Maharashtra is heading towards a lockdown if the situation does not change, the state's Health Minister Rajesh Tope said today.
"We are heading towards a lockdown but I hope that we don't have to go for one. Before that if we contain the virus, we will be happy, satisfied and contented. We are hoping for the best," Mr Tope told NDTV in an interview.
India has set another record of daily Covid cases with 1,31,968 infections in the last 24 hours, pushing the total case count to over 1.3 crore. The surge, much steeper than last year's first wave, has forced many states have imposed tight curbs.
This is the fourth time in five days when India reported over one lakh new cases. 1,67,64 people have died of COVID-19 in India, with 780 deaths in the last 24 hours. India is the third worst-hit country after the United States and Brazil.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his meeting with Chief Ministers yesterday, stressed the need for creating micro-containment zones and extensive testing as a means to combat the second wave of the pandemic.
