health ministry says India’s coronavirus recovery rate is 42.4% now.

5.09 pm: People offer Eid prayers at an IKEA parking lot in Germany’s Wetzlar city.

5.02 pm: Five people, who returned to Nagaland from Chennai, test positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports, quoting state Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom.

4.56 pm: Canadian company AbCellera says it has raised $105 million to develop a treatment for the coronavirus, Reuters reports.

4.46 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Nepal rises to 886 after 114 people test positive, ANI reports. This is the biggest single-day increase in cases for the country.

4.41 pm: The Kerala government will resume alcohol sales from Thursday, The Hindu reports. To avoid crowding at liquor stores, the government has launched an app to enable customers to place their orders and collect them from stores at fixed times.

4.38 pm: Chinese Envoy to India Sun Weidong says the two countries are fighting the coronavirus together and they must not let differences affect bilateral ties.

4.35 pm: An 83-year-old woman dies of the coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar city, PTI reports. This the city’s first coronavirus death.

4.31 pm: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij says people not wearing protective masks and those found spitting in public will have to pay Rs 500 as fine, ANI reports.

4.28 pm: A video from a hospital in Mumbai shows patients in an emergency ward sharing beds. The escalating coronavirus crisis has overwhelmed Maharashtra’s health infrastructure.

4.21 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says the Indian Railways is running special trains for migrant workers according to its “whims and conditions”, PTI reports. Banerjee’s government had been accused by the Centre of blocking the special trains.

4.16 pm: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday called United States President Donald Trump an “absolute fool” for not wearing a protective mask at a series of recent public events, and said his lack of leadership amid the coronavirus crisis is “costing peoples’ lives”, Reuters reports.

4.03 pm: A Pune-based union for IT sector employees urges Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to ensure that there are no layoffs, PTI reports. “In such testing times, the rights of employees ought to be protected by necessary orders and directions to the companies by government, as prospects of several employees of the country are under a dilemma,” the National Information Technology Employees Senate says.

4.00 pm: About 1,600 migrant workers from Tamil Nadu, who were stranded in Mumbai due to the lockdown, depart on a special train from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, PTI reports.

3.53 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says over 60,000 people travelled on the second day of resumption of domestic flights.

3.49 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 277 new coronavirus cases.

3.44 pm: The officials at Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal’s Siliguri city prepare for the resumption of flights from Thursday.

3.36 pm: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi says the state government paid Rs 1 crore to bring its students back from Kota. He adds that the Rajasthan government should have borne the cost.

3.22 pm: As migrant workers struggle to reach home amid the nationwide lockdown, several reports have emerged of ‘Shramik Special’ trains being hugely delayed. In addition, passengers said they were not served food or water even as their journeys stretched on for days.

Read here: ‘Is this a joke?’: On Shramik trains, passengers complain of long delays – with little food or water

3.15 pm: Iran’s new parliament convenes for the first time since elections in February under strict health protocols and social distancing rules, Reuters reports.

3.03 pm: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh dismisses rumours about the deployment of the Indian Army in Mumbai and Pune amid the worsening coronvirus situation.

2.57 pm: Rajasthan reports 35 new cases. The state’s tally rises to 7,680 and the toll stands at 172.

2.54 pm: A huge crowd gathers to greet Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district.

2.50 pm: The Goa government says people arriving in the state must carry a certificate proving that they are not infected with the coronavirus, The Hindu reports. Travelers who do not produce the certificate will have to undergo a Covid-19 test costing Rs 2,000.

2.44 pm: Pakistani nationals stranded in India amid the lockdown cross the Attari-Wagah border.

2.39 pm: Ten migrants workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar city test positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports. The workers had recently returned from Tamil Nadu.

2.19 pm: France stops the use of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus cases, AFP reports. This came after the World Health Organization on Monday “temporarily suspended” trials of the anti-malarial drug over safety concerns.

2.17 pm: Uttarakhand’s coronavirus tally rises to 438 with 38 new cases. The toll stands at four.

2.12 pm: Researchers at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre say they have decoded 131 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from samples taken from coronavirus patients, which will help in developing a vaccine and medicines for the infection, PTI reports.

