Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to review the situation at 8 pm on Saturday, 17 April.
India reported 2,34,692 fresh COVID cases in the last 24 hours – the highest single-day spike ever – pushing the country’s overall COVID tally to 1,45,26,609, according to the Health Ministry data released on Saturday.
On Satuday evening, PM Modi spoke to Swami Avdheshanand Giri over the telephone and requested that the ongoing Kumbh Mela be only "symbolic" now. This comes after shahi snans have already taken place amid a health crisis.
- Several states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, have already imposed curfews and movement restrictions
- Delhi and Chandigarh have also imposed different forms of weekend lockdowns along with a night curfews
Over 27,000 New Cases in Uttar Pradesh
27,357 new coronavirus cases reported in Uttar Pradesh.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Tests Positive
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju says that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Maharashtra Reports Over 67,000 New Cases
Maharashtra reports 67,123 new COVID cases in a single-day spike. The state recorded 419 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of active cases in the state stand at 6,47,933.
COVID Cases Likely to Rise in the Coming Day: KK Shailaja
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja has said that the number of COVID cases in the state are expected to rise in the coming days because they have ramped up testing.
“We are expecting the number of positive cases to go up as around 2.30 lakh tests are expected to take place. Since our health system is quite fine-tuned to handle the positive cases, there is no need to worry as the hospitals are fully equipped,” Shailaja said.
She also said that the state needs another 50 lakh doses of vaccine as they are left with around 5.50 lakh doses only.