Coronavirus India News Live Highlights: We're preparing for third COVID-19 wave since last month, says Uddhav Thackeray

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Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Union Health Secy Rajesh Bhushan along with Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr VK Paul chaired high-level meeting today with eastern states of Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar & Jharkhand to assess arrangements regarding containment & management of COVID19 pandemic.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 'Corona curfew' has been extended till May 10 in the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, says state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal. 

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Maharashtra reports 57,640 fresh COVID19 positive cases, 57,006 discharges, and 920 deaths

Maharashtra reports 57,640 fresh COVID19 positive cases, 57,006 discharges, and 920 deaths

Total cases: 48,80,542
Total active cases: 6,41,596
Total recoveries: 41,64,098
Death toll: 72,662 pic.twitter.com/79SuP8SkwQ

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray: Central governments scientific body has warned about third wave of COVID. We're preparing for that since last month. Several districts are seeing a decline in COVID cases while some districts are seeing an increase in cases.We're keeping a close tab on it.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Kerala reports the highest single-day rise of 41,953 new COVID19 cases

Kerala reports the highest single-day rise of 41,953 new COVID19 cases & 58 deaths. Active cases stand at 3,75,658 in the state, 23,106 recovered. Total 13,62,363 patients recovered so far, while 5,565 deaths have been reported till now: Kerala Chief Minister

(File photo) pic.twitter.com/d8fLoVNKEW

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Banks should stop all recovery proceedings considering the pandemic situation people are going through. Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Kerala Water Authority (KWA) have been asked to stop collect pending bill arrears for two months.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Kerala is going through a serious situation with COVID spreading rapidly in the state. Test positivity rate is not coming down. The situation calls for imposing more restrictions in the state.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Passengers entering West Bengal via long-distance trains, inter-state buses must carry RT-PCR negative report, says CM Mamata Banerjee

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Jharkhand makes COVID test, week-long quarantine mandatory for all migrant workers returning to state

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 11-day lockdown underway in COVID-rattled Bihar

An 11-day complete lockdown, imposed in the wake of a state-wide COVID 19 surge on an unprecedented scale, got underway on Wednesday in Bihar where the authorities had a tough time ensuring compliance from people. Police personnel had begun patrolling the streets since early in the morning, anticipating heavy rush and overcrowding between 7 A.M. and 11 A.M., the four-hour period during which shops selling vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, and grocery items have been allowed to do business.

Owners of many shops, not dealing in items deemed as essentials, faced a rude shock as they were made to down their shutters, besides being slapped with fines, by the men in uniform. The policemen were also seen striking their canes against the ground at many places to scare away and disperse people who had come out to make purchases and gathered at shops or around hand-pulled vegetable and fruit carts throwing physical distancing norms to the winds.

Many motorcycle-borne youths, loitering around to enjoy high-speed rides on the deserted streets, tried to brazen it out when stopped by police personnel whom they told with a sheepish grin that they had come out for "hawakhori" (breath of fresh air). Some of them ended up being fined and even their vehicles being impounded. The luckier ones were let off after being made to undergo, in public, the humiliation of doing squats with their hands grabbing their earlobes.

Some of the businessmen and residents, whose behaviour was deemed to be recalcitrant, also ended up being arrested. The number of arrests made, vehicles seized and amount of money recovered by way of fines is likely to be provided by the state police headquarters by the evening.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Centre to allot additional food grains under PMGKAY as more states opt for lockdown

In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet on May 5 approved the allocation of additional foodgrain under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana Phase for two months. The Centre will provide 5 kg foodgrain per person for free in May and June. This is expected to benefit 79.88 crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA), including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Centre had launched PMGKAY in March last year after the country went into a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state/UT-wise allocation of wheat/rice shall be decided by the Department of Food & Public Distribution on the basis of the existing allocation ratio under NFSA, it added. PMO also said that the Department of Food and Public Distribution may decide on the extension of the lifting/distribution period under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. A decision will be taken keeping in mind partial and local lockdown situations, and adverse weather conditions like monsoon, cyclones, supply chain and COVID-induced constraints.