Daily News summary: 11.05.2020

COVID Times: The number of positive cases reported in India is 70,768 with 2,295 deaths. In a video call with chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Modi said a full exit from the closure would not be possible.

Indian railways will operate 15 pairs of air-conditioned trains from today. Among the new regulations, all passengers must undergo a thermal inspection at the station and must arrive at the station 90 minutes before the train leaves.

The railways have stated that minimum reserve counters will be open on the routes of these trains for parliamentarians and freedom fighters, among others, while reservations will only be available on the IRCTC website ( www.irctc.co.in) for passengers with overhead costs. Ticket concessions can only be used by patients, students and people with disabilities, while no concessions for the elderly apply.

The Supreme Court will hear a petition asking the central government for instructions to identify and transport with dignity each worker trapped in his home. Special trains run to transport migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and others stranded in various parts of the country due to the closure.

The Kerala government plans to implement a COVID-19 inspection of the airport model at three stations, where trains will stop. The stops in Kerala are the stations of Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.

Citing growing cases of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday urged the Prime Minister not to resume scheduled air and rail services in the state until May 31.

With thousands of migrants continuing to reach Bihar every day, more than 170 of them have been found infected with COVID-19 in the past week. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is currently seeking more tests on migrants to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The migrants’ samples were taken from 25 quarantine centers where mainly those from the red zones reside.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Monday called for an extension of the lockdown, but with a carefully crafted strategy, backed by state fiscal and economic empowerment, to save lives and secure livelihoods. Clearly favoring the continuation of a strict lockdown, given the escalation of Covid cases nationwide, the Chief Minister said during a videoconference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that states should be given a greater flexibility in micro-planning as part of a carefully planned outing strategy.

The first flight back from Dubai to the city as part of the Vande Bharat mission will land on Tuesday at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA).

All mosques in Iran will reopen today, another step in the government’s plans to ease restrictions on containing the spread of the coronavirus.

The future of a British government program that pays the wages of more than 6 million workers in companies affected by the coronavirus will be announced on Tuesday. The job retention scheme, which pays 80% of the salary of staff on temporary leave, will expire at the end of June.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the country’s period of inactivity imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus would be lifted.