New Delhi: India registered over 9,500 COVID-19 cases for the sixth day in a row and 279 fatalities in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8 am, pushing the country’s COVID-19 tally to 2,76,583 and death toll to 7,745, the Union health ministry said.
The country is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK, according to data issued by the Johns Hopkins University.
The number of active cases in the country stands at 1,33,632, while 1,35,205 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.
“Thus, 48.99% of the patients have recovered so far,” it said. Though official spokespersons have been highlighting the Indian recovery rate, they do not mention that the global recovery rate is also the same or slightly better.
State-wise deaths
Of the 279 new deaths reported, 120 were in Maharashtra, 33 in Gujarat, 31 in Delhi, 21 in Tamil Nadu, 18 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Telangana, 10 in West Bengal, nine in Rajasthan, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, three in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Bihar, Jharkhand and Tripura.
Out of the total 7,745 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 3,289 deaths, followed by Gujarat with 1,313, Delhi with 905, Madhya Pradesh with 420, West Bengal with 415, Tamil Nadu with 307, Uttar Pradesh with 301, Rajasthan with 255 and Telangana with 148 deaths.
The death toll reached 77 in Andhra Pradesh, 66 in Karnataka and 55 in Punjab.
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Jammu and Kashmir has reported 48 fatalities due to the disease, while 45 deaths have been reported from Haryana, 32 from Bihar, 16 from Kerala, 13 from Uttarakhand, nine from Odisha, eight from Jharkhand and six from Chhattisgarh.
Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh have registered five COVID-19 fatalities each and Assam has recorded four deaths so far.
Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each, according to the ministry data.
More than 70% of the deaths are due to co-morbidities, the ministry’s website stated.
State-wise deaths
A total of 9,985 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8 am.
The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 90,787 followed by Tamil Nadu at 34,914, Delhi at 31,309, Gujarat at 21,014, Uttar Pradesh at 11,335, Rajasthan at 11,245 and Madhya Pradesh at 9,849 according to the health ministry’s data updated in the morning.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 8,985 in West Bengal, 5,921 in Karnataka, 5,459 in Bihar and 5,209 in Haryana.
It has risen to 5,070 in Andhra Pradesh, 4,346 in Jammu and Kashmir, 3,920 in Telangana and 3,140 in Odisha.
Assam has reported 2,937 novel coronavirus cases so far while Punjab has 2,719 cases. A total of 2,096 people have been infected by the virus in Kerala and 1,537 in Uttarakhand.
Jharkhand has registered 1,411 cases, while 1,240 cases have been reported from Chhattisgarh, 864 from Tripura, 445 from Himachal Pradesh, 359 from Goa and 323 from Chandigarh.
Manipur has 304 cases, Puducherry and Nagaland has reported 127 cases each till now.
Ladakh has 108 COVID-19 cases, Mizoram has 88, Arunachal Pradesh has 57, Meghalaya 43 while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 33 infections so far.
Dadar and Nagar Haveli has 22 cases while Sikkim has reported 13 cases till now.
Global numbers
Across the world, there have now been more than 7 million cases of the viral infection, with 7,238,611 confirmed cases reported as of Wednesday morning.
According to the Johns Hopkins University, the global death toll due to COVID-19 stands at 411,277. Another 3,371,716 people have recovered from the disease.
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In many countries, official data includes only deaths reported in hospitals, not those in homes or nursing homes.
The US has recorded 1,979,850 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Brazil is in second place with 739,503 cases, followed by Russia (484,630) and the UK (290,581).
The US has also recorded the highest death toll, with 112,006 fatalities so far. The death toll has also been high in the UK (40,698), Brazil (38,406), Italy (34,043), France (29,299) and Spain (27,136).
An additional 49 million people may fall into extreme poverty this year due to COVID-19: UN chief
Nearly 49 million more people are likely to fall into extreme poverty this year due to the COVID-19 crisis and every percentage point drop in the global GDP would mean hundreds of thousands of additional children will have stunted growth, UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned, calling on countries to act immediately to ensure global food security.
Secretary-General Guterres warned that unless immediate action is taken, it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have long-term impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults.
There is more than enough food in the world to feed our population of 7.8 billion people. But, today, more than 820 million people are hungry. And some 144 million children under the age of 5 are stunted more than 1 in 5 children worldwide. Our food systems are failing, and the COVID-19 pandemic is making things worse, Guterres said at the launch of the policy brief on food security on Tuesday.
This year, some 49 million extra people may fall into extreme poverty due to the COVID-19 crisis. The number of people who are acutely food or nutrition insecure will rapidly expand. Every percentage point drop in global gross domestic product (GDP) means an additional 0.7 million stunted children, he said, adding that even in countries with abundant food, there are risks of disruptions in the food supply chain.
Guterres reiterated the need to act now to avoid the worst impacts of global efforts to control the pandemic.
Launching the policy brief on the impact of the COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, Guterres said nations must mobilise to save lives and livelihoods, focusing attention where the risk is most acute.
Temasek-backed Tychan to start human trials next week for COVID-19 treatment
Singapore’s Tychan, a biotechnology firm backed by state investor Temasek Holdings, said it will begin human clinical trials next week for a potential monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19.
The first phase of the trial to be conducted on 23 healthy volunteers will take about six weeks to evaluate the safety and tolerability of TY027 – a monoclonal antibody that specifically targets SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Antibodies are generated in the body to fight off infection. Monoclonal antibodies mimic natural antibodies and can be isolated and manufactured in large quantities to treat diseases in patients.
Many scientists and researchers believe antibody-based therapies hold great promise for treating people already infected with the disease.
“We will continue with the fast pace of development as we are conscious that a day saved is a day less of misery,” said Teo Ming Kian, chairman of Tychan. He added that the company reached human trials in four months, when it would usually take 12-18 months.
Indian firm Panacea says aiming to make COVID-19 vaccine
Indian biotech firm Panacea Biotec Ltd said on Wednesday it would partner with US-based Refana Inc to make a potential vaccine for COVID-19.
The collaboration aims to make more than 500 million doses of the vaccine candidate, with over 40 million doses expected to be available early next year, Panacea said in a statement to stock exchanges.
Panacea’s shares jumped 20% in morning trading on India’s National Stock Exchange after the news.
(With agency inputs)