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An elderly woman is offered water by a relative as they sit at the Chandigarh-Punjab border, amid the ongoing lockdown, on Friday. | PTI

Coronavirus: Maharashtra to announce relief package to deal with economic crisis, says deputy CM

India’s tally rose to 1,65,799 as the country recorded 7,466 new infections in 24 hours as of Friday morning. The toll is 4,706.

West Bengal will reopen all places of worship in the state from June 1, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday. Places of worship as well as several other public spaces across the country have been shut down since March, when the government instituted a lockdown to combat the coronavirus. The lockdown has since been extended several times.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday to discuss the way forward, as the fourth phase of the lockdown will end on Sunday.

India’s tally rose to 1,65,799 as the country recorded 7,466 new infections in 24 hours as of Friday morning, according to the health ministry. The toll reached 4,706. India is now the ninth worst-hit country, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected 58.40 lakh people and claimed over 3.61 lakh lives, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

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

7.10 pm: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says the state will announce a financial package soon to deal with the economic crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reports.

7.07 pm: Tamil nadu reports 874 new positive cases, taking the state’s total to 20,246. As many as 135 of these cases were people who had returned from Maharashtra either by road or air. Nine peopl died today, taking the state’s toll to 154.

7.03 pm: All educational institutes in Jammu and Kashmir will be shut till June 15, ANI reports.

6.58 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says the state has recorded 62 new cases and a death in a day. This takes the total number of cases in the state to 1,150.

6.53 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announces an increase in the honorarium of doctors serving their bonds to bring it at par with doctors who are working on a contractual basis, ANI reports.

The honorarium for doctors in tribal areas will increase to Rs 75,000 from Rs 60,000, that of specialist doctors in tribal areas will go up to Rs 85,000 from Rs 70,000. For MBBS doctors in other areas, it will go from Rs 55,000 to Rs 70,000 and for specialist doctors in other areas, it will go to Rs 80,000 from Rs 65,000.

6.50 pm: Astrologer Bejan Daruwalla has died of the coronavirus in Ahmedabad, say multiple reports.

6.45 pm: The Uttarakhand government announces that all government offices will be functional from 10 am till 5 pm from June 1.

5.54 pm: India’s Gross Domestic Product growth rate stood at 3.1% for the fourth quarter of 2019-’20, according to data released the government.

5.51 pm: All private, public and government sector offices in West Bengal will open from June 8 while all tea and jute industries in the state will be 100% operational from June 1, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says, according to ANI.

5.45 pm: The output of eight core infrastructure industries declined by a record 38.1% in April due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, ANI reports. The eight core sectors had expanded by 5.2% in the same month last year.

5.40 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath asks authorities in the state to scale up testing capacity for Covid-19 and directs officials to improve the functioning of testing labs, PTI reports.

5.39 pm: Karnataka reports 248 cases of the coronavirus today, taking the state’s toll to 2,781, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The toll is now 48.

5.38 pm: Three hospitals in Mumbra in Thane district were sealed by the civic body after receiving complaints that they were not admitting patients despite having beds available, PTI reports.

5.37 pm: The Odisha government unveils a Rs 17,000-crore-worth plan to support the livelihoods of people, including farmers and migrant workers, hit by the economic crisis, PTI reports.

5.35 pm: A 45-year-old migrant labourer was found dead in a toilet of a ‘Shramik Special’ train at Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi station, four days after he boarded it for Gorakhpur, PTI reports.

5.26 pm: Six more residents of Meghalaya, who returned to the state, test positive, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma says. The patients came from states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

5.22 pm: Norms for the fifth phase of the lockdown will be announced in the next few days, Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar, Dr S Sarangi tells ANI. “As we open up the economy, we’ve to ensure that we see how the pandemic shapes up,” he adds. “Once we open, we can still keep epidemic under control if people behave responsibly.”

5.00 pm: Twelve migrants fall seriously ill after having dinner at their quarantine centre in Sheikhpura area of Bihar, PTI reports.

