India Covid-19 death toll rises to 934 as lockdown may have prevented US like situation
THE death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 934 and the number of cases climbed to 29,435 in the country on Tuesday (28), according to the India’s Health Ministry. The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 21,632, while 6,868 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.
The total number of cases include111 foreign nationals. A total of 48 deaths were reported since Monday (27) evening of which 27 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 11 from Gujarat, five from Rajasthan, four from Madhya Pradesh and one from Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the 934 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 369 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 162, Madhya Pradesh at 110, Delhi at 54, Rajasthan at 46 and Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at 31 each.
Bihar has reported two deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry’s data.
As India completes a month under lockdown that brought the world’s most populous democracy to a virtual standstill, with no or very minimal social and economic activities to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, several medical experts feel that these restrictions were crucial in preventing a ‘US or Europe-like’ situation from materialising in the country.
However, most of the experts also cautioned that a ‘bigger challenge’ awaits the country when it gradually move towards exiting the nationwide lockdown, which has emerged as one of India’s biggest weapons so far in the battle against Covid-19.
India’s first case was reported on January 30, and 54 days later on March 25, with 519 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths, the country was put under a 21-day complete lockdown, hence starting the country’s fullblown battle against the pandemic.
At the end of the lockdown, the total number of coronavirus cases has crossed the 23,000 mark and there are 718 deaths due to Covid-19 in the country.
After a three week period that ended on April 14, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi extended the countrywide lockdown for 19 additional days till May 3 to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Though, the number of infections kept on rising through the period of the lockdown, experts believe it is not ‘alarming’ and the situation seems to be under control in India as compared to the US and several other western nations where cases have skyrocketed and the death toll is mounting.
Though only a detailed study would be able to throw light on the success of the lockdown, medical experts feel it was necessary and India’s situation would have been even more precarious in its absence.
Dr Arvind Kumar, a noted lung surgeon at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said the monthlong lockdown has been ‘immensely beneficial’ for India and prevented a ‘US or Europe-like’ situation from materialising in the country.
‘More importantly, it has given us a golden 30 days time to prepare our health services and other support services to face the onslaught (of the virus) even if it was to come in the ensuing days,’ he told.
Kumar also said that as a healthcare worker he would like to see a decision on extension of the lockdown around April 30 or May 1 after assessing the situation at the time.
‘Lifting of lockdown should be very gradual. Some facilities should remain closed through the month of May like schools, colleges, malls, cinema halls, religious places and markets. Certain sectors feeling the pinch should open but only in green zones, while red and orange zones should continue in lockdown,’ he said.
Ravi Shekhar Jha, Senior Consultant and Head of the Department, Pulmonology, Fortis Escorts Faridabad, also hailed the government’s decision to impose the lockdown in containing the virus, saying it was ‘timely’.
He, however, asserted that the lifting of lockdown will be ‘the real challenge’, and advocated its phased lifting after identification of hotspots and allowing only essential services there.
The exit from the lockdown has to be based on a very analytical approach, giving priority to scientific rather than economic considerations, he told.
Dr Rommel Tickoo, Associate Director, Internal Medicine, Max healthcare, said the lockdown has been quite beneficial for India when compared to the situation in the US and Europe.
‘Ours was quite timely. We have over 20,000 cases, so if you compare it with the US and Europe, definitely we are in a much better condition. Mortality rate is also lower in India at round three per cent,’ he told.
Asked if a bigger challenge awaits India in lifting the lockdown, Tickoo said restrictions should be lifted in a phased manner.