10.57 pm: The Delhi government orders hospitals to create “media cells” to monitor information about their functioning on social media. “The concerned hospital needs to either rebut the information or take corrective action to avoid reoccurence of such incidences,” the order reads. “...to create a media cell, who should monitor social media, news media and immediately react to such news/information so that correct position is presented before people.”

10.50 pm: Delhi’s Health Department reports 78 new Covid-19 cases and two more deaths in the last 24 hours, according to ANI. The total number of confirmed cases in the national Capital is now 2,081 – 1,603 active cases, 431 recoveries, 47 deaths.

10.35 pm: The Indian Medical Association calls for a special central law on violence against healthcare workers and hospitals by an ordinance, reports ANI. The medical association will observe a “white alert” on April 22.

10.15 pm: Assam’s Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the state “will not be able” to pay the salaries of its employees for May and June without financial aid. “May is difficult for us and I don’t know how the treasury will operate. Still, we will be able to pay the salaries, but after May 7, he said, according to NDTV. “If we do not get financial support outside our predictable resources of our state, then it will be difficult to pay the salaries.”

10 pm: The number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai has breached the 3,000-mark with 155 more people testing positive, reports PTI, citing a release from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The tally now stands at 3,090.

8.38 pm: Pakistan Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad criticises the government for not being transparent about the money that is being spent on Covid-19 relief activities, PTI reports. The coronavirus has killed 170 people and infected 8,516 people in the country.

8.33 pm: The Centre has closed all departmental canteens in its offices, PTI reports, citing an order from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. “It has been decided with the approval of competent authority that all the departmental canteens in central government ministries/departments/offices shall be closed with immediate effect,” the order says.

8.30 pm: A police officer was suspended in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly beating up a farmer’s son and two daughters for defying lockdown, PTI reports.

8.26 pm: More than 3,000 people were detained for violating the ongoing lockdown in Delhi on Monday, PTI reports.

8.22 pm: Gujarat records 93 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking the total count to 1,939.

8.20 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urges the government to waive Goods and Services Taxes on all Covid-19-related equipment.

“During this difficult time of COVID-19, we have been constantly demanding that GST should not be charged on all small, big equipment related to management of this epidemic,” Gandhi said in a tweet. “It is wrong to collect GST on sanitisers, soaps, masks, gloves etc. from the people who are suffering from disease and poverty. We will stand by our demand of #GSTFreeCorona.”

8.17 pm: A 50-year-old farmer in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, who was allegedly beaten up by the police last week for allegedly violating the lockdown, died on Monday, PTI reports. Six police personnel have been suspended.

“Preliminary probe has revealed that the farmer was admitted in a hospital on April 19 for the treatment of an ailment. He did not lodge a complaint with either the local police or higher authorities. His post mortem report is awaited,” Additional Superintendent of Police Dr Sanjeev Uike says.

8.15 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 84 new Covid-19 cases today, taking the tally in the state to 1,184. This includes 18 deaths, ANI reports.

8.13 pm: The number of containment zones in Delhi increases by four, to 83, according to the Hindustan Times.

8.09 pm: In some areas of Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot, curfew will continue till April 24, says Gujarat Director General of Police Shivanand Jha.

8.02 pm: German Chancellor Angela Merkel urges China to be more transparent about the origin of the coronavirus. She says it would be ‘the better for all’, AFP reports.

She adds that Germany is not yet out of the woods and asks people in the country to be disciplined.

7.59 pm: Maharashtra reports 466 cases in 24 hours, taking the total number of patients in the state to 4,666, the Hindustan Times reports. As many as 232 people have died so far.

7.54 pm: The Odisha government’s higher education department permits resumption of normal activities in universities amid the lockdown.

7.52 pm: West Bengal currently has 245 active Covid-19 cases, ANI reports.

7.50 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says there was no confrontation between the Centre and the state over lockdown guidelines.

7.40 pm: As many as 1,540 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in 24 hours as of 5 pm on Monday.

7.30 pm: Here’s a look at the total number of cases in India as of 5 pm on Monday.

7.21 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s message to India on providing medical help to the country. “India and Afghanistan share a special friendship, based on ties of history, geography, and culture,” the prime minister has tweeted. “For long, we have fought jointly against the scourge of terrorism. We will similarly combat COVID-19 together, with solidarity and shared resolve.”