4.58 pm: The Bombay High Court dismisses a petition seeking directions to the Maharashtra government and BMC to take over the two Wadia hospitals in the city, after the petitioner failed to deposit a sum of Rs 1 crore to show his bonafides, PTI reports.

4.46 pm: A 70-year-old man from Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir dies of the coronavirus, taking the the toll in the Union Territory to 28, PTI reports.

4.43 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 218 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, State Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan says, according to ANI.

4.39 pm: All places of worship in West Bengal will be reopened from June 1, says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, according to ANI. However, not more than ten people will be allowed to assemble at a time, she adds.

4.32 pm: On the delay in train schedules, Yadav says that only four out of the 3,840trains have taken over 72 hours to reach their destination.

4.31 pm: Yadav claims that the state governments provided food and water at originating stations to the migrants, while the railways arranged free meals during the journey.

4.29 pm: Out of the migrants who have been ferried till now, 42% were from Uttar Pradesh, while 37% of them are from Bihar, Vinod Kumar Yadav, chairperson, Railway Board, says.

4.27 pm: As many as 279 ‘Shramik Special’ trains have been operated till May 20, the Railway Board says. “All requests from States have been accommodated by the Railways... Almost 3 lakh migrants are being ferried by the railways on a daily basis.”

4.27 pm: The Railway Board addresses the media.

4.14 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Friday says additional flights will be operated by Air India under the “Vande Bharat Mission” to repatriate Indians stranded abroad. The bookings for these flights will start from 11:00 hrs on May 30.

Flights will be operated from:

1. Delhi to Auckland on June 4

2. Delhi to Chicago and Stockholm on June 5

3. Delhi to New York, Frankfurt and Seoul on June 6

4. Mumbai to London and Newark on June 6

3.57 pm: As many as 11 healthcare workers, including two resident doctors, test positive for the coronavirus at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, taking the total number of infections in the hospital to 206, PTI reports.

3.38 pm: The United Nations delays the COP26 climate summit until late 2021, in view of the pandemic, The Indian Express reports. This year’s convention, scheduled to be held in Britain,had been billed as the most important climate change summit since the 2015 talks that produced the Paris Agreement.

3.36 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh rises to 2,874 after the state reports 33 new cases in the last 24 hours, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The toll is 60.

3.30 pm: The Central Bureau of Investigation begins a preliminary enquiry against the organisers of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, for alleged dubious cash transactions and hiding of foreign donations from authorities, PTI reports.

3.15 pm: The Union Health Ministry refuses to share the amount of money spent on buying to handle the pandemic in the country, stating that such data does not come under the definition of “information” to be provided under the Right to Information Act, PTI reports.

3.14 pm: The Uttar Pradesh police arrests nine people, including a former gram pradhan, for attacking an ambulance and a police team, which was on its way to cremate the body of a suspected coronavirus patient in Ramghat area of Bhadohi, PTI reports.

3.07 pm: A troop of monkeys in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, steal a set of blood samples of patients at the Meerut Medical College, ANI reports. But the samples taken away by the monkeys does not include Covid-19 swabs, SK Garg, the hospital’s principal says.

3.03 pm: Uttarakhand reports 102 new infections, taking the total tally of cases in the state to 602, ANI reports, quoting the state health department.

2.55 pm: At least 2,211 police personnel in Maharashtra have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, of whom 25 have lost their lives, PTI reports.

2.54 pm: The Delhi High Court asks the Aam Aadmi Party government to file a status report on a plea challenging its decision to allegedly declare a private hospital as a dedicated Covid-19 facility without considering the impact on residents in the area, PTI reports.

2.45 pm: Russia reports the biggest single-day rise in coronavirus deaths, with 232 deaths in the last 24 hours, AP reports. The toll in the country is now 4,374. The country has over 3.8 lakh cases of Covid-19.

2.37 pm: Locals in Narsamuda area of Asansol district of West Bengal protest against the state government’s decision of converting a school there into a quarantine centre, as they fear the spread of Covid-19 infection, ANI reports.

