10.57 pm: The Puducherry government extends lockdown till June 21 but eases some curbs. The “corona curfew” from 10 pm to 5 am will continue. Marriage gathering are permitted with guests not exceeding 25. Funerals are allowed with not more than 20 people.

10.36 pm: The Centre tells the Bombay High Court that its guidelines at present do not allow for a door-to-door drive to vaccinate people against the coronavirus infection, reports the Hindustan Times. The Centre’s counsel adds that some state governments and civic bodies ignored the advisories and conducted door-to-door vaccination for citizens who belong to special categories.

10.32 pm: Tamil Nadu logs 12,772 new cases and 254 deaths.

10.31 pm: Maharashtra records 8,129 new cases, 200 deaths and 14,732 recoveries. Mumbai reports 529 fresh infections and and 19 fatalities.

10.30 pm: Punjab registers 629 new cases, 33 deaths.

9.50 pm: West Bengal logs 3,519 new infections and 78 fatalities.

9.48 pm: Assam registers 3,678 new cases.

9.38 pm: Madhya Pradesh records 242 new infections, 36 deaths and 516 recoveries.

9.37 pm: Karnataka logs 6,835 new cases, 120 deaths.

9.36 pm: Haryana registers 268 fresh cases, 40 fatalities.

8.12 pm: Central Industrial Security Force says it has taken over the security of Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, which manufactures the Covaxin vaccine, with a sanctioned strength of 64 personnel, reports ANI.

8.10 pm: Odisha Joint Entrance Examination, tentatively scheduled from June 17 to 24, has been postponed in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports ANI. The revised dates will be notified in the first week of July.

8.01 pm: Here are the daily Covid-19 figures of a few states:

  • Kerala: 7,719 new cases, 16,743 recoveries and 161 deaths
  • Goa: 253 new COVID cases, 720 recoveries and 9 deaths 
  • Telangana: 1511 new cases, 2,175 recoveries, and 12 deaths
  • Karnataka: 6,835 new cases, 15,409 recoveries and 120 deaths
  • Madhya Pradesh: 242 new cases, 516 recoveries and 36 deaths 

8 pm: Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi says that 20% of residents in the 18-44 age group in Delhi have been vaccinated against the coronavirus despite the inoculation centres for this category remaining closed for several days due to the non-availability of doses, reports PTI.

7.57 pm: The Delhi government launches a special vaccination centre in the city for students, athletes and residents who have to travel abroad for work, reports PTI. The centre has been set up at the Navyug School on Mandir Marg.

7.44 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says that the lockdown strategy will change after Wednesday and restrictions will be imposed region-wise depending on the coronavirus situation, reports ANI. “It will be implemented by local bodies,” Vijayan adds. “Further details about it will be declared tomorrow.”

6.20 pm: The Karnataka government announces Rs 1 lakh relief package for below poverty level families who lost members to Covid, reports Hindustan Times. “Due to Covid-19, many families are in trouble,” Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa says. “Keeping this in mind, we have decided to give Rs 1 lakh to each of such members of BPL families which lost their adult members.”

6.18 pm: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asks the Kolhapur district administration to double the Covid-19 testing as positivity rate remains high, reports PTI.

6.14 pm: No new case has been reported from Mumbai’s Dharavi in the last 24 hours, according to PTI.

6.08 pm: Andhra Pradesh’s tally rises to 18,14,393 with 4,549 new cases and 59 deaths. The state has over 80,000 active cases.

6.05 pm: Jharkhand registers two Covid deaths and 154 new cases.

6.04 pm: Several private hospitals in Delhi have started installing their own oxygen generation plants to avoid a repeat of the life-saving gas crisis, reports PTI. These include Jaipur Golden Hospital and Batra Hospital, where patients had died due to oxygen shortage during the peak of the second wave.

4.54 pm: The Archaeological Survey of India says that all centrally protected monuments, sites and museums would reopen from Wednesday, reports The Hindu. The places were closed on April 15 due to the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

4.40 pm: Flyers from Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will no longer need to carry a RT-PCR test report when they land at Delhi Airport, reports The Indian Express, citing officials.

4.34 pm: Defence Research and Development Organisation chairperson Dr G Satish Reddy says 850 oxygen plants are being set up in various districts across the country from the PM CARES Fund, reports ANI.

4.31 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says that shops in shopping malls and complexes are allowed to open between 11 am and 6 pm with 50% workforce, reports ANI. Sports activities can resume without spectators but all education institutes and waterways will remain closed.

Banerjee says that restaurants with bars can open between 12 noon and 8 pm with 50% seating capacity. The movement of people will be restricted between 9 pm and 5 am, she adds.

4.28 pm: Biotechnology company Novavax says that its Covid-19 vaccine demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease with 90.4% efficacy overall in the phase 3 trial, reports Mint.

4.17 pm: Delhi reports 131 Covid-19 cases, the lowest since February 22, reports PTI. With this the infection tally in the national Capital climbs to 14,31,270. The toll rises by 16 to 24,839. The positivity rate stands at 0.22%.

