Covid-19 cases cross record 1.6 lakh

Covid-19 cases breached the 12-lakh mark at 12,01,009 for the first time even as the country’s daily case spike hit a new high of 1.68 lakh in the last 24 hours, official data showed on Monday.

This daily addition was three times that of any other country. India now has the second highest number of infections in the world with total cases crossing 1.34 crore, behind the US which has reported 3 crore cases so far.

India has so far vaccinated only 7.5 per cent of its population. Five States are reporting daily new cases in five digits —Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chattissgarh and Karnataka. States that had elections recently such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam has seen their cases more than triple in the last two weeks. The country’s daily case additions stood at 1,52,879 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urged Delhiites not to rush to hospitals unless necessary for Covid-19 treatment. While requesting the people to follow Covid-19 protocols, Kejriwal also tweeted that Delhi government is taking several steps to increase beds in both private and government hospitals.

The total recoveries are at 1.21 crore; and the death toll has increased to 1.70 lakh with 904 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry website.

Rapid pace of infection

The total Covid-19 vaccine doses administered has crossed 10.45 Crore on Monday . On Monday a total of 29.33 lakh shots were given till 7:00 am.

Among all the States, Maharashtra has been consistently reporting the highest infection cases of coronavirus and on Monday it recorded 63,294 cases, while Uttar Pradesh also reported its highest single day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic last year at 15,276 cases, followed by Delhi at 10,774, Chattissgarh at 10,521 and Karnataka at 7,572 cases. The total number of cases with UK, South Africa and Brazil Covid variants as on date is 948.

The Centre had on Sunday put a ban on export of Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) till the Covid situation improves in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday tweeted that Tika Utsav will be organised in the country during April 11-14. During this period the government aims to provide maximum inoculation to the people.

PTI adds

The Maharashtra government on Monday postponed the state board exams of Classes 10 and 12, which were scheduled to be held on April 30 and 23, respectively.

School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad tweeted “Keeping in mind the schedule of entrance exams for professional courses, class 12th exams will be held by end of May, while 10th standard exams will be in June.”.

The health situation was being closely monitored and fresh dates for the postponed exams would be announced soon, Gaikwad said.

The decision is the outcome of consultations with various stakeholders, including students, teachers, parents, elected representatives from across parties, academicians and tech giants, the minister said.

“We will also be writing to the CBSE, ICSE, IB, Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates,” she said. Thanking Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for approving the decision, Gaikwad said during the consultations, various alternative assessment options were evaluated keeping the health, well-being and future of students in mind.

Postponing exams seemed to be the most pragmatic solution, she added.

On Sunday, Maharashtra recorded 63,294 new cases of coronavirus, its highest single-day rise since the pandemic broke out, which pushed the caseload to 34.07 lakh, as per official figures.

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