Corona Updates You Must Track: Record Jump In Fresh Cases And Deaths, Karnataka Fourth Worst-Hit State Now

India cases and toll: India added a record 32,695 fresh cases of coronavirus to its tally in the last 24 hours. The country’s COVID-19 count now stands at 9,68,876 cases. With 606 deaths, the number of people succumbing to the disease in a day also touched a new high on Wednesday, according to the latest data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The coronavirus death toll has climbed to 24,915. The number of recoveries is steadily improving—more than 6 lakh people have been cured of the illness so far. India currently has 3,31,146 active cases of coronavirus. On Wednesday, 3,26,826 people were tested for COVID-19 across the country.

IISc study’s COVID-19 projection for India: A study by the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has projected both best and worst-case scenarios for surge in India’s COVID-19 numbers. According to the study, whose findings were reported by The Times of India, India may record a total of 20 lakh cases of coronavirus by 1 September in the best-case scenario. By March 2021, the country could have 37.4 lakh coronavirus cases. The same study projects 35 lakh total cases in the country by 1 September and more than 6 crore cases by end of March 2021, in a worst-case scenario.

Lockdown in Bihar, Goa: With an unrelenting surge in COVID-19 numbers, several states are declaring another round of lockdown as part of containment measures. While a two-week-long lockdown has begun in Bihar, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a three-day lockdown in the state, starting Thursday night, and a night curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. till 10 August.

Goa has recorded 2,951 cases of coronavirus; of them, 1,259 are active cases, 1,674 recoveries and 18 deaths. Bihar's COVID-19 count has crossed the 20,000-mark. Of the total 20,612 cases, 6,970 are active, 13,462 people have recovered while 180 lives were claimed by the virus.

COVID-19 Tracker. Source: Twitter/@COVIDNewsByMIB

Maharashtra’s battle with COVID-19 continues: With 7,975 fresh cases of coronavirus recorded in a single day, Maharashtra’s COVID-19 tally has surged to 2,75,640. The state has 1,12,099 active cases while the death toll is at 10,928—233 people succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,52,613 people have, so far, recovered from the illness in the state. Mumbai alone recorded 1,374 fresh cases of coronavirus and 62 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Karnataka records another spike: Karnataka posted its single-biggest daily surge in cases on Wednesday. With 3,176 fresh cases, the state’s coronavirus tally has climbed to 47,253. Karnataka has displaced Gujarat as the fourth worst-hit state by the infection. Karnataka currently has 27,859 active cases while 18,466 have recovered from the illness. The state’s death toll (928 so far) is inching close to the 1,000 mark.

Global corona update: The global coronavirus tally has climbed to 1,36,97,662 cases with 81,55,874 recoveries and 5,86,896 deaths, according to Worldometer, a website that tracks COVID-19 numbers worldwide. With 36,16,747 total cases and 1,40,140 deaths, the US remains the worst-hit country by the virus. The country added nearly 61,000 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. Mexico, which has the fourth-highest COVID-19 death toll (36,906) after the US, Brazil and the UK, has reopened for business despite a surge in fresh cases.