COVID-19, May 3 — India’s total cases near 40,000, Buffett company’s airline stocks all sold

The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19, May 3 -- India's total cases near 40,000, Buffett company's airline stocks all sold

NEW DELHI — India’s federal health ministry on Sunday morning said 78 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 2,204 positive cases were reported since Saturday evening in the country, taking its total number of deaths to 1,301 and cases to 39,980.

On Saturday evening, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 37,776 and the death toll was 1,223.

According to ministry officials, so far 10,633 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

Sunday marks the 40th straight day of ongoing lockdown across the country announced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic. The lockdown which was announced on March 25 was Friday evening again extended for the third time for two more weeks until May 17.

U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, visits an exhibition on his invested companies before the Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States, on May 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

WASHINGTON — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who serves as Berkshire Hathaway chairman, said Saturday that his conglomerate has sold all its airline stocks, sending an alarming signal to U.S. airline industry devastated by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The world has changed for the airlines,” said Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska, at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, which was held virtually this year.

The Berkshire Hathaway previously held shares of United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines, according to a report from CNBC.

Worldwide, there were 111,000 commercial flights per day in the week ending Jan. 7, but the figure plunged to 29,000 in the week ending April 30, according to the industry group.