India reports another record spike as tally approaches 8.5 lakh

India added a record 28,637 cases of the coronavirus infection on Sunday, pushing the country’s COVID-19 tally to 8,49,553. The death toll rose to 22,674 after 551 new deaths were reported by the Union health ministry.

Of the total confirmed cases, 5,34,620 people have been cured or discharged, while 2,92,258 cases are still active. “Thus, around 62.93% of patients have recovered so far,” a health ministry official said.

The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.

This was the third consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country have increased by more than 26,000.

According to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,15,87,153 samples were tested up to July 11, with 2,80,151 samples tested on Saturday.

Of the total 22,674 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 10,116 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,334 deaths, Gujarat 2,032, Tamil Nadu 1,898, Uttar Pradesh 913, West Bengal 906, Madhya Pradesh 644, Karnataka 613 and Rajasthan 503.

Maharashtra also has the highest number of cases, with 2,46,600 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,34,226 Delhi at 1,10,921, Gujarat at 40,941, Uttar Pradesh at 35,092, Karnataka at 36,216 and Telangana at 33,402.

Currently, India is the third worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US and Brazil. According to Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, India’s death toll is the eighth-worst.

Across the world, there have been 12,720,798 confirmed cases as of Sunday morning. The global death toll due to COVID-19 stands at 565,219. In many countries, official data includes only deaths reported in hospitals, not those in homes or nursing homes.

The US has recorded 3,247,782 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Brazil is in second place with 1,839,850 cases, followed by India (849,553), Russia (719,449) and Peru (322,710).

The US has also recorded the highest death toll, with 134,814 fatalities so far. The death toll has also been high in Brazil (71,469), the UK (44,735), Italy (34,883), Mexico (34,945), France (30,007) and Spain (28,403) and India (22,674).

Trump sports a mask for the first time

US President Donald Trump, who has avoided wearing a mask in public even as the coronavirus pandemic spread, donned one on Saturday at a military medical facility outside Washington where he was set to meet with wounded soldiers and front-line health care workers.

The visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center marked Trump’s first public appearance with a face covering since the virus began sweeping across the United States earlier this year. – The Wire