LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday ordered the closure of all schools till April 30, on a day the state reported its highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

The coaching centres will also remain closed during the period.

All government and private schools will remain closed till April 30 while pre-scheduled examinations can be held, the statement said.

The government has directed that occupancy at any indoor programme should be not be more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue or a maximum of 50 people.

The government said not more than 100 people be allowed to assemble at an open space for any event.

The authorities have also prohibited the distribution of “prasad” at religious places while the retail shops will open from 7 am to 7 pm in the state.

Stressing the need to focus on the “test, trace and treat” approach, the government said the daily count of RT-PCR tests should be taken to one lakh.

Tracing of at least 30-35 persons who have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient should be done, the orders said.

The fresh directions came in the aftermath of a spike in coronavirus cases with the authorities imposing a night curfew in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar districts and the Lucknow civic body area.

Earlier on April 2, the UP government had extended till April 11 the closure of all schools for students of Classes 1 to 8.

On Sunday, the state reported its highest single-day spike of 15,353 cases till now.

With 67 fresh deaths, the death toll too have reached 9,152 in the state, which has reported 6,92,015 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Lucknow reported the maximum 4,444 cases, followed by 1,740 in Varanasi, 1,565 in Allahabad and 881 in Kanpur, the UP government said in another statement.

Of the fresh deaths, state capital Lucknow reported the highest 31, followed by nine in Allahabad, eight in Kanpur, two each in Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar and Chandauli and one each in Varanasi, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Ballia, Ayodhya, Lakhimpur-Khiri, Jaunpur, Deoria, Rae Bareli, Ghazipur, Rampur, Basti and Kannauj.

The count of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 71,241, the statement said.

So far, 6,11,622 COVID-19 patients in the state have recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, the UP chief minister said an effective COVID-19 vaccination drive should be carried out as a four-day “Tika Utsav” that began in the state on Sunday.

The four-day vaccination programme, which began on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotibha Phule, will continue till April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

NEW DELHI: India hit a new coronavirus infection record with 1,68,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far, taking the total tally of cases to 1,35,27,717, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The active cases have surpassed the 12-lakh mark, while the death toll increased to 1,70,179 with 904 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 18, 2020, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 33rd day in row, the active cases have increased to 12,01,009 comprising 8.88 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 89.86 per cent.

The active caseload was at its lowest at  1, 35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,21,56,529, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.26 per cent, the data stated.

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

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

According to the ICMR, 25,78,06,986 samples have been tested up to April 11 with 11,80,136 samples being tested on Sunday.

The 904 new fatalities include 349 from Maharashtra, 122 from Chhattisgarh, 67 from Uttar Pradesh, 59 from Punjab, 54from Gujarat, 48 from Delhi, 40 from Karnataka, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 22 from Tamil Nadu, 21 from Jharkhand, 16 each  from Kerala and Haryana and 10 each from Rajasthan and West Bengal.

A total of 1,70,179 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 57,987 from Maharashtra, 12,908 from Tamil Nadu, 12,889 from Karnataka, 11,283 from Delhi, 10,400 from West Bengal, 9,152 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,507 from Punjab and 7,300 from Andhra Pradesh.

NEW DELHI: 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.

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.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,19,90,859, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.28 per cent, the data stated.

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

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

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 25,52,14,803 samples have so far been tested in the country for the viral disease, including 11,73,219 on Friday.

The 794 fresh fatalities include 301 from Maharashtra, 91 from Chhattisgarh, 56 from Punjab, 46 from Karnataka, 42 from Gujarat, 39 from Delhi, 36 from Uttar Pradesh, 32 from Rajasthan, 23 each from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 22 from Kerala, 17 from Jharkhand and 11 each from Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

Of the total number of 1,68,436 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the country, Maharashtra accounts for 57,329, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,863), Karnataka (12,813), Delhi (11,196), West Bengal (10,378), Uttar Pradesh (9,039), Punjab (7,390) and Andhra Pradesh (7,279).

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that a state-wise distribution of the figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: India registered a record single-day spike of 1,31,968 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing its infection tally to 1,30,60,542, while the death toll increased to 1,67,642 with 780 more fatalities in a day, highest since October 18, the Union Health Ministry data showed.

