Highlights: New York City to fine those refusing to wear mask amid Covid surge

Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko contracted the novel coronavirus, he said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday. Poroshenko, 55, became president after the 2014 Maidan protests and was in power until 2019, reports Reuters.

New York City will impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face covering as the rate of positive tests for Covid-19 climbed above 3% for the first time in months, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday. He said officials will first offer free masks to those caught not wearing one adding that she/he, they will face an unspecified fine, reports Reuters.

Ahmedabad recorded 195 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its count to 36,650 on Tuesday, the Gujarat government said. The total cases include 30,572 recoveries and 1,825 deaths, reports PTI.

The Vice President of India who underwent a routine Covid-19 test today morning has been tested positive. He is however, asymptomatic and in good health. He has been advised home quarantine. His wife Smt. Usha Naidu has been tested negative and is in self-isolation.

As many as 493 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday which pushed the state's tally to 47,955. Meanwhile, 11 more patients died in the state, taking the death toll due to 591, the state health department bulletin showed, reports PTI.

Haryana reported 1,562 Covid-19 cases, 2,403 recoveries and 25 deaths on Tuesday, taking total cases to 126,974 including 1,10,814 recoveries, 1,356 deaths and 14,804 active cases, the state's health department said, reports ANI.

The secretary-general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, called Tuesday for "responsible leadership" in a message released to mark the stunning one million deaths globally from Covid-19, reports AFP.

Boris Johnson apologised after wrongly explaining his own government’s coronavirus restrictions, in a gaffe that will fuel growing criticism of his response to the pandemic. “Apologies, I misspoke today,” the UK Prime Minister said on Twitter. It was the third time in three hours that government spokespeople had failed to be clear on the new rules that are being brought in at midnight Tuesday to combat the disease in northeast England, reports Bloomberg.

Tamil Nadu has extended its Covid-19 lockdown till October first with some more relaxations, reports ANI.

Tamil Nadu government extends #COVID19 lockdown till October 31, with some more relaxations pic.twitter.com/Ms78QhOJ0H

— ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2020

Andhra Pradesh registered 6,190 new cases, 9,836 recoveries and 35 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the state's tally 687,351, reports ANI.

The Spanish government reached a last-minute deal to extend its furlough program after weeks of negotiations that left businesses and workers on edge in a country suffering one of Europe’s deepest economic shocks this year, reports Bloomberg.

The Noida Police on Tuesday busted a company manufacturing fake test kits for Covid-19 and arrested a person, officials said here. Nearly four lakh fake rapid test kits were recovered from the company located in Sector 7, under the Sector 20 police station area, they said, reports PTI.

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday reported 5,546 cases, 5,501 recoveries and 70 deaths due to Covid-19 which pushed the total cases in the state to 591,943, reports ANI.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,546 new #COVID19 cases, 5,501 recoveries & 70 deaths today, taking total positive cases to 5,91,943, including 5,36,209 recoveries, 9,453 deaths & 46,281 active cases: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/V4EIdZDZJw

— ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2020

As many as 1,439 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Bihar on Monday, taking the total count of active cases here to 14,390, the state's health department said on Tuesday. While the highest number of cases were reported from Patna at 195, districts like Bokaro, Gopalganj and Ranchi reported just one case each, reports ANI.

The European Union’s external auditor said Tuesday that child poverty has reached an “unacceptable" level across the world's largest economy, a situation likely to worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, reports AP.