India’s covid count hits 1,06,750; govt says better off with infection rate of 7.9/lakh
20 May 2020
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India reported 5,611 new Covid-19 cases in a day, the highest one-day spike till date, taking the number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,06,750, as of the morning on Wednesday (20 May 2020).
India, which is attempting to flatten the curve of the novel coronavirus and is currently under an extended lockdown, however, claimed that the country has only 7.9 cases/lakh population compared to the world figure of 62.3 cases/ lakh.
The recovery rate has also improved to 39.6 per cent, a health ministry release stated.
The central government has extended its lockdown till 31 May to help contain the spread of Covid-19, although with some easing in parts of the country where the pandemic is not so severe.
Through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach, Government of India has been taking several steps along with the states/UTs for prevention, containment and management of Covid-19. These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.
“India has been relatively able to decelerate the pace of Covid-19 and the impact can been seen in the data of Covid-19 cases. Compared to the global scale, where there are 62.3 cases per lakh, India still has only 7.9 cases/ lakh population. Similarly, for mortality per lakh population, while the global average rate is 4.2, India’s figure is pegged at 0.2. The relatively low death figures represent timely case identification and clinical management of the cases,” says the health ministry release.
According to the health ministry, the number of cases in India as of 9.30 am on May 20 stands at 1,06,750, with 5,611 cases in 24 hours. A total of 42,298 patients have recovered. With 140 deaths in 24 hours, the number of deaths due to Covid-19 stands at 3,303, as per government data.
As of 10 am on May 20:
— Maharashtra has a total of 37,136 cases, with 9,639 recoveries and 1,325 deaths. The state saw 2,127 new cases on 19 May.
— Tamil Nadu has 12,448 cases of which 4,895 people have recovered and 84 people have died due to the disease. On 19 May, 688 new cases were reported.
— Karnataka has a total of 1,395 cases, of which, 543 people have recovered and the state has reported 40 deaths. A total of 149 new cases were reported in the state on Tuesday.
— Kerala has a total of 643 cases, with 497 recoveries and 4 deaths. The state reported 12 new cases on 19 May.
— Andhra Pradesh has a total of 2,489 cases, with 1,621 recoveries and 52 deaths.
— Telangana has a total of 1,634 cases, with 1,011 recoveries and 38 deaths. The state saw an increase of 42 cases on 19 May.
As testing increases and due to influx of people from across India and countries, some states are recording spikes in cases and number of deaths. Experts say that India should still be testing more than it currently is, and the number of cases detected is expected to go up as states ramp up testing.
Cases across the world are currently at 48,97,567, with 3,23,286 deaths (according to the map by Johns Hopkins) as of 20 May 2020.
