COVID: Delhi sees less than 1,000 cases after 50 days, biggest spike in TN

The number of fresh COVID-19 cases in Delhi decreased to less than 1,000 on Monday (July 20) after nearly 50 days. The national capital recorded 954 new cases, taking the tally in the city to over 1.23 lakh. The last time Delhi witnessed less than 1,000 cases was on June 01. But, the death toll rose to 3,663 with 35 new fatalities.

However, the number of fresh cases continued to spike in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, as the country crossed the 11-lakh mark, recording 40,425 cases — the biggest spike so far —on Monday. While the total number of recoveries crossed 7 lakh, the death toll rose to 28,078 as 575 new deaths were reported across the country.

Maharashtras tally rose to 3,18,695 with the addition of 8,240 new cases, while the state’s fatality count increased to 12,030 with 176 new deaths in a day. A total of 5,460 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered persons to 1,75,029. There are 1,31,334 active cases in the state at present.

Tamil Nadu witnessed the biggest single-day spike on Monday with 4,985 fresh COVID-19 cases as the overall tally crossed 1.75 lakh. As many as 70 fatalities propelled the death toll to 2,551. As many as 52,087 samples were tested for COVID-19 and the cumulative tests so far touched 19,84,579.

Meanwhile, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said Delhi seemed to have hit the COVID-19 peak with the number of daily cases declining significantly. He, however, cautioned against any lowering of guard. He said cases were increasing in certain states and would reach a peak later, but there was not much evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 at the national level.

Gujarat too reported the highest single-day spike of 998 COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 49,439 while fatalities rose to 2,167, the state Health Department said. A total of 777 patients were discharged in the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 35,659. Of the total 11,613 active cases, the condition of 78 patients is critical, it said.

Related News: India records largest single-day spike of 40,425 COVID cases

The death toll due to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh reached 1,192 on Monday with a record 46 fatalities in a day, while the infection tally mounted to 51,160 as 1,913 fresh cases were reported. There are 19,137 active cases in the state, while a total of 30,831 people have been discharged from hospitals so far after recovering from the disease

Stating that community transmission of COVID-19 has been recorded in a few areas in West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government announced a complete lockdown across the state for two days every week to stem the spread of the disease. The decision was taken following a high-level meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister.

On the other hand, Kerala has made arrangements to treat around 50,000 COVID-19 patients at a time, doubling the first-line treatment centres to 56. State Health Minister KK Shailaja said experts had forecast a surge in the number of cases next month but sounded confident that the government could manage any such situation.

(With inputs from agencies)