Coronavirus LIVE updates: Maharashtra sees nearly 1,000 deaths in a day

Coronavirus LIVE updates: The six most-affected states by total cases are Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

1:46 AM

21 more members of vulnerable tribal groups test Covid-19 positive in Odisha

Twenty-one more members of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Odisha were afflicted with coronavirus, taking their number to 45, official sources said on Sunday.
 

The PVTG is a classification by the central government for tribes based on their relative physical isolation, declining population, low levels of literacy and pre- agricultural stage of economy such as hunting, food gathering and shifting cultivation. Before 2016, PVTGs were known as Primitive Tribal Groups.
 

While the number of PVTG people infected with Covid-19 was 21 till Friday, 10 more members of the Bonda tribe and 14 of the Dongaria Kondha community tested positive for the virus since Saturday, officials said.
 

A total of 19 people belonging to the Dongaria Kondha tribe living at Pakeri village in Rayagada district are now affected by the disease, they said.
 

The Dongaria Kondha tribe lives in Niyamgiri Hills on the border of Rayagada and Koraput districts. They live on hill tops and rarely come to plains.
 

A report from Malkangiri district said that 10 more members of the Bonda tribe have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of such patients to 12. Some of them have already recovered and others are in home isolation.
 

"Health condition of the affected persons is being closely monitored by our rapid response team and required medicines are being given," an official said.
 

He said that the first case of Covid-19 among Bondas was recorded on April 26.
 

Bonda is one of the ancient tribes of Odisha and the community is divided into two groups, the Lower Bonda and the Upper Bonda. While Lower Bondas live on the foothills of Bonda hills, the Upper ones, mostly untouched by the modern civilization, live in the hill range in Khairaput block of Malkangiri district.
 

1:45 AM

Meghalaya reports 569 new Covid cases, 19 more fatalities

Meghalaya on Sunday reported 569 new Covid-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to 23,332, a health department official said.
 

The death toll rose to 320 as 19 more people succumbed to the disease, Health Services Director Aman War said.
 

Of the fresh fatalities, 16 were reported from East Khasi Hills district and one each from West Khasi, South-West Khasi and West Garo.
 

The state now has 4,534 active cases.
 

At least 354 people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries in the northeastern state to 18,478, he said.
 

The state has so far conducted over 5.98 lakh sample tests for Covid-19.
 

Altogether, four lakh people have been inoculated in the state, with over 78,000 of them having received both doses of the 'Covishield' vaccine, War said.

1:44 AM

Television journalist Anjan Bandyopadhyay dies

Eminent journalist and popular TV anchor Anjan Bandyopadhyay, who tested positive for Covid-19 around a month ago, died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday night, a health department official said.
 

He was 56.
 

Bandyopadhyay, the editor of Bengali news channel Zee 24 Ghanta, breathed his last at around 9.25 pm, the official said.
 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the death of the journalist, who is the brother of the state Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
 

According to family sources, the TV anchor had tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-April following which he was hospitalised.
 

"He had returned home after recovering a bit, but was again taken to the hospital after his condition deteriorated.
 

He was put on a ventilator and then on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support, but his condition continued to deteriorate," an official of the hospital said.
 

Bandyopadhyay was with ETV Bangla, 24 Ghanta and then with Anandabazar Patrika's digital unit before moving to TV9 Bangla as the channel's first Editor. He returned to Zee 24 Ghanta as its editor just before this year's assembly elections in West Bengal.
 

"Saddened at the passing away of Anjan Bandyopadhyay, one of the best-known television anchors in Bengal. He was a bright, young and dynamic journalist," the chief minister said in a statement.
 

"I have no words to express my condolences to his family and his colleagues in the fraternity. His Ma, wife Aditi, daughter Titli, his elder brother Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who is the Chief Secretary of the State," she said.
 

The Press Club, Kolkata, also condoled his death.
 

9:14 PM

Coronavirus fears: 30 deaths in two weeks in V K Singh's village, says sarpanch

Over 30 people have died in Union minister V K Singh's ancestral village Bapora in the past two weeks, its sarpanch said Sunday as the unusually high number of deaths raised concerns that Covid-19 could be the cause.
 

Village head Naresh Kumar said many of these people had showed symptoms of the disease, but only three tested positive.
 

“They had symptoms like fever and cough but did not get themselves tested. So the real cause behind their deaths remains unknown,” he said.
 

He said many of them were elderly.
 

District authorities have stationed an ambulance in the village in Bhiwani district and have screened all residents for the disease, an official said.
 

