COVID-19 India: Cases go up to 62,939; Five Air India pilots test positive for coronavirus.

Five Air India pilots have tested positive of the novel Coronavirus, who had recently operated one of the cargo flights to Guangzhou. Since the lockdown, Air India has been operating cargo flights to international destinations from Delhi, including sending Boeing 787 flights to pick up medical supplies from Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong. 

A source claimed, "The news has made quite a few pilots, currently rostered to operate repatriation flights anxious. Under the Vande Bharat mission schedule pilots have layovers in places like New York where the number of COVID cases are high." All of the airline crew need to go through a swab test prior to takeoff and immediately after the landing. They then are taken to a nearby hotel where they await the test results, which takes 24-48 hours. If the result is negative, then they are sent to their residence. After 5 days, the crew is again tested, and if in that too the result comes negative, then they are given further flying duties.

As per the Union Health Ministry, the total tally of COVID-19 positive cases has climbed to 62,939, whereas the death toll has reached 2109. Fresh 3277 cases and 128 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. 19,357 people have recovered from the coronavirus, so the total number of active cases is 41,472. Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 779 deaths and 20,228 cases. Gujarat tops the mortality rate at 6%, registering a total of 472 deaths and 7,796 positive cases followed by 215 deaths in Madhya Pradesh and 171 in West Bengal.