9.01 pm: Here are the top updates of the day

  • The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 37,776, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Saturday evening update. This is the biggest single-day jump with 2,411 new cases. Covid-19 has killed 1,223 people in the country so far. 
  • Hundreds of migrant workers and students, stranded amid the nationwide lockdown to control the rapidly-spreading Covid-19, on boarded special trains and buses to return home. The Ministry of Home Affairs had on Friday afternoon allowed movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and “other persons” by special ‘Sharmik’ trains to be operated by the Railways. 
  • A group of 122 Central Reserve Police Force personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus in Delhi over the past two weeks. The officers are part of the 31st battalion of the paramilitary force, based in Mayur Vihar Phase-3 in East Delhi. The test results of 100 others are awaited.
  • Forty-one people living in the same building in South West Delhi’s Kapashera area tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. The residents are believed to have contracted the infection from a person in the building who had tested positive on April 18.
  • The Karnataka government on Saturday issued a show-cause notice to Indian Administrative Services Officer Mohammad Mohsin over a tweet praising Tablighi Jamaat members, who have recovered from Covid-19, for donating their plasma.
  • Eighteen migrant workers were found holed up inside a cement mixer in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday as they were trying to reach Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra. The police have filed a first information report in the case and seized the truck.

8.41 pm: Mumbai alone reports 547 fresh cases and accounts for 27 deaths. The city now has 8,172 infections and 322 people have died.

8.39 pm: Maharashtra reports 790 new cases and 36 deaths. The state’s count goes up to 12,296 while toll rises to 521.

8.38 pm: With 151 new cases, Madhya Pradesh’s tally touches 2,788.

8.24 pm: Two more persons test positive in Jharkhand. Both are from Deoghar, says Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni. With this, the state now has 115 cases.

8.10 pm: Nine Border Security Force personnel test positive in Delhi, reports PTI. They were deployed in the Jamia and Jama Masjid areas over the past few weeks.

8.02 pm: Rahul Gandhi calls the Arogya Setu app “a sophisticated surveillance system”.

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7.54 pm: Gujarat’s count rises to 5,054 as 333 infections are reported in the in last 24 hours.

7.53 pm: The Assam government allows reopening of liquor outlets across the state with immediate effect, reports PTI citing Additional Commissioner of Excise SK Medhi.

7.51 pm: The Himachal Pradesh government decides to increase the relaxation in the curfew to five hours from Monday in the state, reports ANI.

7.50 pm: 15 new cases reported in Mahim today, says the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The total number of cases in Mahim stands at 52 now.

7.49 pm: The Delhi government writes to the Excise Department to provide lists of L-6 (retail vend of Indian liquor in public sector) and L-8 (retail vend of country liquor in public sector) shops immediately that conform to the criteria prescribed by Ministry of Home Affairs.

7.43 pm: Tamil Nadu’s tally rises to 2,757 after 231 people test positive. The state also reported one death today, says the health department.

7.38 pm: Chandigarh reports six new cases. There are a total of 94 cases, says the health department.

7.17 pm: A doctor at Delhi’s Hindu Rao Hospital tests positive for Covid-19, PTI reports. Two nurses from the hospital had tested positive for the disease last week.

7.06 pm: Standalone liquor stores will open across Karnataka, barring containment zones, from Monday, says state Excise Minister H Nagesh. He adds that the stores will remain open from 9 am to 7 pm.

6.46 pm: In the last 24 hours, India has reported 2,411 new cases and 71 deaths, according to the health ministry’s 5 pm update.

6.45 pm: France has decided to extend a health emergency for two months until July 24, says Health Minister Olivier Veran.

6.36 pm: Punjab reports 187 new infections. Of these, 53 are from Amritsar. The total cases in the state stand at 772.

6.35 pm: Four people test positive in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar, reports PTI. With this, the district’s tally rises to 159.

6.33 pm: There are only two active cases in Himachal Pradesh now, says the state health department.

6.25 pm: Haryana reports 19 new cases today. The state’s overall count rises to 376.

6.13 pm: Eighteen migrant workers were found holed up inside a cement mixer in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday as they were trying to reach Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra. The police have filed a first information report in the case and seized the truck.

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Coronavirus: 18 migrant workers found travelling inside cement mixer in Madhya Pradesh

6.09 pm: India’s count rises to 37,776, according to the health ministry’s evening update. Of this, there are 26,535 active cases. The toll increases to 1,223.

5.49 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reported 27 new infections in the last 24 hours.

5.47 pm: The Maharashtra government empowers a deputy commissioner of police to allow inter-state or inter-district journey, reports PTI. But the movement of people will not be allowed between the areas under Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

5.34 pm: Two more people have been tested positive in Wayanad & Kannur, taking the active number of cases to 96 in Kerala, says Chief Minister P Vijayan, according to ANI. The state authorities have identified a total of 80 hotspots, he adds.

