Coronavirus India live updates: cases, deaths and news, today
Coronavirus live India updates: cases, deaths and news
India Covid-19 update: 02:30 IST on Friday 22 May (23:00 CEST, Thursday 21 May)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 5,047,377 cases have been detected worldwide, with 329,816 deaths and 1,924,231 people now recovered.
In India, there have been 115,572 cases confirmed, 3,502 people have died and 46,873 peoplehave recovered from the virus.
Relatives put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) before the burial of a woman, who died from the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a graveyard in in Srinagar on May 21, 2020. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
India announce aid for farmers as part of a scheme to help "people's lives " said Congress president, Sonia Gandhi.
“Such schemes should be implemented at the ground level to help bring a change in the lives of people. This is a revolutionary scheme and is a true tribute to Rajiv Gandhi. This is a big step in line with the values of Rajiv Gandhi,” she said during the launch.
Amazon taps into food delivery services in India
Amazon.com Inc is rolling out services to deliver food in India, pitting it against established players Swiggy and Zomato in a market that has seen explosive growth in the last few years.
Amazon already has a strong presence in India with its e-commerce business and the food delivery services would only add an attractive option for the company that has been investing heavily in the country.
"Customers have been telling us for some time that they would like to order prepared meals on Amazon in addition to shopping for all other essentials," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company had rolled out the feature in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.
India toll rises
72 people are now believed to have died as Cyclone Amphon battered India & Bangladesh
City living
The World Health Organisation anticipates that 68% of the planet will be living in big cities by 2050 and we need to plan accordingly.
Modi urged to go to Bengal
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urges PM Modi to visit Cyclone Amphan-affected areas in Bengal, says 'never seen such destruction in my life'.
Instagram account 6ftlove creates a grid of global solidarity during COVID-19
A trans US-India team aims to create Instagram’s largest network of people who are physically distancing, with illustrations and personal stories.
Cyclone leaves trail of devastation along coast of eastern India and Bangladesh
Rescue teams searched for survivors in eastern India and Bangladesh a day after the most powerful cyclone in over a decade devastated coastal villages, destroying mud houses, ripping out electricity poles and washing away bridges.
The full extent of the casualties and damage to property inflicted by Cyclone Amphan would only be known once communications were restored, officials said, but at least a dozen people died in the Indian state of West Bengal and eight in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Most deaths were caused by trees uprooted by winds that gusted up to 185 km per hour (115 mph), and a storm surge of around five metres that inundated low-lying coastal areas when the cyclone barrelled in from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.
Airlines to follow ticket price rules as India resumes some flights
Airlines should stick to ticket price guidelines issued by India's civil aviation ministry when they restart some domestic flights, two months after air travel was halted to fight the novel coronavirus, the ministry said on Thursday.
Airlines should adhere to the lower and upper limits of fares set by the ministry, it said in a notice, but it did not give details on the amounts.
Airlines will be allowed to resume about a third of their operations from Monday, within rules that include no meals on board, temperature checks for all passengers and full protective gear for crew, the ministry said.
Cyclone concerns grow
The risk to millions of children is highlighted as Cyclone Amphan adds to coronavirus challenges.
Prescriptions for aviation flew
This news comes as India allow airlines can begin some domestic flights from 25 May, two months after the country imposed a ban on air travel as it went into lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday," the minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Twitter.
Handwashing shortage
More than 50 million people in India do not have access to effective handwashing, putting them at a greater risk of acquiring and transmitting the novel coronavirus, according to a study.
No spit, just sweat
In case you missed it, the International Cricket Council are likely to ban using saliva to shine the ball, but sweat will be allowed. The medical advice is that it is highly unlikely coronavirus can be transmitted through sweat, but there is a risk with saliva.
With training still ruled out in the red zones, what's not clear is when we'll be watching cricket again...
Newspaper deliveries back soon in Maharashtra, hopefully
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says the ban on newspaper deliveries is just temporary and it could be revoked after the current pandemic situation is analysed. Newspapers are available at stalls, while maintaining social distancing.
Dr Sudheer Chauhan dies of coronavirus In US
Dr Sudheer S Chauhan, an Indian-origin physician died of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin said yesterday.
He had been battling the illness for the past few weeks.
Dr Chauhan was an Internal Medicine Physician and Associate Program Director IM Residency Program at the Jamaica Hospital in New York. Dr Chauhan received his medical education from GSUM Medical College, University of Kanpur, India.
Home consumption up
Not a huge surprise that people are spending more on things to consume at home when they are stuck there for a lot more time, but what is interesting is the huge leap in March (2x normal), when consumers were worried about shortages, which then fell away to 1.5x normal.
Pack size is also a change. People normally buy noodles in packs of 4-6, now they're going for packs of 24 - which are normally meant for hotels.
The next question: how much are people saving by not spending when out and about?
Domestic flights to resume from 25 May
Announced yesterday, domestic flights will resume in a "calibrated" manner from 25 May. Flights have been suspended since 25 March.
Two Mumbai Police offices die from Covid-19
Two policemen died of Covid-19 yesterday, according to an official source, taking the number of police personnel who have lost their lives to the pandemic in Maharashtra to 14, ten of them in Mumbai.
A 57-year-old police constable at Parksite Police Station died after testing positive for the virus eight days ago, while an assistant sub-inspector of traffic also passed away from the infection.
Current coronavirus situation
According to Johns Hopkins University, India has 112,028 confirmed cases of Covid-19. 3,434 people have died, while 45,422 have recovered.
All eyes will be on this morning's update. Yesterday the health ministry revealed the previous 24 hours had seen the biggest single-day spike of 5,611 cases. 140 people died in the 24 hours leading up to yesterday's morning update.
Hello and welcome
Welcome to our live coverage of the breaking Covid-19 news in India for today, Thursday 21 May.
Complicating the coronavirus situation, the Bay of Bengal's biggest storm this century, super-cyclone Amphan, smashed into eastern coast of India yesterday, causing deadly storm surges, heavy gales and widespread damage.
12 people are known to have died, but the death count is expected to be higher.