India's COVID death toll crosses 64K, recovery rate increases to 76.6%

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 crossed the 64,000-mark in India after 395 fatalities were reported on Sunday (August 30). The country witnessed 43,524 positive cases, increasing the total number to 35,83,236. So far, 27,44,430 people have been cured of the disease and the recovery rate has increased to 76.6 per cent.

The recovery rate was 7.69 per cent on April 5. It improved to 26.59 per cent on May 3 and 47.76 per cent on May 31. It was recorded at 60.77 per cent on July 5. The number of patients recovering is on a steady rise over the past several months and as on date exceeds the active cases by 3.55 times, the Union Health Ministry said.

The surge in coronavirus infections in India can be attributed to increased testing on one hand and opening of the economy on the other accompanied by complacency among people towards following COVID-appropriate behaviour, experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, as the country witnessed over five lakh cases in a week.

Andhra Pradesh on Sunday reported 10,603 fresh cases as its tally of 4.24 lakh saw the state go past Tamil Nadu to the second spot behind Maharashtra in the overall infection count. Adding 10,603 fresh cases, Andhra Pradesh’s COVID-19 tally reached 4,24,767. While 9,067 people got cured of the disease, 88 more succumbed to the pandemic.

Karnataka reported 8,852 new cases of COVID-19 and 106 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 3,35,928 and the death toll to 5,589, the Health department said. The day also saw 7,101 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 8,852 fresh cases reported on Sunday, 2,821 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone.

Delhi recorded 2,024 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 1.73 lakh, while the death toll mounted to 4,426 with 22 fresh fatalities As many as 6,881 RT-PCR tests were done in the last 24 hours while 13,555 rapid antigen tests were conducted during the same time. As many as 1,54,171 patients have been recovered.

Around 30 per cent of the coronavirus patients admitted to Delhi hospitals in August were from other states, according to government data. The AAP dispensation, in June, had predicted an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital and decided to reserve beds in Delhi government-run hospitals only for city residents.

As many as 67 more people died from coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday while the state registered a record daily spike of 6,233 cases, pushing its COVID-19 tally 2,25,632. The previous highest single-day rise of 5,898 cases was reported on August 26. So far, the infection has claimed 3,423 lives in the state, said a bulletin.

Odisha became the eleventh state to cross the one-lakh mark in the total number of COVID-19 cases. The tally in the state mounted to 1,00,934 on Sunday with 3,014 more people testing positive for the disease, while 12 fresh fatalities pushed its death toll to 482. As many as 17,31,556 sample tests have been conducted so far.

Gujarat reported 1,272 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total count of infections to 95,155. The death toll rose to 3,008 with 17 patients succumbing to the infection. With 1,095 patients getting discharged in the day, the number of recoveries mounted to 76,757. The COVID-19 case recovery rate in the state now stands at 80.67 per cent.

Kerala on Sunday reported 2,154 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total number of infections in the state to 73,854. The death toll in the state rose to 287 with seven more deaths. Of the fresh cases, 49 were returnees from abroad, 110 from other states while 1,962 contracted the disease through their contacts.