Coronavirus India summary of news 4 June
Coronavirus live India: latest Covid-19 news - 4 June
India Covid-19 update: 01:30 IST on Thursday 4 June (22:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 6,581,066 cases have been detected worldwide, with 388,118 deaths and 2,844,451 people now recovered.
In India, there have been 226,634 cases confirmed, 6,363 people have died and 108,450 people have recovered from the virus.
AstraZeneca agrees deal for one billion vaccine doses
UK drug giant AstraZeneca has agreed a deal with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker, for the Indian company to produce one billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine being developed in Oxford, UK, for low and middle-income countries. Part of that billion will be for India, the rest going to GAVI, the vaccine alliance.
Covid-19 subs for test matches
The ICC is looking at allowing substitutes if a a player tests postive for coronavirus during a test match. The idea would be to allow like-for-like subs, similar to the rule for concussed players. Question not answered is why the rest of the team wouldn't have to isolate if one of their team-mates tests positive.
Relatives at a crematorium in New Delhi mourn a man who died due to the coronavirus. (Photo by: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
India pledges 15 million dollars to vaccine alliance
Indian PM Modi earlier addressed the virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by UK PM Boris Johnson and confirmed the figure as part of a global vaccine alliance.
3 die as result of cyclone
At least three people were reported dead as coronavirus-hit Mumbai appeared to escape the worst of Cyclone Nisarga Wednesday, the first severe storm to threaten India’s financial capital in more than 70 years, AFP reports
India's urban COVID-19 outbreak is morphing into a rural health crisis
Rural parts of India have begun to see a surge in novel coronavirus infections, as millions of migrant workers returning from big cities and industrial hubs bring the virus home with them, according to data collected from seven Indian states.
Officials said the spike in cases was a fresh challenge for the country's health authorities, even as they struggle to check the outbreak in cities amid the easing of a months-long lockdown. Confirmed cases in India crossed the 200,000 mark on Wednesday. Some experts say that a peak remains weeks away.
Dr. Naman Shah, an epidemiologist and physician advising a federal government coronavirus task force, said rural outbreaks could be "devastating" given the inadequate number of doctors and health facilities.
India's top bureaucrats hit by coronavirus as cases spike
A top Indian civilian defence official has tested positive for coronavirus and is in home quarantine, government officials said on Thursday, as the daily rise in infections hits a new high.
India's cases reached 216,919 after 9,304 new cases were reported over the previous day, the health ministry said. The densely packed cities of Delhi and Mumbai are seeing a spike in infections as the government lifts a lockdown imposed in March.
India has reported 6,075 deaths due to the virus. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar is the highest ranking official to have tested positive for the virus that has also affected officials in the finance, foreign and law ministries based in a sprawling set of buildings in central Delhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, leading the response to an ongoing military standoff with China at their disputed Himalayan border, worked from home after Kumar's test results came back positive, a defence source said.
It was not immediately clear if Singh had undergone a test. At least four finance ministry employees have been infected.
More than 9,000 new cases reported in India
In yet another highest single-day tally, India reported 9,304 fresh #COVIDー19 cases and 260 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2,16,919. Death toll rises to 6,075.
Amid pandemic, investors bet on India's Jio and its giant-killer playbook
From its Silicon Valley-like campus near Mumbai, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio telecom carrier is emerging as a winner from changes in the way Indian consumers plug into a digital economy made more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic.
For Indian shoppers who prefer to order online, it is launching a grocery ordering service with Facebook Inc's popular WhatsApp messaging. For Bollywood fans who would prefer to avoid a crowded theatre it is readying same-day-release on the Jio platform.
Those plans had been in the making for months, but the pandemic has given them a shot in the arm. India's 10-week lockdown has also led to a surge in demand for data, boosting Jio's phone and broadband offerings.
And, over the past six weeks, the digital business of Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd, known as Jio Platforms, raised a striking $10 billion from global investors.
In an effort to curb the spread of the virus with migrants returning home, new rules say those coming from Delhi have to quarantine for a week.
Concern in India as coronavirus starting to spread
“Migrants who have returned to the villages, are escaping quarantine centres and violating safety protocols. There is no resistance form the local people too, because most cases are asymptomatic,” he said.
Indian government facilitated return of 850,000 people to Bengal
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the state has facilitated the return of 8.5 lakh people at a cost of Rs 40 crore. Earlier in the day, she appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide Rs 10,000 to every migrant worker who has been displaced by the lockdown.
“I appeal to Central Govt to transfer Rs 10,000 each as one-time assistance to migrant labourers, including people in unorganised sector. A portion of PM-CARES could be used for this,” Banerjee tweeted.
Cyclone Nisarga approaches
Cyclone Nisarga reached India’s west coast on Wednesday, killing two people in the western state of Maharashtra. Government officials asked people residing near the sea coast to leave the house and move to shelters in the nearby areas. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised fishermen not to venture out to sea along the coast of Maharashtra as a precaution.
Second biggest single-day rise in deaths from Covid-19
India suffered its second biggest single-day rise of Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday with 254 fatalities due to the virus. The grim figures have only been superseded once - the 270 deaths registered on 29 May.
The majority of the fatalities were recorded in Maharashtra (122 deaths - 48% of the total). In all, 8,723 patients tested positive for Covid-19 as India marked a sixth consecutive day with over 200 deaths, taking the total past the 6,000 mark.
Covid-19 India live feed welcome
Hello welcome to our live coronavirus blog. Over the course of the day, we will be bring you the latest information, breaking news and data relating to the Covid-19 pandemic from India on June 4th. At the time of writing, the virus has claimed over 383,000 lives with over 6.3 million positive cases currently confirmed around the world.