Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the recent COVID-19 situation in India following the sudden spike in cases in several states.

The meeting was attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and several other home ministry officials.During the meeting, Shah addressed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive and the further course of action that is needed to restrain the further spread of the virus.

The Home Minister also assured the affected states of the Centre providing possible assistance.The meeting was scheduled after a sudden hike in COVID-19 cases in five states including Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh.

India’s positivity rate reached 5.20 per cent.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESThe health ministry said, “The number of beneficiaries being tested per million every day has shown a consistent and progressive increase.

India’s tests per million stand at 1,53,298.4 as of date.” The ministry also noted that 80.86% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in five states as well.The 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccination started on February 13 for those beneficiaries who have completed 28 days after receipt of the 1st dose.

Vaccination of the front line workers started on February 2.READ: TODAYS UPDATES NEWSCLICK HERE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYAs of now, a total of 14,199 new daily cases have been recorded in a span of 24 hours.

PSG registered 4 away goals at Camp Nou as Messi’s team loses sight of the Champion’s League trophy this year as well.Lionel Messi was the first one to score from the penalty spot at the 27th minute.

The first half ended with 1-1, however, it was the second half that changed everything.

To seal the deal, Mbappe once again blasted a magnificent shot from right outside the box and left the Barcelona’s defense baffled.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESThis came as a major blow for Barcelona as there will have a daunting task at their hands for the second leg.

But, he is expected to return on March 10 for the second leg which can be a huge roadblock in the way of Barca’s comeback.Barca coach Ronald Koeman had no complaints about the defeat and showed a rather pessimistic attitude during the post-match press conference.

“The result reflect how superior PSG were, they were much more effective than us.

I could tell you lies but the fact is that at 4-1 down from the home leg, there are very few chances of going through,” said the Dutchman.READ: TODAYS UPDATES NEWSCLICK HERE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYBarca’s last Champions League knockout game was the humiliating 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in last year’s quarter-finals.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy along with his cabinet colleagues called on lieutenant governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and submitted his resignation.

The Congress government in Puducherry failed to prove its majority in the assembly on Monday as V P Sivakozhundhu declared that the government has adjourned the House sine die.During an interview with reporters, the CM said he had submitted his and his colleagues’ (Congress and DMK MLAs) resignation letters including one of an independent MLA to the lieutenant governor.“We have submitted resignation letters to lieutenant governor (additional charge) requesting her to accept our resignations.

Along with me, my cabinet colleagues, Congress and DMK MLAs and an independent MLA have tendered resignation,” said Narayanasamy.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESWhile addressing the assembly before the vote of confidence, Narayanasamy lashed out at the BJP-led Centre, former governor Kiran Bedi and opposition parties for their repeated attempts to remove the Congress government from power.“The BJP-led Centre had dethroned elected governments in several states.

But their plot did not work in Rajasthan.

They have been trying to topple the elected government in Puducherry,” he said.ALSO, READ MORE: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINES ON POLITICSREAD: TODAYS UPDATES NEWSThe legislative assembly of the Union territory was scheduled at 10 am to let Narayanasamy prove the majority of the government in the House following directions from Tamilisai.

Tamilisai’s direction came after the opposition parties had submitted a memorandum to her stating that the Congress government had lost its majority in the House after a mass exodus of Congress MLAs.AIADMK leader A Anbalagan said the Puducherry unit would consult the party leadership to decide on the future course of action.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to impose local lockdown measures in some parts of Mumbai witnessing an unpredictable surge in Covid-19 cases.Mumbai westward that comprises Chembur and Tilak Nagar has recorded the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in the last few days.

About 550 housing societies in Chembur received notices with a warning of a local-level lockdown till Tuesday.

Keeping this in mind BMC is taking steps to seal the society in case of the high prevalence of positive cases among residents.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESIn a change of trend, about 98% of the cases are being recorded from non-slums areas.

Civic officials have forecasted a possibility of “Imposing of local lockdown measures” in order to curb the rising cases.It was just a week ago that this ward witnessed 15 new cases daily, which has now increased to more than 25 cases.

