Unlock 1: India records fourth of COVID-19 cases, deaths in first week

Even as the country on Monday (June 8) saw a re-opening of shopping malls, restaurants and hotels as part of the Centre’s Unlock 1 initiative to restart the economy, India in the past one week has recorded the maximum number of COVID-19 cases – almost a fourth of the total so far – as well as fatalities and recoveries.

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According to data released by the Union Ministry of Health, the country had 1.82 lakh cases on May 31 which increased by 64,485 in the first week of June, taking the tally to 2.46 lakh cases (on June 7). Similarly, one-fourth of the deaths (1,765 deaths) were reported in the first week of Unlock 1 in the country. The current death toll stands at 7,135 across the country.

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COVID-19 testing too has increased substantially over the past few days. More than 9.29 lakh samples were tested in the first week of June itself. This accounts for around 20 per cent of the total tests done so far. As of June 7, the number of tests stood at 46.66 lakh. Currently, India is testing more than one lakh samples every day, a trend seen in the past three weeks.

A positive change in the past one week is a substantial increase in the number of recovered patients across India. The country had reported 86,983 recoveries until May 31 according to ministry data. Further, an increase of 32,309 recoveries were reported in Unlock phase one.

India is reportedly the only country among the worst-hit nations to report a steady rise in the number of cases after lifting the nationwide lockdown. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also pointed this out in one of his recent tweets.

India has now become the sixth worst-hit nation with 2.56 lakh coronavirus cases followed by the United States, Brazil, Russia, Spain, and the UK. The death rate in the country is one of the lowest among these countries. Russia has the lowest death rate at 1.2 per cent which is followed by India at 2.8 per cent.

Maharashtra (85,975 cases), Tamil Nadu (31,637 cases) and Delhi (28,936 cases) are the three worst-hit states. Only Andaman & Nicobar Islands have no active coronavirus cases.