Coronavirus live updates: Ban on flights from 6 cities to Kolkata extended till August 15

The patient had multiple co-morbidities: Prof. Ch. Arunkumar Singh, Medical Superintendent, RIMS Hospital, Imphal

US President Donald Trump has again defended the use of hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus, saying many frontline medical workers agree with him that the malaria drug works in the early stages of Covid-19 infection, despite mounting evidence that it is ineffective in treating the disease.

A total of 1,77,43,740 samples for Covid-19 were tested across the country as of Tuesday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research."The total number of Covid-19 samples tested up to July 28 is 1,77,43,740 including 4,08,855 samples tested yesterday," said the ICMR in a bulletin shared on Twitter.

City doctors are being flooded with calls from anxious flu patients who fear they could be suffering from Covid-19. The similarity of Covid symptoms with that of seasonal cough-and-cold has left hundreds of Kolkatans confused and worried. While they are scurrying for medical advice and are even being scared into quarantine, a section of doctors believe the fright is unfounded in most cases, since these are more likely to be an ordinary bout of non-Covid viral attack, common at this time of the year. They, however, are advising caution, regular screening and Covid testing for those with breathing issues.

US deaths from the novel coronavirus rose by nearly 1,300 on Tuesday, the biggest one-day increase since May, according to a Reuters tally. California, Florida and Texas, the three most-populous states, reported one-day record spikes in deaths on Tuesday, together accounting for 584 of the 1,292 new deaths. Arkansas, Montana and Oregon also had one-day record increases in Covid-19 fatalities.

Global airlines cut their coronavirus recovery forecast on Tuesday, saying it would take until 2024 - a year longer than previously expected - for passenger traffic to return to pre-crisis levels.In an update on the pandemic's crippling impact on air travel, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) cited slow virus containment in the United States and developing countries, and a weaker outlook for corporate travel.

China reported more than 100 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus on Wednesday as the country continues to battle an outbreak in Xinjiang. The northwestern region accounted for 89 of the new cases, with another eight in the northeastern province of Liaoning and one in Beijing.