More than 30,000 people have now succumbed to Covid-19 in India's official records. The death toll from the pandemic crossed 300,000, just 12 days after going past the 250,000 mark. The country has recorded 100,000 deaths from the virus in the past 26 days, becoming the only country in the world where the Covid toll, in terms of milestones of 50,000, has risen by 1,00,000 in under 30 days. At the height of its third wave in December-January, the death toll in the US had increased from 350,000 to 450,000 in 31 days, as per worldometers.info.
India has the third highest cumulative Covid deaths in the world after the US (over 600,000 deaths) and Brazil (450,000). Deaths during the second wave in the country now account for nearly half of all fatalities at 148,000 in under three months since February 15. In May alone, more than 92,000 deaths have been recorded in 23 days so far. That's almost twice the toll in April, when 48,768 deaths were reported, which was a record for any month till then.
Several experts have said many deaths during the second wave had not been counted in the official statistics, pointing to major discrepancies in the number of Covid-protocol cremations across cities and the Covid fatalities reported there in the past couple of months. While the number of fresh cases has declined steadily after infections in the country peaked around May 8, the daily toll has not decreased by much. The seven-day rolling average of daily cases was down 32% since the peak on May 8, when the average stood at over 391,00. On May 22, the index was at 264,000.
By contrast, the seven-day average of daily deaths has dipped by just 5% since hitting a peak of 4,040 on May 16. It stood at 3,838 on May 22. For this calculation, “backdated” fatalities declared over the past few days in Maharashtra were not counted in the daily numbers. Maharashtra has recorded by far the highest number of Covid-related deaths in the country, with 88,620 fatalities so far. Of these, 37,068 have taken place in the second wave, that is, after February 15.
The new fatalities include 984 from Maharashtra, 548 from Karnataka, 397 from Tamil Nadu, 236 from Uttar Pradesh, 233 from Delhi, 191 from Punjab, 162 from West Bengal, 159 from Uttarakhand, 129 from Haryana, 128 from Kerala, 127 from Rajasthan, 114 from Andhra Pradesh and 113 from Chhattisgarh. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
Positivity rate lowest
The Union Health Ministry said the positivity rate was at 13.31 per cent, which is lowest in a month. However, it further said India still cannot afford laxity even for a day as seven states such as Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Mizoram have shown increase in coronavirus cases. In a press briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry said, “There is a continued decrease in active cases in the country. Recoveries stand at 86.7 per cent. Twenty one states have reported more recoveries than daily Covid-19 cases. We have seen a 13-day decline straight. Death data is also going down now. Eight states in the country have more than 100,000 active cases, nine states have between 50,000-100,000 active cases and 19 states have less than 50,000 active cases. Tamil Nadu remains a cause of concern."
Asserting that adhering to stringent containment protocol is the key to curb the spread of the infection, he said, “India has witnessed a consistent upward trend in weekly tests since mid February with average daily tests increased by 2.3 times in last 12 weeks. After a consistent increase in case positivity for 10 weeks, a decline in case positivity since last two weeks reported.
