Covid 19 isolation centre at CWG village in New Delhi (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: The total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the grim milestone of one million to stand at 1,003,832 on Friday, after nearly 35,000 cases were registered within a span of 24 hours. As many as 25,602 deaths were recorded, according to data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
It took less than three weeks for the cases to go from half a million to one million. In contrast, it had taken nearly four months for India to reach the first half a million cases.
With the increase in cases, the Centre has told the three eastern states–Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam– that have imposed part or full lockdowns that while it is “not questioning” their decision, this period “must be utilised gainfully” by implementing a three-pronged strategy to contain the spread of the infection, The Indian Express has learnt.
Globally, over 13 million people have been infected with the virus and 5,86,174 have died, with the most number of cases (3,536,658) and deaths (137,897) reported from the United States. Britain, the United States and Canada have accused Russia of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine.
States including West Bengal, Assam and Bihar have announced full or partial lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1,30,72,718 samples have been tested for Covid so far.
After the US, which has carried out a record 42 million Covid-19 tests, India has done the second largest number of 12 million coronavirus tests, the White House has said. More than 3.5 million people have tested positive with the coronavirus and 138,000 died in the US. Globally, more than 13.6 million have tested positive and over 586,000 have died. "With regard to (the coronavirus) testing, we've done more than 42 million tests. The second-highest number is 12 million from India. We're leading the world in testing," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was quoted as telling reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
Nearly 35,000 fresh Covid-19 cases were registered within a span of 24 hours.
Taking to Twitter early on Friday morning, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "We have crossed the 1 million mark. If we continue at this pace, we shall cross the 2 million mark by August 10. The government must adopt strict measures to contain the situation."
The number of Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 1 million (10 lakh) mark as more than 35,000 new infections were detected on Thursday. Data reported by state governments until late in the evening showed the total number of infections since the outbreak of the epidemic had crossed 10,04,000. A few states had not reported Thursday’s data by press time.
India's journey from half a million to 1 million cases has taken just 20 days. Only two countries, the United States and Brazil, have a larger caseload than India
WRITER-ACTIVIST Varavara Rao, who has been behind bars since 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case, tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. Doctors said he was asymptomatic, but unable to walk due to weakness.
On Mon-day, the 80-year-old had been shifted to J J Hospital here from Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai after complaining of dizziness. His family members had raised concerns regarding his health after receiving a call from him last week. Read more here
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 8,641 Covid-19 cases – the highest ever in a single day since the state recorded its first case on March 9. With this, the total count of those infected in the state has reached 2,84,281.
The state recorded 266 new deaths – the highest so far in a single day this month – taking the overall toll to 11,194.
Mumbai, meanwhile, recorded 1,476 cases, taking its total count to 97,950. With 56 new deaths, 5,523 people in the city have died due to the virus till now. Read more here
Former IAS officer Neela Satyanarayan, who had served as Maharashtra’s first woman Election Commissioner, succumbed to Covid-19 at a suburban hospital on Thursday. She was 72. Read more here
For early detection of Covid-19 cases, the BMC has started using “smart helmets” to screen residents living in densely populated areas. Officials said two smart helmets have so far been used in slums of R North (Dahisar) and P North (Malad) wards.
The helmets can help in screening temperatures of around 200 people in a minute. On Thursday, BMC officials used it to screen 1,300 people at Ganpat Patil Nagar in Dahisar, one of the most congested slums in Mumbai. Shiv Sena corporator from Dahisar, Abhishek Ghoslakar, said the helmet is effective since it can cover a large number of people in less time. "It is always challenging to screen people in slums. With the help of the helmet, officials can cover more people," he added. Read more here