The recovery rate in the country has further dropped to 91.22 per cent, it added.

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 1,19,13,292, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.28 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.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 25,40,41,584 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the country so far, including 13,64,205 on Thursday.

The 780 new fatalities include 376 from Maharashtra, 94 from Chhattisgarh, 56 from Punjab, 39 from Uttar Pradesh, 36 from Karnataka, 35 from Gujarat, 27 from Madhya Pradesh, 24 from Delhi, 19 from Tamil Nadu, 18 from Kerala and 11 from Haryana.

A total of 1,67,642 deaths due to the disease have been reported so far in the country.

The figure includes 57,028 fatalities from Maharashtra, 12,840 from Tamil Nadu, 12,767 from Karnataka, 11,157 from Delhi, 10,370 from West Bengal, 9,003 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,334 from Punjab and 7,268 from Andhra Pradesh.

The Union Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to commodities.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of the Center and the Election Commission on a plea seeking to ensure that masks are worn mandatory by everyone involved in poll campaigns during the ongoing elections in various states and union territories.

The court listed the application for further hearing on April 30 along with Singh’s main petition seeking to debar campaigners and candidates from campaigning in the assembly elections for repeatedly violating the mandatory guidelines issued by the poll panel in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for Singh, told the bench that the poll body should “create awareness through digital, print and electronic media for compulsory masking and social distancing during assembly elections”.

“When all the authorities are unanimous on mandatory masking, it defies logic as to why the rule should not be enforced in election campaigns,” Gupta argued.

The Central government’s standing counsel Anurag Ahluwalia accepted notice on behalf of the Centre.

Singh, in his application filed through advocate Gaurav Pathak, has sought a direction to the Centre to ensure strict compliance of its March 23 order, mandating imposition of appropriate fines, on persons not wearing face masks in public and workplaces, in states and UTs where elections are being held.

The assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry are being held in various phases.

The polls started on March 27 and will conclude on April 29.

Singh has contended that despite the orders and guidelines of the Centre and EC, “election campaigning is going on in full swing, without any regard to the COVID-19 regulations”.

He has claimed that there is an “indirect discrimination” against the general public as fines are collected from them for violating COVID-19 norms, but no action is taken against politicians.

NEW DELHI: The daily rise in new coronavirus infections in India remained above 90,000 for the third consecutive day taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,26,86,049, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

India on Monday recorded an all-time high of 1,03,558 single day new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours. Registering a steady increase for the 27th day in row, the active cases have increased to 7,88,223 comprising 6.21 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 92.48 per cent, the data stated.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 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 1,17,32,279, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.30 per cent, the data stated.

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

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

According to the ICMR, 25,02,31,269 samples have been tested up to April 5 with 12,11,612  samples being tested on Monday.

The 446 new fatalities include 155 from Maharashtra, 72 from Punjab, 44 from Chhattisgarh, 32 from Karnataka, 15 each from Delhi, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 12 each from Kerala and Rajasthan, 11 from Tamil Nadu and 10 from Jharkhand.

A total of 1,65,547 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 56,033 from Maharashtra, 12,789 from Tamil Nadu, 12,657 from Karnataka, 11,096 from Delhi, 10,348 from West Bengal, 8,894 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,244 from Andhra Pradesh and 7,155 from Punjab.

714 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the highest since October 21 when 717 fatalities were reported.

India recorded 89,129 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since September 2020, taking the total tally to 1,23,92,260 on Saturday.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana are states of “grave concern”.

Daily cases in the country peaked on September 16, 2020, with 97,894 people testing positive for the virus in a single day.

The active cases have now increased to 6,58,909 comprising 5.32 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.36 per cent.

Meanwhile, the death toll increased to 1,64,110 on Saturday with 714 new fatalities.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease surged to 1,15,69,241, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.32 per cent, the data stated.

A total of 24,69,59,192 samples tested for Covid-19 as of Friday.

Of these, 10,46,605 samples were tested on Friday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Centre has advised high-burden states and union territories to take stringent measures for containment of the surge.

