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Coronavirus India news summary: cases and deaths - 31 May

Update:
Stranded migrant labourers gather at an assembling centre to get transferred to a railway station to board on a special train to Bihar after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Ch

Coronavirus live India: latest Covid-19 news - 31 May

This live Covid-19 India blog is now closed. For the latest developments on the pandemic in India, please follow the live feed for Monday 1 June here.

India expels two Pakistani officials for 'espionage'

India on Sunday expelled two officials working at the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi after they were held for espionage, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Two (Pakistani) officials were apprehended on Sunday by Indian law enforcement," the ministry said, adding that the Indian government had declared them "persona non grata" for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission.

Both were expected to leave the country within 24 hours. The Indian government also delivered a strong protest to the head of Pakistan's Delhi embassy concerning the alleged espionage against Indian national security.

Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned what it called the detention and torture of two diplomatic officials by Indian authorities.

Cases in Delhi increase

For the fourth day in a row on Sunday, Delhi reported over 1,000 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), with 1,295 infections taking the city’s total tally to 19,844. The city is likely to cross the 20,000 cases mark on Monday -- just 14 days after it crossed the 10,000 mark

India

Indian states rush to identify high-risk zones to remain in lockdown

Indian states on Sunday began identifying high-risk zones where coronavirus lockdowns should continue while the rest of country gears up to reopen in June despite a record rise in COVID-19 cases, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has extended lockdown until June 30 in so-called containment zones that should remain under lockdown because they continue to report a high number of infections.

But restaurants, malls and religious buildings are permitted to reopen elsewhere from June 8 as India loosens the world's longest lockdown to curb the spread of the spread of the pandemic.

India has reported 182,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 5,164 deaths.

In Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state, a health official said 1,111 containment zones has been identified, while authorities in the western Gujarat state said that more than 400,000 houses were marked as high-risk zones.

Officials in the western state of Maharastra said all markets, except malls and congested spaces, will be allowed to function in a staggered manner.

Lockdown has trained Indians for 'new normal', says minister

Indian minister Jitendra Singh says the lockdown in place in the country since the end of March has prepared people for life in the ‘new normal’ after the coronavirus crisis subsides.

“While life has to move on and the show must go on,” Singh said, “lockdown has inculcated in us the essential practices of hygiene, healthy maintenance of physical distance and discipline in day-to-day life.”

Australia PM wishes he could share "ScoMosas" with India PM

Australia's prime minister, Scott Morrison, has shared pictures of vegetarian samosas that he made today, bemoaning the fact that he won't be able to share them with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, when the pair hold a video meeting on Thursday.

Modi replied: "Connected by the Indian Ocean, united by the Indian Samosa! Looks delicious, PM @ScottMorrisonMP! Once we achieve a decisive victory against COVID-19, we will enjoy the Samosas together."

"Spitting makes you a germ spreader"

India's government has released this video urging Indians not to spit, as it increases the likelihood of spreading the coronavirus. In April, the act was made a punishable offence under the Disaster Management Act.

India

An employee of a men's beauty parlour in Siliguri wears protective gear as he cuts the hair and beard of a customer after the government eased a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. (Photo by DIPTENDU DUTTA / AFP)

Supplementary healthcare staff to arrive in Mumbai

50 doctors and 100 nurses will be arriving in Mumbai from Kerala in the coming days, after the Maharastra state government requested extra healthcare personnel in its attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Modi tells Indians to be "even more vigilant"

Narendra Modi has urged people in India to be "even more vigilant" as the country's economy reopens.

"A large chunk of the economy has now opened up," the prime minister said in a radio address on Sunday. "Now, we need to be even more vigilant.

"Be it maintaining a distance of six feet, wearing of masks, staying home as far as possible. We must follow all these precautions without the slightest laxity."

India

People wearing protective face masks exercise inside a park in New Delhi. (Photo: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)

"India is roaring back to life"

With nearly 8,000 new infections recorded in India on Saturday, the BBC's Aparna Alluria discusses why the country is reopening despite coronavirus cases continuing to surge. "Beyond a point, it's hard to sustain a lockdown that has gone on for so long - economically, socially and psychologically," Alluria is told by Gautam Menon, a professor and researcher on infectious diseases.

India to have seat at Trump's table

US President Donald Trump wants to reformat the G7 to include India Australia, South Korea and Russia.

Parliament ceasing to function

PM to address the nation in Mann ki Baat programme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts om his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on All India Radio at 11 A.M on Sunday...

The latest figures from Gurajat...

Recovery rate hits 47.4%...

Positive news from China...

Protests erupt in West Bengal...