India records 8,909 fresh COVID cases, RT-PCR tests cross 40-lakh mark

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 5,815 and the number of cases climbed to 2,07,615 in the country, registering an increase of 217 deaths and a record single-day spike of 8,909 cases till 8 AM on Wednesday (June 3), according to the Union Health Ministry.

The country registered over 8,000 new cases for the fourth day in a row.

Presently, there are 1,01,497 active cases of coronavirus and all are under active medical supervision, the ministry said.

“During the last 24 hours, a total of 4,776 COVID-19 patients have been cured. Thus, so far, a total of 1,00,303 patients have recovered and the recovery rate is 48.31 per cent among COVID-19 patients.

“The fatality rate is 2.80 per cent,” the ministry said.

RT-PCR testing crosses 40-lakh mark

Meanwhile, the number of tests for detection of COVID-19 crossed the 40 lakh-mark on Wednesday (June 3) morning, the Union Health Ministry said as the coronavirus cases shot up to over 2 lakh in the country.

A total of 41,03,233 samples have been tested as of 9 AM on June 3, with  1,37,158 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours since 9 AM on Tuesday, officials of the Indian Council of Medical Research said.

The testing capacity has been increased to 1.4 lakh per day through 480 government and 208 private laboratories (total 688 laboratories).

The capacity is being further raised to two lakh samples per day, sources said.

Protests by AIIMS Nurses Union in Delhi continues 

The protest by the AIIMS Nurses Union over their working conditions entered the third day in New Delhi. The premier medical institution in the national capital has seen at least 329 staff members having tested positive for COVID-19 so far, of which 47 are nursing staff.

In a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the nurses body has put forward a number of demands including implementation of a uniform four-hour shift with personal protective equipment in COVID-19 areas of the hospital, a uniform rotation policy between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 areas, and establishment of proper donning and doffing area.

A five-member committee has been constituted by the Delhi government to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure and look into overall preparedness of hospitals to battle COVID-19.

How states have been faring

In addition to badly-hit states and UTs such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Delhi, new cases continued to surface in several eastern and north-eastern states including Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim.

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala also figured among the states where more people tested positive for COVID-19.

Assam recorded 111 new cases, while Odisha reported 143 more cases.

In Telangana, four doctors at a Hyderabad government hospital tested positive.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu recorded the highest single day spike so far for the fourth consecutive day with 1,286 people testing positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 25,872.

In the past 24 hours, 11 people died due to COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, increasing the death toll to 208. The highest number of cases were reported in Chennai, with 1,012 people testing positive for the virus. This takes the total number of COVID-19 patients in Chennai to 17,598.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the state, who are under isolation and undergoing treatment, stood at 11,345.

The total number of people tested for COVID-19 rose to 5,28,534, with the state testing 14,101 samples on Wednesday.

Maharashtra

Meanwhile, COVID-19 fatalities in Maharashtra spiked by 122 on Wednesday, the highest in a single day, including 49 from worst-hit Mumbai, taking the death toll to 2,587, Health department said. The number of cases shot up by 2,560 to 74,860, it said.

The number of active cases in the state now stands at 39,935, it said, adding that a total of 4,97,276 samples have been tested so far. “Of the 122 deaths, 60 fatalities were reported from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including 49 from Mumbai alone,” the statement said.

Kerala

Kerala reported its highest single-day spike of 86 cases, taking its tally to 1,494. Those having tested positive included a doctor and four health workers.

More than 1.6 lakh people are under observation in the state.

Among the new cases, 53 people had come from abroad and 19 from other states, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters after a COVID-19 evaluation meeting.

Karnataka

Karnataka reported 267 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Wednesday, taking the infection count to 4,063 and fatalities to 53, as the state witnessed 111 discharges, the health department said.

A whopping 250 out of 267 cases are returnees from other states, majority of them (about 232) from Maharashtra.

Madhya Pradesh

As on Wednesday evening, 5,445 persons had recovered from the infection in Madhya Pradesh, while the state had 2,772 active cases, official data revealed. The state had detected 168 new cases on Wednesday, 224 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, the official said.