NEW DELHI: Indias count of new Covid-19 cases returned to three figures on Tuesday when 944 fresh infections were reported, down from Mondays peak of 1,276, but still the second highest reported so far. Maharashtra remained at the centre of Indias virus outbreak, reporting another 350 cases and as many as 18 corona-related deaths, more than half of all fresh fatalities in the country.
With 34 coronavirus patients succumbing to complications related to the disease on Tuesday, the countrys death toll from the virus was close to the 400-mark at 393.
Maharashtra remains by far the worst affected state, accounting for 24% of all cases and as much as 45% of all deaths recorded in the country, as per data released by states. While the rush of cases reduced substantially in Delhi and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan registered a surge with 127 and 108 cases, respectively. UP reported five more deaths, taking the state's toll to 10.
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As India goes into the second phase of lockdown, health ministry officials said the focus will now be on controlling the spread of Covid-19 from affected areas to newer regions.
Maharashtra, for the second day in a row, recorded at least 350 new cases, with 200-plus cases reported from Mumbai alone. The total cases in Maharahstra on Tuesday shot up to 2684 cases. The state also reported 18 deaths. However, the good news was that the case fatality rate had declined to 6.37% from Monday's 6.55% and Sunday's staggeringly high 7%.
On Tuesday, 23 people got discharged from city hospitals and went home. Overall, 164 people have recovered from the infection in the state.
The health ministry said it takes nearly a month of zero-case reporting for the spread of the disease to be halted in a particular area. "We believe that the disease spread has stopped in an area if there is no new case for 28 days," Luv Aggarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said, while justifying the need to extend the lockdown till May 3.
He added that during this period the focus is going to be on breaking the chain of transmission and to promote behavioural changes needed to fight this pandemic. Till date, nearly 380 out of 732 districts in the country have been affected by the outbreak. The good thing is there are 25 districts which reported Covid-19 cases earlier but they have had no positive case in last 14 days, said an official.
Delhi, which is the second most coronavirus-affected state, recorded 51 new cases and two Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, taking its Covid-19 tally to 1,561 and the death toll to 30. According to the health department, 79 positive patients in the state – which would mean one out of every 20 – have severe symptoms; 39 require oxygen support, 32 are in ICU and eight patients are on ventilator support. Some of the suspected Covid-19 patients are also in ICU.
A total of 16,282 people have been tested for Covid-19 in Delhi. Of this, 1,561 (9.58%) have tested positive and 13,748 (84%) have tested negative. The results of other samples are awaited, officials said. To speed up testing, they added, the state government has decided to involve private labs for testing for Covid-19 if government-run facilities are overburdened.
Rajasthan recorded 108 new cases, its highest single-day tally, including 83 from Jaipur, taking the state tally of Covid-19 to 1,005. Among those who tested positive included a two-year-old infant from Pokhran (Jaisalmer).
Meanwhile, Meghalaya became the 32nd state/UT to record a Covid-19 case on Monday night, after a doctor of a private hospital here tested positive, chief minister Conrad K Sangma said. "One person in Shillong has tested positive for Covid-19. He is a doctor at Bethany Hospital. It was quite surprising for us because many days have passed (since the infection took root in India) and nothing had happened (in Meghalaya). Nonetheless, we have a challenge in front of us now but we are fully prepared," Sangma said.
Uttar Pradesh reported five more Covid-19 deaths, the second-highest toll iRead More – Source
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