2.33 pm: Karnataka reports 178 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 2,711, PTI reports. Of these, 156 are returnees from Maharashtra.

2.32 pm: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport announces that no ticket fares will be charged from migrant labourers when buses are made available for dropping them at the city railway stations, PTI reports.

2.27 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Home Minister Amit Shah and senior officials to discuss the way forward, as the fourth phase of the lockdown comes to an end on Sunday, according to several media reports. A decision is likely tomorrow on whether to extend the restrictions amid the steady rise in virus cases, according to NDTV.

2.12 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research writes to the World Health Organization, expressing its disagreement with the world health body’s advisory against the use of hydroxychloroquine in treating Covid-19 patients, ANI reports. The ICMR cites the difference in doses administered to patients and says the international dosage is four time higher than Indian trials.

2.06 pm: India’s economy needs support from the public sector banks to boost credit growth after facing the severe whiplash of the coronavirus pandemic, Union Bank of India Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G says, according to PTI.

1.58 pm: The All India Mahila Congress says it will distribute around 25 lakh sanitary pads among women who have been unable to buy them amid the lockdown.

1.49 pm: Four crematoriums in Delhi run by the civic bodies have started using wood to perform funerals of patients who were either confirmed or suspected cases of the coronavirus.

Read here: Coronavirus: Delhi to allow use of wood for cremating patients as bodies pile up in morgues

1.42 pm: The Finance Ministry says it has asked the Labour Ministry to collect data on job losses due the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reports.

The Centre adds that no decision has been made yet on restricting China through the Foreign Portfolio Investment route.

1.40 pm: Migrants workers gather outside the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, waiting for transport to reach their native places.

1.23 pm: Delhi reports 1,106 new coronavirus cases. The Capital’s tally rises to 17,386. The toll stands at 398.

1.16 pm: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia says 82 deaths were added to the Capital’s toll on Thursday, ANI reports. He adds that 13 deaths took place in last 24 hours while 69 happened over the last 34 days.

1.11 pm: Karnataka’s coronavirus tally rises to 2,711 with 178 new cases.

1.05 pm: French carmaker Renault announces 15,000 job cuts worldwide amid the coronavirus crisis, AP reports.

1.01 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city rises to 3,344 after 84 more people test positive, PTI reports. The city’s toll rises to 126 with four new deaths.

12.56 pm: Bahujan Samajwadi Party President Mayawati asks the Centre and the state governments to provide jobs to migrant workers returning home. “Making permanent employment available to them [migrants] near their homes will be the test of the government’s intention, policy and allegiance,” she tweets.

12.52 pm: Two barbers in Haryana’s Panchkula city wear protective equipment while attending to their customers.

12.42 pm: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Chhattisgarh demands an increase in the number of workdays under MGNREGA from 100 to 150 to address the lack of livelihood for the rural population amid the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.

12.39 pm: A Central Industrial Security Force head constable, posted at a warship manufacturing facility in Kolkata, dies of Covid-19, PTI reports. He was 58.

12.34 pm: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said that the coronavirus pandemic will cause unimaginable devastation, usher in hunger and famine of historic proportions and lead to losses to the tune of $8.5 trillion in global output if nations did not respond to the crisis with unity and solidarity.

12.31 pm: Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi says more than 27 lakh migrant workers have returned to the state so far, according to ANI.

12.29 pm: Odisha records 63 new coronavirus cases, ANI reports, quoting the state’s health department. The state’s tally rises to 1,723.

12.24 pm: West Bengal minister Sujit Bose and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, according to several reports.

12.21 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri gives details of day four of the resumption of domestic flights.

11.58 am: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says the nationwide lockdown must be extended by 15 days.

11.52 am: The West Bengal government makes 14-day institutional quarantine mandatory for people returning from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, The Telegraph reports.

11.47 am: The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan reaches 64,028 after 2,636 more people test positive, PTI reports. The country’s toll climbs to 1,317 with 57 new deaths.

11.45 am: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb meets people placed under home quarantine after returning to the state.

11.38 am: Manipur reports three new coronavirus cases. The state’s tally rises to 58.

