A total of 918 fresh confirmed cases of COVID- 19 have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. This has taken the total number of patients to 8,447.  765 patients have recovered and discharged from the hospitals, while 273 patients have died. <br />''<br />''Briefing media in New Delhi today, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry, Lav Aggarwal said the government is extra prepared in case of exponential rise in COVID-19 cases. He said, based on the discussions at the level of Health Minister and Home Minister, work is on, on an urgent basis to expand capacity for COVID-19 testing in government and private medical colleges across the country. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Mr. Aggrawal  also said 14 mentor institutes including the AIIMS and NIMHANS have been identified to mentor the medical colleges and expand the Coronavirus testing capacity. Listing out several measures, he said the Centre is well prepared to deal with the situation and  one lakh five thousand beds are ready in the dedicated 601 COVID hospitals.</span><br />