India Records 2.61 Lakh Covid-19 Numbers As Delhi, Maharashtra Report Biggest Single-Day Spike

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 18 with recommendations of measures to tackle to an exponential new wave of Covid-19 in the country. This comes on a day when India recorded 2,61,500 new cases in 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 1,47,88,1091,501 deaths were reported. Union Health Ministry said that the daily Covid-19 positivity rate in India has doubled to 16.69 per cent in the last 12 days. Several states are grappling with a shortage in crucial medical facilities such as oxygen and the remdesivir drug including the worst-affected states of Maharashtra & Delhi. Several states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu & West Bengal on April 18 reported their highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases. While Delhi reported 25,462 cases & 161 deaths in the last 24 hours, Maharashtra logged 68,631 infections & 503 fatalities. The unprecedented cases in the national capital have been reported on the day its Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, flagged an imminent oxygen shortage in the coming days if the stocks are not replenished.