Record 2,023 fresh fatalities, 2,95,041 Coronavirus cases in a single day
NEW DELHI: The single-day rise in new Coronavirus infections inched closer to 3 lakh, pushing India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,56,16,130, while the death toll increased to 1,82,553 with a record 2,023 daily fatalities, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Wednesday.
A total of 2,95,041 fresh infections were registered in a span of 24 hours, while the active cases crossed the 21-lakh mark, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Registering a steady increase for the 42nd in a row, the active cases have increased to 21,57,538, comprising 13.82 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 85.01 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,32,76,039, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.17 per cent, the data stated.
According to the ICMR, 27,10,53,392 samples have been tested up to April 20 with 16,39,357 samples being tested on Tuesday.
The 2,023 new fatalities include 519 from Maharashtra, 277 from Delhi, 191 from Chhattisgarh, 162 from Uttar Pradesh, 149 from Karnataka, 121 from Gujarat,77 from Madhya Pradesh, 64 from Rajasthan, 60 from Punjab, 51 from Bihar, 48 from Tamil Nadu, 46 from West Bengal, 45 from Jharkhand and 35 each from Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
A total of 1,82,553 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 61,343 from Maharashtra, 13,646 from Karnataka, 13,205 from Tamil Nadu, 12,638 from Delhi, 10,652 from West Bengal, 10,159 from Uttar Pradesh, 8,045 from Punjab and 7,472 from Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, India has become the fastest country to administer 13 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, taking just 95 days to do so, the ministry said on Wednesday.
The US took 101 days to administer these many doses, while China 109 days, the ministry said.
AIIMS Delhi director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said Covid vaccine prevents people from getting severe illness though it may not prevent their getting infection.
Addressing issues related to the virus along with Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Health and Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, Medanta through video conferencing, Dr Guleria said anti-bodies which are produced because of the vaccine will not allow the virus to further replicate and it will not allow the disease to become more severe and therefore lives will be saved.
“There are a lot of people who are saying what is the point of vaccination because I know a person who got vaccination and even two weeks of vaccination, he got Covid-19. The vaccine prevents you from getting the disease in the form of severe illness, hospitalisation, going into the ICUs, or even dying from Covid-19. It may not prevent you from getting the infection,” he said.
Dr Guleria said there is a need to use masks and follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour even after vaccination and the vaccine is one weapon in the fight against Coronavirus.
Meanwhile, with the rise in Covid patients, demand for Remdesivir injection has also gone up, and to meet that the government has made an interim allocation of the antiviral drug for 19 states/UTs for the period up to April 30, 2021.
These 19 states are Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand. “Remdesivir being an investigational therapy drug given in acute and severe versions of Covid-19 where oxygen support is a must, this allocation pertains to 14 states to which medical oxygen is allocated and five other states where the high volume of supplies are being observed,” the ministry said on Wednesday in a statement.
Union Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank' tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. The 61-yearold minister said he is following medical advice after his report came positive. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has also tested positive. Tharoor, 65, said his sister, his 85-year-old mother and he were all Covidpositive, and that he is “hoping to deal with it in a `positive' frame of mind, with rest, steam & plenty of fluids”.