9.10 pm: West Bengal reports 441 new cases of Covid-19 and eleven deaths in the last 24 hours, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state stands at 13,531. The toll is 551.

9.09 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 592 cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, ANI reports, quoting the state health department’s figures. With this, the state now has over 17,000 infections. The toll from the disease is 529.

8.12 pm: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the employment limit under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment from 100 to 200 days. He has added that this would benefit 70 lakh families in rural areas of the state affected by the pandemic, reports PTI.

8.10 pm: Andhra Pradesh’s coronavirus tally crosses the 8,000-mark to reach 8,452. The toll rises to 101, according to PTI.

8.05 pm: The Mumbai Taximens Union writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking removal of restrictions on transport in the city, reports PTI.

8 pm: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s employment scheme for migrant workers, saying it will boost the state’s initiative to provide jobs at home for those who had to return due to the coronavirus lockdown, reports PTI.

7.31 pm: Sisodia adds: “100% Covid beds shall be subsidised upto an upper limit of 60% of total hospital capacity.”

7.28 pm: Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia thanks Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for withdrawing the order on compulsory five-day quarantine for all Covid-19 patients. “We have addressed all the concerns of LG [Anil Baijal] regarding home isolation in the SDMA [State Disaster Management Authority] meeting and now the system of home isolation will continue,” Sisodia tweets. “Under the leadership of our Chief Minister Kejriwal ji, the people of Delhi will not have any problems.”

7.21 pm: Karnataka’s Public Accounts Committee has asked the state’s labour secretary to provide details on how the state distributed Rs 5,000 each to 1.25 lakh construction labourers, reports NDTV. “How were 1.25 lakh labourers paid Rs 5,000 each without proper addresses?” the panel asked.

6.15 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday rises to 650. Of these, 402 patients have recovered and six have died, ANI reports, quoting the state health department.

6.03 pm: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal withdraws his order mandating institutional quarantine of five days for all coronavirus patients. “Only those Covid positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation,” he says.

6.00 pm: Traders in Nashik, Maharashtra, decide to keep markets and shops closed from June 21 to June 28 to contain the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reports.

5.56 pm: The Andhra Pradesh government cancels this year’s Class 10 examinations in the state in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, ANI reports.

5.34 pm: A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court against the LG order mandating five-day home quarantine for all coronavirus patients, reports ANI.

Also read:

Covid-19: ‘Delhi LG order to scrap home isolation will lead to chaos, will oppose it,’ says Sisodia

5.24 pm: Andhra Pradesh Minister Adimulapu Suresh has decided not to conduct Class 10 exams in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI.

4.53 pm: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that during the last 24 hours, 9,120 coronavirus patients have been cured. So far, a total of 2,13,830 patients have been cured of the Covid-19 infection. The recovery rate is 54.13%.

4.44 pm: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy says that Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal may have ordered institutional quarantine for the benefit of those who do not have space in their homes, ANI reports. “But I think that he will issue another info [information] by today [Saturday] evening for people who can create an isolated separate room in their homes.”

4.39 pm: Pakistan recorded 6,604 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s tally to 1,71,665, PTI reports, citing the country’s Ministry of National Health Services. With 153 more deaths, the toll has risen to 3,382.

4.36 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath directs officials to increase the number of monitoring committees in the state, PTI reports. During a meeting with senior officials to discuss the coronavirus situation, Adityanath said that random sampling should be increased and a Covid-19 helpdesk should be established in every hospital.

4.34 pm: Six people working in the Uttar Pradesh Helpline 112 tested positive for the coronavirus, after which, the office has been closed for sanitisation till Monday, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified police officer.

4.29 pm: The Chhattisgarh government will try to provide employment to migrant workers, who have returned from other states due to the lockdown, in state-run power companies depending on their skills, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified spokesperson.

4.24 pm: The Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association writes to Kerala High Court Chief Justice S Manikumar, urging the court to temporarily discontinue physical sittings and filing till June 30 as a safety measure, after a police officer who tested positive for the coronavirus entered the court premises.

