While addressing the daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said the total number of cases stand at 46,433 and the death toll at 1,568. The crossing of the figure of 1500 has raised concerns in Indians

The first day of the third phase of lockdown saw crowds across the country defying social distancing norms at many places including liquor shops. This influenced Delhi’s decision to increase liquor prices by 70 per cent. In Gujarat and Kerala, protests by migrant workers also saw a large number of people out on the streets.The West Bengal government Monday launched an app for people from other states who are stranded in West Bengal due to the lockdown, Home secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said. A large number of people who are stuck in the state can access the app for getting online permission to leave the state.

“Persons willing to go back to their native states can apply online through this ‘Exit app’ and permission for the same will be practically automatic and extremely easy,” the Home secretary said.He also requested the nodal officers of all neighbouring states to ease the exit of such people for reaching their native places.Telengana State Government said 40 special trains would be deployed everyday for a week to ferry stranded migrants in different parts of the state.

A statement release from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office late night Monday said that the trains will start from various stations in the city including Warangal, Khammam and Ramagundam among other places.
The destinations of these trains will be various places in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, it said, three days after the first such special train carrying 1,200 workers was operated from Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand after the Railways acceded to the request of the state government.

Three naval ships to evacuate Indians from Maldives and UAE
India sent three naval ships to evacuate its stranded citizens in the Maldives and the UAE, a defence spokesperson said Tuesday. This comes after the government Monday announced that the process of evacuating Indians stranded abroad would begin on 7 May.

NS Jalashwa deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for Maldives on Monday night, he said. While INS Shardul diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates, the spokesperson added. The three ships will return to Kochi, he said.

Special evacuation flights for Indians stuck in US to begin this week
The special evacuation flights for thousands of Indians stranded in the US due to the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions are most likely to begin this week from San Francisco and other cities, according to officials.

After the Indian government announced special flights facilitating the return of Indians stranded abroad from 7 May, the flights could take off from San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington DC, with exact dates yet to announced, the officials said.

More flights are likely to be scheduled in the coming weeks as large number of Indian students and visitors are stranded in the US because of the strict travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Through an online registration from the Indian embassy and its consulates in the US last week started preparing a list of Indians planning to travel back home.