India's confirmed coronavirus cases tally hit 873 on Saturday after the country went into a three-week quarantine in the hope of stopping the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease.

An additional 149 people tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 873, India's Health Ministry said on Saturday. This is the biggest single-day increase the country has seen since the beginning of the outbreak.

India has remained among the states with a relatively low number of officially-reported infections and deaths from the coronavirus. A total of 19 people have died as of Saturday.

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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day lockdown with a view to slowing down the spread of the disease.

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