7.16 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases in Haryana is 251, of which 141 have been discharged. There have been two deaths so far, reports ANI, citing the state health department.

7.15 pm: Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar says 43 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths have been reported today, reports ANI. This takes the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 1,520. There have been 17 deaths in the state.

7.14 pm: Two BMC officials have tested positive for the coronavirus. Both of them were asymptomatic. The two have been kept at an isolation facility at COVID-19 care center of BMC, reports ANI, citing BMC.

7.12 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reports 30 new coronavirus cases from the city’s Dharavi slum area, reports ANI. The total number of positive cases in the area increases to 168. This includes 11 deaths.

7.01 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the visit of the inter-ministerial central teams to some districts of the state without prior consultation, reports ANI. “...the state government was supposed to provide the logistics arrangement, the central teams kept the state government in complete dark and had approached central forces like BSF [Border Security Force], SSB [Sashastra Seema Bal] for the logistics support and had already moved in the field without any consultation with the state government,” the letter reads.

6.35 pm: “There was a time when the situation in Kerala could have gone out of hand but with proper contact tracing, we were able to contain and overcome it,” the chief minister says, according to ANI. “The mortality rate in the world is 5.75, it is 2.8-3 in India, and 0.58 in Kerala. We are carrying out testing aggressively.”

6.25 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says six new coronavirus cases have emerged in the state, reports ANI. All of these cases are in Kannur district and five of them have foreign travel history. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state is 408.

6.12 pm: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu says his administration has released Rs 5.20 crore as financial assistance for 14,859 residents stranded outside the state. “Each Arunachali will receive Rs 3,500 as one-time financial assistance as per the recent Cabinet decision,” he tweets.

5.56 pm: The Union Ministry of Health’s evening update shows a total of 17,656 coronavirus cases in the country. Of these, 14,255 people are being treated, 2,841 people have recovered, 559 patients have died, and one person has returned to their country.

However, the ministry says its figures are being “reconciled with ICMR”.

5.52 pm: Himachal Pradesh’s Health Department says there are 23 active Covid-19 cases in the state, reports ANI. Of these, 11 patients have recovered, four have returned to their state and one person has died. A total of 2,902 people have been tested so far.

5.50 pm: Karnataka’s Health Department reports 18 new cases in the last 24 hours, reports ANI. The total number of coronavirus cases rise to 480 in the state, which includes 16 deaths and 112 recoveries.

5.47 pm: Over 50 journalists in Mumbai test positive, says municipal corporation. This number is expected to increase.

Read more here

5.35 pm: West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha says 54 new coronavirus cases have been found in the state in the last 24 hours, reports ANI.

5.20 pm: A video has emerged of an altercation between the police in Punjab and a few shopkeepers in Firozpur’s Sikri Bazaar area on Sunday. The police had reportedly asked locals to shut their shops and follow lockdown guidelines, reports ANI.

“When we asked them to close them, they protested,” Station House Officer of Firozpur City Manoj Kumar says. “No one was arrested, as later locals understood and closed their shops.”

5.14 pm: President Ram Nath Kovind expresses solidarity with those serving the nation in the fight against the coronavirus despite serious risks. “Let us express gratitude to our police, armed forces and security personnel for their courage and determination,” he tweets. “Internally, police forces are ensuring lockdown with sensitivity and professionalism. Armed and Paramilitary Forces are securing us against cross-border terrorism.”

He also thanks the public, non-governmental organisations, and social workers among others.

5.05 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says she welcomes all constructive support and suggestions to tackle the coronavirus but urges the Centre to provide details on the criterion for deployment of the inter-ministerial central teams in some districts of West Bengal. Banerjee says without this information the state will not be able “to move ahead on this” as it may violate the spirit of federalism.

“However, the basis on which [the] Centre is proposing to deploy IMCTs [inter-ministerial central teams] in select districts across India, including a few in West Bengal under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, is unclear,” she tweets. “I urge both Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to share the criterion used for this. Until then I am afraid, we would not be able to move ahead on this as without valid reasons this might not be consistent with the spirit of federalism.”

5.02 pm: Several journalists in Mumbai have tested positive for Covid-19 after samples of nearly 170 from various media organisation were taken, reports The News Minute.

5 pm: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chief Secretary Chetan Sanghi says one more person has tested positive for the coronavirus. This person has contact history with one of the patients receiving treatment for Covid-19.

