In 2nd wave, total cases soar to 5-month high at 59,069
After breaching the 50,000-mark for the first time almost eight months ago and the last time on November 6, last year, India on Thursday yet again saw the tally of coronavirus cases climb up to 59,069 in a continuing sign of renewed concern. India’s Covid-19 cases now stand at 1,18,46,082.
The rapid rise in cases has begun to show its impact on the death numbers that has seen sudden rise recently. The daily death count, which had dropped to double digits in February, has risen to more than 200 during the last two days. On Thursday, 257 fatalities were reported.
However, compared to the sharp increase in cases, the fatalities have been quite low in the ongoing second wave in contrast to what was seen in the peak months of July, August and September last year.
It was on July 29, 2020 that India first witnessed Covid-19 cases cross the 50,000 mark. And after November 6, coronavirus cases have been registering a downward slide, only to take the upward swing since the last few days.
According to the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra and Punjab are turning out to be a major cause of worry. Cases have been increasing over the last two weeks. Maharashtra reported 35,952 new cases followed by Punjab with 2,661 and Kerala with 1,989 new cases.
When the first time the daily case count crossed the 50,000-figure on July 29 last year, India reported 775 deaths. That was because the daily case count at that time had already remained in the range 30,000-40,000 for two weeks before hitting the 50,000 mark. This time, the rise in cases has been much more rapid. India has reported cases in the 40,000 range four days and 30,000s in two days, before touching the 50,000 range on Wednesday. It is possible for the daily death count to show a sudden rise in the coming two weeks.
With the death of 257 people in the last 24 hours, the toll has reached 1,60,983 in India while the active caseload in the country has mounted to 4,17,813.
With the discharge of 26,490 patients in a day, a total of 1,12,31,650 persons have been discharged so far. A total of 10,65,021 tests were done on Wednesday. So far, 5.31 crore doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for Covishield and Covaxin.
Now, those over 45 years of age will also get the Covid-19 vaccine from April 1, irrespective of the co-morbidities, the Central Government has announced.
Six States including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are showing a steep rise in the daily new Covid-19 cases and have accounted for 81.63 per cent of the new coronavirus cases recorded by India in the last 24 hours, informed Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. Of these, Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded the biggest single-day jump in total infections ever since the pandemic hit India.
According to the Health Ministry, 10 States — Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
“India’s total active caseload stands at 3.95 lakh (3,95,192) today, comprising 3.35 per cent of the total positive cases. A net incline of 26,735 cases is recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours,” it said.
The Ministry further said that the three States, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, account for 74.32 per cent of total active cases in the country. Maharashtra alone accounts for 62.91 per cent of the total active cases in the country.
The total number of recoveries in the country has surged to 1,12,31,650 with 26,490 people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that the national recovery rate is 95.28 per cent.
Meanwhile, the gap between total recovered cases and the active cases stands at 10,836,458 today.
Jammu & Kashmir (UT), Goa, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Ladakh (UT), Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have not reported any Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Friday, 26 March 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
