8.58 am: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the increased contact among people may result in “Onam clusters” amid the c...

8.58 am: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the increased contact among people may result in “Onam clusters” amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports NDTV. “The next two weeks are crucial as we may see Onam clusters being formed in the state due to increased outdoor public activity and travel during the festival time,” the chief minister says. “We can expect a hike in Covid cases.”
8.50 am: Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that five states – Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra – account for 70% of total coronavirus deaths in the country.
8.42 am: The Government Institute of Medical Sciences in Gautam Buddha Nagar claims that it has performed over one lakh RT-PCR tests for the coronavirus, the maximum by any facility in Uttar Pradesh, reports PTI.
8.38 am: The Supreme Court will hear a petition filed jointly by ministers from six non-BJP-ruled states against conducting JEE Mains and the NEET examinations amid the pandemic.
8.35 am: Two food joints in Haryana’s Murthal have been sealed after 75 workers tested positive for the coronavirus, reports PTI. Sixty-five of these tested positive at the Amrik-Sukhdev dhaba, while 10 others belonged to another food joint, says Sonipat Deputy Commissioner Shyam Lal Poonia.
8.30 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday:
- India’s coronavirus count jumped to 38,53,407 after the country reported...