4.56 pm: Jammu and Kashmir Principal Secretary (Planning) Rohit Kansal says 14 new Covid-19 cases have been reported and all of them are from Kashmir, reports ANI. The total number of cases in the Union Territory now stands at 368, with 55 of them in Jammu and 313 in Kashmir.

4.49 pm: The Kerala minister says after lockdown in Ernakulam district only family members will be allowed to travel together in two-wheelers. “Outsiders must wear a mask,” he adds, according to ANI. “You can use towels, homemade masks or disposable masks. Cleaning the house and premises before April 24 is subject to lockdown conditions.”

4.46 pm: Kerala’s Minister VS Sunil Kumar says the lockdown in Ernakulam District will continue till April 24. He adds that the police will take action against those who violate the regulations, reports ANI. “Travel to and from the hotspots, Cochin Corporation and Mullavadukadu Panchayat will be blocked,” he says.

4.35 pm: Delhi’s Minister Gopal Rai says the Azadpur Mandi will be open for 24 hours from tomorrow. “From 6 am till 10 pm, vegetables and fruits will be sold, while from 10 pm till 6 am, truck movement will be allowed in and out of the market,” he tells ANI. “Every four hours, entry of 1,000 people will be allowed.”

4.30 pm: ICMR official R R Gangakhedkar says out of 100 Covid-19 patients, 80 do not have symptoms.

4.25 pm: In Odisha, the doubling rate of coronavirus cases is 39.8 days while in Kerala it is 72.2 days, the health ministry says.

4.23 pm: There are a few regions with a doubling rate between 20 and 30 days, the health ministry official says. The doubling rate is 20.1 days in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 21 days in Haryana, 24.5 days, and Assam 25.8 days.

4.19 pm: Agarwal adds that if the data is analysed till April 19 then 18 states have performed better than the national average. This includes Delhi that has a doubling rate of 8.5 days, Karnataka has 9.2, Telangana 9.4, Andhra Pradesh 10.6 days, and Jammu and Kashmir with 11.5 days.

4.16 pm: “When we calculated the doubling rate of the last seven days, we saw that it had gone down from 3.4 days before the imposition of the nationwide lockdown to 7.5 days,” Agarwal says.

4.12 pm: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal highlights the administration’s efforts to contain the coronavirus. The ministry official says the doubling rate of cases has gone down after lockdown measures were put in place.

4.09 pm: The Ministry of Home Affairs official Punya Salila Srivastava notes violation of lockdown regulations in certain parts of the country. She adds that six inter-ministerial teams have reached to assess the situation and give necessary directions to the states for redressal.

Also read:

Coronavirus situation ‘especially serious’ in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur and Kolkata, warns Centre

4 pm: The Centre is briefing the media on the coronavirus.

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3.52 pm: Kanpur records 17 fresh cases. The district’s tally rises to 74, reports PTI.

3.51 pm: Philippines records 19 new deaths and 200 more cases, reports Reuters.

3.50 pm: Five more police personnel from Chandni Mahal police station test positive, say the Delhi Police. Till now, 8 personnel from the police station have tested positive for the virus.

3.47 pm: 24 police personnel in Ahmedabad have tested positive so far, says Control Room Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Patel. Another 200 have been home quarantined as a precautionary measure.

3.36 pm: China criticises India’s new rules for Foreign Direct Investment, reports PTI. It says the rules violate WTO principles of non-discrimination and are against free and fair trade. On Saturday, the department of promotion of industry and internal trade tweaked rules to make FDI by any entity of a country that shares land border with India subject to government approval. The move may impact investments from countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan and China.

Also read

Covid-19: China says India’s tweaked FDI rules ‘discriminatory’, against free trade

3.29 pm: The Indian Army says all its personnel will be classified as green (who have completed 14 days quarantine period), yellow (who need to undergo 14 days isolation period) and ted (symptomatic requiring isolation and further treatment in hospital).

3.26 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat says the situation in the state is completely under control, reports ANI. “The role of our health-workers, policemen and all frontline workers is commendable,” he adds. “I appeal to all citizens to continue to cooperate with lockdown rules.”

3.22 pm: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot says the government has transferred Rs 5,000 in the bank accounts of 23,000 auto drivers while verification of another 20,000 is over. He adds that the government has received 1.6 lakh applications for aid.

