Coronavirus India summary: cases, deaths, news - 2 May
Coronavirus live India: latest Covid-19 updates - 1/2 May
India Covid-19 update: 01:30 IST Sunday 3 May (22:00 CEST Sat 2/5)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 3,402,409 cases have been detected worldwide, with 242,010 deaths and 1,070,330 people now recovering.
In India, there have been 39,699 cases confirmed, 1,323 people have died and 10,819 people have recovered from the virus.
When Covid-19 homemade masks make you question humanity
Mask logic
When the mask that is meant to prevent you from spreading the virus makes it difficult to breathe, here's one solution that you should immediately ignore.
Amazon India worst hit
Amazon.com Inc. has said that its India operations have been the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government has ordered the company to halt sales of almost all its items but not groceries during the 40-day lockdown.
Screenings for returners
The Assam government will open its borders with other northeastern states from Sunday to allow stranded people to return to their homes, Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Kerala cases lowest in a month
Kerala reported its lowest number of active cases in a month on Saturday, with the total figure dropping below 100. There were just two news cases reported in the district on 1 May but authorities have called for residents to observe a complete lockdown on Sunday to maintain the decreasing trend.
England's Sri Lanka tour including two matches against India rescheduled for January 2021
(Reuters) - England's two-match test series in Sri Lanka, which has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been rescheduled for January next year, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) CEO Ashley de Silva has said.
England were scheduled to play tests in Galle and Colombo in March before the coronavirus outbreak shut down sport worldwide as countries introduced lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
"We are in the process of rescheduling the tours that have been postponed," De Silva told Sri Lankan newspaper Daily News. "England has been already rescheduled for the month of January next year but the dates have not been finalised.
"At the same time we are also looking at exploring the possibility of rescheduling postponed tours and looking at the windows which are available and alternatives too.
"South Africa is one of the tours which we are looking at rescheduling. We are engaged in discussions with the member countries and see how it can be planned out."
South Africa's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka -- three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games -- was scheduled to take place in June before it was postponed.
"There are also two other tours which are scheduled to take place with India and Bangladesh due to tour Sri Lanka in June-July and July-August respectively," De Silva added.
"We will explore the possibility of playing those two tours in another week or two."
Mike Jagger and Will Smith to appear in support of India's fight against coronavirus
Mike Jagger and Will Smith are set to join dozens of other international performers along with Indian celebrities in a four-hour concert to raise funds in the fight against coronavirus in India.
The performances will be livestreamed by Facebook and will pay tribute to workers fighting the pandemic.
Coronavirus India: where are the red, orange and green zones?
Coronavirus India: where are the red, orange and green zones?
India stated that it would extend its nationwide coronavirus lockdown for another two weeks after May 4, but would allow 'considerable relaxations' in lower-risk districts marked as green and orange zones.
India have extended the ban on international and domestic flights until May 17. "The restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA," read the circular from the aviation watchdog.
An interesting look at 'herd immunity' and how it won't work in India from Foreign Policy. They cite three reasons why it isn't the best approach for India as it will overwhelm hospitals.
India makes government tracing app mandatory for all workers
(Reuters) - India has mandated that all public and private sector employees use a government-backed Bluetooth tracing app and maintain social distancing in offices as New Delhi begins easing some of its lockdown measures in lower-risk areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Friday said India - the country with the largest number of people in lockdown - would extends its nationwide control measures for another two weeks from Monday to battle the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness, but allow "considerable relaxations" in lower-risk districts.
As part of its efforts to fight the deadly virus, India last month launched the app Aarogya Setu - meaning Health Bridge - a Bluetooth and GPS-based system developed by the country's National Informatics Centre. The app alerts users who may have come in contact with people later found to be positive for COVID-19 or deemed to be at high risk.
"Use of Aarogya Setu shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public," India's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a notification late on Friday.
It will the responsibility of the heads of companies and organizations "to ensure 100% coverage of this app among the employees," the ministry said.
Officials at India's technology ministry and a lawyer who framed the privacy policy for Aarogya Setu told Reuters the app needs to be on at least 200 million phones for it to be effective in the country of 1.3 billion people.
The app has been downloaded around 50 million times on Android phones, which dominate India's smartphone user base of 500 million, according to Google Play Store data.
The app's compulsory use is raising concerns among privacy advocates, who say it is unclear how the data will be used and who stress that India lacks privacy laws to govern the app.
"Such a move should be backed by a dedicated law which provides strong data protection cover and is under the oversight of an independent body," said Udbhav Tiwari, Public Policy
Advisor for internet company Mozilla. New Delhi has said the app will not infringe on privacy as all data is collected anonymously.
The app can help authorities identify virus hotspots and better-target health efforts, the tech ministry told Reuters in late April, adding that information on the app is used "only for administering necessary medical interventions".
On Friday, the government said that offices re-opening will also have to implement measures like gaps between shifts and staggered lunch breaks to contain spread of the coronavirus that has infected 3.3 million worldwide and caused more than 230,000 deaths.
India has reported over 37,000 cases and 1,218 deaths from the virus.
Cologne confirm three positive Covid-19 cases
German club Cologne have confirmed three people at the club tested positive for coronavirus five days before a meeting about the Bundesliga's future.
Coronavirus: can Covid-19 be spread through water?
Covid's water hazard?
Although it has been proven that SARS is transmittable through untreated water, there is currently no evidence that Covid-19 can be considered a waterborne disease.
Apple advice
The Covid-19 screening app developed by tech giant Apple has been updated on Friday with new information about coronavirus symptoms and tips related to face masks.
Three injured in tiger attack in Pilibhit
A group of farmers who out in the fields on a tractor, at a village in the Pilibhit district were attacked by a tiger on Friday. Three people were injured in the attack.
No mask, no petrol...
Goa's government has announced that people who do not wear protective face masks cannot be served at petrol stations in the state pumps or ration at fair price shops in the state. The State Excecutive Committee (SEC) has decided that the use of masks or some kind of similar face cover needs to be strictly observed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. No petrol pump will be able to fill a vehicle or rations or other grocery items would be sold in fair price shops if a customer does not wear a mask, it said in a statement
Remdesivir gets FDA approval to treat Covid-19 patients - Trump
Remdesivir approved to treat Covid-19 patients
On Wednesday shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, -4.82% were up 6.8% in trading after it was rumoured that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was preparing to grant emergency use authorisation for remdesivir as a drug that could treat coronavirus.
Read the full story:
Migrant workers in Hubli evacuated by bus
While the first special trains started transporting stranded workers to other parts of the country on Friday, others began the journey home by bus. Around 1,400 workers in Hubli boarded a special bus service which will take them back to their respective provinces.
Six Shramik Special trains to transport stranded migrants and students
A new rail service has been set up to ferry stranded migrant workers, students and tourists back to their home states. The Times of India reports that the trains special trains "will be a regular feature in the coming weeks" as millions of workers attempt to return to their state of origin. The first trains which left their destinations on Friday, were 24 carriages long and capable of transporting just over 1,000 passengers.
Coronavirus live blog - welcome
Welcome to our live updates and breaking news live feed from India. It's Saturday 2 May and we will bring you news, comment, opinion and statistics throughout the day as things continue to develop during the coronavirus epidemic.