NEW DELHI, June 13:
India’s COVID-19 death toll crossed the 9,000-mark today with a record daily increase making it the world’s ninth worst hit nation in terms of fatalities.
The tally of confirmed cases also saw the biggest one-day jump of over 14,000 and reached 3.13 lakh, as per the latest numbers announced by States and Union Territories.
Delhi reported 2,134 new cases and 57 more fatalities, taking its total count of cases to nearly 39,000 and the death toll to 1,271. The national capital has recorded more than 2,000 new cases for two consecutive days now.
Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune, Indore and Kolkata are among severely hit cities by the pandemic.
In its morning update, the Union Health Ministry said the total number of cases across India has risen to 3,08,993 with an increase of 11,458 new cases in 24 hours since Friday 8 am, while 386 more fatalities were reported during this period to take the toll to 8,884.
However, the latest figures announced by states and UTs showed the nationwide count of confirmed cases having risen to over 3.13 lakh and the death toll of 9,195, as of 10.50 pm. This showed an increase of more than 14,700 new cases and at least 452 fatalities since Friday night.
However, more than 1.6 lakh people have also recovered so far, leaving close to 1.5 lakh active cases in the country.
According to the global real-time COVID-19 data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, India’s count of recoveries is now the sixth largest in the world after the US, Brazil, Russia, Italy and Germany.
However, India has also entered the top-ten in terms of the number of deaths. It is now ranked ninth after the US, Brazil, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Mexico and Belgium. While the US has reported more than 1.14 lakh deaths so far, the eighth-ranked Belgium has recorded 9,650 fatalities.
In terms of overall count of confirmed cases, India is ranked fourth after the US (more than 20 lakh), Brazil (8.3 lakh) and Russia (5.2 lakh).
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in India, reported 3,427 new COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths, including 69 from Mumbai, taking the State’s overall case count to over 1.04 lakh and the toll to 3,830. Mumbai city alone has reported 56,831 cases and 2,113 fatalities so far.
The state’s Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the Government has reduced the rates of the COVID-19 tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200.
Gujarat reported 517 new cases and 33 more deaths, taking its case count to 23,079 and fatalities to 1,449. Of this, 344 new cases and 26 deaths were reported from Ahmedabad, taking the district’s own tally to 16,306 cases and 1,165 fatalities.
In Surat, the country’s biggest diamond cutting and polishing hub, at least eight diamond units have been partially closed after some workers tested positive.
In Uttar Pradesh, over 500 new cases emerged while 20 more died, taking its overall tally to over 13,000 and the death toll to 385. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed the fight against COVID-19 “a war against an invisible enemy” and asked officials to ensure proper arrangements in hospitals to treat patients.
Tamil Nadu reported nearly 2,000 new cases to take its tally to 42,687, which includes more than 30,000 from Chennai itself. The state government announced appointment of 2,000 more nurses in state-run hospitals in Chennai and nearby districts.
New cases were also reported from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Chandigarh, among other states and UTs.
Meanwhile, loss of smell or taste has been added to the list of COVID-19 symptoms, according to the revised clinical management protocols released by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.
The Ministry listed muscle pain, diarrhea, congested nasal cavity, sputum production as COVID-19 symptoms, besides fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat and shortness of breath.
People have also complained of loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms, it said.
According to an expert, though it is not specific to COVID-19 as one may even suffer from loss of smell and taste when they have flu or influenza, but then it could be one of the early signs of the onset of the disease and may help in timely detection and treatment.
In its revised ‘Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19 released on Saturday, the health ministry said older people and immune-suppressed patients in particular may present with atypical symptoms such as fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, delirium, and absence of fever, the ministry said.
Children might not have reported fever or cough as frequently as adults. (PTI)
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