Corona Updates You Must Track: India COVID-19 Tally Jumps To 2.17 Lakh Cases, Mumbai, Delhi Lead Surge

Mumbai escaped the fury of Cyclone Nisarga on Wednesday but continues to fight a long battle with COVID-19. More than 1,200 fresh cases and 49 deaths were reported in the city in the last 24 hours. India’s coronavirus tally has climbed to 2,16,919 cases—in a single-biggest surge in a day, 9,304 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that the trials for hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that US President Donald Trump has been batting for, would be resumed. Earlier, the global health body had stalled the trials after a paper in Lancet suggested that the drug could lead to higher fatalities among COVID-19 patients.

Track all the important developments related to coronavirus here:

India cases and toll: After crossing the grim milestone of 2-lakh cases, India’s tally continues to climb at a rapid rate. On Thursday, India had nearly 2.17 lakh cases of confirmed coronavirus; of these, 1.06 lakh are active cases while 1.04 lakh are recoveries. The toll is now at 6,075, according to the latest data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In the last 24 hours, 9,304 fresh cases of COVID-19 were recorded across the country while 260 people succumbed to the illness. Since the last few days, India has consistently recorded over 200 deaths every day.

Where Delhi stands: As the Delhi government tries to assure citizens that there are enough hospitals beds for COVID-19 patients, the national capital’s tally continues to surge. By Thursday, Delhi had reported 23,645 confirmed cases of coronavirus—13,497 active cases, 9,542 recoveries and 606 deaths. More than 1,500 fresh cases and 50 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Delhi now has 158 containment zones with a majority of them in south-west and north districts. Delhi’s positivity rate, as per an analysis by The Times of India, has gone up from 7 per cent to 14 per cent in the last 15 days. Positivity rate is the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 per 100 tests.

Where Maharashtra stands: On the day Cyclone Nisarga made landfall in Maharashtra, the state also recorded its single-biggest spike in deaths due to coronavirus. A hundred and twenty two people succumbed to the illness in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s toll to 2,587. More than 2,500 people tested positive for COVID-19 across the state with Mumbai alone accounting for nearly half of those cases. The state has so far reported 74,860 confirmed COVID-19 cases; of these, 32,329 have recovered.

Global corona update: The number of coronavirus cases globally has surged to 65.68 lakh on Thursday morning with 31.69 lakh recoveries and 3.87 lakh deaths. Total active cases are at 30.11 lakh, according to worldometer, a website that tracks COVID-19 numbers across the world.

The US continues to lead the global table with more than 19 lakh cases and 1.09 lakh deaths due to the virus and co-morbidities. Along with Brazil, which has reported 5.84 lakh cases of coronavirus so far, Mexico is also witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients even as it is gradually reopening its economy. Mexico has recorded 1.01 lakh confirmed cases with 11,729 deaths.

Story of hope: Music is the food of love, but this choir group went a step further and decided to run a delivery service during the lockdown to supply essentials to those in need. The Shillong Chamber Choir, which has performed for the Obamas and with Amitabh Bachchan, is now running ‘Uncle's Home Delivery’, which has so far supplied ration to more than 500 families in Meghalaya, reports The Indian Express. The choir’s practice hall in Shillong is now a ‘warehouse’ with stocks of groceries and each member has taken charge of one aspect of the service delivery.