Updated: April 22, 2021 11:10:14 am
Reeling under a brutal second wave, India today reported over 3 lakh new cases — the biggest daily spike for any country since the start of the pandemic. With 3,14,835 new cases, the total infections stand at 1,59,30,965. 2,104 deaths pushed the toll to 1,84,657.
Polling underway for sixth phase of Bengal elections
Polling began at 7 am on Thursday for 43 seats in the sixth phase of the assembly election in West Bengal amid a surge in COVID-19 cases with the state reporting record infections. Long queues were seen outside most of the polling booths even before the voting began. West Bengal registered its highest-ever single-day spike, with 9,819 people testing positive.
Covid1-19 patients waiting outside LNJP hospital (Express photo by Anil Sharma)
Sitaram Yechury’s son dies of COVID-19 in Gurgaon hospital
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday said his son Ashish died of COVID-19 in the morning. Ashish, a journalist by profession who would have celebrated his 35th birthday on June 9, was recovering well at Gurgaon’s Medanta Hospital, people close to the family added. They described his sudden death at 5.30 am after a two-week battle with the disease as a shock. The CPI(M) Politburo issued a statement announcing the death and offering its condolences to the family.
Maharashtra: Tighter curbs on movement, quarantine for inter-district travel
The Maharashtra government, meanwhile, announced fresh restrictions on office attendance, marriage ceremonies and travel. The new set of restrictions will come into effect from 8 pm on Thursday and will remain in force until 7 am on May 1. Even as it continued to shy away from the use of the word “lockdown” in official communication, the curbs, announced on Wednesday, were more stringent than any other restrictions put in place in the recent past in the state.
People stand in a queue outside the grocery shop in Pune. (Express Photo/Pavan Khengre)
