Coronavirus: With 40,000+ new cases, India's tally crosses 1.1 million-mark
India on Sunday touched another grim milestone as new coronavirus cases crossed the 40,000-mark for the first time. Yesterday, 40,118 fresh cases and 675 deaths were recorded across the country, taking the infections' tally to 1,116,597 and swelling the death toll to 27,487. India continues to remain the third worst-hit nation after the United States (3,898,550 total cases) and Brazil (2,099,896 cases). Here's more.
The disease is spreading steadily in Andhra, Karnataka, and Bihar
While the rise in cases seems to have reached a stagnant pace in hotspots like Delhi, the surge in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar is concerning. 5,041 new cases were reported from Andhra, its biggest single-day spike. From Karnataka and Bihar, 4,120 and 1,412 new cases were reported respectively. 9,518 new COVID-19 cases were reported from Maharashtra and 4,979 from Tamil Nadu.
Record high reported from UP, Bengal, J&K, and Rajasthan
Other states which reported their highest single-day spike are Uttar Pradesh (2,211 cases), West Bengal (2,278 cases), and Rajasthan (934 cases). The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir also recorded its biggest surge of 701 new cases. With 1,211 new cases reported from Delhi, the total tally now stands at 122,793. Separately, Maharashtra has 310,455 total coronavirus cases.
Of total infections, over 2 lakh were reported last week
By all accounts, the last week was India's deadliest since the outbreak. In the week before that, the country reported a total of 1.81 lakh cases. It surged by 31% last week, as 2.38 lakh cases were reported. Moreover, 21% of total cases were recorded in the last week itself. A staggering 4,285 lost their lives to COVID-19 during the last week.
Global fatality rate stands at 4.2%, India's at 2.5%
While the numbers are distressing, India's fatality rate continues to remain low and is estimated to be less than 2.5%. The global average stands at 4.2%. To give a perspective, by the time US' cases breached one-million mark, over 57,000 had died. In Brazil, nearly 50,000 passed away when infections' tally reached one-million. In India, a little over 25,000 died at the one-million mark.
Heath Ministry said testing, early diagnosis helped keep deaths minimum
Yesterday, the Union Health Ministry credited "efficient clinical management of hospitalized cases," excessive testing, and timely diagnosis for the low fatality rate. "Effective clinical management of the moderate and severe cases through a well-executed standard of care protocol has ensured a high rate of recovery among the COVID patients," the Ministry said in a statement. Notably, India tested almost 300,000 samples every day last week.
Yesterday, PM Modi discussed COVID-19 and flood situation with CMs
Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to seven chief ministers to discuss coronavirus and flood situation. Assam and Bihar are ravaged by floods with over 80 dying in the Northeastern state. CM Sarbananda Sonowal was assured all help. He also spoke to Jagan Reddy (Andhra), KCR (Telangana), E. Palaniswami (Tamil Nadu), Jai Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), and Nitish Kumar (Bihar).
Globally, COVID-19 has killed over 600,000; US is topping chart
Meanwhile, Brazil on Sunday reported over 23,000 new coronavirus cases pushing the nation's tally to 2,098,389. With 716 new deaths being reported, the death toll stands at 79,488. Globally, 608,902 have lost their lives, with the maximum number — 143,289 — dying in the US.