According to the sarpanch, the village with a population of about 20,000 normally sees “one or two deaths” in a week. But there were many more during the past fortnight.
 

One day, there were seven or eight deaths in the village, he said, and all cremation spots were occupied. “This was frightening for the villagers," he said.

He said many villagers had been reluctant to undergo the coronavirus test.
 

Health department officials have now stepped up testing and screening in Bapora to check the spread of the infection, he said.
 

9:13 PM

Record 70 Covid-19 deaths in Himachal

The coronavirus death toll rose to 2,311 in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday with record 70 more fatalities, while 2,378 new infections took the infection tally to 1,60,240, an official said.
 

Out of the fresh deaths, the highest 30 were in Kangra district alone. The number of active cases in the state stands at 36,909, according to data.
 

The highest 11,579 active cases were in the worst-hit Kangra district.
 

The number of recoveries increased to 1,20,990 with 2,378 more people recuperating from the infection, the official said.

9:12 PM

Tamil Nadu receives third Oxygen Express from Jharkhand

Tamil Nadu has received its third Oxygen Express from Jharkhand taking the total capacity of medical oxygen delivered to the southern State to 151.4 tonne, Southern Railway said on Sunday.
 

The express from Tatanagar, Jharkhand, arrived at the Inland container depot, Tondiarpet, here, at 10 AM today. The train brought 40 tonne of liquid medical oxygen, a press release said.
 

Already, Tamil Nadu has received two such expresses from Odisha and West Bengal to serve Covid-19 patients.
 

"With the arrival of the third, the total capacity of the liquid medical oxygen is 151.4 tonne," the release said.
 

Southern Railway said the fourth and fifth loaded oxygen expresses from Rourkela and Tata Steel Siding at Kalinganagar, Odisha, are in transit and are expected to arrive here on Monday.
 

Meanwhile, an oxygen express left Chennai with four empty containers to Rourkela.
 

As of Saturday, Tamil Nadu reported 33,658 new Covid-19 infections in the single biggest day spike so far, pushing the caseload to 15.65 lakh overall and the 303 deaths to a total of 17,359 till date.
 

9:11 PM

UP gearing up to tackle Covid's possible 3rd wave, black fungus infection: CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said the state government is alive to the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19 and the spread of black fungus infection among cured patients and is readying itself to tackle them.
 

He said the state government is focusing on ensuring awareness and treatment of the black fungus infection, which has emerged as a “challenge” for the people who have recovered from Covid-19.
 

Apprehensions have been expressed about a possible third wave of the coronavirus in the state, Adityanath said, adding “the government is already preparing an action plan to effectively check the third wave”.
 

The chief minister made these remarks while addressing reporters during his visit to Noida to review the Covid-19 situation.
 

Mentioning the “new challenge” of black fungus infection among cured Covid patients, the chief minister said the state government has issued an advisory regarding it besides conducting virtual meetings with health officials and medical colleges in every district.
 

The chief minister talked of the black fungus infection or mucormycosis a day after AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria attributed the new malady to the misuse of steroids in the treatment of Covid-19 patients and asked hospitals to follow the infection control protocols.
 

8:57 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Haryana CM urges farmers to withdraw protests

8:45 PM

Truckers demand relief as losses mount to Rs 42,000 cr due to lockdowns

With around 65 per cent of the total truck fleet in the country out of the road owing to lockdown and lockdown-like conditions in most of the states, the truck industry losses have mounted to around Rs 42,000 crore from the start of the fiscal till mid of this month, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has said.

 

The transport sector, which is the lifeline of the nation and essential services provider to the people of the country, bears the first impact of the lockdowns and the curfews, it said. Read here

8:26 PM

Triple lockdown in 4 Kerala districts kicks in from May 16 midnight

Triple lockdown will come into effect in four Kerala districts reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, from Sunday midnight and remain in force till May 23.

 

The boundaries of the Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts will be sealed as part of the administration's bid to arrest the massive spread of coronavirus, while the current lockdown will continue in the other 10 districts of the state.

 

According to the guidelines issued by the Thiruvananthapuram district administration, shops dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and fish, animal fodder, poultry and cattle feed, bakeries will be open on alternate days starting from Monday onwards. (PTI)

8:17 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra sees 974 deaths in a day

8:07 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: West Bengal reports 19,117 new cases

West Bengal reports 19,117 new coronavirus cases, 19,113 discharges and 147 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:00 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai sees 1,544 new cases in last 24 hours

7:39 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka registers 31,531 new cases

Karnataka registers 31,531 new coronavirus cases, 36,475 discharges and 403 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.

7:30 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,314 new cases in Goa