New Delhi: The number of COVID-19 cases in the country climbed to 2,902 Saturday while the death toll rose to 68, according to the Union Health Ministry. As per the ministry’s updated data on coronavirus cases Saturday morning, six fresh deaths were reported — three from Maharahtra, two from Delhi and one from Gujarat.
Thus, Maharashtra has reported the most deaths (19) so far, followed by Gujarat (9), Telengana (7), Madhya Pradesh (6), Delhi (6), Punjab (5), Karnataka (3), West Bengal (3), Jammu and Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh (2) and Kerala (2).
It is important to note here that most of the positive cases that were identified Friday have been directly or indirectly linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi last month. Around 650 people among the thousands who gathered at the Jamaat’s headquarters, Nizamuddin Markaz, have tested positive in 14 states in the last two days, the Union Health Ministry said.
Three more persons in Punjab who attended the Jamaat congregation have tested positive after their reports came in Saturday morning. They belong to Punjab’s Mansa district and had returned to the state March 19. Six others who were also tested along with the three have tested negative. However even then they have been kept under quarantine.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal meanwhile said Friday that he would hold an interactive session with parents and schoolchildren on Saturday about ‘parenting in the time of corona’.
Meanwhile there have been widespread complaints from across the country made by doctors and nurses who have alleged that they are getting sub-standard personal protective gear. They have also complained about the lack of N95 masks and hand sanitisers and have said they face the risk of getting infected by the deadly virus.
Mumbai, the worst COVID-19-affected city has activated 474 teams across 241 containment zones and checked at least 900,000 people as part of its plan to stop the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus through human-to-human contact.
Agencies