Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

Active cases cross 3.5 mn as India sees record surge, deaths

As per govt data, active cases comprises 16.92% of the total cases, while recovery rate has dropped to 81.99%

- Press Trust Of India letters@hindustant­imes.com

INDIA RECORDED 412,262 NEW COVID INFECTIONS AND 3,980 FATALITIES IN THE 24 HOURS TO THURSDAY, THE COUNTRY’S HIGHEST SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN

Active cases of the coronaviru­s disease (Covid-19) surged past the 3.5 million mark on Thursday after India saw the highest single-day infections in the world and a record number of deaths, as the massive surge in the outbreak continued to overwhelm hospitals and doctors throughout the country.

India recorded 412,262 new Covid-19 infections and 3,980 fatalities in the 24 hours to Thursday, according to the Union health ministry, as the relentless expansion of the outbreak continued to spark shortages of hospital beds and other crucial supplies such as oxygen and medicines.

Both these metrics were the country’s highest since the pandemic began in March last year.

This is the second time after May 1 when the one-day infection count increased by over 400,000.

The country’s tally now stands at 21,077,410 and the death toll to 230,168,

Registerin­g a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 3,566,398, comprising nearly 17% of the total infections, the highest ever in India.

Twelve states cumulative­ly account for over 81% of India’s total active cases, the ministry said. These states have over 100,000 active cases.

Active cases is a crucial metric representi­ng the country’s battle against the viral disease because it directly reflects the pressure on the health care system in a region and shows the number of people who are currently carrying the disease.

NEW DELHI: New coronaviru­s cases and deaths in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities being reported, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.

Registerin­g a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 35,66,398 comprising 16.92 % of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.99%, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperate­d from the disease surged to 1,72,80,844, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09%, the data stated. According to the ICMR, 29,67,75,209 samples have been tested up to May 5 with 19,23,131 samples being tested on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, according to the health ministry, Maharashtr­a, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are among 10 states that account for 72.19% of the new Covid-19 cases reported in a day.

The ministry said that Karnataka,Kerala, Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are among the other states in the list of 10.

Maharashtr­a has reported the highest daily new cases at 57,640. It is followed by Karnataka with 50,112 while Kerala reported 41,953 new cases.

Besides Maharashtr­a, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Chhattisga­rh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Jhakhand account for 75.55% of the new deaths. Maharashtr­a saw the maximum casualties (920). Uttar Pradesh follows with 353 daily deaths.

“The National Mortality Rate

has been falling and currently stands at 1.09%,” the ministry said. Twelve states cumulative­ly account for 81.05% of India’s total active cases, the ministry said. The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administer­ed in the country has crossed 160 million.

The ministry said 9,04,263 beneficiar­ies in the age group of 18-44 years received their first dose of Covid vaccine across 12 states and UTs.

These states are Chhattisga­rh (1,026), Delhi (1,29,096), Gujarat (1,96,860), Jammu and Kashmir (16,387), Haryana (1,23,484), Karnataka (5,328), Maharashtr­a (1,53,966), Odisha (21,031), Punjab (1,535), Rajasthan (1,80,242), Tamil Nadu (6,415) and UP (68,893).

More than 1.9 million vaccinatio­n doses were administer­ed in a span of 24 hours.

As on day-110 of the vaccinatio­n drive (May 5), 19,55,733 vaccine doses were given. Across 15,903 sessions, 8,99,163 beneficiar­ies were vaccinated for the first dose and 10,56,570 beneficiar­ies received their second dose of vaccine.

Ten states account for 74.71 % of the new recoveries

 ?? PTI ?? People over 18 years of age wait to receive their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the Radha Soami Satsang, in New Delhi on Thursday
PTI People over 18 years of age wait to receive their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the Radha Soami Satsang, in New Delhi on Thursday

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