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Coronavirus India live updates: cases, deaths and news, today

Update:
A shopworker cleans dust from fans for sale at an electronics shop after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Amritsar on May 16, 2020. (Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP)

Coronavirus live India updates: cases, deaths and news - 16 May

India

India Covid-19 update: 00:30 IST on Sunday 17 May (21:00 CEST Saturday 16 May)

According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 4,599,738 cases have been detected worldwide, with 310,010 deaths and 1,666,834 people now recovered.

In India, there have been 90,615 cases confirmed, 2,871 people have died and 34,220 people have recovered from the virus.

Official cases pass 90,000

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India has now passed the 90,000 mark, according to official figures collected by Johns Hopkins University. 

2,871 people have died from the disease in the country, while over 34,000 have recovered. 

India has now had more official confirmed cases than China (84,038), although doubt has been cast on the Chinese numbers.

 

Holy place

Coronavirus a "demon"

An India-wide organisation of priests has asked Primer Minister Narendra Modi to reopen temples and pilgrimage centres to help in the fight against the coronavirus, saying the virus is a "demon" and that divine force is required to to kill it.

""If all temples, shrines and pilgrimage centres are reopened, the coronavirus cannot do any harm," Akhil Bhartiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha national president Mahesh Pathak said in a letter to the prime minister on Saturday.

The government has banned congregations and closed temples and religious sites in a bid to check the spread of the virus. 
 

N. Sitharaman

India to ease restrictions on foreign ownership in defence ventures

India will ease restrictions on the level of foreign ownership in defence manufacturing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday, in a move aimed at cutting down on imports.

Under the plan, foreign investors would be able to own a stake of up to 74% in defence manufacturing ventures, up from the 49% limit now, Sitharaman told a news conference.

The increase in foreign investments would help reduce a "huge defence import bill" and make India self-reliant in defence production, she said, adding India would also expand the list of weapons that could not be imported.

Bundesliga

Bundesliga returns

Top flight football returned in Germany with the Bundesliga the first of the European leagues to return to action with all games being staged behind closed doors which through up some unusual images.

Trump announces India cooperation

The US President has stated that as well providing aid to India, the two countries will work together in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. 

Mumbai builds coronavirus dedicated hospital in two weeks

One of the worst-hit areas of India, Mumbai has unveiled it's 1000+ bed Covid-19 hospital, which was built in just two weeks. 

India

Health and municipal workers are showered with flower petals by residents during an event to show gratitude towards the frontline warriors fighting the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, in a residential area in Kolkata, India, May 16, 2020. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Compensation for road accident victims

The Uttar Pradesh state authorities have announced compensation payments for the families of those who were killed in the tragic accident on Saturday. 

Caught in India's lockdown, 23 migrants die in truck crash going home

(Reuters) A truck crammed with migrant labourers trying to reach their distant homes amid a nationwide lockdown crashed in northern India on Saturday, killing at least 23 and injuring 35.

The accident occurred before daybreak, when the truck collided with another truck that was parked by a roadside eatery in the Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh state, Abhishek Singh Meena, the top district official said.

"The rescue operation is almost complete and 23 people have been killed in the accident," Singh told Reuters, adding that 20 people had suffered serious injuries, while the rest had minor wounds.

The migrants mainly hailed from the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Delhi cases rise again

Reported cases of Covid-19 are close to 10,000 in Delhi, which has become a hotspot in recent days, recording more cases per day since 7 May than New York.  

Indian reported cases pass China

India's total novel corornavirus cases rose to 85,940 on Saturday, taking it past China, where the pandemic originated last year, though a strict lockdown enforced since late March has reduced the rate of contagion.

State leaders, businesses and working class Indians have called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the battered economy, but the government is expected to extend the lockdown, which would otherwise expire on Sunday, though with fewer restrictions.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was encouraged by the slowing rate of infection, as it now takes 11 days for the number of cases to double, whereas before the lockdown cases were doubling every 3 1/2 days.

'Clearly the situation has improved due to lockdown. We have utilised this period of lockdown to accelerate public health measures such as case detection, contact tracing, isolation and management of cases,' Vardhan said.

Germans bring back top flight

If football is your thing, you'll understand why our front page today has a focus on the Bundesliga.

Robot screeners

A Jaipur-based company has developed robots to help health workers in conducting a thermal screening of the people amid Covid-19 crisis. 

These robots can also identify if a person is wearing a mask or not.

United States to donate ventilators to India

Coronavirus: WHO says Covid-19 "may never go away"

CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus: WHO says Covid-19 "may never go away"

WHO says Covid-19 "may never go away"

Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, has warned there is a long way to go in the Covid-19 fight:

Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19

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:

Coronavirus live India: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live, India-focused coverage of the coronavirus crisis, which has now registered over 4.5 million cases worldwide. We'll endeavour to bring you the latest developments as they emerge throughout Saturday.