Daily updates 18 April 2021

New Delhi:

India saw the deadliest day of the pandemic as 1,501 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. The country also recorded the biggest daily surge in cases with 2,61,500 infections, taking the caseload to 1.47 crore total cases.

1. This is the fourth straight day when over 2 lakh cases have been recorded. Over 12 lakh cases have been added to the caseload in the last one week.
2. Maharashtra (67,123), Uttar Pradesh (27,734), Delhi (24,375), Karnataka (17,489), and Chhattisgarh (16,083) are the five states that recorded the highest number of cases since yesterday.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a high-level review meet to review the Covid situation. "PM Modi spoke about the need to utilize the full potential of India's pharmaceutical industry to meet the rising demand of various medicines," said a government statement.
4. "Like we did last year, we will successfully fight COVID with even greater speed and coordination," PM Modi said in a tweet after the meeting.
5. Amid the fresh surge, shortage of medical oxygen and vaccines are some of the concerns red-flagged by the states. Night curfews, weekend curfews are back in the states witnessing a surge.
6. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called the situation "very serious and worrisome". On Saturday, he gave a dire warning saying that the city was fast running out of beds, oxygen and the life-saving drug Remdesivir. ""Any health infrastructure has limitations," he said in a video briefing.
7. Kerala also recorded 13,800 fresh infections in the biggest-ever spike in cases. The state - which held a two-day mass testing drive - has vaccinated around 13.78% of its population, however, there are reports of shortage of vaccines at several centres and restrictions on the dosages.
8. After frightening visuals of tens of thousands of pilgrims participating in Kumbh Mela triggered concerns, PM Modi yesterday morning appealed that the festival "should now only be symbolic". Swami Avdheshanand Giri - one of the top seers in the country - announced an early exit from the month-long mega festival after PM Modi's appeal.
9. The fresh surge in infections in the last few weeks came after schools and colleges were reopened. Speaking to NDTV, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the trend is worrying. Many states - including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi - have temporarily discontinued physical classes.
10. The government is under attack from the opposition parties over the handling of Covid. "Despite a year to prepare, we have, regrettably, been caught off guard again," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said yesterday at the meeting of the Congress Working Commitee on the second wave.