Coronavirus: 590 dead in India; Mumbai cases cross 3,000
On Monday, the number of coronavirus infections in Maharashtra's Mumbai surged past 3,000, amounting to over 16% of India's cases. The total number of coronavirus cases nationwide stood at 18,500, including 590 deaths, according to data compiled from official state and union territory statistics. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry stated that the outbreak had slowed further, with cases doubling over a period of 7.5 days.
India's Health Ministry confirms 17,656 COVID-19 cases, 559 deaths
According to the Health Ministry's latest update, by 5 pm on Monday, India had reported a total of 17,656 COVID-19 cases. These included 559 deaths and 14,255 active cases, along with 2,841 cured/discharged patients and one patient who migrated out of India. However, data compiled from official state government statistics showed that India has reported 18,517 cases, including 590 deaths.
Important note for compilation of COVID-19 data
West Bengal's Monday bulletin listed a total of 330 COVID-19 cases, which has been counted as the state's tally in NewsBytes' nationwide roundup. However, the Union Health Ministry mentioned 339 COVID-19 cases in the state. Madhya Pradesh has not released its official bulletin, hence, the tally has been counted as listed on the Health Ministry website: 1,485 cases, including 74 deaths.
Half of all cases reported from Maharashtra, Delhi and Gujarat
Maharashtra, the worst-hit Indian state, has reported 4,666 COVID-19 cases, including 232 deaths. Maharashtra is followed by Delhi that has reported 2,081 cases, and Gujarat, with 1,939 cases. Delhi and Gujarat have also reported 47 and 71 deaths due to COVID-19 respectively. Together, the three regions make up for nearly half all COVID-19 cases in India and 60% of all deaths.
30 new cases reported in Dharavi; tally climbs to 168
The Dharavi slum in Mumbai reported 30 new cases on Monday, taking the total positive cases in the area to 168, which included 11 deaths. Dharavi is a prominent hotspot in Mumbai, a city with 3,032 cases of COVID-19, including 139 deaths.
Doubling rate slowed from 3.4 days to 7.5 days
At a press briefing earlier on Monday, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said the doubling rate of the COVID-19 outbreak has now slowed to 7.5 days from 3.4 days before the lockdown was implemented. He also said that 18 states and UTs have slower doubling rates than the national average and in Odisha and Kerala, the doubling rate is slower than 30 days.
3 affected districts haven't reported new cases in 28 days
Agarwal also said that a total of 59 districts across 23 states/UTs have not reported any new cases in the past 14 days. Further, Mahe in Puducherry, Kodagu in Karnataka, and Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand have not reported any new cases in over 28 days.
ICMR supplied defective testing kits: West Bengal
West Bengal blamed poor quality testing kits provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research for the delay in testing. The ICMR refuted the allegations. Bengal also objected to the deployment of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams in the state, alleging breach of protocol. The Centre asked states to not dilute the lockdown and pulled up Kerala for relaxing curbs. Kerala has since reversed the relaxations.
Indian Medical Association demands law to protect healthcare workers
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has demanded a special law against violence on healthcare professionals. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat resumed work from Monday after being shut on March 24. A doctor died due to COVID-19 on Sunday night at the Teerthanker Mahaveer University (TMU) in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad. Curfew extended in parts of Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot until April 24.
