E-Paper
India's daily Covid-19 deaths remain above 4,000 for the second day; tally crosses 26.28 million
After addition of Saturday's cases, India's Covid-19 caseload stands at 2,62,89,290, and the number of active cases has reduced to 29,23,400.
India continued to maintain a downward trajectory on Saturday as its confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and deaths remained below record levels in the last 24 hours. According to the daily health bulletin by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, 2,57,299 people were found to be positive of the viral disease taking India's Covid-19 caseload to 2,62,89,290.
As many as 4,194 people lost their lives in the previous 24 hours as the cumulative death toll touched 2,95,525.
On May 19, the country recorded its highest jump in the daily fatalities as 4,529 people succumbed to the viral disease. Experts have suggested that the trend may continue to rise for another week at least before it begins to settle down in proportion to the number of daily cases.
Click here for complete Covid-19 coverage
Public health expert Dr VK Monga attributed the fatalities to prolonged hospitalisation and Covid-19 complications, the news agency ANI reported. “A large number of patients are still admitted in ICU in various hospitals... and because of the complications of Covid-19 and prolonged stay in hospitals, they may lose the battle, thus resulting in increased figures of death," Monga said in the report.
Meanwhile, 23,070,365 people have recovered from the Covid-19 as of Saturday morning, the health ministry's dashboard showed.
As of May 21, the country has tested a total of 32,64,84,155 samples for Covid-19, of these, 20,66,285 samples were tested over the last 24-hours, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said in a statement.
India is reeling under the catastrophic second wave of Covid-19, however, over the last two weeks, the numbers have come down from more than 400,000 infections in a day at a time of the peak. The unprecedented rise in the cases had led to swamped hospitals in major cities of the country including the national capital.
With improvement in daily infections, authorities are now working to alleviate the shortage of a medicine used to treat a rare fungal disease, prevailing in Covid-19 patients who are at the recovery phase.
Mucormycosis, or black fungus as it is commonly known, is a life-threatening fungal infection that attacks those with weak immune systems. Its symptoms include blackening or discolouration over the nose, blurred or double vision and chest pain.
With cases rising to worrying levels, the health ministry on Friday said it was looking for more companies to produce the antifungal drug Amphotericin B used to treat it and also increase imports of the medicine.
According to the health ministry's statement on Friday, ten states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, accounted for 76.66% of new cases registered in a day.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu reported the highest daily new cases at 35,579. It was followed by Kerala with 30,491 confirmed cases.
On the vaccination front, the country has administered 193-million shots so far.
