Covid LIVE: India third nation after US, Brazil to record 300,000 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India has set a record of conducting the highest Covid-19 testing in a single day with more than 2.12 mn fresh tests. Stay tuned for corona-related news

Coronavirus LIVE: India reported 240,842 new positive cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours taking the total tally of Covid-19 infections to 26,530,132, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. Country's death toll rose to over 300,000. The daily rise in coronavirus cases in the country remained below the 300,000-mark for the seventh consecutive day.

India continues to be second-most-affected globally.

The six most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (5,527,092), Karnataka (2,367,742), Kerala (2,293,632), Tamil Nadu (1,770,988), Uttar Pradesh (1,659,265), and Andhra Pradesh (1,542,079).

World coronavirus update: Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe, with more than 167 million infected by the deadly contagion. While 147,944,323 have recovered, 3,468,045 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 33,695,883, followed by India, Brazil, France and Turkey. However, in terms of the total number of active cases, US tops the charts, followed by France, UK, Brazil and Belgium.

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.

1:45 AM

421 cases of black fungus in Haryana so far; Gurgaon sees max 149 cases

The total number of black fungus cases in Haryana rose to 421 on Sunday, with the maximum 149 cases reported from Gurgaon district, state Health Minister Anil Vij said.
 

He said the state government has made a requisition of 12,000 injections of Amphotericin-B, used in treating black fungus, from the central government.
 

The health minister said there are 1,250 vials of Amphotericin-B injection available for the treatment of patients presently.
 

He said 421 cases of black fungus have been reported in the state so far and are being given treatment in various hospitals of the state.
 

The highest 149 cases of black fungus are from Gurgaon, a statement quoting him said.
 

He said 88 cases of black fungus have been reported from Hisar, 50 from Faridabad, 26 from Rohtak, 25 from Sirsa, 17 from Karnal, 15 from Panipat and 11 from Ambala.
 

1:45 AM

3,088 new Covid-19 cases in Pune district, 94 patients die

Pune district of Maharashtra reported 3,088 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking its overall count to 9,95,524, a health official said on Sunday.

The death toll in the district reached 1,689 as 94 succumbed to the infection during the day, he said.
 

"Of the total number of new cases, 709 were reported from the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, where the caseload has grown to 4,65,625," he added.

A total of 2,324 patients were discharged from hospitals on Sunday.
 

Pimpri Chinchwad, an industrial township near Pune city, recorded 655 new cases, which took its infection count to 2,46,609.
 

1:44 AM

Lockdown extended in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan

Lockdown was extended on Sunday in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Puducherry, with many states already imposing Covid-induced restrictions till May-end to rein in the spread of infection and the mounting deaths which crossed the three lakh mark.
 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the ongoing lockdown in the national capital will continue for another week and said the process of "unlock" will start from May 31 in a phased manner if the number of Covid-19 cases continues to decline.
 

The Rajasthan government, which extended the coronavirus lockdown by 15 days till June 8, also said the state may allow some relaxations in commercial activities from June 1 in districts where the Covid-19 situation will show significant improvement.
 

Extending the lockdown till May 31, the Haryana government said the positivity and fatality rates have to be brought down further, though it did allow some relaxations in the curbs.
 

The daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below the three lakh mark for the seventh consecutive day with 2.4 lakh new cases recorded in a single day, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
 

With the fresh cases, India's tally of Covid-19 cases climbed to 2,65,30,132.
 

The death toll due to the disease rose to 2,99,266 with 3,741 fresh fatalities, the ministry data updated at 8 AM showed.
 

12:26 AM

Black fungus: Experts to study possible causes including industrial oxygen use

Experts in Karnataka will study whether the rise in the Mucormycosis cases is linked to use of industrial oxygen and its possible contamination.
 

Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, who is also the head of the state's Covid task force, held a meeting on Sunday with the treatment protocol committee where the possible sources of the infection were discussed.
 

Noting that the state has recorded about 700 cases of black fungus infections in the last week, he directed experts to find its source, with doubts being expressed about oxygen supply, quality of piping and cylinders used for it.
 

Accordingly, a team of microbiologists will start to work towards this from Monday, his office said in a release.
 

The country used to record about 100 cases of black fungus a year earlier but the state has recorded about 700 cases in the last week. This surge has been the cause of anxiety, Narayan was quoted as saying.
 

Also, black fungus cases are not spotted in other Covid hit countries, but they are occurring only in India, he said.
 

12:25 AM

Assam reports 3,563 new Covid-19 cases, 72 more deaths

Assam reported 3,563 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday and 72 more deaths, as per official data.
 

