Hyderabad: The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday informed that that 79 per cent of the new confirmed coronavirus cases in the country were reported from 10 states and Union Territories (UT). These 10 states/UTs include Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The country reported 43,893 new COVID-19 infections, taking the total cases surged to 79,90,322 on Wednesday.
Delhi
Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday announced that all government and private schools in the national capital to remain closed until next order. Schools in the national capital are closed since March, days before the lockdown was announced to curb the coronavirus transmission. Meanwhile, Union Minister Smriti Irani has tested positive for Covid-19, she tweeted on Wednesday. The MP from Amethi has requested those who came in her contact to get a Covid test at the earliest.
Maharashtra
As the Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra appears to be coming under control, the state government on Wednesday mooted throwing open the suburban local trains in Mumbai for everybody, in a phased manner. Ahead of the fresh set of Unlock guidelines, the state has written to the General Managers of Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) and the Commissioner of Police, Railways on the proposal. The government has also suggested a schedule with timings for the general commuters - who are not part of the essential services - permitting them to travel during the non-peak hours.
Uttar Pradesh
There is good news for tipplers. After about seven months, liquor shops in Uttar Pradesh will evert to the pre-Covid timing of 10 a.m to 10 p.m. An order to this effect was issued by the Excise Department on Tuesday and will be applicable to all liquor shops located outside Covid-19 containment zones. Liquor shops that had shut down during the lockdown, were allowed to reopen on May 4. However, they could operate only till 7 p.m. then. Subsequently, when the government announced weekend curbs to stop the spread of the virus, it made the closure rule applicable to liquor vends as well.
Kerala
It was another day of high coronavirus cases in Kerala as 8,790 more infectees were found on Wednesday after testing of 66,980 samples in the past 24 hours. The positivity rate has continued to hover around 13 to 14 per cent in the past two weeks. Health Minister KK Shailaja said active cases in Kerala total 93,264 whereas 3,16,692 patients have been cured so far. The day also saw 27 more Covid-19 deaths, taking the total death toll to 1,403.
Telangana
Telangana on Wednesday reported 1,481 new COVID cases, taking the state's tally to 2,34,152. After reporting a daily count of less than 1,000 for three days due to fewer tests, the cases surged to over 1,400 as the authorities conducted 40,081 tests. The authorities had drastically reduced the number of daily tests due to week-end and Dussehra holidays and this had led to a big drop in the number of cases. Four deaths during the last 24 hours pushed the death toll to 1,319. The fatality stands at 0.56 per cent against the national average of 1.5 per cent.
Also Read: Smriti Irani tests positive for COVID-19
