LEAD

The surge in the number of COVID-19 cases has gone “from bad to worse”, said member (health) of the NITI Aayog V.K. Paul on Tuesday as India registered 56,211 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Dr Paul said 10 districts across India including Pune (59,475), Mumbai (46,248), Nagpur ( 45,322), Thane (35,264), Nashik (26,553), Aurangabad (21,282) and Bengaluru Urban (16,259) currently have the highest active COVID case load.

The cases include 855 cases from virus variants. Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Paul noted that the country is facing an increasingly severe and intensive situation in some districts but the whole country is potentially at risk. “All efforts to contain the virus and save lives should be taken,” he said.

There is no respite for India on the coronavirus front. Up to 68,020 fresh cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, making it the biggest one-day surge since October, Union Health Ministry data indicate. Maharashtra reported an overwhelming majority -- 40,414 -- of the total. The state is already bracing for a shortfall in health care infrastructure.

Up to 68,020 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in India over the past 24 hours, the biggest one-day surge since October. This is besides the 291 deaths recorded. The total number of active cases has risen by 35,498.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stands at 1.2 crore with 1,61,843 deaths recorded till now since the outbreak hit India in January 2020.

Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu remain the other worst-affected states.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked the state officials to start preparing for another lockdown in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 patients and the failure of the citizens to adhere to the prescribed guidelines.

Thackeray rued that the citizens were flouting all Covid-19 guidelines, hence the state would be forced to take this step.

This was due to the recommendations of the Covid-19 task force which met on Sunday and recommended strict measures amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 patients as well the death toll.

New Delhi: Mumbai reported 6,130 cases in the last 24 hours – a huge record since the pandemic began more than a year ago.The city has been under various degrees of restrictions – authorities have been hesitant about imposing a full lockdown in view of economic ramifications – but cases continue to spike.

The situation is of ‘grave concern’ in Maharashtra too which reported 35, 726 cases on Saturday. The state has announced a  strict night curfew from Saturday night with a blanket ban on all public gatherings and had directed malls, theatres, halls and auditoriums to shut at 8 pm. Meanwhile, the Gujarat government on Saturday announced that a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report will be mandatory for those arriving from other states.

The Maharashtra government has decided to impose night curfew from Sunday as the state is witnessing a record number of covid-19 cases.

"Night curfew to be imposed in Maharashtra from the night of 28 March. A separate order in this regard will be issued by the Disaster management and rehabilitation department soon," Maharashtra's Chief Minister Office, said in a statement, news agency ANI reported.

Maharashtra's Chief Minister Office also issued an order stating that all Malls are directed to remain close from 8 pm to 7 am.

"I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients," Thackeray was quoted as saying.