Coronavirus India summary: cases, deaths and news
Coronavirus live India updates: cases, deaths and news - 12 May
India Covid-19 update: 02:30 IST on Wednesday 13 May - (23:00 CEST Tuesday 12 May)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 4,239,872 cases have been detected worldwide, with 290,390 deaths and 1,482,930 people now recovered.
In India, there have been 74,243 cases confirmed, 2,415 people have died and 24,420 people have recovered from the virus.
India records 87 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours
Maharashtra continues as the worst affected state with 23,401 cases and 868 fatalities, while Delhi recorded 7,233 cases and 73 fatalities by the end of Tuesday morning.
Migrant worker dies on special train
Akhilesh Kumar, 34, an employee of a hotel in Pune, was returning to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda when he passed away, Times Now reports. It has not been confirmed whether the worker had tested positive for coronavirus
Jubilant Life Sciences signs licensing deal for Gilead's Covid-19 drug
India’s Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd said on Tuesday that it had signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement for selling Gilead Sciences Inc’s experimental Covid-19 treatment Remdesivir in 127 countries, including India.
Jubilant also acquires the rights to manufacture the drug and scale up production in nearly all low-income and middle-income countries, as well as some high-income nations.
Gilead has said it was negotiating long-term licenses with several generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce Remdesivir for developing countries and that it would provide technology to aid the production.
India approves $266 billion relief package to boost pandemic-hit economy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India would provide 20 trillion rupees ($266 billion) in fiscal and monetary measures to support an economy battered by a sweeping weeks-long lockdown to fight the novel coronavirus.
India has more than 70,000 cases among its 1.3 billion population and is set to surpass China, the origin of the outbreak, within a week. Modi said strict stay-at-home orders would be extended beyond 17 May with a new set of rules.
In March, the government said it was providing around 1.7 trillion rupees ($2.6 billion) in direct cash transfers and food security measures, mainly for the poor, but was widely accused of doing too little. Modi said details of the new package, as well as reforms of land and labour markets, would be released within days:
Two CRPF officers commit suicide in Kashmir
Two Central Reserve Police Force officers took their own lives in Kashmir today - one believed that he had caught Covid-19, The Times of India reports. Sub Inspector Fatah Singh shot himself with his service rifle in Mattan. His collegues rushed him to hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that a new relief package, equivalent to 10% of India's GDP would be launched, during his address to the nation this evening. "A self-reliant India has to move forward," Modi said.
New, positive cases in Jharkhand
Six migrant workers, who had returned from Mumbai on April 30, have tested positive for the disease, Hindustan Times reports. The total number of Covid-19 cases stands at 172.
CO2 emissions fall in India for first time in 38 years
The coronavirus lockdown in India has helped to bring about a fall in carbon emissions in the country for the first time since 1982, reports the BBC's Justin Rowlatt:
Coronavirus: FC Copenhagen convert stadium into school classroom
Football academy
A visit to the national football stadium is usually a big occasion in a young fan's life, but for some schoolchildren in Copenhagen it has become part of the daily routine. Could other countries see similar initiatives?
Dreaming of home
Watch as some migrants discuss how they are hoping to make it back to where they belong during this pandemic.
Coronavirus in India: list of trains running during lockdown
Coronavirus in India: list of trains running during lockdown
The Indian PM, Narendra Modi, has been asked to lift lockdown measures and the country's railway lines start to run again as of Tuesday.
Full details here:
Heading home
A man wearing a face shield squats next to his belongings in Delhi as he waits among other people outside a railway station to board trains that will take them to their home states, after India announced a limited reopening of its giant rail network following a nearly seven-week lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease. (Photo: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
Can coronavirus stay in my hair or in a beard?
Can coronavirus stay in my hair or in a beard?
Coronavirus particles can linger in still air for several hours but if droplets land on my hair or in my beard, is there a chance I can become infected?
Full story:
Former PM discharged
We reported a few days ago that Manmohan Singh had been admitted to hospital. Today comes the better news.
PM Modi to address the nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 20:00 on today, with hints that a further lockdown extension is planned.
UNICEF doubles Covid-19 appeal
United Nations children's agency UNICEF appealed on Monday for $1.6 billion, more than doubling its initial request for money two months ago to help children already suffering through humanitarian crises and now hit with the coronavirus pandemic. UNICEF said it has so far received $215 million since late March.
The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness Covid-19, has infected some 4.1 million people globally and more than 282,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally. The virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
"We have seen what the pandemic is doing to countries with developed health systems and we are concerned about what it would do to countries with weaker systems and fewer available resources," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
All the information you need to understand the coronavirus and ways to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic:
Lockdown easing planned
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday the country would look to ease a nearly seven-week lockdown aimed at preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, despite also reporting its biggest single-day jump in cases.
Modi has faced increasing calls to end his government's stringent lockdown of the nation's 1.3 billion population, with political parties, businesses and citizens saying the containment measures have destroyed the livelihoods of millions that rely on daily wages for sustenance.
On Monday, Modi told the heads of Indian states in a video call the federal government would look at a "gradual withdrawal" of the lockdown, which has been repeatedly extended until May 17.
"We have a twofold challenge – to reduce the transmission rate of the disease, and to increase public activity gradually," Modi said.
Monday figures as India passes 70,000 confirmed infections
India went past 70,000 people confirmed infected with the coronavirus on Monday, just two days after passing 60,000 cases. There was alarming news from Tamil Nadu, which recorded its worst day yet, with 798 cases.
Across the country the picture was somewhat more encouraging, with the rise in cases falling from Sunday's record high of 4,308 to 3,607.
Four states - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi - have 66% of all confirmed cases in India.
Monday's death toll was down to 82, after two days at 113.
A total of 22,549 people have recovered from the virus.
India Covid-19 update: 05:00 IST on Tuesday 12 May (01:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 4,168,427 cases have been detected worldwide, with 285,445 deaths and 1,452,626 people now recovered.
In India, there have been 70,768 cases confirmed, 2,294 people have died and 22,549 people have recovered from the virus.
Hello and welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest coronavirus news from India.
The Covid-19 pandemic has now infected over 70,000 people in India, with a steep increase in the past two days, with the country only passing the 60,000 case mark two days ago. Over 2,200 people have now died from the coronavirus in India.
22,000 people have recovered from the disease.