India registers 2,003 COVID deaths, highest single-day spike

India registered the highest-ever single-day spike of 2,003 COVID-19 fatalities on Wednesday (June 17), pushing the death toll due to the disease to 11,903 in the country, after Maharashtra and Delhi added deaths that occurred earlier but were not attributed to the coronavirus.

The country’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 3,54,065 with 10,974 new infections reported in the last 24 hours.

Of the 2,003 new deaths, Maharashtra accounted for the maximum of 1,409, taking its COVID-19 death toll to 5,537, while coronavirus deaths in Delhi surged by 437, taking its toll to 1,837, according to the health ministry data updated at 8 am.

“The sudden surge in deaths is based on entry of data by the states. Maharashtra and Delhi have reconciled data from previous days,” a health ministry official said.

The number of active cases stands at 1,55,227 in the country, while 1,86,934 people have recovered from the disease and one patient has migrated, according to official figures.

“The recovery rate has risen to 52.80 per cent,” the ministry said.

The country registered over 10,000 fresh coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.

India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US, Brazil and Russia.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, India is at the eighth position in terms of the death toll due to the disease.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 60,84,256 samples have been tested for coronavirus in the country till June 16 with 1,63,187 tested on Tuesday.

The number of government laboratories has been increased to 674 and that of private laboratories to 250, the ministry said.

How are states faring?

Tamil Nadu has reported 49 deaths, followed by Gujarat (28), Uttar Pradesh and Haryana (18 each), Madhya Pradesh (11), West Bengal (10), Rajasthan (seven), Karnataka (five) and Telangana (four). Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, Puducherry and Uttarakhand have reported a fatality each in the last 24 hours.

Of the total 11,903 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 5,537, followed by Delhi (1,837), Gujarat (1,533), Tamil Nadu (528), West Bengal (495), Madhya Pradesh (476), Uttar Pradesh (417), Rajasthan (308) and Telangana (191).

The COVID-19 death toll reached 118 in Haryana, 94 in Karnataka, 88 in Andhra Pradesh, 72 in Punjab, 63 in Jammu and Kashmir, 41 in Bihar, 25 in Uttarakhand, 20 in Kerala and 11 in Odisha.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have registered nine deaths each, while Assam and Himachal Pradesh have recorded eight fatalities each. Chandigarh and Puducherry have  reported six deaths each, while Meghalaya, Tripura, and Ladakh have reported a fatality each, according to the health ministry.

More than 70 per cent deaths were due to comorbidities, it said.

Maharashtra has also reported the maximum number of cases at 1,13,445, followed by Tamil Nadu (48,019), Delhi (44,688), Gujarat (24,577), Uttar Pradesh (14,091), Rajasthan (13,216) and West Bengal (11,909), according to the ministry.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 11,083 in Madhya Pradesh, 8,272 in Haryana, 7,530 in Karnataka and 6,841 in Andhra Pradesh. It has risen to 6,778 in Bihar, 5,406 in Telangana, 5,298 in Jammu and Kashmir, 4,319 in Assam and 4,163 in Odisha.

Punjab has reported 3,371 coronavirus cases so far, while Kerala has 2,622. A total of 1,942 people have been infected with the virus in Uttarakhand, 1,839 in Jharkhand, 1,781 in Chhattisgarh, 1,092 in Tripura, 649 in Ladakh, 629 in Goa, 560 in Himachal Pradesh and 500 in Manipur.

Chandigarh has registered 358 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry 216, Nagaland 179, Mizoram 121, Arunachal Pradesh 95 and Sikkim 70.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 45 COVID-19 cases. Meghalaya and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have registered 44 cases of the infection each.

“Our figures are being reconciled with that of the ICMR,” the ministry said, adding that 8,273 cases are being reassigned to states.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu recorded the highest single-day spike with 2,174 people testing positive for the virus.

The spike in the number of cases on Wednesday was attributed to the significant increase in the number of the people tested for COVID-19. According to the state bulletin, 25,463 samples of 24, 621 people were tested on June 17.

Of the 2,174 people who tested positive, 1,298 people were from Chennai, while 162 were from Chengalpattu.

With this, the state has crossed the 50,000-mark, having touched a total of 50,193 positive cases.

At the same time, until Wednesday, as many as 27,624 people were discharged after treatment, maintaining a 50 percent recovery rate.

The state also recorded 48 deaths due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the state’s death toll to 576.

Of the 48 deaths recorded on Wednesday, 10 people died in private hospitals and 38 people died in government hospitals. Of these 48 deceased, 10 people were infected with COVID-19 only and did not have any comorbidities. Four of these people were below 30 years of age.

Following the spike in the number of cases, four districts including Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu will be having a complete lockdown from June 19 to June 30.

State chief secretary K Shanmugam has written to Chennai corporation commissioner, police commissioner, and other district collectors to enforce the lockdown strictly and barricade all the arterial roads in Chennai.

The state has also started cracking down on people who travel from Chennai to other parts of the state without e-passes.

16,618 samples collected for COVID testing in Delhi after Shah’s orders

Following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s decision to double COVID-19 tests in Delhi, 16,618 samples have been collected on June 15 and 16, compared to 4,000 to 4,500 daily till June 14, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday.

The ministry also announced that the price for COVID-19 test in Delhi has been fixed at Rs 2,400 as suggested by a high-level committee set up by the home minister on Sunday and now tests will be done via Rapid Antigen methodology.

“In pursuance of decisions taken by HM @AmitShah on 14th June, to double the #COVID19 testing in Delhi; 16,618 test samples collected on June 15 and 16 (till 14th June daily collection varied between 4000-4500). Reports of 6,510 tests received so far, remaining to be received by 18th June,” an MHA spokesperson tweeted.

The spokesperson said that to improve contact mapping in Delhis containment zones, health surveys have been started on Shah’s directions, and out of a population of 2,30,466 people in 242 containment zones, survey of 1,77,692 people was conducted between June 15 and 16. The remaining will be covered by June 20.

(With inputs from agencies)