India: 30,000 new coronavirus cases recorded; tally reaches 9.36 lakh
India recorded yet another spike in coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total tally across the country to 9,36,181, data from Union Health Ministry revealed earlier in the day. In the last 24 hours, 29,429 fresh coronavirus cases were recorded and 582 people lost their lives. The total number of people who have died of the highly contagious disease stands at 24,309. Here's more.
Over 20,000 patients recovered in the last 24 hours
It's imperative to highlight that in India's battle against COVID-19, what provides some relief is the respectable number of recoveries. The Union Health Ministry said 20,572 patients defeated the disease in the last 24 hours. It is for the first time since the disease's outbreak that such a staggering number of people were cured. Reportedly, the recovery rate in India stands at 63.23%.
With 1,200 labs, India has widened testing as well
India has also intensified testing; a total of 1,200 labs (852 government-run and 348 private ones) offer COVID-19 diagnostics facilities. As per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1.24 crore samples have been tested till July 14. Of them, 3.2 lakh were tested on Tuesday.
The daily growth rate is also declining: Union Health Ministry
In yet another heartening development, the daily growth rate is also declining, the Health Ministry said yesterday. The daily growth rate in March was 31.28%. "In May it was 9.27% and further reduced to 4.82% in May-end. If we see the figures for July 12, the growth rate for newer cases is 3.24%. There is a progressive decline," an official said.
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have the highest number of cases
Notably, Rajesh Bhushan, the Health Ministry's officer on special duty, said 86% of India's cases are confined to ten states. Moreover, nearly 50% of these cases are restricted to just two states. "Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have 50% of the active caseload while Karnataka, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Assam have 36% of active cases, respectively," he said.
Karnataka now has more coronavirus cases than Gujarat
Among states, Karnataka zoomed past Gujarat to become the fourth worst-affected state. With 2,496 fresh cases being reported on Tuesday, the tally in the southern state stands at 44,077. Separately, Karnataka's neighbor, Kerala, also reported an alarming rise in the number of cases. 608 more people tested positive for the disease, swelling the state's number to 8,930.
Meanwhile, Delhi's CM is glad COVID-19 numbers are under control
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the media today saying that the situation in the National Capital is under control. His government had predicted 5.5 lakh coronavirus cases by July 31. "As per estimates, 2.25 lakh cases were predicted by July 15 in Delhi but after united efforts, the cases today are half of the prediction," he said at a virtual press conference.
Kejriwal thanked BJP and Congress for helping Delhi
Kejriwal admitted that Delhi would have lost the battle to coronavirus had it been fighting alone. But help from all quarters did wonders. "We went to everyone including the central government, NGOs, and religious organizations. I thank all parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. I thank the 2 crore people of Delhi and the Corona Warriors," the AAP leader said.
