India reports another successive day of record Covid-19 cases, deaths
New Delhi, Apr 17 (EFE).- The second wave of coronavirus continued to create new daily records in India, as it reported 234,692 infections and 1,341 deaths over the last 24 hours on Saturday, according to Health Ministry data.
India reported more than 200,000 infections for the third consecutive day on Saturday, as it continued to register record number of cases everyday amid increased restrictions in several states across the country.
The latest 1,341 deaths also represents an increasing trend and is the highest since the 2,006 fatalities from Covid-19 reported on Jun. 16 last year.
On that occasion, however, the sudden peak in deaths was explained by a readjustment in figures after updating toll from different states.
Total coronavirus cases reached nearly 14.5 million in India, the second worst-hit nation after the United States, which has reported more than 32 million infections.
The total number of deaths stand at 175,649 since the start of the pandemic.
Amid a continuous rise in cases, the government in the national capital territory has imposed a weekend curfew and ordered shopping malls, gyms, and spas to remain closed from Friday evening to Monday morning.
The western state of Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital of Mumbai, reported the highest daily new cases of 63,729. The region is under a strict curfew until the end of April.
The northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday imposed stringent restrictions on movement for 36 hours.
But while more and more regions are trying to limit the spread of the virus with tougher rules, the images of millions of pilgrims gathered in the northern city of Haridwar to participate in a Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela have caused a controversy in the country.
In this regard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a tweet appealing that the mega Kumbh Mela “should now only be symbolic amid the coronavirus crisis”, stressing that it will give a boost to the fight against the pandemic.
Meanwhile, India continued with its vaccination drive with 3 million shots in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 119.9 million jabs since the campaign kicked off in January. EFE
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