India reports 1,684 new COVID cases in last 24 hrs, no new infection in 15 districts for last 28 days
New Delhi/IBNS: The Union Health Ministry on Friday said 1,684 new Coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours while 15 districts across the country remained infection-free for the last 28 days.
In a press bulletin, joint secretary of Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal, said no new case in 80 districts has been reported in the last 14 days.
"We hope the number of districts reporting no new cases increases," Agarwal said in a news briefing.
As per the latest government update, 23,077 people including 4,749 cured and 718 deceased have been infected till date.
The recovery rate now stands at 20.57%, said the Health Ministry on Friday.
Maharashtra, where the country's financial capital Mumbai is located, has reported the highest number of cases (6,430) keeping the state government run by a political coalition on toes.
Gujarat, which is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is picking up the cases fast as the western part of the country has registered 2,624 cases followed by the national capital Delhi (2,376).
Though Kerala, the Left-ruled southern state, had reported the first COVID-19 case in India followed by a steep rise in positive cases, has minimized the infection with an aggressive testing.
The state has reported 447 cases with 324 of them being recovered.
India is witnessing a steady growth in the number of cases at a time the nationwide lockdown, which was called by Modi on Mar 24, is 10 days away from getting expired.
Though initially the lockdown was called for 21 days, Modi later extended the restrictions, which has led to humanitarian crisis in the country with the daily wagers and migrant workers suffering, till May 3.
Though the central government, which is ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has offered some relaxations, the country by and large is under lockdown as of now leading to an economic instability.
Meanwhile Modi, who preferred to save the lives of millions than concentrating more on economy, is scheduled to meet all Chief Ministers on Mar 27, possibly to discuss the Coronavirus situation and an exit from the lockdown mode.
(Images: Avishek MItra/IBNS, UNI)
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