5.23 pm: In the last 24 hours, Karnataka reported 12 new cases and three deaths. There are a total of 601 cases in the state.

5.12 pm: Dehradun Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Prakash Chandra says they have identified 291 people from Uttar Pradesh who were staying in shelter homes. “We are sending them to Bhagwanpur from where they will be taken to their native places in buses arranged by Uttar Pradesh government,” he tells ANI.

5.10 pm: There are 38 positive cases in the Indian Navy, says the vice chief adding that the outbreak is being controlled effectively.

5.07 pm: With 127 more people testing positive in Uttar Pradesh, the number of confirmed cases in the state rises to 2,455, reports PTI.

4.40 pm: Iran’s toll rises by 65 to 6,156, reports Reuters.

4.37 pm: 11 people tested positive in Nagpur in the last 24 hours, says the civil surgeon. The total positive cases in the district stand at 150.

4.36 pm: UAE sends 7 metric tons of medical supplies, says the ambassador.

4.32 pm: Assam government will open its boundaries to all northeastern states, except Sikkim, as it connected with West Bengal, from tomorrow morning, says state minister HB Sarma. “...So that people of Assam who are temporarily present in those states can come without any obstructions.”

4.21 pm: Haryana’s toll rises to five after a 62-year-old woman dies, reports PTI.

4.20 pm: Dehradun reports one new case, says Nodal Officer JC Pandey. The total number of positive cases in Uttarakhand stands at 59 now.

4.19 pm: Ahmedabad civic body arranges for 300 additional beds in three hospitals, reports PTI.

4.17 pm: The toll in Rajasthan rises to 65 after three more people die, reports PTI.

4.01 pm: The Karnataka government issues revised guidelines on lockdown measures which will come into effect from May 4 for two weeks in the state.

3.53 pm: Congress asks the Centre to spell out a roadmap for the ongoing lockdown and the exit.

3.49 pm: The Prime Minister’s Office says Narendra Modi today held a meeting to “deliberate on issues and reforms required in agriculture sector”.

3.32 pm: Seven people test positive in Odisha’s Jajpur district, taking the total number of cases in the state to 156, reports PTI quoting officials.

3.27 pm: 54 new cases in Rajasthan today, says the state health department.

3.26 pm: A 45-year-old patient dies at a hospital in Patna, reports PTI. With this, the state’s toll rises to four, says Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar.

3.22 pm: In Tripura, two people from the BSF unit in Ambassa test positive, says Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

3.15 pm: Thailand reports six fresh cases, but no new deaths, according to Reuters.

2.48 pm: 41 people in a building in southwest Delhi’s Kapashera area test positive, reports ANI citing the district magistrate’s office. The first case was reported on April 18, and the building was sealed the next day.

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2.44 pm: 37 people test positive in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur after returning from Huzur Sahib in Nanded of Maharashtra, says District Collector Apneet Riyait.

2.43 pm: Singapore confirms 447 new cases – the lowest rise in two weeks, according to Reuters.

2.42 pm: Around 11,00 workers reach the Thiruvananthapuram railway station to board the train to their respective states, reports ANI. “All precautions are being taken,” says Commissioner of Police Balramkumar Upadhyay. “Police is assisting them in all the work.”

2.40 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expresses happiness that many children stranded away from their parents in Kota, Rajasthan, will be returning home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

2.38 pm: A special train with 1,200 migrants will arrive in Patna today, says District Magistrate Kumar Ravi. All the passengers will be screened at Railway School and then sent to their respective districts.

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2.37 pm: The Karnataka government will ask the Centre to drop Bengaluru rural district from the list of red zones as there are no fresh cases, Revenue Minister R Ashoka tells PTI.

2.35 pm: Directorate General of Civil Aviation issues a circular to extend the prohibition of domestic and international commercial flight operations till May 17.

2.22 pm: Russia on Friday reported its highest one-day jump with 7,933 new cases, according to AP. The country’s tally is now 114,431.

2.19 pm: Andhra Pradesh’s total count goes up by 62 to 1,525, reports PTI. The latest state bulletin says the toll is 33.

1.52 pm: Over 1,200 migrant workers, who arrived at Hatia district in Jharkhand from Telangana on Friday night in special trains, have reached their respective districts, PTI reports. The labourers were sent back to their homes in sanitised buses.

1.48 pm: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot says that 40 buses from the Capital reached Kota in Rajasthan at 10 am today, ANI reports. The buses have been sent to bring back 800 students who are stranded there. “No more than 20 students will be allowed to travel in a bus,” he says. “They [the students] will be screened at the time of departure and arrival.”

1.42 pm: No new coronavirus cases have been reported in Goa since April 3, says Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, according to ANI. All patients have recovered and have been discharged. However, tourism activities in the state will remain suspended till May 17, he adds.

1 pm: Twenty people have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Langar Sahib gurudwara in Nanded, Maharashtra, the police has confirmed to Hindustan Times.

