India’s Covid-19 caseload surged by over one lakh in a single day and total deaths crossed 1.65 lakh, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a meeting of chief ministers on Thursday even as states rolled out fresh measures to curb the spread of the disease.
Ahead of Modi’s meeting, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is scheduled to deliberate with his counterparts from 11 states and union territories that were reporting a massive spike in Covid-19 cases.
India’s daily infections have risen about 12 fold since February 8 when the country had reported 8,576 new cases in a single day, which led to laxity in Covid-19-appropriate behaviour – a reason now cited for a sudden surge in cases.
On Monday morning, India had reported the highest daily spike of 1,03,558 new infections – the first time it breached the one-lakh cases mark in a single day since the outbreak was reported in January last year. The highest number reported in a single day was 99,181 on September 10.
The deaths in a single day jumped by 478, still one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, raising the total to 165,101.
States such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have announced stricter curbs on the movement of people from states reporting a surge in infections.
The Rajasthan government imposed a night curfew and ordered the closure of multiplexes, gymnasiums besides suspending classes 1 to 9 at schools from April 5 to 19. It also put restrictions on the number of people at social gatherings to a maximum of 100. Colleges, except for final-year students, will remain suspended during the period but students can take their practical exams with prior permission.
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have launched special campaigns to promote Covid-19-appropriate behaviour, while the Delhi government announced round-the-clock functioning of healthcare centres to speed up the vaccination drive.
(Published 05 April 2021, 11:36 IST)
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