New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 tally of cases went past 42 lakh with a record 90,802 people being infected in a day. India is now only behind the US when it comes to the total number of cases, globally.
Monday’s jump was the third straight daily record in India, government data showed, provisionally carrying its tally past Brazil, which has just over 41 lakh cases, although the time difference means the South American nation will release its corresponding figure later.
The death toll of 71,642 in India compares with nearly 193,000 in the United States and 126,000 in Brazil.
Meanwhile, 32,50,429 people have recuperated so far, pushing the national recovery rate to 77.30% on Monday, according to the Union health ministry’s data.
The total number of coronavirus cases ascended to 42,04,613, while the mortality toll soared to 71,642 with 1,016 casualties being informed in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.
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The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.70%.
There are 8,82,542 active cases of the infections in the country which comprises 20.99% of the total caseload, the data stated.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, and it went past 40 lakh on September 5, 2020.
According to the ICMR, an aggregate total of 4,95,51,507 samples have been tested up to September 6, 2020, with 7,20,362 samples being tested on Sunday.
Experts say there is no sign of a peak as cases surge in the world’s second most populous country, both in major cities, such as New Delhi and the financial hub of Mumbai, and rural areas that have limited access to health services.
“It’s becoming a double burden now,” Rajib Dasgupta, a professor of community health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital, told Reuters.
“The urban areas are not slowing down and rural areas are picking up.”
Meanwhile, Metro services resumed in the National Capital after a break of more than five months, with stations nearly deserted. Bars will open from Wednesday in the capital.
Partial metro train services also opened in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow and several other places, after nearly six months of suspension over the pandemic.
Pressure is growing for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull the economy out of a deep freeze after a severe lockdown in March shuttered businesses, leaving millions without jobs, bringing a 24% contraction in June-quarter GDP.
(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)