704 cases and 28 deaths in last 24 hrs

New Delhi: India reported 704 Coronavirus cases and 28 deaths in the last 24 hours, the biggest rise so far. With this, the number of infections has risen to 4281, including 111 deaths, according to the data provided by the Health ministry.

In its daily briefing, the MHA said over 25,500 Tablighi Jamaat workers have been quarantined and five Haryana villages where they stayed have been sealed.

However, in a shocking revelation, it has come to notice that males are more prone to COVID-19 infection than females as out of the total confirmed cases, 76 per cent are male patients, while 24 per cent are of the fairer sex. Also, the death rate among male patients is 73 per cent, while in females it is 27 per cent.

India on Monday reported a total of 4,281 confirmed cases, out of which 3,851 are active, 319 have recovered and deaths have increased from 83 to 111.

However, in terms of the spread of the virus in age groups, out of the total confirmed cases, 47 per cent patients belong to below 40 years category while 34 per cent infected people are of the 40-60 years age group and just 19 per cent patients belong to 60 plus years. Though the percentage of infection among senior citizens is lesser, most of the deaths are reported from this age group as out of total deaths so far, 63 per cent of the patients above 60 years have died and 30 per cent deaths are reported in the age group of 40-60 years. There is only 7 per cent casualty reported in below the 40 years age category.

As per the experts, the reason behind the spread of the virus among males is attributed to frequent outdoor movements rather than biological differences. "As per our societal system, males remain out of homes more than females due to their work compulsions and socialising activities. In fact, most females in the family incurred COVID-19 infection from male members," said a senior doctor of AIIMS.

The surprising fact is that even though only 19 per cent senior citizens are exposed to Coronavirus, out of them, 63 per cent have died, while 30 per cent deaths have been reported in below between 40-60 years of age category and 7 per cent below 40 years.

Notably, 80 per cent senior citizen patients, who died had a history of diabetics, kidney and cardiac problems, while 14 per cent youth patients having similar chronic illness also expired.

The Centre on Monday received 1.70 lakh PPEs from China and domestic supplies of around 20,000. Hence, a total of 1.90 lakh coveralls will now be distributed to hospitals and it will add to 3,87,473 PPEs already available in the country.

The ICMR has also procured 10 lakh reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kits. As of now, the ICMR has tested 96,264 samples and a total of 136 government labs and 56 private labs have been made functional.

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has appealed to the Prime Minister to consider extending the nationwide 21-day lockdown period for two more weeks. Speaking to the media on Monday night, he stated that India may not be able to handle if the situation escalates due to the lockdown being hastily lifted.