Coronavirus: India reports 521 deaths; Maharashtra records 328 new cases
The death toll due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crossed the 500-mark in India on Saturday while the total number of cases reached 15,600. Interestingly, the coronavirus infections now seem to be doubling at a slower rate as India had reported roughly 7,500 cases eight days ago. The apparent slowdown in the outbreak comes even as over 35,000 samples were tested on Saturday.
According to the Union Health Ministry's latest update, by 5 pm on Saturday, India had reported a total of 14,792 COVID-19 cases. These included 488 deaths and 12,289 active cases along with 2,014 cured/discharged patients and one patient who migrated out of India. Data compiled from official state government statistics showed that India has reported 15,687 cases, including 521 deaths.
West Bengal's Saturday bulletin listed 178 active cases, 12 deaths, and 62 recoveries, bringing the state's total cases to 252, which has been counted as the state's tally in NewsBytes' nationwide roundup. However, the Union Health Ministry mentioned 287 COVID-19 cases in the state.
In Maharashtra, the total number of COVID-19 cases jumped by 328, reaching 3,648, the highest for any Indian state. The total cases also include 211 deaths. Among the new cases, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai area alone recorded 184 cases while Pune detected 78 new cases. Meanwhile, the state capital of Mumbai has reported 2,268 cases, including 126 deaths, till now.
Delhi reported 1,893 cases including 43 deaths till Saturday. The national capital is India's second worst-hit region. Delhi's Jahangirpuri reported 31 new cases, which have led authorities to declare the region a containment zone. Earlier on Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the number of new infections has gone down over the past two-three days and he hoped the trend would continue.
As of Saturday, Madhya Pradesh reported 1,402 cases of COVID-19, including 69 deaths. Meanwhile, Gujarat reported a total of 1,376 cases, including 53 deaths. The state has witnessed 12 new deaths due to the viral disease since Friday. Further, Tamil Nadu reported 1,372 COVID-19 cases (including 15 deaths) and Rajasthan reported 1,351 COVID-19 cases (including 21 deaths).
The Health Ministry said that of all the COVID-19 deaths in India, 83% were those with co-morbidities. The Ministry shared an age-wise distribution of all deaths: ages 0-45 comprised 14.4% of all COVID-19 deaths; ages 45-60 (10.3%); ages 60-75 (33.1%); and above 75 (42.2%). The Ministry also said earlier on Saturday that 4,291 of all cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event.
The Indian Council of Medical Research said that till 9 pm Saturday, India had tested 3,72,123 samples from 3,54,969 individuals. 35,494 samples were tested on Saturday alone. Dr. Raman R Gangakhedkar of ICMR also said that studies on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) against COVID-19 are being conducted. AIIMS-Delhi is also conducting two studies to test HCQ's potential as a prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.
Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa said the wedding of HD Kumaraswamy's son—held amid the lockdown—was "in limits" and there's "no need to discuss this issue." In Punjab, Ludhiana Assistant Commissioner of Police Anil Kohli died after contracting COVID-19. His family will receive Rs. 50 lakh ex-gratia. Chandigarh has been declared a containment zone. 26 Indian Navy sailors tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai.
