India reports 1,490 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hrs; Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi worst hit

With 1,490 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and 56 deaths, India's total count of coronavirus patients has surged to 24,942, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.The total cases are inclusive of 5,209 cured and discharged patients, one migrated and 779 deaths. At present, there are 18,953 active COVID-19 cases in the country.As per the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra with 6,817 confirmed cases has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the country, followed by Gujarat -- 2,815, and Delhi 2,514.Rajasthan is at the fourth place of India's COVID-19 count with 2,034 cases of which 230 have recovered and 27 have died due to the deadly virus.Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have crossed the 1,000 mark with 1952, 1778 and 1621 positive corona cases respectively.The highest number of deaths -- 301 -- has been reported from Maharashtra.Earlier in the day, a meeting of Group of Ministers (GoM) was held over COVID-19 at the Health Ministry. Several senior ministers including Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, S Jaishankar, Hardeep Singh Puri and other officials were present in the meeting.Referring to the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) that took place today, sources told that the use of rapid test kits has been postponed for now.Sources said that it was agreed in the meeting that the COVID-19 situation in the country is under control and the steps taken by the government have shown positive results.

"Therefore, the use of rapid test kits has been postponed for now." Currently, the capacity is to conduct more than 15 lakh tests, said sources.Several Indian compes are in the process of developing test kits and more than 1.25 lakh volunteers are ready to assist in the fight against COVID-19, according to sources.Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also held a meeting via video conference with Chief Secretaries and DGPs of States and other officials over public health response to COVID-19, resumption of economic activities as per MHA guidelines, issues of migrant labourers, and of Indians stranded abroad.Here's a quick read on the COVID-19 related updates:1. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson Punya Salila Srivastava on Saturday clarified that liquor shops, hair salons, and shops in markets/market complexes and shopping malls will not be allowed to open during the lockdown.2. In a big relief to the migrant workers in Surat, Gujarat government has allowed those who have their own vehicles to leave for their hometowns amid the nationwide lockdown enforced to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.3. The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has written to West Bengal Chief Secretary (CS) Rajiva Sinha, sharing its observations from spot visits in Howrah and raised issues with regard to quarantine centres and surveillance zones. It also enquired about personal protective equipment (PPE) stock and contact tracing and quarantine of individuals, who returned from Delhi's Markaz event.4. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has launched the Chief Minister's Relief Fund website so as to receive donations online for the COVID-19 relief works. The procedure for making donations are mentioned on the website cmrf.uk.gov.in itself.5. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officers that no public gathering should be allowed in the State till June 30.

6. A decision on relaxations of lockdown in the national capital will be taken after the end of April, Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain said on Saturday. He also elaborated on successful trials of plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients and asserted that the average daily growth in cases in the national capital has dropped to around 5 per cent from 20 per cent.7. Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar along with Health and Family Welfare Minister Sriramulu inaugurated clinical trials of convalescent plasma therapy at Victoria Hospital on Saturday. The minister said trials for the treatment of patients on ventilators will start next week.8. The mortality rate of COVID-19 patients stands at 4.4 per cent in Maharashtra, said the state's Health Department. It said the mortality rate is highest in the age-group 61-70 years at 17.78 per cent. 9. The Odisha government on Saturday allowed intra-state movement of stranded labourers, who have completed their 14-day quarantine period in view of COVID-19, to move back to their respective work-places and resume their jobs.

10. The air carrier SpiceJet has informed that its freighter carrying 18 tonnes of medical and emergency supplies from Shanghai, China, landed in Delhi late on Friday night. The flight had landed in Shanghai on April 15 to load critical medical supplies for India.

( With inputs from ANI )

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