Coronavirus India Updates: Total Tally Tops 50 Lakh With Nearly 10 Lakh Active Cases
Catch the latest updates on the evolving Covid-19 situation in India, here.
India’s total Covid-19 tally tops 50 lakh, raising concerns that the second-most populous nation may soon be the world's worst-hit.
The country reported more than 90,000 infections in a matter of 24 hours, taking the total case count above 50 lakh in Asia's third-largest economy, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Sept. 16. This includes more than 39 lakh patients who've recovered and over 82,000 dead.
Key figures:
- Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 50,20,359
- Active cases: 9,95,933
- Cured/discharged/migrated: 39,42,360
- Deaths: 82,066
- Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 90,123
- One-day recoveries: 82,961
- One-day deaths: 1,290
Active cases — fast approaching 10 lakh — still account for just 20% of the total case load.
There are only four states in the country where the total number of active cases are more than 50,000, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press briefing on Tuesday. Maharashtra accounts for 29.5% of the total active cases in the country, followed by Karnataka with 9.9%, and Andhra Pradesh with 9.4%, he said.
Global Update
A Pfizer Inc. vaccine trial showed promising safety signs after more than 12,000 people received their second of two doses. President Donald Trump said a coronavirus vaccine may be ready within four weeks.
Thailand will start issuing special visas to foreign visitors starting in October, easing a ban that has hit its tourism-reliant economy.
Globally, cases surpassed 29.4 million with more than 933,000 dead.
Track the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in India, here.
Nitin Gadkari Tests Positive
Recoveries And Deaths Peak
Even as India continues to add Covid-19 cases at a record pace, the recovery rate too has improved. At 82,962, the country reported the highest number of patients cured of the disease in a single day.
However, Wednesday also recorded the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in India after the spike reported on June 17, when states reconciliated fatalities that occurred over a few weeks.
Health Ministry Touts Increased Testing
India is seeing a progressive rise in testing with one crore tests added in just 10 days, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday.
According to the latest available data, the country has conducted 5.8 crore tests so far with an overall positivity rate of 8.4%.
States like Maharashtra with high positivity rate of 21.5%, Andhra pradesh with 12.3%, Karnataka with 12.1%, Tamil Nadu with 9.2% and Delhi with 8.9%, need to further ramp up their testing, Bhushan said.
"We have asked states to keep testing symptomatic negatives from rapid antigen tests so that they don’t spread infection in the community," he said.