3.21 pm: The Indian Medical Association says all doctors and hospitals will light a candle at 9 pm on April 22 as a “white alert” to the nation. “Our legitimate needs for safe workplaces have to be met,” says the association. “Abuse and violence should stop immediately.” The association says it will declare April 23 as Black Day and all doctors will wear black badges to work if the Centre fails to enact a law on violence against doctors and hospitals.

3.16 pm: Cases in Germany rise by 1,775, reports Reuters. The country reports 110 deaths.

3.15 pm: Below is a chart of the number of tests conducted in India every day

3.12 pm: An infant in a group of over 35 stranded people from Rajasthan died in Assam’s Chirang district last week during the extended lockdown to rein in the coronavirus pandemic, the police tell Scroll.in. The nine-month old child, identified as Vishal Singh, died on April 14. The police said the family was trying to reach Rajasthan in a truck after believing that the lockdown would be lifted on April 14 and transport services would resume subsequently. The countrywide lockdown, imposed on March 25 and was supposed to end on April 14, has been extended till May 3.

Also read

Covid-19: Infant, stranded along with over 30 others in Assam, dies while trying to reach Rajasthan

3.11 pm: Spain’s daily toll drops under 400, reports AFP.

3.10 pm: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asks Centre to deposit Rs 7,500 in every Jan Dhan account, pension account, PM-Kisan account, reports PTI. He says these funds should be immediately released.

3.08 pm: The Assam government has deposited Rs 2,000 each to the accounts of 86,000 people who are stranded in other states, says state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, according to News18.

2.40 pm: Russia reports 4,268 new cases on Monday, reports Reuters. The country’s tally goes up to 47,121. Forty-four patients died in the last 24 hours.

2.39 pm: The Sri Lankan government revokes its decision to relax the nationwide curfew and extends it to April 27 after a sudden spike of 41 cases in the last 24 hours, reports PTI.

2.36 pm: Union minister Prakash Javadekar says some people are deliberately trying to push the “secular-communal” narrative, reports PTI.

2.35 pm: A mob on Sunday attacked a group of people, including doctors, in Chennai during the burial of a neurosurgeon who had died after he tested positive, reports The Hindu. Some arrests have been made.

“… On reaching the spot, we found that around 200 persons had gathered and started to protest,” Pradeep Kumar, arthroscopy surgeon, tells the newspaper. He adds that they then moved to another burial ground. “Suddenly, some 50 to 60 persons started to attack us,” he alleges. “They started to hurl stones and throw sticks at us. There were about seven to eight Corporation staff at the spot. We had to flee the spot to escape from the attack. Some of us were bleeding. The windshield of the hospital ambulance was damaged by the attackers. We drove back in the same vehicle.” The ambulance driver was injured in the attack.

2.26 pm: The Kolkata Police say they have arrested 88 people and seized three vehicles today for “deliberate violation of the safety restrictions”.

2.25 pm: Rajasthan reports 57 new infections and two deaths.

2.22 pm: Singapore’s health ministry confirms 1,426 new cases, a record daily jump, reports Reuters. The new infections are mainly among foreign workers living in dormitories.

2.19 pm: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says the restrictions on domestic and international flight operations will be lifted when the government is confident that spread of the novel coronavirus has been controlled.

2.17 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says no one should think that lockdown has been lifted. “We have just tried to revolve the wheel of economy a bit,” he adds. “I’ve heard that some people are treating relaxations as lifting of lockdown. If they continue to behave like this we’ll take strict measures.”

1.57 pm: In Andhra Pradesh, 75 more people tested positive in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s count to 722. Three people have died in the last 24 hours, reports PTI.

1.39 pm: MNREGA workers in Puducherry resume their work. They are following social distancing norms and using masks.

1.29 pm: Eight Central teams will visit districts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal where the situation is ‘especially serious’.

Also read

Coronavirus situation ‘especially serious’ in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur and Kolkata, warns Centre

1.25 pm: The administration in Lucknow, Agra and Firozabad have decided against relaxation during the lockdown, reports PTI.

1.10 pm: New Zealand will ease the nationwide lockdown next week, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, according to AFP.

1.09 pm: A baby born to a 25-year-old Covid-19 positive patient in Pune tests negative, reports ANI. “The baby is not infected with Covid-19 and is kept in a separate ward,” says officials at Sasoon hospital.

12.50 pm: PM Narendra Modi discusses the pandemic with the president of Maldives.

