Coronavirus India Update: Tally Tops 95.7 Lakh; Active Cases Drop Below 4.2 Lakh
Track the key developments around the Covid-19 outbreak in India, here.
India’s coronavirus tally continues to rise at a time when the country is working to quash new outbreaks and waves of infection.
India reported over 36,500 new cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally over 95.7 lakh in the world’s second-worst infected country, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m on Dec. 4. That includes over 90.1 lakh recoveries and more than 1.39 lakh deaths.
Authorities reported nearly 43,000 recoveries in a day, making it the seventh straight day that new cases trailed recoveries. They now account for 4.34% of the total confirmed cases in India.
Key Figures
- Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 95,71,559
- Active cases: 4,16,082
- Cured/discharged/migrated: 90,16,289
- Deaths: 1,39,188
- Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 36,595
- One-day recoveries: 36,595
- One-day deaths: 540
Taking note of a spike in active Covid-19 cases in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Meerut and Kanpur Nagar, the Allahabad High Court has directed district magistrates there to file affidavits on steps being taken to contain the spread of the virus.
The affidavits are to be submitted to the court by Dec. 10, which is the date for next hearing. The court directed that in these districts, wearing of masks should be made compulsory.
Hearing a PIL related to Covid-19, a division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar on Wednesday said, "So far as the above-named districts are concerned, looking to the rise of the active Covid-19 cases, it is clear that the police was not taking as much action as was required to be taken."
On the other hand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Covid-19 situation in the national capital is "under control" and the number of cases are also going down. Delhi has shown the path to other states by first implementing the welfare scheme for lawyers, and now other states can follow suit, he said.
Global Update
New York City’s average number of coronavirus cases and its infection rate hit the highest levels since May, while statewide daily infections closed in on 10,000.
Pfizer expects to ship half the Covid-19 vaccines it originally planned for 2020 due to supply-chain problems, Dow Jones reported. Moderna Inc.’s vaccine appears to offer protection against the coronavirus that will last a minimum of three months and potentially much longer, researchers found.
Globally, coronavirus cases are nearing the 65 million mark while over 1.5 million people have died of the infection.