India closes in on top 3 hardest-hit countries
PANDEMIC India’s death rate, however, is much lower than global rate of 4.8%
NEW DELHI: India is on course to overtake Russia in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections, ranking only next to the United States and Brazil in the top three countries with the highest number of cases as the pandemic continues to rage across the world by establishing footholds in new hot spots.
As of Sunday evening, India was shy of about 1,956 cases behind Russia, which has recorded 681,251 Covid-19 infections so far, according to data by worldometers.info.
India’s tally is likely to exceed the figure by the end of the day, with the country at an average adding 20,000 cases daily in the last week. In contrast, Russia records less than 7,000 cases at an average in a day.
However, public health experts have pointed out that while India has a high Covid-19 caseload, its case fatality rate (proportion of deaths to the total number of cases) -- at 2.8% -- is much lower than the global rate of around 4.7%.
Out of the ten hardest-hit countries from the pandemic, India has a higher death rate than just Russia (1.5%) and Chile (2.1%). The US, Brazil – among the current hot spots of the contagion – and the UK, Italy and Spain – where the outbreak appears to have seen its worst – have higher death rates than India.
Till Sunday evening, India had reported 679,295 cases and 19,380 deaths.
According to experts, the central and state governments’ strategy on scaling up testing and public health infrastructure is the country’s best bet to control the spread of the virus, which has infected nearly 11.5 million worldwide and claimed over 500,000 lives since its origin in central China late last year.
However, they also warn that the virus, Sars-Cov-2, is adept at flourishing in new hot spots – as evidenced from the pandemic’s progression across the world. What began as a mysterious pneumonia-like illness in China in December evolved into a fullblown contagion that spread to Europe and the US, and has since
found a stronghold in Latin America – the latest epicenter, according to the World Health Organization.
Of the concerns raised by scientists and experts is the relaxation of lockdown rules, which have been almost completely lifted, allowing most activities as the economy nose-dived amid the shutdown.
Schools, metro trains in cities, cinemas, gyms and swimming pools remain closed, however, and international flights are still grounded.
Authorities have made wearing masks mandatory in public places, while large gatherings are banned and shops and other public establishments are required to implement social distancing.
The epidemic has largely struck to urban areas in the country, with metropolises Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai among the worst-hit.
Out of states, Maharashtra has the most number of cases; it crossed the 200,000-mark on Saturday, while Tamil Nadu has more than 100,000 cases. National capital Delhi too is set to cross the 100,000-caseload mark in a day.