Coronavirus India Updates: Tally Tops 68 Lakh As India Approaches ‘Unlock 5.0’

The Jharkhand government has said a maximum of 50 people can enter a place of worship at a time and devotees must wear masks and maintain social distancing.

The state government allowed religious institutions to reopen after more than six months on Thursday.

Places of worship in areas other than containment zones can reopen and heads of these religious institutions must ensure adherence to the Covid-19 protocol, a notification issued by Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh on Wednesday night said.

"Not more than 50 people will gather at a time at any place of worship and a distance of six feet between each devotee must be maintained," the notification said.

No fair or religious procession will be organised and only those devotees with masks will be allowed to enter the places of worship, it said.

The priests or clerics will have to wear masks and devotees should not hug each other or touch the idols, sacred texts or bells, the notification said.

Source: PTI

11,94,321 samples tested for #COVID19 yesterday. Total 8,34,65,975 samples tested in the country up to 7th October: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) pic.twitter.com/kpamENf9kS

— ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2020

Kerala has seen the largest increase in active cases over the last one month, according to Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. Between Sept. 8 and Oct. 6, active cases in Kerala have almost quadrupled, he said in a press conference on Tuesday.

At the same time, the central government is pushing its fifth phase of ‘Unlock India’ which includes partial reopening of schools and multiples starting Oct. 15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announce the first phase of reopening the economy in May. The country, already having contracted nearly 24% in the April-June quarter, is headed for a rare annual contraction too.

Global Update

France reported a record number of new cases and Italy’s infections spiked to the highest since April, as Europe grapples with a second wave of the coronavirus. Brazil’s confirmed cases of Covid-19 topped 5 million. President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office despite being under treatment for the virus and remaining potentially contagious.

Globally, coronavirus cases have topped 35.9 million with 1.05 million of them dead as of Thursday morning.

Track the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in India, here.