Civic officials have blamed completely against the negligent behaviour of the citizens for violating guidelines issued by the Centre and the state government.Considering the present situation, the BMC issued notices to residential societies in the ward with the subject line – “Appeal/instructions to all societies to follow strict Covid-19 guidelines”.READ: TODAYS UPDATES NEWSCLICK HERE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYThe notice has laid down 5 basic guidelines that societies need to follow strictly.

“Your society will restrict entry of outsiders to a minimum including maids/milkman etc; measures like thermal screening to be strictly implemented; positive cases, if any in society, to follow strict quarantine guidelines by family for 14 days; others in the family to get tested compulsorily as high-risk contacts and any other symptomatic person in society to get checked for Covid-19 through MCGM.” The notice further added stating “the civic body has started sealing buildings and societies with higher prevalence of Covid-19 cases”.“Citizens need to be alert and follow Covid-19 norms for their own safety and also that of others,” stated Rajkumar Sharma, one of the M-west ward’s advanced locality management and networking action committee member.ALSO, READ: Puducherry Congress faces crisis ahead of the state polls 

Following the 5,400 newly registered Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra administration has announced a 10-day lockdown in Yavatmal district.

A weekend lockdown is announced in the neighbouring Amravati district.Maharashtra reported more than 5,427 new Covid cases after a gap of 75 days and it is the highest one-day count this year.

38 fatalities have also been reported in the last 24 hours.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESAfter the gradual drop in cases after December, the Maharashtra government had relaxed restrictions on movements and gatherings including travel by local trains in Mumbai.

However, since the last week, a spike in COVID-19 cases has been seen.The Yavatmal district administration has ordered a ten-day lockdown from Thursday night.

It includes curbs on gatherings and closure of schools.

Meanwhile, Amravati district has announced weekend lockdown from 8 pm on Saturday to 7 am on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to visit Coimbatore and will address an election meeting on February 25, BJP Tamil Nadu president L Murugan said on Monday.Within a couple of days, the venue and time will be announced, as stated by Murugan to the reporters, after a meeting with party executive and senior leaders from 12 districts in the Western Region of the State.READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESRecently Narendra Modi visited Chennai and handed over to the Army, the home-made Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) and also launched several projects and made the foundation for several others in different sectors, including Railways, in Tamil Nadu.FIND OUT MORE: LATEST NEWS OF FARMERS PROTESTREAD MORE: FARMERS PROTEST NEWSDefence Minister Rajnath Singh will address a BJP Youth wing conference in Salem on February 21, Murugan stated.

While the topic of alliance with the ruling AIADMK came up, Murugan said that it was already decided and reiterated by party president JP Nanna and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the time they visited the state.Murugan further added that the seat-sharing will be finalised very soon and BJP members will represent the assembly in double digits.

Assembly pools are hoped to be placed in Tamil Nadu within April – May.ALSO, READ: PM Modi Is Not Bothered By The Deaths Of 200 Farmers: RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary 

Union home minister Amit Shah during his two-day visit to West Bengal is set to flag off the Bharatiya Janata Party’s fifth and final rath yatra today.

This marks Shah’s second visit to the poll-bound state within a week.A senior BJP leader commented saying, “Shah is scheduled to flag off the fifth and final parivartan rath yatra today [Thursday] from Namkhana in South 24 Parganas district.

He will also visit the Kapil Muni Ashram on Sagar Island and Bharat Sevashram Sangha in Kolkata,” adding, “Shah also has a set of programmes to attend on Friday before he flies back to New Delhi.”READ MORE: TOP HEADLINES OF TODAYALSO, READ: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINESThe union home minister will reportedly have lunch with a refugee family at Narayanpur village in South 24 Parganas and later attend a roadshow before coming back to Kolkata.

The rath yatra is set to kick off around 12:50 pm.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee have also organised a workers’ meet at Pailan around the same time in the same district.

TMC plans to turn this into a mega event as TMC leader Shaukat Molla claimed, “There will be a huge turnout – of over one lakh people – in our event on Thursday.”ALSO, READ MORE: ENGLISH NEWS HEADLINES ON POLITICSREAD: TODAYS UPDATES NEWSBJP on the other hand has declared the final rath yatra to be a direct challenge to the chief minister and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.

“The fifth rath yatra will pass through two prestigious constituencies, Diamond Harbour and South Kolkata.