India reports 56 COVID-19 deaths, highest in 24 hrs, as cases jump to 24,942; doubling rate improved since lockdown, says Centre

A month into the lockdown, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday informed that there has been a marked improvement in the rate of spread of the novel coronavirus in India, even as the country registered 1,490 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths, the highest single day rise in fatalities so far.

On Saturday, the nationwide count of confirmed cases climbed to 24,942 with 779 deaths with some states began easing some of the restrictions imposed since the country went on a nationwide lockdown on 25 march.

India's rate of spread slows down

The average doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in the country is 9.1 days as of now; this was 7.5 days just five days ago, and 3 days on 21 March, when India had just 300 cases. The doubling rate is the rate at which India's Covid-19 cases are expected to double from today's figure.

Furthermore, from Friday 8 am to Saturday 8 am, India recorded a six percent growth in new cases, which is the lowest daily growth rate recorded since the country crossed 100 cases on 15 March, the government said on Saturday, according to PTI.

The recovery figures have also shown some improvement. As of now, 5,062 people have been cured with a recovery rate of 20.66 percent, which is an improvement from the 14.2 percent reported last Sunday (19 April) and 13 percent on 17 April, the ministry said.

The government also said that this is comparatively better than most of the countries and may be taken as a positive effect of the lockdown in the country, along with the cluster management and containment strategy.

In an announcement that underscored the scientific unknowns about the virus, the World Health Organisation said “there is currently no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot fall sick again.

Maharashtra, Gujarat account for most cases and deaths

Of the total cases reported on Saturday, 18953 are active, 5,209 have been cured and discharged patients, one migrated while 779 have died, the health ministry said.

According to the health ministry data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 6,817, followed by Gujarat (2,815), Delhi (2,514), Rajasthan (2,034), Madhya Pradesh (1,952) and Uttar Pradesh (1,778).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,755 in Tamil Nadu, 1,061 in Andhra Pradesh and 984 in Telangana.

The number of cases has risen to 571 in West Bengal, 489 in Karnataka, 454 in Jammu and Kashmir, 451 in Kerala, 298 in Punjab and 272 in Haryana.

Bihar has reported 228 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 94. Fifty-nine people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 48 in Uttarakhand.

Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, while Chhattisgarh and Assam have registered 36 infections each. Chandigarh has 28 cases, while there are 27 COVID-19 patients in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Twenty coronavirus cases have been reported from Ladakh, 12 from Meghalaya, while Goa and Puducherry have registered seven COVID-19 cases each.

Manipur and Tripura have two coronavirus patients each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

"Forty-nine cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing. Our figures are being reconciled with that of the the ICMR," the ministry said on its website. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.

Of the 56 deaths reported since Friday evening, 18 were in Maharashtra, 15 in Gujarat, nine in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Delhi and West Bengal, two each in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and one each in Punjab and Kerala.

Of the total 779 COVID-19 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of 301 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (127), Madhya Pradesh (92), Delhi (53), Andhra Pradesh (31) and Rajasthan (27).

The death toll reached 26 in Uttar Pradesh as well as in Telangana, 22 in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 18 deaths each, the ministry said.

Punjab has registered 17 fatalities so far, Jammu and Kashmir five, Kerala four, while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each.

Bihar has reported two coronavirus deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

States ease lockdown conditions, but no respite for Maharashtra

Some states, taking cue from a late Friday night order from the Union Home Ministry, said they are taking steps to open more categories of shops, including those selling garments, mobile phones, hardware and stationery items.

However, these relaxations would not be allowed for shops located in market places, malls and COVID-19 hotspots and containment zones. In rural areas, all shops barring those in malls have been allowed to open.

Liquor and cigarette shops would remain closed everywhere irrespective of their location, while sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms continue to remain shut. Restaurants, hair salons and barber shops will not be allowed to open as these render services and do not fall under the shop category.

The Delhi government said it will implement the Home Ministry order on opening of shops in the National Capital, but Maharashtra ruled out any immediate relaxation saying the lockdown guidelines will remain unchanged in the state till 3 May. In fact, there are also reports that the Maharashtra government is mulling to extend lockdown at least in the containment zones within hotspot districts Mumbai and Pune till at least 18 May. This came after 281 new positive cases and 12 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the city to 4,870.

Gujarat, on the other hand, decided to follow the directive, while Assam said it will take a decision on Monday. Gujarat has the second highest number of active cases at 2,423 after Maharashtra.

Madhya Pradesh, another state hit hard by the novel coronavirus, too decided to ease the restrictions on neighborhood shops while also beginning the process of sending migrant labourers to their respective villages in the state. At least 8,000 migrant labourers were sent to their villages in the state in buses, the govt said on Saturday.

Last week, the govt also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the lockdown. Restrictions in the country have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials.

Congress recommends steps to rejuvenate MSMEs

On the political front, Congress President Sonia Gandhi also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent steps to help the MSME sector, including a Rs 1 lakh crore 'wage protection' package. She said the MSME crisis has the potential of having a devastating and expansive ripple effect on our economy.

The BJP, meanwhile, hit out at the opposition party, alleging its leaders keep making new demands and claim that the nationwide lockdown has caused problems.

"The Congress is doing petty, abhorrent and negative politics. It is writing letters daily. It should go and work on ground. Its leaders don't do that but keep making new demands," Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

Instead of making new demands, the Congress should say what it has been doing to help people, Javadekar added.

Meanwhile, special teams sent by the Centre, in the meantime, assessed ground situations in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, but a political stand-off continued in West Bengal on this front.

The team visiting West Bengal alleged that non-cooperation on the part of the state government over providing logistical support and other relevant information, while the state's ruling party Trinamool Congress described it as "India's Most Callous Team" and accused it of trying to spread the political virus "shamelessly".

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier slammed the Centre for sending the teams to look into the state's preparedness for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak and alleged that faulty testing kits were dispatched to the state.

With inputs from agencies

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FP Staff