Swab testing for Covid-19 by health workers at Juhu Beach in Mumbai. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
On the day the Center classified 11 states and Union Territories as “states of grave concern” due to their high and growing daily Covid-19 cases and deaths, several states took action on Friday to impose restrictions on movement to contain the increase.
Stating that these states / UT – Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana – have contributed 90% of India’s Covid cases and 90.5 % of deaths (as of March 31) in the past 14 days, and have crossed or are close to crossing their reported peaks last year, the Center said the situation was particularly worrying in Maharashtra. The state’s total number of cases is now 29.04 lakh, of which 3.89 lakh are active cases. Active cases have almost tripled from 1.3 lakh on March 15.
On Friday, when Maharashtra reported 47,827 new cases of Covid-19, the highest since the pandemic began last year, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray did not announce the shutdown, but warned that the decision could have to be made two days after the consultations with experts. and political leaders.
In a public address broadcast live on social media, Thackeray warned that if the number of cases continued to rise at the current rate, the state would have no medical staff even if the healthcare infrastructure could be expanded.
The cumulative number of coronavirus vaccines administered in the country exceeded 7 million rupees with 12,76,191 doses administered as of 8 p.m. Friday, the Health Ministry said.
India has administered a total of 7.06.18.026 doses of vaccines as of 8 p.m., the ministry said, adding that the number included 6.13.56,345 people who received their first dose. The second dose of the vaccine has been administered to 92,61,681 people.
The third phase of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign for people over 45 years of age was launched on April 1.
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