Over 22,000 coronavirus cases reported, India's biggest one-day jump ever
Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across India, the latest data from Union Health Ministry confirms. In the last 24 hours, a record 22,771 fresh cases were recorded in India, taking the total tally to 6,48,315. Meanwhile, the death toll has reached 18,655. But what provides some respite is that the recovery rate is respectable. The ministry said India's recovery rate stands at 60.80%.
Tamil Nadu, the second worst-affected state, touched a grim benchmark on Friday, as the cases tally topped 1,00,000. With 4,329 new cases reported, the southern state's tally stands at 1,02,721. The state capital, Chennai, reported 2,082 cases yesterday. 64 new deaths were also reported across Tamil Nadu taking the death toll to 1,385. Further, 2,357 people were discharged in the last 24 hours.
To note, Tamil Nadu passed the 25,000-mark on June 3. Nineteen days later, on June 22, the total tally crossed 60,000. In about 10 days after that, over 40,000 new cases were added. As cases rose, the government brought back curbs in some parts.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra continues to be worst-affected. On Friday, 198 new deaths were reported taking the total count to 8,376. The state's infections tally stands at 1,92,990. Delhi has not been able to contain the virus' spread either, and now has 87,360 cases. 2,742 have lost their lives. Despite a rise in cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said this week the situation is "improving."
"It was predicted that by June 30, Delhi would have 1 lakh cases out of which 60,000 would be active cases but today we only have 26,000 active cases. This is the result of everyone's hard work," Kejriwal said earlier this week.
Likewise, Gujarat also reported its highest single-day spike as 687 new positive cases were reported on Friday. With this, the state's tally has touched 32,643. Friday was the seventh consecutive day that Gujarat reported over 600 cases. 18 patients passed away and the state's death toll now stands at 1,848. In the last 24 hours, 340 recovered from the disease, the Health Department informed.
Notably, India's high recovery rate can be attributed to the changed guidelines of the Union Health Ministry. On Thursday, the government said patients can be discharged after ten days of showing symptoms if they don't have a fever for three consecutive days. Earlier, patients with no fever for 17 days were discharged. This will obviously apply to asymptomatic patients too, reports Indian Express.
On a related note, ICMR said that it was looking at releasing the first-ever coronavirus vaccine by August 15, sparking an uproar and disbelief among experts. Even AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria seemed surprised that a deadline was given, adding that it would be a "challenging and difficult task." "We have to look at both efficacy and safety of any vaccine," he said.
Similarly, an acclaimed virologist, Shaheed Jameel, feared that India could become a laughing stock across the globe with this declaration. "Who is going to believe us even if we indeed come up with a good vaccine tomorrow? And I am appalled at the kind of language used in the letter. It is not a letter, it reads like a threat," he told IE.
In all probability, Jameel was referring to one paragraph of the letter, signed by ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava, where he told 12 institutes, selected for clinical trials of COVAXIN, to fast-track the process. The letter asked the institutes to "ensure that the subject enrolment is initiated no later than July 7, 2020," while adding that "non-compliance will be viewed very seriously."
