India became the fifth worst hit country by COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing Spain with over 2.46 lakh cases on Sunday, according to John Hopkins University data.
The European country has around 2.41 lakh confirmed cases. India recorded four days consecutive spike in cases, totaling to more than 2.46 lakh confirmed infections. Now, only the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK are ahead of it.
The country has been recording a continuous spike in cases for the last seven days, with more than 8,000 cases.
By Saturday 8 am, India recorded a single-day spike of 9,887 cases and 294 deaths, surpassing more than 2 lakh confirmed cases and the death toll to 6,642. The country registered over 9,000 cases for the third day in a row, the Union Health Ministry informed.
On Friday, the country took over Italy in terms of total cases, which has been the worst hit by coronavirus from the very beginning after the US, China and Brazil. Figures showed India at 2.35 lakh and Italy at 2.34 lakh on Friday.
However, it is to be noticed that the count of recoveries have also seen a rise, with 48.20%, the Ministry informed. It further said that 70% of the fatalities are of people with comorbidities.
Worst hit states in the country were Maharashtra at 80,229, followed by Tamil Nadu at 28,694, Delhi at 26,334, Gujarat at 19,094, Rajasthan at 10,084, Uttar Pradesh at 9,733 and Madhya Pradesh at 8,996, up till Saturday.
Observing the doubling line of cases in India, WHO Health Emergencies Programme executive Michael Ryan on Friday said that cases have been brewing and boiling but the disease has not ‘exploded’ in the country. He further said other countries including the UK, Spain and Germany observed the peak within three weeks of the lockdown.
However, in India, almost 90 days have passed since the lockdown was imposed, but the peak has not yet come.
He further added that the impact of the pandemic in the country is different and varies between urban and rural areas.
However, he stressed that as the disease generates and creates a foothold in communities, it can accelerate at any time as has been seen in a number of settings, indirectly mentioning the risk of community transmission in the country.
The country registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day today, with 9,971 new infections taking the country’s tally to 2,46,628, while the death toll rose to 6,929, according to the Union Health Ministry.
