Harsh Vardhan to meet health ministers of 11 states tomorrow over Covid-19 situation

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will chair a meeting with health ministers of 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday, said sources.

Hitting a grim milestone, India has recorded over 1 lakh Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours on Monday, the highest single daily spike in infections since the pandemic started last year.

With this, India has become the third country after the US and Brazil to register a six-figure addition in Covid-19 cases in a single day. On January 8, the United States surpassed 300,000 daily coronavirus cases, reported the Washington Post. On March 25, Brazil recorded 100,158 new coronavirus cases and 2,777 new deaths, the country's Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country reached 7,91,05,163, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.