Coronavirus: India news summary for 25 May
India Covid-19 update: 02:30 IST on Tuesday 26 May (23:00 CEST Monday 25 May)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 5,467,945 cases have been detected worldwide, with 344,731 deaths (please note there is an issue accessing the very latest data from all countries, so this may be lower than the full total) and 2,196,160 people now recovered.
In India, there have been 144,941 cases confirmed, 4,171 people have died and 60,706 people have recovered from the virus.
Indian are stepping up the awareness of the coronavirus in an effort to make people more conscious of how it is transmitted and how to avoid it.
Japan set to put India on travel ban list
CNN have reported, quoting Japan government sources, that India will be added to Japan's travel ban list, which will expand to 111 countries, on Wednesday.
Filmmaker Karan Johar confirms household staff have tested positive
Filmmaker Karan Johar has confirmed two members of his household staff have tested positive for Covid-19. His entire family are going into 14-day quarantine.
WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine testing
The World Health Organisation has suspended testing of hydroxychloroquine, the drug Trump has been promoting and says he is taking, after a study published in the Lancet showed Covid-19 patients receiving the drug, when used alone or with another drug had an estimated higher mortality rate. They stressed it is still accepted as safe for treating autoimmune diseases or malaria.
Parents name baby Lockdown Yadav
Two passengers on one of the Shamrik Special migrant trains ferrying workers across India decided to call their newborn Lockdown to mark the occasion after the child was born on board.
Restrained Eid al-Fitr celebrations amid Covid-19 pandemic
Indian Muslims walk on a street in Delhi on Monday during Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr, considered one of the most important festivals in Islam, has lacked its traditional fervour as religious gatherings remain banned in India, with the country under a lockdown imposed by the government in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
Over 500 flights as air travel resumes in India
Nearly 40,000 passengers have been carried by 523 flights as domestic air travel resumed in India on Monday.
An airport staff (R) sanitises a passenger's luggage upon arriving the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport as domestic flights resumed after the government eased a lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Ahmedabad on May 25, 2020. - Domestic flights resumed in India on May 25 even as coronavirus cases surge, while confusion about quarantine rules prompted jitters among passengers and the cancellation of dozens of planes. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)
More photos from Indian airports as flights resume today despite the rising numbers of cases in the country...
Muslim devotees offer a special prayer at the Jama Masjid Khairuddin to start the Eid-al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Amritsar on May 25, 2020. - Muslims around the world began marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr, many under coronavirus lockdown, but lax restrictions offered respite to worshippers in some countries despite fears of skyrocketing infections. (Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP)
An airport staff checks the temperature of a passenger at the Kamaraj domestic airport during the first day of resuming of domestic flights after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Chennai on May 25, 2020. - Confusion and concern reigned at Indian airports on May 25 as domestic flights tentatively resumed after two months, even as coronavirus cases continued to surge at record rates. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
India's among 10 worst-hit COVID-19 nations as cases jump; air travel reopens
India on Monday posted its biggest single-day jump in cases of COVID-19, overtaking Iran to become one of the 10 worst-hit nations, even as the government allowed domestic air travel to restart.
India reported another 6,977 cases, taking its total to 138,845, according to government data, despite the world's longest lockdown imposed in March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Total deaths have passed 4,000.
The rise in new cases came as some businesses and travel reopened under a new phase of the national coronavirus lockdown.
Some passengers and crew members scheduled to board a flight on Monday at New Delhi airport said the mood at the terminal was sombre as security forces implemented strict social distancing norms and passengers donned masks.
While the federal government has not insisted that passengers be quarantined after their flights, some states have implemented their own quarantine measures, creating confusion among travellers.
"Flying to meet my family almost feels like I am entering a war zone, it's the mask and gloves that add to the stress," said Subham Dey, an engineer travelling to the north-eastern state of Assam.
India domestic flights to resume, but coronavirus cases rise
Domestic flights will resume across India on Monday after a day of "hard negotiations", the federal civil aviation minister said on Sunday, after some states sought to limit the number of flights.
Flights will restart under an easing of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus, though the number of new cases rose by a record 24-hour amount on Sunday. The 6,767 new cases took the total to over 131,000.
Airlines are preparing to resume about a third of their domestic flight operations from Monday, even without clarity over what quarantine rules may apply to passengers.
The western state of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu in the south and West Bengal in the east -- business hubs and home to India's busiest airports -- had said they were not prepared to open for flights as coronavirus cases rose, state government officials said.
Zoom has become ubiquitous in our lives during lockdown but India are looking to make a rival for the video-meeting giant.
Special train attacked in Bihar
A special train from Haryana, carrying around 1,300 evacuees home to the northeastern States was attacked in one of two separate incidents in Bihar, The Hindu reports.
In pictures: Migrants labourers sit along a road as they wait for transportation to go back to their hometowns, after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Allahabad on May 24, 2020. (Photo by SANJAY KANOJIA / AFP)