New Delhi, May 12 (TheIndianExpress) – India will launch its second phase of repatriation flights from May 16 to May 22 to bring back Indians stranded in 32 countries. This time, at least 149 flights will be deployed to bring back the Indian nationals from nations including France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, etc.
A day after holding a six-hour meeting with chief ministers of different states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 PM on Tuesday. His address comes five days ahead of the end of the third phase of lockdown on May 17.
With India reporting 3,604 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of infections Tuesday crossed the 70,000-mark to reach 70,756 including the 22,454 people who have been treated and discharged so far. The death toll also rose to 2,293. According to the Home Ministry, the recovery rate stands at 31.15 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Railway services starting Tuesday will run to full capacity, while leaving it up to the passengers to maintain social distancing on board, and to states to decide the protocol on arrival. More than 54,000 passengers made reservations for their train journeys within three hours after the Indian Railways opened booking on Monday. Also, sources have told The Indian Express that Aarogya Setu app is a must for people travelling by trains. Passengers who don’t have it will be asked to download even after reaching the station.
Globally, 41,781,56 people have been infected so far, with deaths exceeding 286,000. According to Johns Hopkins data, the United States continues to be the worst-affected country with 79,894 fatalities and 1,339,819 cases, followed by United Kingdom (32,140 deaths and 224,327 cases) and Italy (30,379 deaths and 219,814 cases).
