Coronavirus live updates: 'India to take call on int'l flights when other nations ease curbs'

Former Santosh Trophy Footballer, E Hamsakoya, who had tested positive, succumbed to the virus early Saturday at a hospital, taking the toll due to the infection in Kerala to 15. Native of nearby Parappanangadi, Hamsakoya (61) had settled in Mumbai. Hamsakoya's five family members have also tested positive and are undergoing treatment.

"We have the lowest number of deaths from the coronavirus that we have had since this started - 42 people passed yesterday. While our hearts ache for those families who lost loved ones yesterday, just eight weeks ago, we had 800 deaths per day," governor Cuomo said. There are a total of 376,208 confirmed cases in the New York State and the number of daily deaths has been below the 100 mark since late May after recording nearly thousand daily deaths in April.

"Some senior officers engaged in COVID duty have been spared to attend to their original administrative responsibilities. They performed very well under trying circumstances. We thank them for their dedication," Chief Secretary A K Tripathy wrote on his official twitter handle.

According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), three imported cases were reported in Guangdong Province on Friday, while two asymptomatic cases were registered. Also, two new asymptomatic cases were reported on the mainland. As of now 257 asymptomatic cases, including 177 in the first epicentre in Wuhan were still under medical observation, it said.

Hisar-based institution under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has found a compound from herbal plants which, it claims, has potential to treat coronavirus and may be repurposed for treating Covid-19 patients. “It’s a lead which gave scientists at National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) encouraging results against many viruses,” B N Tripathi, deputy director general (animal science), ICAR, told TOI on Friday.

"Of course Covid is very unfortunate and it's challenging for many nations but we need to look for opportunities too. For instance for India, this could be an opportunity to speed up Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary health care. I know there is a very strong commitment from the government to speed up the implementation of Ayushman Bharat and with primary healthcare and community engagement, I think we can really turn the tide,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.