India has witnessed a sharp spike in the number of coronavirus cases over the past few weeks. A single-day spike of over 4,000 positive cases was recorded yesterday, indicating that the country’s tally may go up sharply in the next few days. However, the government is now focused on reopening the economy as the burden of another lockdown extension could completely derail the economy. It has allowed railway services to resume in a graded manner from today and other services may open up soon, with lockdown 3.0 ending on May 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also asked state chief ministers to submit suggestions on how to restart after the lockdown ends. Globally, lockdowns have eased in many countries while few others like China, South Korea and Germany have expressed concerns over a second Covid-19 wave.
Maharashtra reports the highest number of cases, Monday was the sixth straight day of reporting over 1,000 new cases. COVID-19 cases have risen to 23,401 with the state reporting 1,230 new cases on Tuesday. The number of deaths rose to 868.
Gujarat has the second-highest cases, with a tally of 8,541, including 513 deaths.
Tamil Nadu saw a single day high of 798 new cases, taking the state’s tally to 8,002. Chennai’s Koyambedu vegetable market accounts for at least 1,800 cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that “extreme vigilance” was needed as countries begin to exit from lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, amid global concerns about a second wave of infections.