4.19 pm: Mumbai’s civic body sets up a coronavirus hospital with 1,000 beds in the premises of Richardson and Cruddas, an engineering company, in Byculla, ANI reports. Of the 1,000 beds, 300 are intensive care unit beds with oxygen supply and other facilities. It will be operational by the end of June.

4.10 pm: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says that any suggestions, which say that international traffic has opened up and India is the only one to not open needs a reality check, ANI reports. “The exact time when we will resume international flight depends on the other countries to be open to receive flights,” he adds.

4.09 pm: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says that around 2,75,000 Indians, who were stranded in foreign countries during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, have been brought back to the country in flights and ships, ANI reports.

Puri says that domestic private carriers have been offered to operate 750 repatriation flights in the third and fourth of the Vande Bharat Mission. The Vande Bharat Mission was started on May 7 to bring back Indians stranded abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.

4.08 pm: Manufacturers of alcoholic beverages urge the Odisha government to reduce the “Special Covid Fee” imposed on liquor from 50% to a reasonable rate, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified official. They also asked the government to allow retailers in the state to sell these products from outlets.

4.07 pm: The Delhi government issues an order advising hospitals and medical Institutions under it to recall their staff that is on leave to report for duty immediately. Leave of any kind will be granted only under the most compelling circumstances, it adds.

4.05 pm: Singapore on Saturday recorded 218 new Covid-19 infections, taking the tally to 41,833, PTI reports.

4.04 pm: At least 30 tribals from Maharashtra’s Palghar district will work in hospitals treating coronavirus patients, PTI reports, citing an unidentified official. The volunteers have undergone basic training in nursing and will serve at different hospitals during the pandemic, the official added.

4.01 pm: Chief Minister Palaniswami says that of the 54,449 people infected in Tamil Nadu, a total of 30,271 coronavirus patients were cured and discharged from hospitals. He says the recovery rate in the state is 54%, IANS reports.

3.55 pm: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palaniswami says there is no chance of extending the coronavirus-induced lockdown after June 30, IANS reports.

3.42 pm: Uttarakhand records 101 new coronavirus cases, taking the state’s total to 2,278, ANI reports,

3.40 pm: The Aam Aadmi Party says that the Capital will need 15,000 beds for coronavirus patients by June 30 if the home isolation facility is available. Without it, they will need one lakh beds by June 30. “Why does central government want to create a crisis by revoking Home Isolation in Delhi?” it asks.

2.02 pm: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals says it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild or moderate symptoms of Covid-19, PTI reports. The company had received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India on Friday.

1.40 pm: Aam Aadmi Party Kalkaji MLA Atishi says the Centre’s decision of making five-day institutional quarantine compulsory for coronavirus patients is wrong, ANI reports. She says that she is a coronavirus patient and has been recovering at home. People will refrain from getting tested because of the five-day institutional quarantine, Atishi adds.

1.19 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra’s Pune district crossed the 14,000-mark, after 542 people tested positive in the last 24 hours, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified health official. The district now has a total of 14,292 Covid-19 cases, and the toll has increased to 560.

1.13 pm: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia says that a consensus could not be reached at the State Disaster Management Authority meeting on the rates of beds at private hospitals and the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijai’s order of ending home isolation. Another meeting will be held at 5 pm on Saturday, he adds.

1.09 pm: With eight more Covid-19 cases recorded on Friday, the tally in Daman district increased to 27, PTI reports, quoting unidentified officials. Following this, the administration sealed the district’s border with Gujarat for a few days.

Officials said that most of the coronavirus patients in Daman are factory workers, who cross the border to work in industrial units in Gujarat’s Vapi city. Gujarat is one of the worst-affected states in India during the coronavirus pandemic.

1.03 pm: At least 85 people tested positive for the coronavirus in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district in the last 24 hours, PTI reports. The region now has a total of 1,228 cases.