12.48 pm: US regulators and Novartis have agreed to give malaria drug a trial, reports Reuters.

12.47 pm: A newborn tests positive in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district, reports PTI. “The baby born on Saturday is coronavirus positive,” says Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Sukumar Kashyap. “Her mother, father and other family members too are Covid-19 patients.” The test report of the baby came on Sunday. The district has 59 patients so far.

12.45 pm: All 16 high-risk contacts of the food delivery agent, who had tested positive, have tested negative, says the district magistrate.

12.10 pm: A team of officials faced stiff resistance in Padarayanapura area of Bengaluru on Sunday when it had come to shift some residents to a quarantine facility, reports PTI. Fifty-nine people have been arrested and five first information reports have been filed, says Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Also read

Covid-19: Dozens held for attack on quarantine team in sealed zone in Bengaluru

12.04 pm: Five more people test positive in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi. With this, the state’s tally rises to 395 including 16 deaths and 111 recoveries.

11.58 am: Three more persons die in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district in the last 24 hours, says Chief Medical and Health Officer Praveen Jadia. The toll in the district rises to 52, reports PTI. Besides, seven more people test positive, taking the total number of cases in the district to 897.

11.53 am: The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a case against the owner of a cancer hospital in Meerut for publishing an advertisement stating that Muslim patients and their attendants would only be admitted if they tested negative for the coronavirus.

Also read

Covid-19: Meerut hospital owner booked for ad asking Muslims patients to show they aren’t infected

11.46 am: A police inspector in Odisha has been suspended for allegedly entering the Jagannath temple in Puri.

11.11 am: The toll in Gujarat rises to 67 after four more deaths, PTI reports. The number of cases rises by 108 to 1,851.

11.10 am: The number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir rises to 354 after four more persons test positive, PTI reports.

11.08 am: In a letter to state governments, the home ministry says the situation is “especially serious” in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata and a few other places in West Bengal, PTI reports. The ministry says incidents of violence against frontline healthcare professionals, violation of social distancing norms and movement of vehicles in urban areas should be stopped.

11.07 am: At least 20 employees at Afghanistan’s presidential palace have tested positive for Covid-19, AP reports.

11 am: Thirty students who reached Muzaffarnagar from Kota on Sunday evening were sent in home quarantine, PTI quotes District Magistrate Amit Singh as saying.

10.39 am: The Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha secretariats resume functioning after 30 days after sanitisation of all vehicles.

10.36 am: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh says the state is now coronavirus-free as both patients have recovered.

10.33 am: The Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory against the spraying of disinfectants on people to contain the coronavirus spread, saying it is physically and psychologically harmful. The advisory described the harmful effects the chlorine present in the disinfectant can have on humans.

Read more: Spraying disinfectant on people can be physically and psychologically harmful, says Centre

10.06 am: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai says Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa asked him to act strictly against those accused for ruckus in Padarayanapura locality of Bengaluru on Sunday night. “I’ve told the same to my officials,” he says. “We won’t tolerate such acts. We have arrested 59 people, and five FIRs have been registered. I’m going to Padarayanapura, [and] will make sure others are quarantined.”

10.04 am: On reports about the Centre’s allegations about Kerala diluting some lockdown guidelines, state minister Kadakampally Surendran says, “We’ve given relaxations abiding by directions issued by Centre. The Centre may have asked for an explanation, due to some misunderstanding. Once we give an explanation, I hope the issue will be solved. We followed all norms set by the Centre.”

Also read

Coronavirus: Centre objects to Kerala ‘diluting’ lockdown norms, state denies any violation

10.03 am: Three new Covid-19 cases found in Nagpur, taking the district’s total to 76, ANI reports.

9.39 am: The home ministry has objected to the Kerala government’s decision to dilute some of the nationwide restrictions during the lockdown by allowing restaurants and bookshops to open, PTI reports. Unidentified officials tell the agency that allowing bus travel in towns, pillion rider on two-wheelers and two passengers in the backseat of car are a violation of the measures.

The Centre’s guidelines say that states are allowed to make restrictions stricter than the ones in place nationwide, but cannot dilute them.

9.38 am: Trump added that the US wants to send a team of experts to China to investigate the coronavirus, PTI reports. “We spoke to them [China] a long time ago about going in,” he said. “We want to go in. We want to see what’s going on. And we weren’t exactly invited, I can tell you that.”

