India reports 242 coronavirus deaths, total number of positive cases touch 7,529

Earlier on Saturday, the chief ministers of 13 states participated in a nearly four-hour long video conference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held to discuss an extension of the lockdown.

The nationwide tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases climbed to 7,529 on Saturday with the death toll rising to 242 across the country. A total of 586 hospitals in India have been identified as dedicated Covid-19 hospitals with a capacity of over one lakh isolation beds and 11,500 ICU beds reserved for coronavirus patients, according to Union Health Ministry data.

At least 1,035 fresh Covid-19 cases and 40 deaths due to the deadly disease have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 7,529 and the number of deaths to 242 nationwide.(PARVEEN KUMAR/HT PHOTO.)

At least 1,035 fresh Covid-19 cases and 40 deaths due to the deadly disease have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 7,529 and the number of deaths to 242 nationwide.

“The government has taken early pre-emptive action to identify Covid-19 hotspots in the country. In the absence of a lockdown and other containment measures, there would have been over 8.2 lakh coronavirus cases in India till April 15,” Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said at the daily news briefing.

Earlier on Saturday, the chief ministers of 13 states participated in a nearly four-hour long video conference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held to discuss an extension of the lockdown. Prime Minister Modi, who held the meet via a video conference today, has indicated that the lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic would be extended by two weeks after considering the requests of the chief ministers, who preferred a longer containment period. The lockdown was scheduled to be lifted on Tuesday. PM Modi also marked a shift in tackling the pandemic, from saving lives to saving both lives and livelihoods.

Soon after the meeting with the PM, the Maharashtra government on Saturday decided to extend the Covid-19 lockdown till April 30 with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray underlining that it may be further extended if people did not cooperate.

The chief minister said it looks like the situation is under control, but one will have to be cautious. Maharashtra is the third state to extend the lockdown after Odisha and Punjab.

In Karanataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced that the statewide lockdown will be extended for another fortnight after April 14, but with certain relaxations for agricultural and industrial sectors to ensure minimal impact on the economy.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday suggested to the Centre to lift the lockdown and confine it only to the red zones which have reported a larger number of Covid-19 positive cases.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, however, pitched for extension of the nationwide lockdown for two more weeks to ensure that the Covid-19 crisis remains under control.

The chief ministers of both the Telugu states-- Jagan Mohan Reddy and KCR expressed their views to the Prime Minister during the video conference.