India's Covid-19 cases near 27 thousand mark as Maharashtra witnesses another hike.

New Delhi: The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country climbed to 26,917 on Sunday as Maharashtra recorded a further rise in the number of patients amid the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of the highly contagious pathogen.

With an increase in the casualties in the past 24 hours, the death toll mounted to 826 this morning, as per the government data.

The active cases of COVID-19 in the country at present stands at 20,177.

Meanwhile, the number of cured and discharged cases of COVID-19 has increased to 5,914 pan India, the data revealed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the people of the country were displaying grit against the global Coronavrus pandemic and were also getting success, but everyone had to keep in mind that even a little carelessness or overconfidence could prove dangerous.

We should not be overconfident. We should not presume that COVID-19 will not enter our homes, offices, and colonies. We have to stay vigilant. We should ensure that we are never negligent. I appeal to you again. 'Do gaze doori, bahut hi zaroori hai, (two-meter distance is of utmost importance)," PM Modi cautioned in the 11th episode of the second section of his monthly



programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said abiding by the Centre's order regarding the opening of some shops,  the Delhi Government will allow some shops to open in the residential areas along with the essentials' stores.

He said that any kind of shop is not allowed to open in the containment areas in the national capital.

Across the nation, the maximum cases and casualties have been reported in the state of Maharashtra with the number jumping to 7,628 cases and 323 deaths reported so far.

In Pune, all 17 people linked to the Satranjipura area, who were kept in a quarantine facility in Wanadongri here, tested positive for the novel coronavirus and cases in Aurangabad touched 51 on Sunday.

Terming the present level of testing in the country as inadequate, Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, speaking in a video released by the Congress party, said, 'Without aggressive testing facilities, we cannot conquer this menace.

Speaking on the issue, former union minister and party leader Jairam Ramesh said, 'We have the capacity to triple the amount of testing. If we are to reach the threshold of 1 percent of the population, we have to do 10 million tests.