4.08 pm: The West Bengal government extends restrictions in the state till July 1, reports ANI. Essential services are exempted from the curbs. “All government offices will function with 25% strength,” says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “Private and corporate offices will remain open from 10 am to 4 pm with not more than 25% strength.”

1.48 pm: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Delhi will start recruitment and clinical trial of Covaxin shot for children in the age group of 6-12 age group from Tuesday, reports ANI. Recruitment and clinical trial for single-dose Covaxin for 12-18 age group is over.

12.16 pm: Central government invites bids for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs to remote areas and those with difficult terrains in select locations of the country by drones to ensure last-mile coverage, reports PTI.

11.09: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Monday that the end of Covid-19 restrictions will be delayed in the country, following concern about the rapid rise of infections of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, reports Reuters. The restrictions were to be lifted on June 21.

11.02 am: Delhi’s directorate of education sets up a dedicated vaccination centre for government-employed teachers and their family members, The Indian Express reports.

9.44 am: South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion says its experimental antibody treatment for Covid-19 was found safe in phase three global clinical trials, Reuters reports.

9.39 am: More than 4.5 lakh people without ration cards in Delhi have been given provisions under a new scheme, the Aam Aadmi Party government says, according to PTI.

9.35 am: Haryana extends its lockdown till June 21, but allows certain relaxations amid a decline in cases, PTI reports.

The government allows all shops to open from 9 am to 8 pm, instead of an odd-even system. Restaurants and bars can operate from 10 am to 10 pm.

9.27 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research is planning to conduct an “open-label, multicentre, randomised, adaptive platform trial” of the safety and efficacy of several Covid-19 therapies, including antiviral therapies, in mild patients.

9.25 am: Tea stalls and barber shops open in Chennai on Monday as Tamil Nadu eases Covid-19-related curbs, ANI reports.

9.10 am: India reports 70,421 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking its overall tally to 2,95,10,410 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. Its toll rises by 3,921 to 3,74,305.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

9 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research says it has tested 37,96,24,626 samples for coronavirus infection till June 13. Of these, 14,92,152 samples were tested on Sunday alone.

8.50 am: The Karnataka government has allowed economic activities to resume in a graded manner from June 14 to June 21. Home deliveries have now been permitted. Street vendors, ration shops, standalone liquor shops and outlets for takeaways will be allowed between 6 am and 2 pm. However, night curfews will be in place from 7 pm to 5 am, and a weekend curfew will also be imposed.

Malls, cinema halls and gyms will remain closed. Metro trains and buses are also not allowed to operate.

8.45 am: The Tamil Nadu government has extended the coronavirus lockdown in the state till 6 am on June 21, but eased restrictions in 27 districts, including Chennai, from Monday.

Last week, the state government had said complete lockdown will continue in 11 districts –Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai – because of high positivity rate.

In the 27 non-hotspot districts, salons, beauty parlours and spas can open at 50% customer capacity and without air conditioning between 6 am and 5 pm. Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, or TASMAC retail liquor shops, can function from 10 am to 5 pm. Government and municipal parks can open between 6 am and 9 am, but only for physical exercise.

Chief Minister MK Stalin announced more relaxations in curbs for 27 non-hotspot districts on Sunday. According to these guidelines, offices of construction companies will be allowed to operate with 50% attendance to handle salaries and other payment-related work. Shops selling sweets and savouries can now stay open from 8 am to 5 pm and tea shops are allowed to give takeaways between 6 am and 5 pm.

8.40 am: The governments in Delhi and Tamil Nadu further ease restrictions. Karnataka has also allowed unlocking in several phases from today.

Under the new guidelines in Delhi, which came into effect from 5 am on Monday, all shops in markets and malls will be allowed to stay open between 10 am and 8 pm, while restaurants will be allowed to operate at 50% occupancy. Last week, the Delhi government had allowed outlets in malls and markets to remain open on alternate days on an “odd-even” basis of their shop numbers. Schools, colleges coaching institutions, swimming pools, stadiums, sports complexes, spas, gymnasiums, cinema theatres and multiplexes will continue to remain closed. All large gatherings, including social, political and religious ones will also not be allowed.

8.30 am: Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 17.58 crore people and killed more than 37.99 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the top updates from Sunday:

  1. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Group of Seven countries have pledged over 1 billion, or 100 crore, coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer nations, reported AP. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said there is a moral imperative for the world’s richest countries to back programmes to end the coronavirus pandemic but the donation of excess vaccines is only the first step.
  2. Jharkhand registered zero deaths for the first time during the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the state registered 239 new cases, pushing the state’s infection tally to 3,43,304 since the pandemic broke out on January 2020.
  3. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced further easing restrictions in the national Capital but said that educational institutions will not open. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced more relaxations in curbs for 27 non-hotspot districts.
  4. Gujarati folk singer Geeta Rabari got vaccinated against the coronavirus at her home in Kutch district at a time when many citizens were struggling to get vaccine slots, reported the Hindustan Times. The district administration has issued a show-cause notice to the health worker who administered the jab after a complaint was filed with the district administration.