Top 10 Covid-19 updates: As India cases cross 1.45 lakh, Rahul Gandhi asks Centre for next plan
Here are the biggest developments of the day.
- India on Tuesday recorded 6,535 new coronavirus cases. With this, the total number of cases reached 1,45,380 and the toll rose to 4,167 after 146 new deaths. India is now among the 10 countries with the most number of coronavirus cases. Tamil Nadu’s tally reached close to 18,000 with 646 new cases.
- The Supreme Court took note of the plight of migrant labourers, who are stranded in various parts of the country due to the nationwide lockdown. The court issued notices to the Centre and state governments for a hearing on May 28.
- The Union health ministry said that India’s coronavirus death rate – 2.87% – was among the lowest in the world. At the Centre’s press briefing, the Indian Council of Medical Research said anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine may still be used against the coronavirus as it did not find any major side-effects of its use. The announcement came a day after the World Health Organization “temporarily suspended” trials of the drug citing safety concerns.
- The World Health Organization warned of an “immediate second peak” in coronavirus infections in countries where the number of cases is declining. The organisation said that epidemics often come in waves, which means that outbreaks could return later this year in places where the first wave has receded.
- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Narendra Modi government’s plan to control the spreading coronavirus in India with four phases of nationwide lockdown has failed. He questioned the Centre’s plan to control the rise in infections in the coming days and if there is a strategy to open the country.
- The West Bengal government released a set of guidelines for domestic flyers, including submission of self-declaration forms on arrival. The Centre had allowed the states to formulate their own standard operating procedures as domestic flights resumed on Monday after two months amid the nationwide lockdown to control the coronavirus.
- Uber India announced that it is laying off around 600 full-time employees, or nearly 25% of its total workforce in the country, as demand for app-based rides have dropped sharply across the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Gujarat Congress claimed that the ‘Namaste Trump’ event, organised for United States President Donald Trump in Ahmedabad, led to a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases in the state. Gujarat is one of the worst-affected states in India with 14,460 Covid-19 cases and 888 deaths. Of these, Ahmedabad alone accounts for 10,590 cases and 722 deaths.
- A 46-year-old nurse, who worked at a private hospital in Delhi and died of the coronavirus, was allegedly made to reuse personal protective equipment, reports claimed.
- The coronavirus has infected more than 54 lakh people across the world and claimed 3,46,306 lives, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.