12.56 pm: Arunachal Pradesh records its highest single-day rise in Covid-19 cases, as 32 more people test positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports, quoting an unidentified senior health official. The state now has a total of 135 cases.

State Surveillance Officer L Jampa says that the new patients are all returnees from other states and have been placed under institutional quarantine. “They are asymptomatic and have been admitted to Covid-19 care centres.”

12.45 pm: Puducherry records 52 new coronavirus cases, ANI reports, citing the Puducherry health department. It now has a total of 338 cases. Seven people have died of the infection.

12.40 pm: Kejriwal says that there is already a shortage of healthcare staff in Delhi. How will it be possible to arrange doctors and nurses for thousands of patients at quarantine centres, he asks.

Kejriwal says the Railways has provided isolation coaches. But considering the hot weather, how will someone stay in them, he asks.

12.38 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal asks if the Indian Council of Medical Research is allowing home isolation for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic coronavirus cases across the country, then why are different rules being implemented in the national Capital, ANI reports, quoting unidentified sources.

12.36 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal opposes Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s decision of five-day compulsory institutional quarantine for coronavirus patients, ANI reports, citing unidentified sources.

The chief minister says that people will evade testing, which will further increase the spread of the infection.

12.31 pm: Himachal Pradesh now has a total of 628 coronavirus cases, ANI reports, citing the state health department.

12.28 pm: Forty-two people tested positive for the coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, which now has a total of 4,288 cases, PTI reports, citing an unidentified health official. The district also recorded four deaths, taking the toll to 193.

12.25 pm: Three more coronavirus patients died in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the union territory’s toll to 78, PTI reports, quoting unidentified officials.

12.13 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that the coronavirus pandemic is a huge menace and the entire world has been shaken by it. However, he says, that cities can learn from how India’s villages have fought Covid-19.

Read more: Coronavirus: PM Modi launches Rs 50,000 crore employment guarantee scheme for migrants

11.47 am: Odisha records 179 new cases of the coronavirus, ANI reports, citing the state health department. The state now has a total of 4,856 Covid-19 cases. A 60-year-old coronavirus patient died in Puri district, taking the state’s toll to 12.

11.44 am: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia says that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority meeting is scheduled for 12 pm, ANI reports. “We will oppose Lieutenant Governor’s order of ending home isolation in this meeting,” Sisodia says. “Ending home isolation is against ICMR [Indian Council of Medical Research] guidelines and will create chaos in Delhi.”

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Friday made a five-day institutional quarantine mandatory for all coronavirus patients.

11.36 am: With 601 more coronavirus cases, Germany’s tally increased to 1,89,135, Reuters reports, citing data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

11.30 am: During the launch of the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says that during the lockdown, he interacted with labourers in different districts through video conference after they returned to the state, ANI reports. “I felt that they do not want to go to the other states for work,” Kumar says.

11.23 am: A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, who voted for the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, has tested positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports.

11.20 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, a rural public works scheme, to help create jobs for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, who returned to their home states during the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown, ANI reports.

11.17 am: Rajasthan records 158 more coronavirus cases till 10.30 am, taking the state’s tally to 14,314, ANI reports, citing the state health department. A total of 333 people have died due to the Covid-19 infection.

10.58 am: AAP MLA Raghav Chadha says that according to their government’s calculation, Delhi needs 15,000 beds by June 30 to treat coronavirus patients, but after Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s order, they will need 90,000 beds by June 30. “From where will we get 90,000 beds?” he asks.

10.50 am: Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha says that according to Friday’s order, all coronavirus patients in Delhi, symptomatic or asymptomatic, will be kept in quarantine centres for five days, ANI reports. “People from my constituency have told me that they won’t get themselves tested for fear of being whisked away to quarantine centres,” Chadha says.

10.43 am: California reported 4,317 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest daily rise so far, CNN reports, quoting the California Department of Public Health. California now has a total of 1,65,416 confirmed cases, according to the state data.

