Biggest One-Day Spike In Coronavirus Cases In India, 5,611 In 24 Hours
New Delhi: India has recorded the biggest single-day jump of 5,611 new coronavirus cases, with the total cases hitting 1,06,750, including 3,303 deaths, Union Health Ministry figures this morning show. 140 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. The spike comes a day after the country's coronavirus cases crossed the one lakh mark. The country's recovery rate - number of patients who have successfully fought the illness - stood at 39.62 per cent this morning. 42,298 people have recovered, the Health Ministry said.
Tamil Nadu has become the state with the most number of coronavirus cases after Maharashtra. The southern state reported 688 cases on Tuesday, taking the total to 12,448. Until Tuesday, Gujarat had the second-highest number of coronavirus cases. Gujarat now has 12,140 cases.
In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged people not to step out of their homes in red zones like Mumbai, Pune and surrounding areas. The state has recorded 37,136 cases. Mumbai will not see any relaxations of the lockdown, and with a rising number of cases and the city's tally reaching 21,335, Mumbai will completely focus on reducing the number of cases, the Guardian Minister for Mumbai, Aslam Shaikh told NDTV.
Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, is seeing increasing cases of coronavirus among migrant workers who have just returned home. Fifty migrants who have returned home were found infected with coronavirus in UP's Basti district, 190 km from state capital Lucknow. The state has 4,926 COVID-19 cases.
Telangana has stopped issuing passes to people wanting to return home from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The state government is of the view that migrants is emerging as a new category testing positive for coronavirus. The state has reported 1,634 cases so far.
Assam too has seen a spike in cases in COVID-19 cases with more people stranded in other states returning home. Assam currently has a total of 142 cases of which 25 were reported in the last 24 hours.
The Railways has said that passenger train service will expand from the existing 15 trains to more than 200 from June 1. The decision comes days after the government extended the countrywide lockdown for a third time but lifted the bar on bus service and other public transport.
As the country fights the pandemic, the east coast of India faces Cyclone Amphan, the worst storm over the Bay of Bengal in years. The cyclone is set to hit Wesy Bengal later today. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) chief told NDTV that the cyclone, along with the virus crisis, throws up a double challenge for the country. He said the authorities are trying to ensure social distancing in cyclone shelters where over three lakh people have been taken to.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on May 22, officials said.
The head of the World Bank warned Tuesday that the coronavirus crisis threatens to push some 60 million people into extreme poverty, wiping out the gains made over the past three years.
Worldwide, 48,97,842 people have coronavirus. 3,23,287 lakh people have died. The US, hardest hit by coronavirus, has 91,845 coronavirus deaths, according to the real-time tally by Johns Hopkins University.
(Inputs and image from ndtv.com)
