India sees biggest spike in COVID-19 cases, but data indicates hope
Under lockdown for over a month, India on Saturday reported 2,411 fresh cases of COVID-19, the highest in 24 hours so far, while a constant rise in recovery rate from the disease indicated a positive trend across the country.
Under lockdown for over a month, India on Saturday (May 2) reported 2,411 fresh cases of COVID-19, the highest in 24 hours so far, while a constant rise in recovery rate of the disease indicated a positive trend across the country.
According to the latest update on the Union health ministry’s website, a total of 37,776 cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far across the country, which includes 26,535 active cases and 1,223 deaths. In the past 24 hours, 71 deaths were reported across India.
The biggest spike in cases comes a day after the Indian government extended the nationwide lockdown for two more weeks with effect from May 4. This is the third phase of the lockdown, which began from March 25. So after nearly 40 days of lockdown, here’s where we stand:
The recovery rate of COVID-19 cases in India currently stands at 26.5 per cent, a jump from 11 per cent as on April 14. Two days ago, the health ministry had estimated the recovery rate at 25.19 per cent, and a rise of over one per cent in just two days shows a positive trend.
It may also be noted that the highest number of recoveries (953) were reported on Saturday. So far, 10,017 coronavirus-infected patients have been discharged following treatment across the country, according to government data.
The death rate has, more or less, remained around 3 per cent for over three weeks. The death rate stands at 3.2 per cent on Saturday, which indicates the situation has not worsened over the past few days – a positive side to look out for.
Testing has also been ramped up across the nation even though the nation’s top medical body, Indian Council of Medical Research, has decided to stop using rapid antibody tests, and continue only with the confirmatory RT-PCR tests.
On Saturday, over 73,000 tests were carried out across the country as against over 45,000 tests being conducted on April 26, and this increase in tests comes in a span of only one week. So far, 9,76,363 tests have been conducted across the country, as per ICMR figures.
If analysed state-wise, Maharashtra remains on the top of the tally with a total 11,506 cases and 485 deaths. Besides Maharashtra, the five worst-hit states are Gujarat (4,721 cases), Delhi (3,738), Madhya Pradesh (2,719) and Rajasthan (2,666). Tamil Nadu is on the sixth spot with 2,526 cases.
The 10 worst-affected districts include Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Thane, New Delhi, Chennai, Surat, and Hyderabad, which account for half of all the cases reported across the nation.
