Coronavirus live updates: Assam eases curbs; weekend lockdowns to stay

Congress leader Digambar Kamat on Wednesday demanded a ban on masks with tricolour and Ashok Chakra printed on it, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct all states not to allow selling of such masks.Taking to Twitter, former chief minister of Goa protested the masks with the colours and pattern of the national flag which are being sold ahead of the 74th Independence Day.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the Covid-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones. The UN chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic that his March 23 call for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting.

India has climbed to the number four position — behind US, Brazil and Mexico — 13 days after it overtook Italy to emerge as the fifth worst-affected country in terms of total Covid casualties. Britain’s casualties, according to worldometer, as on Wednesday night India time stood at 46,706.

He says, "Like we chased British out of India & got Independence, I want to give a message that people should take precautions so that we can chase COVID-19 out of India."

One of President Donald Trump's top negotiators with congressional Democrats on U.S. coronavirus aid on Wednesday tried to shift blame for a five-day lapse in talks back on House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disputed a statement from Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that said Republicans had invited more talks but refused to budge from their initial offer of a $1 trillion response that is less than a third of what the Democratic-controlled House passed in May.

A Brazilian technology institute said on Wednesday it expects to produce a controversial coronavirus Russian vaccine by the second half of 2021, shortly after the state of Parana signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow.

The Trump administration will unveil eight new measures on Wednesday for US schools to follow as they reopen to increase protection against the coronavirus pandemic, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said.

A Brazil labor judge on Wednesday gave meat producer JBS SA 10 days to medically screen workers at its Garibaldi chicken plant and also pay for COVID-19 testing for every worker, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Reuters.More than 900 people work at the plant in Rio Grande do Sul state, of which 230 have already tested positive for the novel coronavirus, prosecutors who sought the order said, citing data from local health services.

Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, India celebrated Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, with much fervour. However, temples were seen following strict guidelines to contain the spread of the virus.

With its second-highest single-day tally of 934 fresh deaths on Wednesday, which took the total fatalities to 47,065, India surpassed Britain and climbed to the number four position on the Covid list. Thirteen days ago, India had overtaken Italy to emerge as the fifth worst-hit country. However, India’s case fatality rate of 2 is much lower than many other countries as is its deaths per million (34). India registered its second-highest single-day peak at 64,610 cases, taking the country’s caseload to 23,91,650.

Covid-19 has impacted adversely almost all initiatives which usually go on to contribute to peacebuilding, India said on Wednesday and noted that the disease in some ways has served to exacerbate conflict situations to the extent that countries are required to tackle more strife and conflict as well as a growing humanitarian crisis rather than address some of the other important issues relating to peacebuilding.