Passenger train services to resume, scientists study virus origin: Covid-19 news today

Here is a preview of the top Covid-19 news today from India and the world.

The government announced on Sunday the gradual resumption of passenger train services from this week even as authorities laid down guidelines for factories that are reopening with the easing of lockdown norms in certain areas. Meanwhile, a new study suggested that the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, might have originated from a recombination of coronaviruses in bats and pangolins.

The rail network of India would run nearly 14,000 passenger trains and ferry 23 million passengers a day before the lockdown. (AFP file photo)

Trains to restart tomorrow, bookings open online today

The Indian Railways will resume passenger services gradually with trains to 15 destinations from May 12, the government announced on Sunday, green-lighting the operations close to two months after it stopped them as part of a strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Read more

India sees biggest jump in new coronavirus cases but recoveries hit 20,000

The number of people who have so far recovered after contracting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country crossed 20,000 on Sunday, with a recuperating rate of 31.2%, or about one in every three patients, even as the number of infections of Sars-CoV-2 crossed 67,000. Read more

Covid-19: What you need to know today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting chief ministers of states for the fifth time in 51 days on Monday. There’s exactly a week to May 17, a date that can be called either the end of the first phase of India’s graded exit from the lockdown, or the extension of the second phase of the lockdown but with the easing of some restrictions. Read more

Guidelines for factories to resume operations safely

The first week in which factories reopen after the national lockdown must be used as a trial period in which safety protocols are ensured and high production targets are not set, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in detailed guidelines issued on Sunday. Read more

Ensure adherence to guidelines: Govt to states ahead of PM meet

The Centre told states on Sunday to ensure strict adherence of containment zone guidelines and clear demarcation of the areas with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, adding that they should not let any relaxation of the national lockdown lead to chaos, a development that came a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meet with chief ministers. Read more

CBSE charts plan to hold remaining exams

The logistics seem daunting. Hundreds of thousands of students appearing for a test, the need to make sure social distancing norms are observed in these days of the coronavirus disease and students and invigilators get safely to the examination centres. Read more

Central teams chart Covid plan with states, flag gaps

The Centre has sent at least 50 health and disaster response teams to various states since March when cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) started rising to assist state governments in managing cases and containing the spread of infection. Read more

Migrant workers battle stigma, bias back home

Migrant workers returning from India’s industrial states are battling stigma and bias in their home villages in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha because local residents suspect that the labourers are potential carriers of the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19 . Read more

New rise in Covid infections raises fears of a second wave

New clusters of coronavirus infections are igniting concerns about a second wave even as calls grow in some countries to relax restrictions even further. Read more

Govt sends aid to Indian Ocean states

India has despatched a warship with two medical teams and medical supplies to help authorities in the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles combat Covid-19, symbolising the importance attached by New Delhi to its maritime neighbourhood. Read more

25 Chinese items may face extension of dumping duty

India may extend anti-dumping duties and safeguards on more than two dozen Chinese goods ranging from calculators and USB drives to steel, solar cells and Vitamin E amid concern that a flood of imports would kill domestic manufacturers who will lose duty protection soon against such products , two officials aware of the development said. Read more

One man, 8 profiles and an elaborate hoax

Sameer Chaturvedi woke up on April 1 to a raft of WhatsApp messages. His college friends were discussing the paucity of ventilators to treat Covid-19. On his extended family group, relatives were blaming people who attended a religious congregation in New Delhi for the outbreak. Read more

Regulator approves first trial of lab-grown antibody drug

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Sunday approved the first multi-centric trial of Tocilizumab in India after the second-line drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis emerged as a treatment option for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Read more

ICMR develops test kit to detect Covid antibodies

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed ‘Covid Kavach ELISA’, a test kit for detection of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) antibodies, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan announced on Sunday. Read more

Covid may have originated from recombined bat, pangolin coronaviruses

A new study has suggested that the Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, might have originated from a recombination of coronaviruses in a bat and pangolin. The findings strengthen the theory that pangolins could be the intermediate host for transmission of Sars-CoV-2 to humans. Read more