Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India Sees 1,45,384 New Cases; Uddhav's Noon Meeting May Bring 'More and Stricter' Restrictions in Maharashtra

Mumbai on Saturday woke up to a weekend that refreshed its memories of March 2020 when the pandemic broke out.

In Poll-Bound Bengal, Daily Covid-19 Cases Rise 15 Times | As the country is under the grip of a second wave of the coronavirus, poll-bound West Bengal has witnessed daily cases increasing by 15 times in the past 30 days. Active cases in the state have also increased by six times in the past month. With 3,648 fresh cases in 24 hours, West Bengal logged the highest count of Covid-19 cases in 2021 so far, pushing the tally to 6,06,455, a health department bulletin said on Friday. The death toll climbed to 10,378 after eight more coronavirus fatalities were registered in the state, it said.

Amid rising coronavirus cases, the Election Commission has flagged instances of star campaigners and political leaders campaigning without masks, and warned it will not hesitate to ban rallies if COVID guidelines issued by it last year are breached. In a letter to leaders of all recognised political parties on Friday, the poll panel said, "It is widely known that in the recent weeks, COVID cases are being reported in larger numbers. However, instances of election meetings/campaigns have come to the notice of the commission, where norms of social distancing, wearing of masks have been flouted in disregard to the commission's guidelines.

Registering a steady increase for the 31st day in a row, the number of active coronavirus cases in the country has gone up to 10,46,631, accounting for 7.93 per cent of its total caseload, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 90.80 per cent. The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12, accounting for only 1.25 per cent of the total number of cases in the country.

India's Covid-19 Tally Climbs to 1,32,05,926 with Over 1.45 Lakh Fresh Cases | With a record 1,45,384 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 1,32,05,926, the health ministry said on Saturday. The number of active cases has breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-a-half months, while the death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,68,436 with 794 more fatalities, the highest since October 18 last year, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

Amid rising cases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government will soon take a call on holding board exams.

Telangana Reports About 3,000 New COVID-19 Cases, 6 Deaths | Telangana registered nearly 3,000 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single day spike this year, pushing the tally to over 3.24 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,752 with six more fatalities. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 487, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 289 and Nizamabad 202, a government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 PM on April 9.

6,176 New COVID-19 Cases in Thane District, 26 Deaths | The coronavirus tally in Thane district of Maharashtra reached 3,67,610 after 6,176 people tested positive for the infection, an official said on Saturday. Apart from these new cases that were reported on Friday, the virus also claimed the lives of 26 persons, which took death toll in the district to 6,664. The COVID-19 mortality rate of the district is 1.81 per cent, he added. So far, 3,09,349 patients have recuperated from the infection and the recovery rate stands at 84.15 per cent.

Maharashtra CM Calls for All Party Meet on Covid | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackrey has called all-party meet via virtual conference today in the afternoon to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the state. Maharashtra is already under weekend lockdown from Firday evening to Monday 7am.

"The total number of samples tested up to April 9 is 25,52,14,803 including 11,73,219 samples tested yesterday," ANI quoted ICMR as saying.

20 Andhra Students Test Positive for Covid-19 in Nainital | Twenty students from Andhra Pradesh tested positive for Covid in Uttarakhand’s Nainital on Friday while they were on a study tour. These students were staying in an Ashram in Bhimtal and were tested while they were entering Nainital. Twenty out of 24 students tested positive after government officials asked them to take in a ‘rapid antigen’ test for Covid-19.

The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced a weekend lockdown and night curfew during the weekdays from Monday to April 30, in addition to a slew of other restrictions like closure of private…

Share of Seriously Ill Patients in Hospitals 'Significantly Higher' | With the country under huge Covid surge exceeding the previous peak, the share of serious cases under hospitalization has also increased significantly as compared to the situation earlier in mig-August last year when the cases were rising rapidly. Around 4.5 percent of active cases this year are currently on oxygen support, while 2.3 percent of the cases are in ICU and 0.4 percent are on ventilator, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said during a group of Ministers’ Meeting on Friday.

Bengal Reports Record 3,648 Fresh COVID-19 Cases, 8 More Fatalities | West Bengal on Friday reported 3,648 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest count of 2021 so far, pushing the tally to 6,06,455, a health department bulletin said. The death toll climbed to 10,378 after eight more coronavirus fatalities were registered in the state, it said. While Kolkata accounted for six deaths, one fatality each was recorded in Howrah and Murshidabad. All eight fatalities were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, the bulletin said. Kolkata logged 987 new cases, followed by North 24 Parganas (884), Howrah (223), South 24 Parganas (214) and Hooghly (212) among other districts. West Bengal now has 18,603 active cases.

Rajasthan Has Insufficient Stock of COVID-19 Vaccine: CM Gehlot | Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said the number of COVID-19 doses available in the state is insufficient to carry on vaccination and due to this, inoculation will have to be stopped in many districts tomorrow. He also said that the Centre's claim of no shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the country is wrong and demanded that a status report on availability of doses be made public.

The inoculation drive will henceforth take place only at government and municipal hospitals on 10 April (12pm- 6pm) and 11 Apr (9am-5pm). The body said that those eligible for vaccination could travel to vaccination centres during curfew on medical grounds.

The BMC added it will get some stocks of the jabs by tonight (April 9), and the administration will attempt to resume vaccination at private hospitals as more shots become available. BMC sources told News18 that this is being done to prioritise vaccination at government centres.

BMC Shuts Private Vaccination Centres in Mumbai Due to 'Insufficient Stocks' | The BMC said in a statement on Friday that private vaccination centres in Mumbai will be closed until Monday “due to inadequate availability of Covid-19 vaccine.” Vaccinations will, however, proceed as planned at all government and municipal hospitals. “Due to insufficient supply of Covid-19 vaccine, vaccination will not be available at the immunisation centres of private hospitals on April 10, 11 and 12, 2021,” the statement said.