New Delhi: India’s cases rose by more than 11,000 for the second consecutive day, as the country reported 11,929 novel coronavirus cases in the 24 hours before 8 am on Sunday, the highest single-day spike yet. The country now has more than 3.2 lakh confirmed cases, while the death toll is now more than 9,000, after 311 fresh deaths were recorded, according to the health ministry.
This is the third day in a row when more than 10,000 cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been recorded in India, now the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic.
The total confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 3,20,922, including 9,195 deaths, according to the health ministry’s data updated in the morning. There are 1,49,348 active COVID-19 cases, while 1,62,378 people have recovered or been discharged and a patient has migrated. The number of recoveries are more than the active cases as 50.60% of the patients have recovered so far.
India now has the ninth highest death toll due to COVID-19 in the world.
Of the total 9,195 deaths, Maharashtra has recorded 3,830 fatalities, followed 1,448 by Gujarat and 1,271 in Delhi. The toll from the pandemic rose to 463 in West Bengal, 447 in Madhya Pradesh, 397 in Tamil Nadu and 385 in Uttar Pradesh. There have been 282 COVID-19 deaths in Rajasthan and 182 in Telangana.
Cases in Maharashtra alone are now more than 1 lakh. The state has recorded 1,04,568 infections, followed by Tamil Nadu (42,687 , Delhi (38,958) and Gujarat (23,038). The tally rose to 13,118 in Uttar Pradesh, 12,401 in Rajasthan and 10,698 in West Bengal and 10,641 in Madhya Pradesh.
Across the world, there have now been more than 77.8 lakh cases of the virus, which has claimed over 4.3 lakh deaths. The US has reported more than 2 million cases, while Brazil and Russia occupy the second and third places with over 850,000 and 519,000 cases respectively, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.
Patients who recovered from COVID-19 prepare to leave Krishna Hospital in Karad, June 10, 2020. Photo: PTI
Health ministry adds new symptoms
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, diarrhoea, 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.
Protests in Nepal
Police in Nepal arrested 10 people, including seven foreigners, on Saturday as demonstrations against the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis continued with hundreds of protesters gathering in the capital city Kathmandu.
According to news agency Reuters, the country’s cases have been spiking despite a complete lockdown imposed in March after reporting its second confirmed coronavirus case. Now, the country has more than 5,000 cases and 16 deaths. The government has come under fire for not doing enough to contain the outbreak.
Police officials said an estimated 1,000 people had gathered on a major thoroughfare in Kathmandu for the third day, where seven foreign nationals were arrested. “The foreigners were arrested for interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs,” police official Basant Lama told Reuters.
Earlier this week, police used baton charges, water cannons and tear gas to break up protests near the prime minister’s residence. No such clashes took place on Saturday.
A protester gets detained during a protest demanding better and effective response from the government to fight COVID-19 in Kathmandu, Nepal June 13, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
Protesters are demanding better quarantine facilities, more tests and transparency in the purchase of medical supplies to fight the crisis.
“Quarantine facilities lack water, sanitation and safety,” protester Ramesh Pradhan said. “They are becoming the breeding centres for the coronavirus. This must be improved.”
Nepal’s government says it has spent about $89 million to fight the pandemic, has conducted around 310,000 tests and quarantined some 158,000 people. But activists insist this is not enough in a country of 30 million people.
“The government is committed to increase tests, boost medical services and improve the quarantine facilities,” Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokhrel, who is leading the country’s coronavirus response, said in a statement on Saturday.