Three-fourths of COVID cases from 8 states, recovery rate nears 72%

As Bihar became the eighth state to cross the one-lakh mark in COVID-19 cases, the state, along with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, comprises around three-fourth of the total 25.57 lakh cases in the country. As of 8 pm on Saturday (August 15), these states cumulatively have 19,12,017 cases.

The recovery rate too increased to 71.7 per cent as 28,084 people were discharged from various hospitals across the country, raising the number of recoveries to 18,35,718. As many as 6,71,870 cases are active. The total number of coronavirus cases stood at 25,57,558, while the death toll rose to 49,481 with 348 new fatalities.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,860 fresh cases taking the tally to 3,32,105, while 127 fatalities pushed the death toll to 5,641. Active cases stood at 54,213 with 5,236 discharges from various hospitals and in total 2,72,251 patients have recovered. Of the fresh cases, Chennai city reported 1,184, the highest in the state.

Andhra Pradesh’s Covid-19 infection positivity rate crossed the 10 per cent mark on Saturday as the states aggregate number of cases reached 2,81,817, with the addition of 8,732 in the last 24 hours. The latest bulletin said after a cumulative 28,12,197 sample tests, the infection positivity rate touched 10.02 per cent, the highest so far.

Delhi recorded 1,276 fresh cases, taking the caseload to over 1.51 lakh, while the death toll rose to 4,188 with ten new fatalities. A total of 5,667 RT-PCR and 12,604 rapid antigen tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases now stands at 1,51,928, while 10 fresh deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged people to donate oximeters to the AAP so that they can be distributed by its volunteers in villages across the country to help those battling COVID-19 in the hinterlands. Oximeters help in measuring the oxygen level and are found to be extremely useful for patients who in many cases battle breathlessness.

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The COVID-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday reached 2,393 with 58 more fatalities, while 4,774 fresh cases took the states infection tally to 1,50,061. A total of 96,231 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease. The state now has 51,437 active COVID-19 cases.

Gujarat’s COVID-19 tally went up to 77,663 on Saturday with the addition of 1,094 new cases. Cumulative fatalities rose by 19 to 2,767. The number of recoveries rose to 60,537 with 1,015 patients being discharged in the day, taking the states recovery rate to 77.95 per cent. A total of 51,217 samples were tested in the state in the last 24 hours.

Kerala on Saturday reported the highest single-day spike of 1,608 COVID-19 cases, including 31 health workers, taking the tally to 42,885, while seven deaths took the total number of fatalities to 146. The recoveries stood at 803 and there were 14,891 active cases. Out of these 1,608 cases, 1,409 are through their contacts.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said scientists were working hard on coronavirus vaccine and if their efforts bear fruit, COVID-19 warriors would be the first ones to get the dose. He also hailed the National Digital Health Mission unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation.