The total number of positive cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in the country mounted to 9,152 on Monday, which includes 7,987 active cases, 856 cured or discharged patients, 308 deaths and one migrated patient. According to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, 35 deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours.
“The total number of COVID-19 positive cases rises to 9,152 in India, including 856 cured/discharged, 308 deaths and 1 migrated,” said the Health Department on Monday.
The Ministry had earlier pointed out that the number of COVID-19 cases in India would have been 8.2 lakh by April 15, if no containment and lockdown measures were implemented.
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire across India, the central government is amping up efforts to build medical centers, quarantine units and continue with surveillance and tracing contacts, as well as ensure that the country follows strict social distancing measures. Monday marks Day 20, the penultimate day of the 21-day COVID-19 lockdown implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.
With 1,985 COVID-19 positive cases and 149 deaths, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country, followed by Delhi (1,154 cases, 24 deaths), Tamil Nadu (1,075 cases, 11 deaths), and Rajasthan (804 cases).
India’s financial capital, Mumbai, has emerged as the epicenter of coronavirus spread in the country. The biggest challenge in Mumbai is containing the spread of coronavirus in Dharavi, considered one of the largest slums in the world.
Other states which have crossed the 500-mark for COVID-19 positive cases also include Madhya Pradesh (532), Gujarat (516), and Telangana (504).
The central government is also setting up dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, in order to provide proper treatment and stop the spread of infection. The Health Ministry had on Sunday said that the government is ‘overprepared’ as there are more than a sufficient number of hospital beds available compared to the number of positive coronavirus cases in the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed that in the last five days, the average number of samples that have been tested is 15,747 per day and the average number of samples which tested positive is 584. It further informed that more than 40 vaccines are under development but none have reached the next stage of testing.
Source: dnaindia.com