- One hundred and nine days after the first person tested positive for Covid-19 in India, the country’s case count crossed the 1-lakh mark on Monday, with the number of infections having doubled in just a little over 12 days.
- Both the spread of the virus and the spurt in cases in recent days will be a cause for concern for the authorities.
On Monday, 4,713 fresh infections were reported from across the country, the third highest in a single day so far, led again by Maharashtra, which reported more than 2,000 cases (2,033 to be exact) for the second day running. As many as 24 states/UTs reported new cases during the day.
On the positive side, the number of people recovering from the infection is steadily rising. It was 38,908 on Monday, with the recovery rate at 38.8%. With 3,103 fatalities from the virus so far, India’s death rate too is relatively low at 3.1%.
However, as the country entered phase 4 of lockdown, the number of daily cases was still rising, indicating that the infection was yet to peak. On Monday, apart from Maharashtra, the number of new cases remained high in Tamil Nadu (536), Gujarat (366), Delhi (299, a slight drop from previous days), Madhya Pradesh (254), Uttar Pradesh (177) and Bihar (103).
Rajasthan and Karnataka registered their highest single-day rise in infections, with 305 and 99 cases, respectively. West Bengal (148), and J&K (106) were also close to their highest numbers.
At 131 deaths from the virus on Monday, the toll remained above 100 for the fourth straight day. Maharashtra recorded the highest 51 deaths, including 23 from Mumbai, while Gujarat reported 35 fatalities, a majority (31) from Ahmedabad alone. The toll was 12 in Delhi, where the death rate is now slowly rising after staying low for a long time.
Among Indian cities, Mumbai has recorded the highest number of Covid-related deaths at 757 while Ahmedabad district comes second with 524. When it comes to death rates, Gujarat’s financial capital has double the rate than the Maximum City. Compared to Mumbai’s rate of 3.64%, Ahmedabad recorded 6.22%. In the month of May, the rate reduced in Mumbai but increased to 6.95% in Ahmedabad.
In terms of cases, Maharashtra reported 2,033, the second-highest count in a day. The state’s tally reached 35,086, with Mumbai reporting over 1,000 cases for the second day in a row (1,185) to breach the 21,000 mark. The city now has 21,335 cases.
Meanwhile, five doctors and 55 police personnel where among the 106 who tested positive for the virus in J&K. Four of these doctors had treated a Covid positive woman who died of co-morbidities on Sunday.
Tamil Nadu reported three deaths and 536 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, with people returning from Maharashtra being the only ones testing positive in many districts. The testing strategy continued to be a subject of debate with the ICMR releasing new guidelines and the state set to finalise its own by Tuesday. The state has been criticised for reducing the number of tests over the last one week by epidemiologists, doctors and political leaders.
In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 177 new cases, including 31 in Gautam Budh Nagar, took the state’s Covid tally to 4,649. The state also recorded six deaths, including two migrant workers. UP’s corona toll is now 118.
-TOI
