1,761 Covid Deaths, Biggest 1-Day Spike In India; 2.59 Lakh Fresh Cases

This is the sixth straight day that the country is reporting over two lakh cases. India is second only to the United States in the total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic. 

All citizens who are 18 or above can get COVID-19 vaccinations from May 1, the government said on Monday as cases surge to record highs. Vaccine manufacturers will need to supply 50% of doses to the centre and the rest to state governments and the open market at a pre-declared price, the government said.

Maharashtra, the country's worst-impacted state, reported 58,924 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 38.98 lakh, while 351 new fatalities pushed the death count to 60,824. In terms of the total caseload, Maharashtra is followed by the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Delhi is under a weeklong lockdown amid the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in the capital. In the last 24 hours, 240 deaths - the highest-ever registered in a single day in Delhi - and 23,686 fresh coronavirus cases were reported.

A night curfew for two weeks will be imposed in Kerala from today amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the state. Kerala - which saw India's first coronavirus case in January last year - reported 13,644 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

The Karnataka Governor will meet leaders of the state's political parties in Bengaluru today. After that meeting, the government is expect to announce tough measures to combat the huge spike in cases in the state, particularly in capital Bengaluru. Karnataka saw 15,785 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. 

In Telangana, a public meeting held on the eve of the by-elections to the Nagarjunasagar assembly constituency is thought to be responsible for Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and 60 others turning Covid positive. The state government was given a two-day ultimatum by the High Court on Monday to decide on a lockdown to tackle rising Covid cases. 

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday evening refused to follow Allahabad High Court directions to lockdown five cities - Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur - from Monday night till April 26 - in view of the rapid daily increase in coronavirus cases. The country's most populous state logged in 28,211 new COVID-19 cases and 167 deaths.

Rajasthan, which started two weeks of curfew or a "self-discipline fortnight" on Monday,  is also seeing a daily spike in cases. On Monday, 53 people died in the state and 11,967 tested positive Of these positive cases, 2,011 people are in capital Jaipur alone. 90 per cent of the beds at Jaipur's biggest Covid hospital are occupied. 

Assam on Monday saw its biggest spike in Covid cases with 1,367 fresh infections. Seven deaths were reported on the same day.