11.35 am: The number of coronavirus cases among police personnel in Maharashtra rises to 2,211 after 116 cops test positive, ANI reports. Twenty-five cops in the state have died of the disease so far.

11.30 am: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced that the coronavirus lockdown will ease next week for most of the country’s population, according to Reuters.

11.21 am: The United Nations postpones crucial climate summit COP26 till late 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

11.13 am: The number of coronavirus cases in Assam rises to 880 after 24 more people test positive, PTI reports. The toll stands at four.

11.10 am: A Rajya Sabha secretariat officer, posted at the Parliament, tests positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports. Two floors of the Parliament Annexe building have been sealed.

11.04 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath holds a meeting with the Industrial Association and signs a Memorandum of Understanding to provide employment of migrant workers who have returned to the state amid the nationwide lockdown.

10.59 am: Rajasthan’s coronavirus tally reaches 8,158 with 91 new cases. The toll rises to 182 with two more fatalities.

10.55 am: Brazil recorded a daily record of 26,417 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, Reuters reports, quoting the country’s health ministry. Brazil has 4,38,238 coronavirus cases, second only to the United States.

10.48 am: A widely-circulated video shows coronavirus patients at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district complaining of inhuman conditions, NDTV reports.

10.42 am: A traffic jam is seen at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur.

10.38 am: The Jharkhand government sends airplanes to help stranded migrant workers get home.

10.35 am: The United Nations Children’s Fund on Thursday said that the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic could push up to 86 million more children into household poverty by the end of 2020.

10.30 am: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ahmedabad city President Jagdish Panchal tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, according to The Indian Express.

10.26 am: A huge crowd is seen at the Delhi-Gurgaon border. On Thursday, the Haryana government had ordered the complete sealing of the state’s border with Delhi amid rising coronavirus cases.

10.10 am: Union Minister Piyush Goyal appeals to people suffering from serious ailments, pregnant women, senior citizens and children below the age of 10 to travel in Shramik Express trains only when necessary. His appeal came after reports of deaths on special trains.

10.06 am: Three children of migrant workers, including two infants, died over the last two days in three separate quarantine centres across Chhattisgarh, according to The Indian Express. Officials attributed the deaths to heat and overcrowding.

10.01 am: China reports five new asymptomatic cases.

9.59 am: West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh says the deaths of some migrant workers on Shramik Special trains are “small and isolated” incidents and the Indian Railways cannot be blamed. “Some unfortunate incidents have taken place,” he adds. “But you can’t just blame the railways for it. They have been doing their best to ferry the migrants. Some deaths have taken place, but these are isolated incidents. We have examples of how railways have done their best to serve the passengers. Some small incidents have taken place, but that doesn’t mean you will close down the railways.”

Also read

Death of migrants on Shramik trains is ‘small, isolated’ incident, says West Bengal BJP chief

9.50 am: A 65-year-old patient dies in Kerala, reports ANI. He had returned from Sharjah on May 11.

9.04 am: India’s tally goes up to 165, 799 as the country recorded 7,466 new infections in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry. The toll in the country is now 4,706 after 175 new fatalities.

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8.38 am: Himachal Pradesh’s total tally is now 290, says the state health department.

8.33 am: Five people from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh test positive, says Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena.

8.32 am: Four more people have tested positive in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Of these, three had come from Maharashtra and one from Delhi, says Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati.

8.14 am: Brazil reports a new daily record of 26,417 infections.

8.13 am: More than 200 schools close in South Korea days after they re-opened as cases spike, reports BBC.

8.10 am: Migrant workers protest at Bypass road in Amritsar.

7.50 am: People arrive at Ghazipur market in Delhi.

7.27 am: US records 1,297 deaths in the last 24 hours, reports AFP. The country’s toll is now 101,573.

7.23 am: India is now the ninth worst-hit country, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. According to the tracker, the country’s tally is 1.65 lakh and toll is 4,711 as of Friday morning. The toll is more than that of China where 4,638 people have died so far.

7.20 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday