Cases cross 7,500 across India; death toll over 250Maharashtra records maximum number of cases at 1,574 and over 100 deaths; 

Centre gears up for extending lockdown with some possible relaxations  in god we trust: Devotees wearing masks offer prayers outside a church on the occasion of Good Friday during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic, in Chennai, on Friday. — Photo: PTI

PTI  New Delhi 11.04.2020

The nationwide tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 7,500 on Friday with more than 250 deaths as several places including Delhi and Mumbai reported further spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The Union Home Ministry sought views of State governments on the 21-day lockdown including on whether more categories of people and services need to be exempted, officials said on Friday, amidst indications of a possible two-week extension of the nationwide restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Health Ministry in the meantime maintained that no community transmission is taking place as yet in India, while the World Health Organisation also put the country in a category named ‘cluster of cases’ - a notch below the community transmission stage and a classification used by the global body for cases “clustered in time, geographic location and/or by common exposures”.

Later in the evening, WHO said that a hasty lifting of restrictions imposed to control the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to a fatal resurgence of the deadly virus, which has infected over 16 lakh people globally since its emergence in China last December while the worldwide death toll is fast approaching 1,00,000.

While several States including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh reported rising number of cases, the Health Ministry said the rate of people testing positive was only 0.2 per cent on Thursday when more than 16,000 samples were tested. Cumulatively close to 1.5 lakh samples have been tested so far across India.

A PTI tally of numbers reported by various States as on 9.30 pm showed a total of 7,510 having been affected by the virus nationwide so far with at least 251 deaths. More than 700 have been cured and discharged. However, the evening update from the Union Health Ministry put the number of confirmed infections at 6,761 and the death toll at 206.

Maharashtra has reported the maximum 1,574 cases, including close to 1,000 in Mumbai itself, while over 100 have died in the State. Tamil Nadu and Delhi have crossed the 900-mark in terms of positive cases, Rajasthan has over 500 now, while Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have reported more than 400 positive cases each.

Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are also fast approaching the 400-mark, while Kerala has also reported over 300 cases already. More than 200 cases have been reported by each of Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir, while the 100-mark has been breached already by West Bengal, Haryana and Punjab.

The Home Ministry, separately, has sought views of state governments on the 21-day lockdown, scheduled to end on April 14, including whether more categories of people and services need to be exempted, officials said on Friday. Some of the suggestions made by state governments include allowing construction-related activities in rural areas.