The Centre on Friday said it has formed 4 more Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) which are being sent to Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai to assess the ground situation of COVID-19 management.

Earlier, six IMCTs - two each for West Bengal and Maharashtra and one each for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - were formed to make an on-spot assessment of the situation and issue necessary directions to state authorities for its redressal on coronavirus crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the coronavirus crisis has taught the country to become self-reliant. He made the while remark interacting with village heads from across the nation via video conferencing on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day.

The coronavirus pandemic taught us the biggest lesson - that we have to become self-dependent. The villages became self-reliant, and it’s very important that districts, states and the entire country should become self-reliant, he said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) denied reports of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's serious illness, saying the news is incorrect.

...I think the report was incorrect. I heard that the network which published the news, used old documents, Trump made the comments in the daily COVID-19 briefing.

With around 45 million likes on his personal page, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be the most popular world leader on Facebook, while US President Donald Trump dominates the rankings for the most interactions even as leaders across the world grow their audience on the social networking platform amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a study said on Thursday.

A closely-watched Gilead Sciences Inc experimental antiviral drug failed to help patients with severe Covid-19 in a clinical trial conducted in China, but the drugmaker said the findings were inconclusive because the study was terminated early.

Gilead shares closed down 4.3% after the data was inadvertently released and first reported by the Financial Times.

International passenger capacity for India reduced by 89 per cent so far this month due to the Covid-19 pandemic as compared to a business-as-usual scenario, according to the latest projections from the United Nations specialised agency for international civil aviation.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said that by September, the world could have 1.2 billion fewer international air travellers, compared to regular originally planned or business-as-usual.

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a coronavirus pandemic relief bill that aims to provide funding worth $484 billion to small businesses, hospitals and for COVID-19 testing.

The bill was the fourth such aid passed to deal with the pandemic that has badly hit the country. It was passed in the Democratic-led House by a 388-5-1 bipartisan vote.

The chief of All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Delhi on Thursday said that the societal stigma attached to COVID-19 patients is leading many people to not come forward and get tested or treated.

Speaking at a press briefing by the Union Health Ministry, Prof Randeep Guleria said the tendency to not come forward due to stigma is leading not only to huge mental agonies and problems but also higher morbidity and mortality.

Twelve districts in the country have not reported a fresh case of coronavirus infection for the last 28 days despite having reported COVID-19 patients before, the Centre said on Thursday.

There are 78 districts where no case has been reported in last 14 days, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said during a press briefing.

Recalling India's move on SAARC for a regional strategy, New Delhi appreciated Pakistan finally showing enthusiasm for regional calls on COVID-19. Pakistan on Thursday hosted a SAARC meet on the coronavirus pandemic and had also invited India along with other grouping members.

India was represented by Director General of Health Services, assisted by experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Most SAARC countries were represented at the official level.

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