Top 10 coronavirus updates: Nepal PM blames people coming from India for rise in infections
A look at the biggest Covid-19 developments of the day.
- India on Monday recorded 6,977 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours – the biggest single-day jump in figures so far. With this, the total number of cases reached 1,38,845 and the toll rose to 4,021 after 154 new fatalities. India is now among the 10 countries with most cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker.
- Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said his country’s fatality due to the coronavirus was less in comparison to other countries of South Asia. “Those coming from India are coming in without proper checking which has contributed to the further spread of Covid-19,” he said.
- The World Health Organization on Monday said it had “temporarily” suspended the trial of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus, citing safety concerns.
- Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said that the state has recorded 805 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths on Monday. The state has a total of 17,082 coronavirus cases. Maharashtra recorded 2,436 new coronavirus patients on Monday, taking the state’s tally to 52,667. This included 1,695 deaths and 15,786 recoveries.
- The Supreme Court allowed national carrier Air India to operate the flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad without leaving the middle seat vacant for a period of 10 days till June 6.
- Long queues were seen at airports in Delhi and Mumbai as domestic flights resumed after two months amid the nationwide lockdown to control the spreading coronavirus. Several passengers also claimed that their flights had been cancelled without prior notice. Around 80 flights, to and from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, were cancelled on the first day of resumption.
- The Central Board of Secondary Education will conduct the pending Class 10 and Class 12 board exams at 15,000 centres across the country from July 1 to July 15, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said.
- The Maharashtra government asked Kerala to send 50 specialist doctors and 100 nurses to the state as its coronavirus cases continue to increase. Maharashtra, India’s worst-hit state, has reported over 50,231 cases and 1,635 deaths.
- Japan said it will lift the nationwide state of emergency, imposed to control the coronavirus pandemic. The country has reported 16,581 cases and 830 deaths so far.
- More than 54 lakh cases of Covid-19 have been reported worldwide, according to a tracker by the Johns Hopkins University. The disease has killed at least 3,45,467 people.