PM Modi to chair meet with CMs to review Covid situation at 6.30 pm today

New Delhi, Apr 08: Amid an alarming surge in coronavirus cases in the country, a crucial meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of all states and Union Territories would be held at 6.30 pm today.

This will be the second time in five days that the Prime Minister is going to chair a meeting to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive.

The meet comes on a day, India registered a record single-day spike of 1,26,789 new COVID-19 cases, pushing its infection tally to 1,29,28,574, while the number of active cases too went upwards to breach the nine lakh-mark again.The death toll due to the disease in the country increased to 1,66,862, with 685 new fatalities being reported in a day.

Registering a steady increase for the 29th day in row, the count of active cases has gone up to 9,10,319, which is 7.04 per cent of the total infections, while the country''s recovery rate has dropped to 91.67 per cent, it stated.

The active COVID-19 caseload in the country was recorded at its lowest of 1,35,926 on February 12, comprising 1.25 per cent of the total infections.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,18,51,393, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.29 per cent, the data stated.

India''s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28 last year, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

In the previous meet, PM Modi had said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic, according to an official statement that was released after the meeting.