Critical phase, says PM Narendra Modi as India reports 59 new COVID-19 cases

India on Friday registered the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 patients – a rise of 50 since Thursday – taking the total number of cases to 256, turning the focus on aggressive contact monitoring to contain the spread of the contagion.

In Kerala, 12 more persons tested positive for COVID-19, including six from Kasargod that shares the boundary with Karnataka. Four new cases were reported from Punjab, while three each from Maharashtra and Telangana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of chief ministers through video conferencing to take stock of the preparedness of states to tackle the outbreak, identifying quarantine facilities and training local health officials in dealing with the crisis.

Modi told the chief ministers that the next three-four weeks were crucial in efforts to contain the spread of the virus, and the most important measure for containment was ‘social distancing’.

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“We are in a critical phase of tackling the spread of the virus; there is no need to panic,” he said.

There were reports that President Ram Nath Kovind too had canceled his appointments for the next few days as he had hosted BJP MP Dushyant Singh and a group of MPs over breakfast on Wednesday. Singh had attended a get together where singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive for COVID-19, was present.

The Centre also issued directives to state governments to invoke relevant laws such as the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act, relevant sections of the Cr.PC and IPC to enforce measures to contain the spread of the disease.

Contact monitoring and social distancing topped the list of measures to be taken to fight COVID-19 with the Prime Minister strongly advocating a Janata Curfew on Sunday to test the resolve of the nation in dealing with the rapidly evolving situation.

The chief ministers asked the Prime Minister for augmentation of testing facilities, greater support to vulnerable sections, the advancement of financial disbursement for 2020-21 to the states and roping in private labs and hospitals in larger numbers in the fight against COVID-19.

"There are more than 6700 persons under contact monitoring," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry, told reporters here opposing the steps taken by the government to contain the spread of the disease.

Aggarwal said there has been a "progressive increase" in the positive cases and underscored the need to implement social distancing strictly to ensure that the disease does not spread further.

A 69-year-old Italian tourist, who had recovered from COVID-19, died of a heart attack at a private hospital in Jaipur on Thursday night. However, government officials made it clear that he could not be counted among COVID-19 casualties as he had been cured of the disease.