1. The number of coronavirus cases in India crossed two lakh on Wednesday morning after 8,909 people tested positive for the infection in 24 hours. This is the biggest single-day increase in the number of cases. The country’s tally rose to 2,07,615 and the toll reached 5,815 with 217 new deaths. The Indian Council of Medical Research, the organisation at the centre of India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, however said that the country was far from the peak of the pandemic.
  2. The Delhi government said that all asymptomatic travellers to the Capital will have to be in home quarantine for a week. The number of cases in Delhi are 23,645 and 606 patients have died so far.
  3. The World Health Organization said that it will resume clinical trials of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, a week after the health body decided to temporarily halt the drug citing safety concerns.
  4. The Centre eased visa restrictions for some categories of foreigners and said healthcare professionals and engineers will now be allowed entry to India as part of “Unlock 1” of a three-phase plan to lift the nationwide lockdown. India banned entry to foreigners on March 22 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
  5. Maharashtra recorded 2,560 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total numbers to 74,860. With 122 deaths, the toll has increased to 2,587. Meanwhile, Mumbai crossed the 43,000-mark and the toll in the city rose to 1,417.
  6. The government amended the Essential Commodities Act to ease restrictions on the trade of farm products. The Cabinet also promulgated an ordinance to allow farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers and exporters. These proposals were part of the Rs 20-lakh-crore financial package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
  7. India approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir for treating coronavirus patients. Remdesivir is reportedly the first drug to show positive results in formal clinical trials.
  8. The number of coronavirus cases in Telangana touched 2,891 as 99 more cases were reported on Tuesday, said the state health department. Of the 99 cases, 87 are people from the state and 12 are migrants. Meanwhile, four more patients died taking the state’s toll to 92.
  9. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the Centre to provide a one-time assistance of Rs 10,000 each to migrant workers, who have been left without jobs due to the nationwide lockdown. She added that a portion of the PM CARES fund must be used to provide financial assistance to migrants.
  10. The global coronavirus tally reached 64.18 lakh and the toll rose to 3.81 lakh. The United States, Brazil, Russia, the UK and Spain are the five most-affected nations. India ranks seventh in terms of coronavirus numbers.