The number of coronavirus cases in India reached 19,984 on Wednesday, including 15,474 active cases and 640 deaths. Maharashtra reported the highest infections (5,218), followed by Gujarat (2,178) and Delhi (2,156).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah interacted with doctors from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) via video-conference, and assured them of their safety, reported news agency ANI. He appealed to them to withdraw the symbolic protest they had proposed to counter the violence against doctors.
Meanwhile, global deaths passed 175,000 so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There are more than 2.5 million confirmed cases worldwide.
The Guardian reports, United Nations warned of ‘famines of biblical proportions’. David Beasley, chief of the UN’s food relief agency told the Guardian that urgent action must be taken to prevent widespread famines across more than 30 countries in the developing world, pushing at least 265 million people to the brink of starvation.
The US state of Missouri sued China’s leadership over coronavirus, seeking damages over what it described as deliberate deception and insufficient action to stop the pandemic. The Guardian reports, a leading US public health official warned on Tuesday that a new wave of coronavirus hitting the US next winter could be “even more difficult” for America to deal with than the current outbreak because it would coincide with the traditional flu season.