India now has more coronavirus cases than Italy
With 9,887 fresh coronavirus cases reported in the last 24 hours, India has now touched the grim benchmark of becoming the nation which has sixth-highest COVID-19 cases. 294 died in the last 24 hours. The total tally now stands at 236,657 and 6,642 have died. India now has more coronavirus cases than Italy. Europe's epicenter has 234,531 coronavirus cases. 33,774 died there. Here's more.
Maharashtra continues to be the state worst-hit by the virus with 80,229 cases. A staggering 2,849 have lost their lives till now. The Western state is followed by Tamil Nadu, which has 28,694 cases and 235 deaths. The National Capital Delhi now has 26,334 coronavirus cases and 708 deaths. In Gujarat, 1,190 have lost their lives while infections' tally stands at 19,119.
On Friday, Uttar Pradesh reported its biggest single-day jump with 496 fresh cases. 2,436 new people tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra and from Gujarat, 510 fresh cases were reported. From Bengal, 427 fresh cases were reported and from Karnataka, 515 new cases came to fore. Tamil Nadu recorded 1,438 new cases and 12 deaths yesterday. NewsBytes' coverage of coronavirus cases can be read here: https://health.newsbytesapp.com/en/novel-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attributed the influx in cases to migrant workers, who suffered most due to coronavirus-induced lockdown. "COVID-19 cases were quite low in Bengal but it has risen because of one reason, many of our brothers and sisters have returned from outside (the state)," she said. Bengal claims 10 lakh people have returned so far, more are on the way.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court gave Central and states governments 15 days to transport the migrants. The final order on the humanitarian crisis which played out on Indian highways was reserved for Tuesday. In the last hearing in May, the apex court ordered that sending states must give food to the laborers and said Railways should provide them with food and water.
While the country battles the virus, barbs from politicians continued. Congress' Rahul Gandhi put out a graph on India's lockdown and the unlocking phase, to cite that the strict restrictions served no purpose as cases are rising. Later, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said if BJP paid attention to them (Congress), India would have become another Italy. "Let India be India," he told LiveHindustan.
This is what a failed lockdown looks like. pic.twitter.com/eGXpNL6Zhl
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 5, 2020
Globally, coronavirus ripped the United States apart. The total number of infections stands at 1,965,708 and 111,390 have died. The failure to contain the virus' transmission put President Donald Trump in the line of fire. But he said on Friday that the US has made it "through" the worst of the pandemic. He made these remarks after data showed a surprising surge in employment.
Yesterday, the US' Labor Department revealed that 2.5 million jobs were gained in May and the unemployment rate dipped to 13.3%. An elated Trump stood by his decisions and suggested the economy will rebound faster if lockdowns, imposed at local levels, are lifted. "We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible pandemic," he added.
