All eyes are on the RT-PCR test reports coming from the ongoing Kumbh Mela. (PTI photo)Fresh Coronavirus Cases in India Live Tracker: India is reeling under the severe second wave of the coronavirus with almost all states reporting a sharp increase in the daily caseload. After Maharashtra’s strict lockdown-like restrictions, National Capital Delhi has imposed a ‘weekend curfew’ that will come into effect from today. On Thursday, India registered 216,913 new coronavirus cases with a 14.4 per cent positivity rate. Punjab, Bihar and Karnataka have reported the biggest single-day spike in viral infections. Medical experts have warned that if this upward trend continues, India’s healthcare infrastructure will collapse sooner than we think. As the nation battles the second wave, here are the latest updates from India and across the world:
Highlights
In view of a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh, the state government would chalk out an effective plan to stem the infection spread, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday. Along with creating public awareness about the pandemic, efforts were on to improve medical facilities, he said while chairing an online meeting of a state-level advisory committee on COVID-19, according to an official . He said suggestions are being taken from senior doctors, other stakeholders and organisations to fight the unprecedented health crisis. On advice of the committee, an effective plan would be drawn up to curb the infection spread, the official quoted Chouhan as saying in the meeting. - PTI
The United States opened more distance between itself and much of the rest of the world Thursday, nearing the 200 millionth vaccine administered in a race to protect the population against COVID-19, even as other countries, rich and poor, struggle with stubbornly high infection rates and deaths. Nearly half of American adults have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 30% of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the picture is still relentlessly grim in parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia as variants of the virus fuel an increase in new cases and the worldwide death toll closes in on 3 million. France on Thursday passed 100,000 virus deaths, becoming only the the eighth country to do so. India's two largest cities, New Delhi and Mumbai, imposed business shutdowns and stringent restrictions on movement as new infections shot past 200,000. - AP
Uttarakhand | Nirvani Akhara's Kapildev who was in Haridwar to take part in Kumbh Mela, passed away at the hospital today after he tested positive for COVID19: Kailash Hospital, Dehradun - ANI
Niranjani Akhada, one of the 13 akhadas of seers participating in the Haridwar Kumbh, on April 15 decided to opt-out of the event because of the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in the state. "The main Shahi Snan held on the occasion of Mesh Sankranti on April 14 is over. Many in our akhada are showing COVID-19 symptoms. So, for us the Kumbh Mela is over," Niranjani Akhada secretary Ravindra Puri said. - PTI
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