India Crosses Russia, Now Third Worst Hit Globally by COVID-19 Pandemic

The country has recorded over 20,000 cases of the infection for the fourth consecutive day.

New Delhi: Another big single-day jump of 24,248 COVID-19 cases took India’s tally close to the seven-lakh mark on Monday, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 19,693 with 425 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry.

With this, the country has recorded over 20,000 cases of the infection for the fourth consecutive day.

India went past Russia on Sunday to become the third worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the US and Brazil are ahead of India in terms of total coronavirus infections.

According to the Monday morning update of the Union health ministry, a single-day jump of 24,248 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 6,97,413.

With a steady rise, the number of recoveries stands at 4,24,432 in the country, while one patient has migrated. There are 2,53,287 active coronavirus cases in the country, the data showed.

“Thus, 60.85% of the patients have recovered so far,” the ministry said.

The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners who tested positive in India.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 99,69,662 samples were tested for the disease in the country till July 5, with 1,80,596 just on Sunday.

According to the Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, India is at the eighth position in terms of the death toll due to the disease.

State-wise deaths

Of the 425 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 151 are from Maharashtra, 63 from Delhi, 60 from Tamil Nadu, 37 from Karnataka, 21 from West Bengal, 18 from Gujarat, 14 from Andhra Pradesh, 12 from Uttar Pradesh, 10 from Madhya Pradesh, nine from Rajasthan, seven from Telangana, six from Bihar, five each from Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, two each from Punjab, Jharkhand and Odisha, and one from Goa.

Of the 19,693 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounts for 8,822 deaths, followed by Delhi (3,067), Gujarat (1,943), Tamil Nadu (1,510), Uttar Pradesh (785), West Bengal (757), Madhya Pradesh (608), Rajasthan (456) and Karnataka (372).

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The COVID-19 death toll reached 295 in Telangana, 265 in Haryana, 232 in Andhra Pradesh, 164 in Punjab, 132 in Jammu and Kashmir, 95 in Bihar, 42 in Uttarakhand, 36 in Odisha and 25 in Kerala.

Jharkhand has registered 19 deaths due to the disease, Chhattisgarh and Assam have reported 14 deaths each, Puducherry has recorded 12, Himachal Pradesh 11, Goa seven, Chandigarh has registered six deaths, and Meghalaya, Tripura, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry.

More than 70% of the deaths were due to co-morbidities, it said.

State-wise cases

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of 2,06,619 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,11,151), Delhi (99,444), Gujarat (36,037), Uttar Pradesh (27,707), Telangana (23,902) and Karnataka (23,474).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 22,126 in West Bengal, 20,164 in Rajasthan, 18,697 in Andhra Pradesh, 17,005 in Haryana and 14,930 in Madhya Pradesh.

It has risen to 11,876 in Bihar, 11,388 in Assam, 9,070 in Odisha and 8,429 in Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab has reported 6,283 cases of the infection, while Kerala has 5,429 cases.

A total of 3,207 people have been infected with the virus in Chhattisgarh, 3,124 in Uttarakhand, 2,781 in Jharkhand, 1,761 in Goa, 1,568 in Tripura, 1,366 in Manipur, 1,063 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,005 in Ladakh.

Puducherry has recorded 802 COVID-19 cases, Nagaland 590, Chandigarh 466 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have together reported 271 cases.

Arunachal Pradesh has reported 269 cases, Mizoram 186, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 125, Sikkim 123 and Meghalaya 62.

Global numbers

Across the world, there have now been more than 11 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, 11,449,707 confirmed cases have been reported as of Monday morning.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the global death toll due to COVID-19 stands at 534,267. Another 6,179,006 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 2,888,635 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Brazil is in second place with 1,603,055 cases, followed by India (697,413), Russia (680,283) and Peru (302,718).

The US has also recorded the highest death toll, with 129,947 fatalities so far. The death toll has also been high in Brazil (64,867), the UK (44,305), Italy (34,861), Mexico (30,639), France (29,896) and Spain (28,385).

Australia closes state border for first time in 100 years after COVID-19 spike

The border between Australia’s two most populous states will close from Tuesday for an indefinite period as authorities scramble to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus in the city of Melbourne.

The decision announced on Monday marks the first time the border between Victoria and New South Wales has been shut in 100 years. Officials last blocked movement between the two states in 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic.

“It is the smart call, the right call at this time, given the significant challenges we face in containing this virus,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

The move will, however, likely be a blow to Australia’s economic recovery as it heads into its first recession in nearly three decades.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Victorian capital of Melbourne has surged in recent days, prompting authorities to enforce strict social-distancing orders in 30 suburbs and put nine public housing towers into complete lockdown.

(With agency inputs)