There are 51,764 active cases in the state at present, according to the bulletin of the National Health Mission.
 

Assam has so far reported 3,69,183 cases and 2,739 deaths.
 

Kamrup Metro reported the highest of 11 deaths, followed by eight in Dibrugarh and six each in Golaghat, Jorhat and Kamrup Rural.

The number of Covid-positive patients who died due to other reasons is 1,347.
 

Kamrup Metro reported 624 new cases, 408 cases were detected in Dibrugarh, 310 in Tinsukia and 249 in Cachar.
 

The new cases were detected out of 62,722 tests conducted with the daily positivity rate being at 5.68 per cent.
 

The number of recovered patients discharged during the day is 5,785 and the total number of recoveries is 3,13,353.
 

In all, 37,52,471 doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the state.
 

9:16 PM

Intensify measures to combat Covid-19 during intense lockdown week, Stalin tells Collectors

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday directed District Collectors to intensify measures like door to door survey to detect people with Covid-19 symptoms during the week long intense lockdown commencing on May 24.
 

Conducting medical camps for early detection of infected people, increasing testing and continuation of the vaccination drive without slackness were among the measures the Chief Minister underscored.
 

Addressing Collectors, police superintendents and medical authorities through video conferencing from the Secretariat here, Stalin said steps should be taken to ensure supply of vegetables, fruits, milk and drinking water during the intense lockdown.
 

Monitoring availability of oxygen and life saving drugs and bringing down disease transmission in their respective districts should be the goal of collectors, he said.
 

While taking efforts to see that people complied with lockdown norms to break the chain of virus transmission, it should also be ensured that exempted activities like transportation of farm produce were not affected.
 

Supply of quality food, milk and water for in-patients in government hospitals must be ensured. Also, there should be no difficulty in taking people -with symptoms or those who test positive- to hospitals.
 

The Chief Minister exuded confidence that when district administrations, elected representatives and voluntary organisations worked in tandem with the general public on tackling Covid-19, the effort would succeed.
 

9:14 PM

Saxophone artiste Machendranath dies of Covid-19

Internationally acclaimed saxophone artiste Machendranath died of coronavirus at a hospital here on Sunday.
 

He was 66.
 

Machendranath was admitted to a private hospital at Deralakatte here a few days back after his condition worsened due to the infection, sources in the hospital said.
 

His wife, who was also infected with Covid-19, died only three days ago.
 

Machendranath had been regularly playing the saxophone at the Mangaladevi temple here during poojas in the morning, afternoon and evening hours for over 25 years.
 

He had taken part in several concerts held in various parts of the country and abroad.
 

His daughter Sindhu Bhairavi too is also a well-known saxophone artiste. 
 

9:04 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: India becomes third nation after US, Brazil to record over 300,000 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE: India becomes third nation after US, Brazil to record over 300,000 deaths, according to Worldometer

8:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: West Bengal reports 18,422 new positive cases

West Bengal reports 18,422 new positive cases, 156 deaths, and 19,429 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

8:32 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 26,672 new cases

Maharashtra reports 26,672 new cases, 29,177 recoveries, and 594 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:18 PM

Kerala registers 25,820 new coronavirus cases; 188 fatalities today

Kerala reported 25,820 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total caseload to 23,17,911, while 188 deaths pushed the toll to 7,358.

 

Recoveries outnumbered new cases with 37,316 people undergoing treatment testing negative for the virus, taking the total number to 20,62,635.

 

Malappuram recorded the highest number of 3,943 cases, followed by Ernakulam with 2,771 and Palakkad 1,805, a health department release said. Read here

8:06 PM

Trying to save vaccines: Govt panel on delaying shots after Covid recovery

India is trying to save scarce Covid-19 vaccines by delaying shots for those who have recovered from the disease, the head of a government panel said, adding the campaign should not have been opened to all adults before covering the most vulnerable.

 

Under fire for his handling of the world's worst rise in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made all adults eligible for vaccination from May 1.

 

Vaccine shortages have now forced many regions, including the capital New Delhi, to again prioritise those aged above 45. Read here

7:42 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka reports 25,979 new cases

Karnataka reports 25,979 new coronavirus positive cases, 35,573 recoveries and 626 deaths in the last 24 hours.

7:39 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,309 new cases in Himachal Pradesh

1,309 new positive cases, 4,059 recoveries, and 59 deaths reported in Himachal Pradesh, in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:34 PM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Mumbai sees 1,431 fresh cases in last 24 hours

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Mumbai sees 1,431 fresh cases in last 24 hours