10.33 am: Assam records 102 new coronavirus cases on Friday, Heath Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says. The total number of cases in the state is now 5,006 and the Covid-19 infection has killed nine people so far.

10.29 am: Police officers in Punjab’s Amritsar city distribute facemasks to people in order to spread awareness about the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reports.

10.28 am: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Director General of Police Dependra Pathak tests negative for the coronavirus.

10.25 am: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party criticises Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s order that made a five-day institutional quarantine mandatory for all coronavirus patients. The AAP called it an “arbitrary” decision that will “seriously harm” people, PTI reported.

Read more: Covid-19: Five-day institutional quarantine mandatory in Delhi, AAP calls LG’s decision ‘arbitrary’

10.18 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research says that 66,16,496 samples were tested till June 19. In the last 24 hours, 1,89,869 samples have been tested.

10.16 am: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been administered plasma therapy, ANI reports, quoting the health minister’s office. He has no fever now, his health will be monitored at the ICU over the next 24 hours. Jain had tested positive for the coronavirus on June 17.

10.13 am: One more police officer died of the coronavirus in Mumbai on Friday, taking the toll to 31, ANI reports, quoting Mumbai Police Public Relations Officer Pranay Ashok. A total of 2,349 police personnel in the city have contracted the disease.

10.11 am: The director of Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Maharashtra, issues a showcause notice to the dean of a government hospital in Latur district for allegedly asking a coronavirus patient to buy medicines from the market, ANI reports. He has been asked to respond to the notice within three days.

10.07 am: Mizoram records 10 new coronavirus cases, ANI reports, citing the state’s department of information and public relations. The total number of cases in the state is now 140.

9.22 am: The number of cases has risen by 14,516. The toll is at 12,948, having gone up by 375.

9.20 am: India reports its highest ever rise in cases in 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,95,048 as the Ministry of Heath updates its numbers. The virus tally rose to 3,80,532 on Friday morning.

9.06 am: The International Monetary Fund will deploy emergency funding for 70 countries during the pandemic, reports IANS. “This emergency financing is very fast-disbursing, countries receive the money within days, it does not carry traditional IMF conditionality,” IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice says. “It is money to be spent on paying for things like nurses’ and doctors’ salaries, and equipment, and medical equipment to deal with the crisis.”

8.40 am: World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns that the pandemic is in “new and dangerous phase” as countries are easing out of lockdown, AFP reports. “The world is in a new and dangerous phase. Many people are understandably fed up with being at home... but the virus is still spreading fast,” he says.

8.24 am: Brazil’s cases cross 1 million, reports AP. The country is second only to the US in the number of coronavirus cases. Brazil’s total number of cases is 10,32,913. President Jair Bolsonaro has consistently underplayed the affect of the disease.

8.15 am: The Centre on Friday asked all states to emulate the practices used in Karnataka to combat the virus, reports The Indian Express. This includes comprehensive contact tracing and household surveys.

Here are the top updates from Friday:

  • Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal made five-day institutional-quarantine mandatory for every Covid-19 patient who has been under home-quarantine in the Capital. Thereafter, patients will be sent for home-isolation, except in cases where symptoms require further hospitalisation, he said.
  • The Supreme Court said there should be uniformity in coronavirus testing in all states and asked the Centre to fix an upper limit. The top court added that the state governments should also constitute a panel of experts to inspect hospitals to ensure proper care of coronavirus patients.
  • The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Thursday said the global health agency is hopeful that Covid-19 vaccines could be available before the end of this year.
  • Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who had tested positive for the coronavirus, was put on oxygen support.
  • Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 142 deaths and 3,827 cases of the coronavirus in its biggest-single day rise. With this, the state now has 1.24 lakh cases and the toll from the disease is 5,893.
  • India’s coronavirus tally rose to 3,80,532 on Friday morning after 13,586 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This is once again the biggest single-day increase in cases. The toll rose to 12,573 with 336 new deaths.