Coronavirus India Update: Tally Tops 80 Lakh Even As Active Cases Decline

Coronavirus cases in India are near the 80-lakh mark amid a reopening economy and seasonal festivities. The pace of increase, though, has reduced with the country adding less than 50,000 fresh Covid-19 cases for four straight days.

India added over 49,000 new cases in a matter of 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 80.4 lakh in the world’s second-worst infected country, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Oct. 29. This includes over 1.2 lakh deaths and 73.1 lakh patients who have recovered.

The slower pace of daily infections and an improved recovery rate have led to a fairly drastic decline in active cases. They have fallen close to the 6-lakh mark from the highs of over 10 lakh seen in mid-September. Active cases account for just 8% of the total caseload now. Recoveries, on the other hand, account for nearly 91% of all Covid-19 cases in the country.

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, on Tuesday, extended the guidelines for the fifth phase of reopening the economy till Nov. 30. Announced in September, these guidelines were meant to stay in force till Oct. 31. The lockdown shall continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones during the period, the MHA said.

This comes at a time when shoppers continue to throng the streets in urban India amid a festive season which began with Navaratri and Durga Puja.

Key Numbers

• Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 80,40,203
• Active cases: 6,03,687
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 73,15,989
• Deaths: 1,20,527
• New Cases in 24 hours: 49,881
• Recoveries in 24 hours: 56,480
• Deaths in 24 hours: 517

Global Update

Germany and France will clamp down on movement for at least a month, coming close to the stringent lockdowns of the spring as European leaders seek to rein in a resurgent coronavirus outbreak. Spain, Italy, the U.K., Greece and Portugal reported record numbers of new cases.

Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, said a vaccine isn’t likely to be available in the country until January.

Globally, Covid-19 infections rose past 44.3 million with over 1.17 million dead.

Track all coronavirus related news updates in India, here.