Coronavirus India Updates: Total Confirmed Cases Cross 40,000-Mark As Lockdown Extends 

The first special train for Uttar Pradesh carrying more than 800 workers who were stranded in Maharashtra reached Lucknow today.

The railways is running Shramik Special trains to ferry migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded in various parts of the country since March 25. The first train left for Jharkhand from Hyderabad on Friday.

After the medical check-up was done, the passengers were given food packets and told to board the UPSRTC buses parked outside the station to return to their homes.

On Friday, around 5,000 migrant labourers from UP stranded in Madhya Pradesh returned in 155 buses, while around 1,341 labourers hailing from MP were sent back home from Uttar Pradesh.

Retailers Association of India said it will have to be seen how it works out at the ground as there is confusion, and many states are yet to come up with guidelines to follow the Centre's decision. It has already stated that what constitutes market places could be misinterpreted.

Similarly, Confederation of All India Traders also claimed they will be in a "dilemma" as there is confusion over "what constitutes a neighbourhood shop and a standalone shop", while organised retailers such as Future Group and V-Mart Retail said they are also seeking permissions from local authorities.

National General Secretary of the Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, V K Bansal said, "The biggest problem with the guidelines is that it all depends on the states. The states frame their own policies and do not want to take any responsibility. The Centre wants relaxation but states are restrictive".

India reported 2,487 new Covid-19 cases, 83 deaths and 869 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the health ministry as of 5 p.m.

• Total confirmed cases: 40,263
• Active cases: 28,070
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 10,887
• Deaths: 1,306

In a relief for engineering and medical aspirants, the HRD ministry on Sunday said fresh dates for competitive exams - JEE and NEET - will be announced on May 5. The exams were postponed due to nationwide lockdown announced to contain the COVID-19 spread.

"The fresh dates will be announced by HRD Minsiter Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on May 5. This will put an end to uncertainty for the aspirants. The minister will also interact with students online the same day," a senior ministry official said.

While Joint Entrance Exam-Mains (JEE-MAINS) is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is conducted for medical colleges.

Commercial passenger flights at Delhi airport will initially operate from Terminal 3 after the lockdown ends, said a senior official of its operator DIAL, adding that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allocated to airlines to avoid overcrowding by air travellers.

The airport will keep all food, beverage and retail shops open to avoid overcrowding at one place and use "ultraviolet disinfection tunnels" for all incoming baggage, according to a plan prepared by the GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd.

The DIAL's exit plan stated that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays would be allocated to airlines to ensure smooth flow of passengers from forecourt into check-in hall and security thereafter. The DIAL would be preparing stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs) for food, beverage and retail shops in order to ensure social distancing, the exit plan noted.

The plan said the passengers of Vistara and IndiGo would enter the airport through gates 1 and 2 only. AirAsia India and Air India passengers will use entry gates 3 and 4. SpiceJet, GoAir and other domestic airline passengers would enter through gate 5. All international airlines' passengers would be entering the airport using gates 6, 7 and 8