Covid-19: India crosses 6 lakh mark with over 19,000 cases; 434 fatalities in last 24 hours

The number of coronavirus disease cases in India reached 6,04,641 on Thursday after 19,148 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. Four hundred thirty four people died in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 17,834, the Union health ministry data showed at 8 am.

The number of active cases in the country are 2,26,947, while 3,59,859 patients have been cured or discharged, the health ministry data showed.

This comes a day after the country recorded its biggest single-day spike of 18,653 new infections. It also registered the highest single-day Covid-19 deaths at 507 on Wednesday.

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The recovery rate from the coronavirus disease in India, the fourth worst-hit country in the world, has improved to 59.43 per cent. There are 347,978 people who have been discharged from hospitals across the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the country with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and senior officials of their ministries, officials said.

Apart from Vardhan, others who attended the meeting included top officials of the health and home ministries.

India has added nearly two lakh cases to its Covid-19 tally in the last 12 days. Maharashtra and Delhi have been the worst-hit, though Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that the Covid-19 situation in the national capital was on a worrying trajectory until a few weeks ago but a concerted effort helped turn the situation around.

He, however, cautioned people that the outbreak could spike again if they become complacent.

India reported its first case of Covid-19 on January 30 from Kerala when a student who had returned from Wuhan, China tested positive.

In a bid to halt the rapid surge in new infections, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Manipur and Nagaland are among the states which have extended the lockdown beyond June 30 for varying periods up to July 31 without any more relaxations.

The second phase of ‘Unlock ‘ also came into force from Wednesday after the month-long ‘Unlock 1’, a graded exit from the national lockdown imposed on March 25, ended on Tuesday. Though there will be “phased re-opening” of activities that had been barred to contain the spread of coronavirus, educational institutions, Metro rail services, cinema halls and gyms will continue to remain shut.