2.07 pm: A video from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur city shows a toddler trying to wake up his/her mother, who reportedly died of heat and hunger at a railway station.

2.02 pm: The Supreme Court refuses to modify its order allowing Air India to operate repatriation flights for 10 days without leaving the middle seat vacant, ANI reports.

2.00 pm: Bar Council of India requests Chief Justice SA Bobde to allow courts across the country to open from June 1, Live Law reports.

1.49 pm: Congress leader Ajay Maken says the party will launch a ‘SpeakUp’ campaign on May 28 to help voice the problems of migrant workers, small businesses and the middle class.

1.42 pm: The Central Industrial Security Force reports 22 new coronavirus cases, according to PTI. Thirteen cases are from the unit that guards the warship building Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai.

1.34 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s office says it will wait for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on reopening religious places, ANI reports.

1.28 pm: Karnataka’s tally rises to 2,405 after 122 more people test positive.

1.25 pm: Delhi reports 792 new cases. The Capital’s tally rises to 15,257. The toll stands at 303.

1.23 pm: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu says his government is fully equipped to handle a possible spurt in coronavirus cases as more people return from other states.

1.18 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claims the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the state is 21 days, which is better than the national average of 15.4 days, PTI reports. Madhya Pradesh is one of India’s worst affected states with over 7,000 cases and 305 deaths.

1.11 pm: A 58-year-old migrant worker has been found dead on board a Shramik special train in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, PTI reports.

1.08 pm: Congress Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala approaches the Supreme Court in a suo motu case on the migrant workers’ crisis, PTI reports.

12.53 pm: The Supreme Court directs the Centre to identify private hospitals where coronavirus patients could be treated for free or at minimum cost, Live Law reports.

12.47 pm: A doctor files an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the Centre’s new Standard Operating Procedure for frontline healthcare, in which it has ended the mandatory 14-day quarantine for them, PTI reports. The top court directs the Centre to submit its reply by next week.

12.43 pm: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights owing to how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, the US public health agency said that air travel requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces.

Coronavirus: Most viruses, germs don’t spread on flights, says US public health agency

12.39 pm: The International Energy Agency says global energy investment is expected to reduce by around 20% or $400 billion in 2020, its biggest fall on record, because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

12.35 pm: Pakistan reports 1,446 new coronavirus cases, taking the nation’s tally to 59,151, according to PTI. The toll reaches 1,225 with 28 new deaths.

12.30 pm: The Delhi High Court takes note of a widely-circulated video showing a man struggling to get his mother hospitalised after she tested positive for the coronavirus and directs the Centre and the Delhi government to submit their response, PTI reports.

12.26 pm: American credit rating agency Fitch Ratings on Tuesday forecast that the Indian economy will contract by 5% in the current financial year of 2020-’21 because of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a sharp decline from the growth forecast of 0.8% by the global rating agency in late April – a revision from the 2% that was projected just three weeks ago at the time.

Read here: Covid-19 lockdown: Indian economy to contract 5% in 2020-’21, predicts Fitch Ratings

12.22 pm: The administration in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh town says border trade between India and China, which began from June 1 every year through Lipulekh Pass, will not take place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reports.

12.18 pm: Aerospace giant Boeing is expected to announce job cuts in the United States this week after disclosing last month that it planned to let go 10% of its worldwide workforce of 1,60,000 employees, Reuters reports.

12.15 pm: The West Bengal Transport Corporation will start running buses on 40 routes from today as more government and private offices start functioning amid the coronavirus lockdown, PTI reports.

12.10 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati says migrant workers are suffering due to the rift between the Centre and the Maharashtra government. “It is important to stop trading accusations and pay attention to these helpless people so that their lives can be saved from being completely destroyed,” she says.

12.07 pm: The Jammu and Kashmir police give flowers to doctors as a mark of gratitude amid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

12.04 pm: The Delhi Police will file 15 chargesheets against 294 foreign nationals in connection with the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, ANI reports.

11.52 am: Andhra Pradesh reported 68 new cases in the last 24 hours, says state health department. The total number of infections in the state is now 2,787.

