India’s Covid tally crosses 8L-mark with 27,114 fresh cases; death toll at 22,123
NEW DELHI: With a record single-day increase of 27,114 cases, India’s COVID19 tally zoomed past the eight-lakh mark on Saturday, just four days after crossing the seven-lakh post, according to health ministry data.
The total Coronavirus caseload in the country surged to 8,20,916 on Saturday while the death toll climbed to 22,123 with 519 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, the updated data at 8 am showed.
This was the eighth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country increased by more than 22,000.
The rise in the number of Coronavirus cases has gained pace significantly. It took 110 days for the number of cases in the country to reach one lakh but just 53 days more to race past the eightlakh mark.
It took 64 days for COVID-19 cases in India to rise above one lakh from 100 and another fortnight to cross two lakh on June 3. It took 10 days for the tally to touch the three lakh-mark and another eight days for the cases to climb above four lakh on June 21.
In another six days, the total tally raced past the five-lakh mark. Then it took 10 days to cross seven lakh.
According to the Union Health ministry data on Saturday, the number of recoveries stands at 5,15,385 while there are 2,83,407 active cases. The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.
Gujarat, which is also the fourth worst-affected, has crossed 40,000 cases. Covid infections are on the rise in other states as well besides Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu where the tally is run
ning in lakhs. Haryana is nearing the 20,000-mark while in Uttar Pradesh, where a 55-hour-long lockdown is in force, the tally stands at 33,700. Bengaluru announced a 10-day complete lockdown from July 14 in the wake of rising cases in Karnataka.
Assam Chief Secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna tweeted: “Due to the continuing large scale spread of Covid19 occurring in almost the entire district of
Kamrup(m),there has been an extension in the period of the prevailing lockdown. Here are the new guidelines that shall come into force with effect from 12th July till 19th July, 2020.”
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana on Saturday tested negative for Covid, hours after their swab samples were collected for tests.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 2,38,461 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,30,261, Delhi at 1,09,140, Gujarat at 40,069, Uttar Pradesh at 33,700, Karnataka at 33,418 and Telangana at 32,224.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,13,07,002 swab samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to July 10, of which 2,82,511 been tested on Friday. Of the 519 new deaths reported on Saturday, 226 are from Maharashtra, 64 from Tamil Nadu, 57 from Karnataka, 42 from Delhi, 27 from Uttar Pradesh and 26 from West Bengal.
Of the total 22,123 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra tops the tally with 9,893 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,300 deaths, Gujarat 2,022, Tamil Nadu 1,829 and Uttar Pradesh 889 among others. Based on clinical trials data, India’s drug regulator has approved itolizumab, used to treat skin condition psoriasis, for restricted emergency use on COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress, the Union Health ministry said on Saturday. Considering the unmet medical needs in COVID-19, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr V G Somani had on Friday approved itolizumab injection for use in the treatment of Coronavirus patients.