So far, 7.30 crore doses of the corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will on Friday evening hold a meeting with the state officials over the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in the state.

Maharashtra reported 43,183 new COVID-19 cases and 249 deaths on Thursday. The state has been the biggest contributor of coronavirus cases on a daily basis in the country in the past few weeks. The state currently has 367,897 active coronavirus cases and has reported over 54,000 related deaths so far.

Thackeray on Sunday had instructed senior officials of the State Health Department and the COVID task force to prepare for lockdown. The remarks had come at a meeting of senior officials of the state’s health department and the state government’s COVID-19 task force.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister was informed that the way the number of cases is increasing on a daily basis, Maharashtra may soon face a scarcity of beds for COVID-19 patients.

The Chief Minister had observed that people are not taking the guidelines seriously and that is why serious steps, similar to a lockdown, need to be considered.

Mumbai, meanwhile, continues to registrer a hugher COVID-19 case count as the city on Thursday reported 8,646 new coronavirus cases, its highest one-day rise since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The death of 18 patients during the day, the highest single-day figure since the first week of December last year, took the fatality count to 11,704, it said.

On March 28, the city had reported 6,923 new COVID-19 cases, which was the highest till then.

On December 5, 2020, the metropolis had reported 18 fatalities, but later witnessed a gradual decline in the number of deaths.

As 5,031 people got discharge from hospitals during the day, the recovery count jumped to 3,55,691, the BMC said.

Mumbai’s COVID-19 recovery rate is now 84 per cent.

The infection growth rate has worsened to 1.38 per cent and the doubling rate has dropped to 49 days.

There are 80 active containment zones in the city, where 650 buildings have been sealed to curb the spread of the virus.

A total of 46,758 people were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, which took Mumbai’s overall test count to 41,29,931, the civic body said.

Registering a steady increase for the 23rd day in row, the active cases have increased to 6,14,696 comprising 5 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate dropped to 93.67 per cent.

NEW DELHI: India recorded the highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases in six months with 81,466 new infections in a span of 24 hours, taking the COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,23,03,131, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

Registering a steady increase for the 23rd day in row, the active cases have increased to 6,14,696 comprising 5 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.67 per cent, the data stated.

As many as 81,484 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 2 while 482 daily deaths were registered on December 6.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 11525039.

The case fatality rate stood at 1.33 per cent, the data stated.

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

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

According to the ICMR, 24,59,12,587 samples have been tested up to April 1, and 11,13,966 samples were tested on Thursday.

The 469 new fatalities include 249 from Maharashtra, 58 Punjab, 34 from Chhattisgarh, 19 from Tamil Nadu, 18 from Karnataka, 11 from Kerala and 9 each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 163396 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 54898 from Maharashtra, 12738 from Tamil Nadu, 12585 from Karnataka, 11036 from Delhi, 10331 from West Bengal, 8,820 from Uttar Pradesh and 7220 from Andhra Pradesh and 6926 from Punjab.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: India recorded its highest daily rise in COVID-19 cases this year with 72,330 new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the total tally of cases to 1,22,21,665, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The single-day rise in cases is the highest recorded since October 11, 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,62,927 with 459 daily new fatalities, the highest in around 116 days, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 22nd day in row, the active cases have increased to 5,84,055 comprising 4.78 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.89 per cent, the data stated.

As many as 74,383 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 11, 2020.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 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 1,14,74,683.

The case fatality rate has further has dropped to 1.33 per cent, the data stated.

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

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

According to the ICMR, 24,47,98,621 samples have been tested up to March 31 with 11,25,681 samples being tested on Wednesday.

The 459 new fatalities include 227 from Maharashtra, 55 Punjab, 39 from Chhattisgarh, 26 from Karnataka, 19 from Tamil Nadu, 15 from Kerala and 11 each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 1,62,927 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 54,649 from Maharashtra, 12,719 from Tamil Nadu, 12,567 from Karnataka, 11,027 from Delhi, 10,329 from West Bengal, 8,811 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,217 from Andhra Pradesh and 6,868 from Punjab.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.