Also read

Covid-19: Donald Trump says US wants to send a team to China to investigate coronavirus spread

9.36 am: In his daily press briefing on Sunday, United States President Donald Trump said his country has tested 4.18 million people for Covid-19, PTI reports. He claimed this was more than the figures of 10 other countries combined.

“That’s a record anywhere in the world,” he said. “We have done more testing than all of these countries combined – France, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Austria, Australia, Sweden and Canada.”

9.35 am: Seventeen new cases reported in Rajasthan, taking the total in the state to 1,495.

9.25 am: A Covid-19 patient in Madhya Pradesh who had escaped from an isolation ward in a Jabalpur hospital has been found at a check post in Narsinghpur, ANI reports.

9.24 am: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is holding a meeting with Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and police officers to discuss the altercation in Padarayanapura locality of Bengaluru on Sunday night. Police have filed four cases and taken 54 persons into custody for allegedly creating a ruckus when officials went to quarantine secondary contacts of three Covid-19 patients.

9.15 am: Delhi has 79 containment zones as of Monday morning.

9.04 am: Some states have decided to retain the strict lockdown measures. Read more:

Some economic activity begins in non-hotspots; full lockdown to continue in Delhi, Punjab

8.50 am: The number of coronavirus cases in India rises to 17,265, including 543 deaths, according to the health ministry’s 8 am update. In the last 24 hours, the ministry has confirmed 1,553 cases and 36 deaths. As many as 2,546 patients have recovered so far.

However, the number of cases according to the Indian Council of Medical Research is 17,615. The health ministry says, “*Our figures are being reconciled with ICMR.”

8.11 am: In Bengaluru late on Sunday, some secondary contacts of Covid-19 patients along with a few locals tried to remove barricades and argued with officials who had come to move them to a quarantine facility, PTI reports. The incident took place in Padarayanapura locality, which has been sealed off. Several primary contacts of the patients had already been sent in quarantine, police said.

“Officials have made a list of 58 people who are secondary contacts to be sent to quarantine,” PTI quotes DCP (West) B Ramesh as saying. “The first 15 people came with officials for quarantining and were sent in a bus. When the next group was called, they started opposing it and wanted the tests to be conducted on the spot.”

He said a case will be filed.

Ruckus broke out between civic body officials and residents of Padarayanapura on Sunday night. (PTI photo)

8.10 am: The West Bengal health department claims that the testing kits supplied by ICMR and National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases two weeks ago began to give a large number of inconclusive results, which has necessitated repeat tests, and this has caused a delay in final test reports.

The department asks the ICMR to look into the matter immediately.

Read more: West Bengal blames ‘defective’ kits for testing delays, urges ICMR to investigate

8.07 am: Pictures from toll plazas in some parts of the country as the lockdown is eased:

7.30 am: The Karnataka government has issued fresh orders to continue the stringent lockdown measures till the midnight of April 21, PTI reports. Unidentified officials tell the news agency that the state Cabinet is likely to discuss relaxations in a meeting on Monday.

7.20 am: The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States has risen by almost 2,000 to reach 40,661 on Sunday, reports AFP, citing data from Johns Hopkins University.

7.15 am: The total number of containment zones in Delhi increases to 79 after the government adds Tilak Vihar to the list, reports ANI.

7.10 am: Telangana has decided to extend the coronavirus lockdown in the state till May 7, four days longer than the nationwide lockdown announced earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports ANI. Food delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato will also not be allowed to operate from today.

7.07 pm: Here are the top updates from Sunday:

  1. The number of coronavirus patients in India rose to 16,116 on Sunday evening after 1,324 cases were reported, according to the health ministry. The toll increased by 31 to 519, while the number of patients who have recovered crossed 2,300.
  2. The Centre directed airlines to stop taking bookings from May 4, the day after the nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus would be lifted.
  3. The home ministry said that migrant labourers can be screened and those who are asymptomatic can be allowed to move within the state to reach their place of work. All such workers living in relief camps will have to be registered with the local authorities. However, the ministry added that inter-state travel of migrant workers will not be allowed.  
  4. The home ministry also said that the supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce firms will continue to stay banned during the lockdown period, just four days after allowing such companies to sell mobile phones, refrigerators and clothes.
  5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed the “contours of professional life”, adding that the disease affects everyone equally. He added that the country’s response to the pandemic should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood.