States impose stricter lockdowns
New Delhi
India on Saturday reported its highest ever single-day Covid-19 death toll, as cases continued to rise and states imposed stricter lockdowns.
India’s health ministry reported 4,187 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to just under 240,000.
Cases rose by 401,078, increasing the total since the start of the pandemic to 21.9 million.
Medical experts say the real numbers of Covid-19 cases and fatalities are likely to be far higher than official tallies.
Tamil Nadu, known for its automobile manufacturing including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Ford , Nissan and Renault, said it would move from a partial to a full lockdown on Monday, stopping public transport and shutting state-run alcohol retailers.
Neighbouring Karnataka state extended a total shutdown late on Friday. The state capital Bengaluru is a major tech hub, home to major offices of companies including Google, Amazon and Cisco.
India is yet to impose a national lockdown as it did during its first wave last year, but around half of all its states have imposed a total shutdown. The rest are under a partial shutdown.
Though it is the world’s biggest vaccine maker, India is struggling to produce and distribute enough doses to stem the wave of Covid-19.
Although the country has administered over 167m vaccine doses, its rate of inoculation has fallen sharply in recent days and only around two per cent of its 1.4 billion people have received the two doses needed to be fully immunised.— Reuters
