Modi to meet CMs as India records 28,903 new COVID cases in 24 hrs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet chief ministers of states and Union territories through video conferencing on Wednesday (March 17) to discuss the sudden spurt in cases in the country.

The meeting comes on a day the country logged in 28,903 fresh COVID-19 infections, the largest single-day spike since December 11, 2020. The new numbers took the COVID-19 tally to 1,14,38,734.

The death toll increased to 1,59,044 with 188 new fatalities, the highest in around two months, the Health Ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering an increase for the seventh day in a row, the total active caseload has increased to 2,34,406 which now comprises 2.05 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.56 per cent, the data stated.

As many as 30,254 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 13.The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,45,284, while the case fatality rate has  dropped to 1.39 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past  60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on  October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the ICMR, 22,92,49,784  samples have been tested up to March 16 with 9,69,021  samples being tested on Tuesday.

The 188 new fatalities include 87 from Maharashtra, 38 from Punjab, 15 from Kerala and 12 from Chhattisgarh.

The sudden spurt in cases comes even as the government has rolled out its vaccination drive for people aged above 60 and above 45 with co-morbidities.

(With inputs from agencies)