12.38 pm: In Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, the Indian Army has set up a dedicated coronavirus health centre, reports ANI.

12 pm: South Africans start venturing out after ease on lockdown curbs, reports AFP.

11.39 am: Twenty persons who are residing in the premises a gurdwara in Nanded district of Maharashtra have tested positive, PTI reports. Swabs of 97 people living in Gurdwara Langar Sahab were collected for testing.

11.35 am: Only one new coronavirus case has been reported from China on Saturday, with no new deaths, PTI reports, quoting the country’s National Health Commission. As of Friday, the total confirmed cases in China were 82,875. Out of these, 77,685 patients have recovered.

11.33 am: A special train with 839 migrant labourers on board departs from the Nashik Road railway station in Maharashtra for Lucknow.

10.45 am: Brazil’s President gets backlash after his comment saying “so what?” on a question about over 5,000 deaths due to the coronavirus in the country, reports AFP.

10.30 am: Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain says all of the 11 districts in the national Capital will remain in the “red zone” till May 17, reports ANI.

10.08 am: In Uttar Pradesh, seven labourers who have arrived from Maharashtra in buses to Basti, have tested positive for the coronavirus, reports ANI, citing the district magistrate.

10.07 am: In Maharashtra’s Pune city, 74 buses have reached with stranded students from Kota, Rajasthan, on Friday night. All students have gone through a health screening at Swar Gate bus stand and have been advised to home quarantine, reports ANI.

10.03 am: Sixty eight more Central Reserve Police Force personnel test positive for the coronavirus. “All jawans are attached to a battalion having camp in East Delhi,” a CRPF statement says, according to ANI. “Total positive cases in this battalion have reached 122 and overall figure of Covid-19 cases in CRPF is 127, including one recovered and one death.”

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9.57 am: Rajasthan’s Health Department reports 12 new coronavirus cases and three deaths, taking the state’s tally to 2,678 and toll to 65. A total of 1,116 people have recovered in the state while 714 have been discharged, reports ANI.

9.30 am: The “reasonable accommodation” that has been denied to persons with disabilities for decades is finally being offered to the wider public.

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9.15 am: Germany’s coronavirus cases rise by 945 to 1,61,703, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases shows, reports Reuters.

8.54 am: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare updates the country’s coronavirus tally. There are a total of 37,336 cases of the virus and 1,218 patients have died so far. Of these, 26,167 people are being treated, 9,950 have recovered, and one person has left the country.

8.51 am: In Punjab, Ludhiana police garland those violating lockdown.

8.48 am: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi says block headquarters will be quarantine facilities for those arriving from various states through trains, reports ANI. “They will be quarantined for 21 days and will be given utensils, bathing essentials and gamcha during their stay,” he adds.

8 am: A special train, ferrying migrant workers from Maharashtra, arrives at Misrod railway station in Madhya Pradesh, reports ANI. All passengers will be screened before departure to their respective districts.

7.38 am: The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States rises by 1,883 in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 64,808. The total number of cases stand at 11.03 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.

7.35 am: About 1,400 migrant workers, employed at brick manufacturing factories in Hubli district in Karnataka, have been sent back to their homes in other parts of the state in specially arranged buses, ANI reports.

7.32 am: United States’ Food and Drug Administration has announced it will allow emergency use of remdesivir, the antiviral medicine from Gilead Sciences, to treat patients with Covid-19, AP reports.

7.29 am: Police personnel check vehicles at the border between Delhi and Gurugram after the district administration announced additional restrictions on movement of people.

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Covid-19: Gurugram announces additional restrictions in movement at Delhi border

Here are the top updates from Friday:

  • The Centre decided to extend the nationwide lockdown imposed to combat the coronavirus until May 17. During this period, limited economic activities will be allowed in designated orange and green zones.
  • The number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 35,365, according to the health ministry’s Friday evening update. Covid-19 has killed 1,152 people in the country.
  • The Centre has divided districts in the country into red, orange and green zones. All the metro cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai have been included in the list of red zones. The West Bengal government has written to the health ministry, calling this categorisation “erroneous”.
  • Maharashtra reported a whopping 1,008 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, its highest single-day rise, taking the total number of cases to 11,506. Twenty-six more people died on Friday, taking the toll to 485.
  • Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat said at a press conference that the Indian Armed Forces will conduct fly pasts, mounted band displays, and light up its warships on Sunday, as a mark of respect to those who have been combating the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
  • A special train carrying 1,200 migrants stranded during the nationwide lockdown left from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand on Friday morning. This is the first such train arranged since the lockdown was imposed in March to break the chain of transmission of the novel coronavirus and after the Union Home Ministry allowed inter-state travel of stranded labourers, tourists, students and pilgrims.
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday afternoon allowed movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and “other persons” by special trains to be operated by the Ministry of Railways amid the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Subsequently, the railway ministry issued a slew of regulations meant to ensure travel without the risk of infection.