Coronavirus: India reports biggest spike in deaths; Armed forces pay tribute to health workers

Migrant workers queue to board a special train going to Agra in Uttar Pradesh state during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, at Sabarmati Railway Station on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on May 2, 2020. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)


The coronavirus cases in the country neared the 40,000-mark on Sunday, of the 39,980 confirmed cases, 10,633 are recovered, while 28,046 are active cases. India reported the biggest single-day jump in the number of coronavirus patients and deaths with 2,644 new cases in the last 24 hours, including 83 deaths.

To express their gratitude to the COVID-19 warriors, the armed forces is conducting aerial fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and shower flower petals on several hospitals across the country. The thanks-giving activities will start with laying of wreaths at the police memorial in Delhi and in several other cities on Sunday morning to honour the police personnel deployed for enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, officials said. It will be followed by fly-pasts by fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, covering a sizeable number of cities and towns across the country beginning 10 AM, officials said.

The lockdown is set to ease from tomorrow in parts of the country that are identified as Orange and Green zones. Strict restrictions will continue to be in place in worst-hit districts marked as “Red Zones”.

Meanwhile, China reported two new coronavirus cases for 2 May, up from one the day before, data from the country’s national health authority showed on Sunday. One case was imported and the other was local, the National Health Commission (NHC) said. The number of confirmed cases in China has reached 82,877. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained at 4,633, reports The Guardian.

COVID-19 has infected almost 3.4 million people worldwide. 2.44 lakh people have died so far, with most fatalities from the United States (65,416), followed by Italy (28,710), and the United Kingdom (28,204).