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.

NEW DELHI: As many as 53,480 fresh infections pushed India’s COVID-19 tally to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far this year, took the death toll to 1,62,468, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The active caseload increased to 5,52,566 and accounts for 4.55 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 94.11 per cent, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,14,34,301, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, it stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally 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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 24,36,72,940 samples had been tested up to March 30 with 10,22,915 being tested on Tuesday.

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 1,20,95,855 with 56,211 more people testing positive for the infection in a span of 24 hours, while 271 more fatalities pushed death toll to 1,62,114, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data updated on Tuesday.

Registering a steady increase for the 20th day in row, active cases have increased to 5,40,720 comprising 4.47 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.19 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,13,93,021, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 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 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 24,26,50,025 samples have been tested up to March 29 with 7,85,864 samples being tested on Sunday.

The 271 new fatalities include 102 from Maharashtra, 59 Punjab, 20 from Chhattisgarh, 16 from Karnataka, 14 from Tamil Nadu and 11 from Kerala.

A total of 1,62,114 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 54,283 from Maharashtra, 12, 684 from Tamil Nadu, 12,520 from Karnataka, 11,012 from Delhi, 10,325 from West Bengal, 8,790 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,210 from Andhra Pradesh and 6,749 from Punjab.

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

NEW DELHI: India saw 68,020 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the country’s COVID-19 tally to above 1.20 crore, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

Registering a steady increase for the 19th day in a row, the active cases have increased to  5,21,808, which comprise 4.33 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.32 per cent, the data stated.

A total of 68,020 new cases were reported in a day, the highest recorded since October 11 last year, taking the country’s tally of cases to 1,20,39,644, while the death toll increased to 1,61,843 with 291 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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

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 1,13,55,993, while the case fatality rate has further has dropped to 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed 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, 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 last year.

According to the Indian Council for Medical Research, 24,18,64,161  samples have been tested up to March 28 with 9,13,319 samples being tested on Saturday.

The 291 new fatalities include 108 from Maharashtra, 69 from Punjab, 15 from Chhattisgarh, 12 each from Kerala and Karnataka, and 11 each from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

A total of 1,61,843  deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 54,181 from Maharashtra, 12,670 from Tamil Nadu, 12,504 from Karnataka, 11,006 from Delhi, 10,324 from West Bengal, 8,786 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,205 from Andhra Pradesh and 6,690 from Punjab.

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

“Considering the number of days from the current level of daily new cases to the peak level during the first wave, India might reach the peak in the second half of April,” it said.

India is facing a spike in the daily new cases of COVID-19 since February, clearly indicating a second wave, said a report by the State Bank of India (SBI).

“Considering the number of days from the current level of daily new cases to the peak level during the first wave, India might reach the peak in the second half of April,” it said.

India recorded over one lakh coronavirus infections in just two days with 53,476 new cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single day rise so far this year, pushing the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,17,87,534, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The active caseload registered an increase for the 15th day in a row and was recorded at 3,95,192 comprising 3.35 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 95.28 per cent, the data stated.

“Though the global COVID-19 experience shows the second wave to be much higher in intensity than the first wave, the presence of the vaccine makes the difference currently. Thus India will be able to manage the situation better,” the 28-page report said.

“The lockdown has been ineffective and mass vaccination is the only hope. This is visible in the case of many states including Maharashtra and Punjab,” it said.