11.50 am: The health ministry adds that mother and newborn should be nursed together as far as possible and breastfeeding must be initiated within 1 hour of delivery, irrespective of Covid-19 status.

11.46 am: The Union health ministry deems women and child healthcare as essential services.

11.45 am: Jharkhand’s tally rises to 437, says state health department.

11.15 am: Thailand reports nine new coronavirus cases, no new deaths, according to Reuters.

11.12 am: In the last 24 hours, 75 police personnel have tested positive in Maharashtra.

10.43 am: Four new cases in Assam.

10.42 am: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa says the state will open temples, mosques and churches after May 31, reports ANI.

10.40 am: Total number cases in Jharkhand now at 408, says state health department.

10.35 am: Jha says confidence has to be rebuilt once the economy opens up.

10.30 am: Public health expert Professor Ashish Jha says bureaucrats told him that if testing numbers are high, people will get scared. “You build a much more frightening narrative,” he tells Gandhi.

10.27 am: Rahul Gandhi speaks with global public health experts Ashish Jha and Johan Giesecke on the nature of the virus and its global implications.

10.25 am: South Korea reports 40 new cases – its biggest daily jump in nearly 50 days. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the country tally is now 11,265 cases and 269 deaths.

10.23 am: Passengers on Shramik special trains across the country complain that the authorities had failed to provide them with adequate supplies of food and water during their journeys.

Also read

‘Is this a joke?’: On Shramik trains, passengers complain of long delays – with little food or water

10.20 am: Odisha’s tally rises to 1.593 with 76 new cases, says the state health department.

10.12 am: A pangolin will undergo Covid-19 test in Odisha’s Cuttack district, reports PTI. The pangolin was rescued by the forest department from a quarantine centre.

9.59 am: India tested 1.16 lakh samples in the last 24 hours, says the Indian Council of Medical Research.

9.52 am: Dyeing units in Surat resume operations with 25%-30% staff.

9.49 am: Traffic congestion at Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur.

9.31 am: Rajasthan reports 109 new cases and two deaths as of 9 am today.

9.30 am: Mexico reports 501 new deaths, a record daily high. Mexico has so far recorded nearly 74,560 confirmed cases and 8,134 deaths.

9.24 am: An Air India employee who was on board a Delhi-Ludhiana flight on Monday has tested positive, reports NDTV.

9.21 am: China reports one new confirmed coronavirus case and 28 asymptomatic infections. Of these 28 asymptomatic infections, 22 are from Wuhan.

9.10 am: In the last 24 hours, India recorded 6,387 new infections and 170 deaths.

9.08 am: India’s total count of cases rises to 1,51,767, according to the health ministry. The toll is now 4,337.

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9.07 am: Five more people have been tested positive in Meghalaya, says the chief minister.

9.03 am: Thirty people test positive in Rishikesh, says Harish Thapliyal, the public relation officer at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The total number of cases in Uttarakhand now stands at 431.

8.54 am: West Bengal resumes the North Bengal State Transport Corporation bus services for inter-district travel.

8.50 am: IndiGo grounds its crew of a Chennai-Coimbatore flight for two weeks after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus. The passenger was reportedly asymptomatic.

Read more: IndiGo grounds crew for 14 days after passenger on Chennai-Coimbatore flight tests Covid-19 positive

8.10 am: The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention says most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights “because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes”. However, it notes that air travellers are not risk-free.

7.58 am: US records less than 700 new deaths for the third day in a row, reports AFP. The overall toll in the country is now 98,875.

7.53 am: The Assam government has decided that home quarantine will not be allowed for people coming from outside and they will be sent for institutional-quarantine, reports PTI.

7.51 am: One lakh people have completed their quarantine period in Odisha, reports PTI.

7.50 am: Joe Biden says wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus is a sign of leadership. He calls US President Donald Trump a “fool” who was “stoking deaths”.

7.46 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research has removed the price cap of Rs 4,500 for the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, reports News18. It has now given states a free hand to negotiate with the approved list of laboratories and fix the cost.

Also read

Covid-19: ICMR removes Rs 4,500 price cap for tests, states free to fix cost now

7.45 am: Here are the top updates from Tuesday