India records nearly 20,000 Covid cases in highest single-day spike

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NEW DELHI: India recorded its highest spike in Covid-19 cases in 24 hours with 19,906 new infections on Sunday, pushing the total to 5,28,859, according to Health Ministry’s data. The country also reported 410 COVID-19 related deaths during that time, taking the death toll to 16,095. This is the fifth consecutive day that coronavirus infections have increased by more than 15,000.

The total of over 5 lakh cases include 2,03,051 active cases and 3,09,713 cured/discharged/migrated cases. The number of patients who have been cured is higher than active cases and the recovery rate has climbed to 58.56%.

According to Health Ministry, there are a total of 8 states that account for 85.5% of the active Covid-19 caseload and 87% of the deaths due to the disease in India and these states include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

The country’s coronavirus total has crossed 5 lakhs in just 39 days. According to some medical experts, the recent surge in cases is a result of ramped-up Covid-19 testing, now available more extensively and at a reasonable price. India is the fourth worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic after the United States, Brazil, and Russia, as of now.