India records 3,390 new coronavirus cases in one day— tally crosses 56,000-mark

• With 3,390 new cases and 103 deaths, the coronavirus tally in India crossed the 56,000-mark on Friday (May 8).
• Of the total 56,342 cases, 37,916 are active while 16,539 people have recovered, and 1,886 are dead.
• Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with the total number of cases rising to 17,974, followed by Gujarat which reported 7,012 cases and Delhi with 5,980 cases.
• At least 77 inmates of the Arthur Road Central Jail and 26 police personnel posted there have tested Covid-19 positive, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said.

With 3,390 new cases and 103 deaths, the coronavirus tally in India crossed the 56,000-mark on Friday (May 8), according to the Union Health Ministry data.

Of the total 56,342 cases, 37,916 are active while 16,539 people have recovered, and 1,886 are dead.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state with the total number of cases rising to 17,974, followed by Gujarat which reported 7,012 cases and Delhi with 5,980 cases.

There are a total of 5,409 cases reported in Tamil Nadu. Madhya Pradesh has reported 3,252 while Rajasthan has 3,427 cases so far. A total of 3,071 cases have been reported in Uttar Pradesh.

States and union territories (UTs) which have reported less than 10 cases so far are Arunachal Pradesh, Dadar Nagar Haveli, Manipur, Mizoram, Goa and Puducherry.


Himachal Pradesh tally rises to 48, one more test positive

One more person tested positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Friday (May 8), taking the total number of cases in the state to 48, an official said.

This has turned the tide for Hamirpur, which had become coronavirus-free on April 29 after the last two patients in the district tested negative for the infection.

The patient — a 42-year-old man from Bijhari town in Bijhri tehsil — returned to Hamirpur from Delhi on April 29, Deputy Commissioner Hairkesh Meena said.

The man's samples were sent for testing on Thursday (May 7), and his report came back positive on Friday (May 8), Meena told PTI. He has been admitted to Radha Soami Charitable Hospital in Hamirpur's Bhota and an area within three kilometres of his residence has been declared a containment zone as per protocol, he added.

J&K scales up COVID-19 testing facilities

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has scaled-up sampling and testing facilities, with over 3,000 samples and 1.000 tests on a daily basis, an official spokesperson said.

The administration has taken a combination of containment and mitigation measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by carrying out contact tracing, limiting travel and quarantining citizens.

"It has scaled up its sampling and testing capabilities significantly to reduce the spread and impact of the virus," the spokesperson said.

The increased sampling and testing has become all the more important as the migrant workers and students belonging to the Union territory are returning back to their home districts, the spokesperson said.

24 BSF personnel test positive for COVID-19 in Tripura; the state's count rises to 88

A total of 24 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on Thursday (May 7), taking the number of novel coronavirus cases in the state to 88, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.

All the fresh cases were reported in the 86th battalion headquarters of the BSF located at Ambassa in Dhalai district, he said.

Deb, who also holds the health and home portfolios, said in a late-night tweet on May 7 urged the people not to panic and said the government is working vigilantly.

Earlier, 62 personnel of the BSF's 138th battalion headquarters, located near that of the 86th battalion, had tested positive for COVID-19. Of the 88 COVID-19 patients, two have recovered.

Additional Chief Secretary S K Rakesh earlier in the evening said 916 samples of BSF personnel and civilians from Dhalai district have been sent for tests.

MP records highest one-day corona positive cases

Madhya Pradesh recorded a sudden rise in corona positive cases with 117 more test positive by Thursday (May 7) night. The state tally jumped from 3,138 to 3,255.

There are 1,699 patients in Indore and 656 in Bhopal. With 46 new cases, capital Bhopal notched the highest one-day tally on Thursday (May 7). The victims include a senior IPS office. However, two of his reports were found negative. Bhopal reported four corona deaths on the second consecutive day.

Seven deaths were reported in the state on Thursday (May 7) including a three-month-old girl child in Jabalpur. So far, 190 have succumbed to the virus in the state.

Ujjain, the new hotspot, reported 16 new patients, including a 7-month-old baby. Jhabua and Neemuch moved from Green zone to Orange with five cases each.


BMC books 3,343 isolation rooms in 88 hotels for Indian arrivals

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has booked 3,343 rooms in 88 city hotels to accommodate stranded Indians who will return from different parts of the world starting Friday (May 8), said BMC Spokesperson Vijay Khabale-Patil.

Around 1,900 Indians shall be brought back to Mumbai, in seven special flights that have been operational since May 7 to and from various destinations worldwide, and the incoming passengers would be sent for compulsory 14 days quarantine.

The flights shall be arriving from Bangladesh, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, United Kingdom and the USA, said Patil.

As a precaution, all the passengers would be sent to quarantine where they will undergo COVID-19 tests, and if found Positive, they will be admitted to hospitals for treatment.

77 inmates, 26 cops of Mumbai Arthur Road jail test positive

In a big shock for the health authorities, at least 77 inmates of the Arthur Road Central Jail and 26 police personnel posted there have tested Covid-19 positive, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday (May 7).

The virus has struck one barrack of the city's biggest and most well-known jail — housing more than 2,800 inmates — besides several hundred security persons manning the prison where once the 26/11, 2008 terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab was also kept till he was hanged in November 2012.

"Recently, in one of the barracks, we found a positive case after which all the inmates and police personnel posted underwent health checks. From these, 77 inmates and 26 policemen are found Covid-19 positive," Deshmukh said.

They are all being admitted to the state-run Saint. George Hospital in South Mumbai, he said.

Here are the latest number of cases across states as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website.