Lockdown 5.0: Nationwide lockdown in containment zones extended up to June 30

Gilead Sciences, who is the patent holder of the drug, has the complete data about the pre-clinical and clinical studies for remdesivir, sources said. "The company has applied seeking marketing authorisation for its anti-viral drug remdesivir to India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The CDSCO will examine the application with the help of the expert committee. It will take a final decision based on the recommendations of the expert committee," a source said.

Delhi government on Friday decided to take over five starred hotels for conversion into temporary hospitals to augment the beds available for Covid-19 patients. The hotels will be linked with the nearest private hospital designated as a Covid hospital. The government has also enlisted 10 other hotels for paid isolation stay for people with mild and pre-symptomatic Covid-19 signs.

Total number of cases in the country now at 1,73,763 including 86422 active cases, 82370 cured/discharged/migrated and 4971 deaths.

South Korea on Saturday reported 39 new cases of the coronavirus, most of them in the densely populated Seoul area where officials have linked scores of infections to warehouse workers. Figures from South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,441 confirmed cases and 269 deaths. At least 12 of the new cases were linked to international arrivals.

Pakistan has resumed its international flight operations after the government eased some of the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a notification issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. A govt spokesperson said that both national and foreign airlines will be allowed to operate from all international airports of Pakistan except Gwadar and Turbat.

Children, aged between 5 to 13 years, who are showing up mysterious syndromes, such as fevers, rashes and strange blood readings, post the coronavirus surge in the United States, may have been experiencing a 'cytokine storm'-- a condition where the body starts to attack its own cells and tissues rather than just fighting off the virus, a study has found. The Washington Post cited the study, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, claiming that the mysterious syndrome has been linked to COVID-19 and have developed almost exactly one month after the peak of coronavirus surge across the states, especially New York City.

Chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday evening welcomed the 60 migrants, who were stranded in Ladakh, and brought back to Jharkhand by air. Officials in CMO said Jharkhand government paid Rs 8 lakh in total to arrange for the migrants’ return. The migrants, who were mainly from the Santhal Pargana division, came in an Indigo flight from Delhi’s IGI Airport a little after 7.30pm. They had gone to the Union Territory in September 2019 as construction workers and were stuck in Gorgodoh village in the Batalik sector after the lockdown was announced.

Transport Minister Govind Singh Thakur said that during the lockdown around Rs 160 crore loss was incurred upon Himachal Pradesh Road and Transport Corporation while Rs 600 crore has been estimated as a loss of wages in different transport sectors. "Keeping in mind the demands of the public, over 2,200 buses will start operation in different districts of the state. Buses will not be allowed to move in containment zone areas," he said.

In order to punish those who were out on streets unnecessarily during the lockdown, Madhya Pradesh police made them do sit-ups in Indore on Friday, in full public view. 87 new COVID-19 cases were found in Indore on Friday. The total number of cases in the district has climbed to 3,431, including 1,775 who have been discharged. After three more deaths due to coronavirus, the district's death toll has reached 129.

Egypt registered 34 new COVID-19 fatalities, the highest single-day surge since the pandemic hit the country in mid-February, raising the death toll to 879. The North African country also reported a single-day record of 1,289 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in Egypt to 22,082.

India has managed to smoothen the Covid -19 curve and keep fatality rate low. While increasing positivity rate is a concern, India is better placed than many other nations, ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava said. "We have now got 642 labs in the country with a vision that every state should be self-sufficient and ultimately states decide how much testing they can do," he said in an interview to TOI.

Terming Shramik Special trains “Corona Expresses”, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday blamed the railways for the sudden spike in the state’s Covid numbers. Mamata criticised the railways for ferrying migrant workers home in “cramped train compartments, often without food or water”. She took particular exception to the manner in which social distancing rules were being flouted on the trains. The Bengal CM also laid out a detailed blueprint for a gradual revival of the economy from June 1.

PM Narendra Modi, in a letter to citizens on completion of the first year of his second term on Friday, said the collective strength and resolve of people could be seen in the way India has dealt with coronavirus, as despite the “tremendous suffering” of the people, massive efforts ensured that “inconvenience” didn’t turn into “disasters”. “You have proven collective strength and potential of Indians is unparalleled compared even to the powerful and prosperous countries of the world. In a crisis of this magnitude, it can certainly not be claimed no one suffered any inconvenience or discomfort. Our labourers, migrant workers, artisans and craftsmen in small scale industries, hawkers and such fellow countrymen have undergone tremendous suffering,” he said.

Home minister Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to discuss the ongoing lockdown as well as the way ahead post-May 31, amid indications that curbs will be further eased. States are being allowed more leeway to impose restrictions with key decisions to be taken on restarting Metros and opening malls and facilities like gyms. The assessment as lockdown 4.0 ends is that the easing has so far not led to a spike — as distinct from a rise — in Covid-19 numbers while the challenge lies in a few states where cases are growing more steeply.