India cases cross 50k, public transport may resume soon: Covid-19 news today

Coronavirus disease cases in India crossed 50,000 with 3,490 infections and 98 fatalities on Wednesday. The last 10,000 cases were reported in three days. Despite the lockdown, Covid-19 doubling rate decreased to 10.3 days from the earlier 11.5 days in a worrying sign. Meanwhile, Union highways and road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said public transport may resume soon with measures related to social distancing and hygiene in place.

Covid-19 update: 50,000 cases and counting, fresh spikes in urban centres

The number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the country crossed 50,000 on Wednesday, nearly doubling over the course of 11 days, even as limited reopening of businesses made necessary by a sluggish economy triggered worries of another wave of the contagion across hot spots. Read more

French researcher flags Aarogya flaws, govt denies

The Union government’s Aarogya Setu application has vulnerabilities that could compromise the identity and movement of the millions of Indians who use it, according to a French computer researcher who posted a technical analysis of the flaws on Wednesday, and ostensibly illustrated how he could determine whether someone reported being infected at sensitive locations such as Parliament. Read more

Covid-19: What you need to know today

On May 5, there were 2,991 new cases of Covid-19 in India. I’ve explained previously that this doesn’t mean all 2,991 cases were discovered in the preceding 24 hours – just that the numbers were being reported in that period. Read more

Covid-19 update: Migrants bitter about being forced to work against their wishes

Anger and disappointment coursed through the migrant worker population in Karnataka a day after the state cancelled special trains to take the labourers home even as other states insisted they had no intention of following suit. Read more

‘Have to get used to the virus, expect flights to start soon’: Hardeep Puri

Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri talks about the government’s mammoth plan to evacuate stranded Indians, coordinating with the states to ensure their quarantine, the resumption of domestic flights and public transport in an interview to Hindustan Times. Read more

Covid-19 lockdown: Public transport may resume soon, says Nitin Gadkari

Public transport may resume soon with measures related to social distancing and hygiene in place as the resumption along with reopening of highways will go a long way in instilling confidence among the public, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said Wednesday. Read more

Covid-19 pandemic: India’s Services activity dips to lowest ever

India’s services sector, accounting for more than half of the nation’s gross domestic product, collapsed to the lowest level in the world, stoking fears that the economy is headed for a recession as a crushing lockdown shut businesses and kept consumers indoors. Read more

Congress asks Centre to spell out Covid-19 lockdown exit strategy

Several Congress chief ministers on Wednesday accused the Union government of taking decisions arbitrarily and not consulting them on key issues such as the classification of Covid-19 zones, while party chief Sonia Gandhi asked the Centre to spell out its lockdown exit strategy. Read more

Covid-19 update: Labour ministry helplines get over 10,000 distress calls

“We have run out of food. Can you please ask someone to come and help us?’’ This was the SOS call that Suraj Pal, a factory worker from Faridabad, placed to the labour helpline on Tuesday. Read more

Chemists asked to stock up on 55 key drugs given to Covid-19 patients

Wholesalers and retailers of drugs have been asked to maintain stocks of 55 drugs given to Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) and 96 medicines used for treating other chronic co-morbidities that increase the risk of complications and deaths. Read more

Indian bizman, cook land in Delhi aboard Zambia evacuation plane

When a Royal Air Charters special flight landed in New Delhi on Wednesday to ferry back Zambian nationals from the Capital and Mumbai, it had on board two passengers who were not supposed to be there -- an Indian businessman and his cook. Read more

Flip-flop over coronavirus task force marks Donald Trump’s day out

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he intended to keep the coronavirus task force “indefinitely”, reversing his earlier plan to wind it down. The panel will be repurposed to focus on “safety and reopening”, Trump tweeted less than 12 hours after saying he wanted to replace it with “something different” for phase two, the reopening of the country. Read more

What will the new normal be like for athletes in training?

Empty stadiums, antibody tests, not using locker rooms, showering only when they get home, no sharing of equipment, no running in the slipstream of others—these are just some things that may become the new normal for athletes as they return to training in the Covid-19 environment. Read more