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Coronavirus India Cases: Over 4,500 Dead In A Day Even As New Infections Slow

Track the second wave of Covid-19 in India and the containment and immunisation efforts here.

A health worker prepares a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the heath center in the village of Bazrak, Uttar Pradesh. (Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg)
A health worker prepares a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the heath center in the village of Bazrak, Uttar Pradesh. (Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg)
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India recorded more than 4,500 Covid-19 deaths in a single day even as new cases remained below 3 lakh in the world’s second-worst infected nation.

4,529 people succumbed to the illness in a matter of 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on May 19, marking the deadliest day in the country’s battle with the pandemic. India’s total death toll now stands above 2.83 lakh.

To be sure, data on Covid-19 cases and related deaths may be severely deficient as several states have inadequate testing, chronic underreporting and have been attributing the casualties to other causes.

More than 2.67 lakh people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours. Recoveries during the same period were significantly higher near 3.9 lakh, taking active cases below 33 lakh for the first time in May. They still account for 12.7% of the country’s total caseload.

Key figures:

  • Total confirmed cases: 2,54,96,330
  • Number of active cases: 32,26,719
  • Total patients cured/discharged: 2,19,86,363
  • Total deaths: 2,83,248
  • Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 2,67,334
  • One-day recoveries: 3,89,851
  • One-day deaths: 4,529
  • Total vaccine shots administered: 18,58,09,302

Track efforts to contain the second wave of Covid-19 in India here:

Mumbai Gets Sputnik Bids

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has received bids to import 10 million doses of Sputnik vaccines and expects more proposals in response to its tender.

The final date for submission of proposals had been extended from May 18 to May 25 on Tuesday.

The three bids received include a proposal from London-based Taliesin International Ltd. and two other companies from Hyderabad, India, which claim authorized distributorship from Sputnik marketer The Russian Direct Investment Fund, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

Mumbai needs 10 million shots for vaccinating people aged 18-45 years and another 5 million for older residents, and the city plans to spend about Rs 700 crore to buy the shots, Chahal said by phone.

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Vaccination Plan

The Centre has asked states to plan for the vaccination drive until June 15, according to a statement from the Health Ministry.

The Modi government has promised supply of 5.86 crore doses until June 15, after which the states can directly procure an additional 4.87 crore shots up to June 30.

States have been advised to prepare a district-wise, centre-wise plan for Covid vaccine administration. Both states and private centres are required to publish their vaccination calendar on the Co-WIN platform in advance to prevent overcrowding.