New Delhi: India continues to witness a rise in the number of coronavirus cases, recording 9,111 new infections in the last 24 hours. According to data provided on April 17 by the Union Health Ministry, the number of active cases has risen to 60,313 people. Around 27 new fatalities have been reported, taking the death toll to 5,31,141.
Of the total fatalities, six were reported from Gujarat, four from Uttar Pradesh, three each from Delhi and Rajasthan, two from Maharashtra, one each from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, and three from Kerala.
The Covid case tally in the country was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,48,27,226). The daily positivity rate was recorded at 8.40 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was pegged at 4.94 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.13 per cent of the total infections.
Also Read: Covid Entering Endemic Stage In India, Cases Likely To Start Subsiding After 10-12 Days
DELHI
Delhi logged around 1,634 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 29.68 per cent, according to the Delhi Health Department. With the new cases, the national capital’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 20,23,227. Besides, three new fatalities pushed the death toll to 26,563. The new cases were recorded out of the 5,505 tests conducted the previous day.
Last week, mock drills were conducted at various hospitals of Delhi, to evaluate COVID-19 preparedness.
MAHARASHTRA
Maharashtra has reported 650 fresh coronavirus infections and two fatalities in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of cases to 81,55,839 and the toll to 1,48,479, according to the state health department. The Nashik district reported 54 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall infection to 4,82,892, while the two fatalities in the state were reported from Mumbai and Thane. The case fatality rate in the state now stands at 1.82 per cent.
The state has reported a total of 62 COVID deaths since January 1, and 70.97 per cent of the deceased were over 60 years old. Of the total number of deceased persons, 58 per cent had comorbidity, while 10 per cent had no comorbidity. According to PTI, the state health department still does not have data on 32 per cent of patients.
HIMACHAL PRADESH
Himachal Pradesh reported 56 new cases of COVID-19 and one fatality in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of active cases to 1,869, according to the state health department. At the same time, 260 people recovered from the infection.
Last week, the state government decided to make wearing masks mandatory in hospitals and public areas in view of the rising cases. The state government had also appealed to the people not to panic as the virus is mild. Cabinet Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan had said,
It is mandatory to wear masks in the hospitals so that there is nothing to panic about, the situation is normal in the state, and everything is under control.
TAMIL NADU
Tamil Nadu found 514 new persons positive for COVID-19 and one fatality in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 38,056 people have succumbed to the disease, according to the Directorate of Public Health. The state reported the total number of recoveries at 35,60,964.
In the wake of rising COVID cases in Tamil Nadu, the Madras High Court mandated wearing masks and maintaining physical distance in the court premises from Monday (April 17). The court also advised people to avoid entering the court campus if their cases are not listed. The notification said,
All the officers, staff members, advocates, litigants, parties in person, advocate clerks, and all others concerned, entering into the Court Halls and court premises, both at the Principal Seat and at Madurai Bench, are advised to compulsorily wear masks, maintain social distance, and wash their hands frequently.” In the notification, it was said that the advisory was issued “with a view to arresting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the larger public interest.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.68 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,42,35,772 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. Besides, 220.66 crore doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
Also Read: Covid Patients’ Blood Shows Who Is Most Likely To Become Severely Ill: Study
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
