Guwahati: India, on Friday, reported 33,376 new Covid-19 cases and 308 related deaths. Although the case count saw a slight dip from Thursday’s 34,973, the number of people who succumbed to the disease witnessed a spike from 276. The country currently has over 3.91 lakh active cases. Kerala remains the top contributor with 25,010 people testing positive on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation and progress of the vaccination drive in the country and was briefed about the concentration of cases “in a few geographies”. In Friday’s meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement that Modi was briefed about the concentration of cases “in a few geographies, districts with high test positivity as well as the week-on-week test positivity rate in the country”.
The meeting comes at a time Kerala and Maharashtra continue to report a surge in fresh Covid-19 cases. Kerala currently contributes to more than 60 per cent of active cases in the country, while Maharashtra’s share of active cases is nearly 13 per cent.
On the other hand, Maharashtra is set to witness muted Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations for the second consecutive year, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In Mumbai, city police have banned gatherings of more than four people and processions between September 10 and 19. Instead of visiting Ganesh pandals, devotees have been instructed to participate in virtual darshans.
