Covid-19 tally nears 9 mn mark; 8.3 mn recovered JAIN DISMISSES REPORTS OF LOCKDOWN, SAYS LOCAL CURBS MAY BE IMPOSED

The number of active cases below 500,000 for the eighth day, national recovery rate reaches 93.52%

NEW DELHI: India’s Covid-19 caseload went past 8.9 million, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 8.3 million pushing the national recovery rate to 93.52 per cent, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The total coronavirus disease cases mounted to 8,912,907 with 38,617 infections being reported in a day while the death toll climbed to 130,993 with 474 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of active cases remained below 500,000 for the eighth consecutive day. There are 446,805 active cases of Covid-19 in the country as on date which comprises 5.01 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. The total recoveries have surged to 8,335,109 pushing the national recovery rate to 93.52 per cent, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.47%.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of more than 12.74 crore samples have been tested up to November 17 with 937,279 samples being tested on Tuesday. The 474 new fatalities include 99 from Delhi, 68 from Maharashtra, 52 from West Bengal, 30 from Punjab, 27 from Kerala and 25 from Haryana.

A total of 130,993 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 46,102 from Maharashtra followed by 11,557 from Karnataka, 11,513 from Tamil Nadu, 7,812 from Delhi, 7,766 from West Bengal, 7,412 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,890 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,510 from Punjab and 3,815 from Gujarat.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday reiterated that there will be no lockdown in the capital but said that there can be local restrictions at some busy places.

“There will be no lockdown in Delhi and there is no need of it either. We have learned the experience of lockdown. There is no need to repeat it. But there can be local restrictions at some busy places. Maximum tests are being conducted which we will further increase. The virus can easily spread due to large gatherings during Chhath Puja, hence the restrictions,” Jain said.

Earlier this week, the health minister said that the third wave of Covid-19 has passed its peak in the national capital.

On Tuesday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Delhi government has sent a proposal to the Centre, that if needed, markets emerging as Covid-19 hotspots, be closed for a few days. The Health Minister said that average 60,000 tests are being conducted in Delhi in the last two months.

“In the last two months, on average 60,000 tests are being conducted. No other state is able to do 3,000 tests per million tests in the country except Delhi. We will not stop here and will increase it further. We will increase all types of tests including RT-PCR,” he said.

He informed that Delhi reported 6,396 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday while the positivity rate was around 13 per cent.