Coronavirus LIVE | India cases cross 70,000 mark; WHO warns of ‘extreme vigilance’

With 3,604 coronavirus cases reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of infections Tuesday crossed the 70,000-mark to reach 70,756 including the 22,454 people who have been treated and discharged so far. The death toll also rose to 2,293. According to the Home Ministry, the recovery rate stands at 31.15 per cent.

As many as 288 people stranded in the USA and UAE arrived at the international airport on board two Air India flights on Monday as part of the off-shore evacuation drive of Indian Citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission during the COVID-19 lockdown.

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Indian Railways will run to full capacity from Tuesday and said that all the passengers will be thermally screened at the station and they will need to arrive at the station 90 minutes prior to the departure of the train.

The Railway Ministry, in a statement, said that in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) it has been decided that train services shall be partially restored from May 12 in a graded manner.

“These special trains which are being started presently, will have only air conditioned classes — First, Second and Third tier AC. The fare structure for the special trains shall be applicable for the regular time table as Rajdhani trains, excluding catering charges,” it said.

The number of people known to have died since the pandemic began has reached at least 286,330, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University and at least 4,177,584 people are known to have been infected.

The World Health Organization warned of “extreme vigilance” as countries begin to exit lockdowns imposed to curb the virus’ spread. The warning comes after Germany reported an acceleration in new infections after easing its lockdown, and South Korea, another country that succeeded in limiting infections, saw a new outbreak in nightclubs.