New Delhi, February 27: India is once again seeing a rise in the number of coronavirus cases, taking its cumulative tally to 1,10,63,491. In the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Friday wrote to all states and UTs after extending COVID-19 guidelines till March 31 and appealed to follow all COVID-19 protocols. In his letter, Bhalla has said that there is a need for maintaining caution and strict surveillance to fully overcome the coronavirus pandemic. As per the Ministry's data on Friday, there are 1,55,996 active cases in India at present after 12,179 patients were discharged in a day.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the existing COVID-19 guidelines will remain in force till March 31. According to the existing guidelines, cinema halls and theatres are allowed to operate with more people while swimming pools have also been permitted for use by all. Moreover, there is no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods including those for cross-land-border trade under treaties with neighbouring countries.

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In a statement, the MHA has advised all the states and union territories to speed up the vaccination of the target population so as to break the chain of transmission and overcome the pandemic. The containment zones continue to be demarcated carefully and prescribed containment measures are strictly followed within these zones. Moreover, COVID-appropriate behavior promoted and strictly enforced, and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed in respect of various permitted activities followed scrupulously, the ministry said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2021 08:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).