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New Delhi, Mar 21: The Indian Railways has cancelled all train services on Sunday in view of the Janata Curfew called by prime minister Narendra Modi. All mail and express trains will stop services from 4 am to 10 pm on Sunday while all suburban train services will be reduced to a bare minimum.

Around 1,300 long-distance, mail express services will also stand cancelled in light of the curfew to bat Covid-19. These long distance trains will remain cancelled between 4 am to 10 pm on Sunday.

All passenger trains originating between the midnight of Saturday-Sunday will not be run till 10 pm, Sunday, a railway ministry official said.

However, the passenger train services already on run at 7 am on the day will be allowed to run to the destinations, a railway ministry circular to zonal railways issued on Friday said.

The Indian Railways operates around 9,000 passenger trains and 3,500 mail express services each day.

“We have sent a directive to all zonal railways, and they will get back with the total number of train services affected, by Saturday afternoon,” an official ET spoke with, said.

In his address to the nation on Thursday, the Prime Minister called for a ‘janta curfew’ between 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday, in a social-distancing drive amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Passengers alighting at enroute stations from trains already on run, and desirous of staying at the station, may be accommodated in the waiting rooms at railway stations, without overcrowding them, the circular said.

The ministry has advised zonal railways to arrange for hassle-free refund to passengers affected because of cancelled trains, while regulating train services on Sunday.

Meanwhile, to contain the spread of Covid-19, all the food plazas, jan aahar stalls have been advised to be shut until further notice by IRCTC.

The on-board catering services in mail express trains are to be closed until further advice, while static units supplying meals to prepaid trains in operation, will continue to function.

Bengaluru, Jul 10: Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu on Thursday said that the government is planning to increase number of COVID-19 testing labs and technicians in the state.

Speaking to news agency, Sriramulu said, "We have 72 labs where COVID-19 tests are conducted. They are under pressure with increased number of tests. When lab technicians are quarantined, it gets difficult to complete work. So we are considering to increase number of labs and technicians."

Speaking on the community transmission of COVID-19 in Bengaluru, he said, "The experts are already deliberating over the issue of community transmission. According to me the community spread has not taken place yet."

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Madhu Swamy said that the government is calling for foreign investment for which Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has been hired by the state government.

Speaking to the reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Swamy said, "We call for foreign investment in Karnataka for which we need an agency who has to coordinate, who has to bring outsiders in Karnataka to invest in the state. For that we have hired a company by name Boston consulting Group(BCG) we will be paying them Rs 1 crore for twelve months."

New Delhi, Jul 16: India’s Covid-19 tally on Thursday jumped to 968,876 after the country reported highest-ever single-day spike in coronavirus cases registering 32,695 new infections in the last 24 hours. According to the government data, India’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 24,915 after 606 fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.

The number of recovered patients in India stands at 612,814. On Wednesday, the government said that a record 20,572 patients recuperated from Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours (between Tuesday and Wednesday), taking the country’s recovery rate to 63.24 percent.

While the Covid-19 tally runs in lakhs in states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, other states have been reporting a surge in coronavirus infections. Karnataka has reported over 47,000 coronavirus cases till date but its active cases are more that of Delhi. It has overtaken Gujarat as the fourth worst-hit state in the country. Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally stands at 44,552.

Here’s taking a look at the Covid-19 situation across worst-affected states:

Maharashtra

The state Covid-19 tally jumped to 275,640 on Thursday. As many as 152,613 people have recovered from coronavirus in Maharashtra while 10,928 have died.

Tamil Nadu

With 151,820 coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu is the state with second-highest coronavirus cases in the country and has witnessed 2,167 coronavirus fatalities. The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus in the state stands at 102,310.

Delhi

The national capital is the third worst-hit in India with coronavirus cases jumping to 116,993 on Thursday. As many as 95,699 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in the national capital while 3,487 have succumbed to the infection.

Karnataka

The South Indian state has witnessed 47,253 coronavirus cases till date and is now the fourth worst-affected in the country. While 928 have lost their lives to the deadly contagion in the state. Nearly 18,466 patients have recovered from the disease in Karnataka.

Gujarat

Gujarat has seen Covid-19 cases reach 44,552 on Thursday. The state has seen 31,286 people recover from coronavirus while 2,079 people have died.

Uttar Pradesh

The Covid-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh has jumped to 41,383 while the number of recoveries has touched 25,743. The state’s death toll has crossed 1,000.

Telangana

The state’s Covid-19 tally stands at 39,342 coronavirus cases. While 25,999 people have recovered from the disease, the Covid-19 death toll has jumped to 386 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has reported 35,451 Covid-19 patients till date. While 18,378 people have recovered from the virus across the state, the death toll stands at 452.

West Bengal

As many as 34,427 people have contracted Covid-19 in West Bengal till date. The state has seen 20,680 recover from coronavirus while 1,000 people have been killed.

Rajasthan

The state has reported 26,437 Covid-19 cases till date. Covid-19 death toll in Rajasthan stands at 530 while 19,502 patients have recovered.