PM Modi to Chair Union Cabinet Meeting On Coronavirus Outbreak

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will begin shortly.

It will be the first meeting of the Cabinet after the Central government entered into its second year of office. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting will also be held today at the Prime Minister's residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned people against showing any laxity in the fight against COVID-19 and asked them to be "extra alert and careful", while acknowledging that the poor and labourers have been hit the hardest by the crisis.

In his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast, Modi noted that a big part of the economy has opened and train and flight services have begun operating partially with more relaxations on the anvil, but warned people against letting their guards down. After such "austere penance and after so many hardships", the country's deft handling of the situation should "not go in vain", he said.

The prime minister's note of caution came on a day India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases with 8,380 new infections, taking the country's tally to 1,82,143, while the death toll rose to 5,164, according to the Union Health Ministry.