PM Modi's Policy In Facing New Record Of COVID-19 Cases In India

PM India Narendra Modi (Instagram/@narendramodi)

JAKARTA - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is launching a vaccination festival. This follows a new record of COVID-19 of 152,879 cases.

Later, some states are also considering stricter restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

"Right now we must move towards optimal utilization of the country's vaccination capacity," Modi said in an open letter reported by Reuters from Antara, Sunday, April 11.

India has injected more than 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since mid-January, the most after the United States and China.

But some Indian states have complained of vaccine shortages, although immunizations are currently limited to about 400 million of India's 1.35 billion population.

The surge in second-wave infections, which have spread much faster than the first to peak in September, has forced many states to impose new restrictions on public activity.

The western Maharashtra state government, which is home to the financial capital Mumbai and has the highest number of cases in the country, said it would probably impose additional measures beyond the weekend lockdown that will end early on Monday, April 12.

"To break the chain of transmission of COVID, it is very important that strict restrictions should be put in place for a certain period of time," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said Saturday. April 10th.

Authorities call the rise of the virus mainly due to crowds and the reluctance of citizens to wear masks, even as election rallies and large religious gatherings have continued in recent weeks.

Thousands of people crowded the banks of the Ganges in the northern city of Haridwar on Sunday for dawn prayers during Kumbh Mela, which is usually attended by up to five million devotees.

Authorities have required everyone entering the area to undergo a COVID-19 test. However, many devotees gathered on the banks of the holy river without wearing masks and stood in the middle of a crowded crowd.

With more than 13.35 million cases of COVID-19, India recorded the third-highest infection globally, after Brazil and the United States.