India registers 979 Covid-19 cases, death toll rises to 25: Govt

The Union health ministry said out of the 979 cases, 867 were active Covid-19 cases, 86 people have been cured or discharged and one had migrated as of 10am.

India said on Sunday 979 people have contracted Covid-19 and 25 people have died due to the highly contagious disease.

A 21-day national lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curb the spread of coronavirus earlier. This photo was taken on Saturday, March 28, 2020. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

The Union health ministry said out of the 979 cases, 867 were active Covid-19 cases, 86 people have been cured or discharged and one had migrated as of 10am. The number of cases on Saturday stood at 918, according to the health ministry.

Two deaths were reported by Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, which are yet to be confirmed by the Centre.

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Kerala reported its first Covid-19 death on Saturday after a 69-year-old man being treated for the virus died at Ernakulam Medical College Hospital. Kerala has reported 198 Covid-19 patients, including active cases, people who have been cured and a death.

The Centre has asked state governments and Union Territory administrations to utilise Rs 29,000 crore worth of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for providing food and shelter to migrant workers hit by the nationwide 21-day lockdown.

Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said on Saturday the government is working with states on health infrastructure preparedness and the focus is on setting up dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and blocks in every state and arrangement are being made to ramp up isolation wards and ICU beds and other required logistics.

Officials have said 111 government laboratories are currently functional across the country and with more from private sector being roped in.