PM to interact with leading doctors after explosive surge in Covid-19 cases

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday interact with leading doctors from across the country via video conferencing on the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country. The interaction is scheduled to take place at 4.30pm.

PM Modi will also discuss the situation with top pharmaceutical companies via video conferencing at 6pm.

COVID-19 in India:

The meeting comes on a day when India reported 273,810 new Covid-19 infections, its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic and now has reported more than 15 million infections, a total second only to the United States.

The Union health ministry also reported 1,619 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll over 178,769.

India has the fourth highest number of deaths after the US, Brazil and Mexico - though, with nearly 1.4 billion people, it has a much larger population than any of those countries.

Many state government, including worst-hit Maharashtra, have already announced a series of curbs to check the spread of the infection. The closure of most industries, businesses and public places on Wednesday night will last for 15 days.

Week-Long Lockdown in Delhi:

National capital Delhi too has been put under a week-long lockdown starting Monday night due to an explosive surge in Covid-19 cases. Delhi reported 25,462 cases and 161 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

He said at a press conference that Delhi is facing shortages of oxygen and some medicine.

"I do not say that the system has collapsed, but it has reached its limits," Kejriwal said, adding that harsh measures were necessary to "prevent a collapse of the health system".

Maharashtra and Delhi are among the 10 states that account for 78.58 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases reported in a day, the Union health ministry said on Monday. The other states in the list are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

India's total active caseload has reached 19,29,329 and now comprises 12.81 per cent of the country's total infections, the health ministry's data showed.

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