COVID-19 cases surge to 3.08 lakh as 11,458 test positive in 24 hrs; Maharashtra caps test price at Rs 2,200

India surged past three lakh COVID-19 cases on Saturday with the country recording the biggest daily jump of 11,458 new infections. According to figures released by the Union Ministry of Health And Family Welfare at its 8 am briefing, the nationwide tally stood at 3,08,993 while the number of deaths reached 8,884 with 386 fatalities reported in 24 hours.

India took 64 days to cross one lakh cases from 100 infections, then in another fortnight it crossed two lakh cases while it surged past three lakh cases in just 10 days, according to news agency PTI.

According to coronavirus statistics website Worldometer, India is currently the fourth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. It had surpassed the United Kingdom on Thursday.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting of the COVID-19 situation and response with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, top bureaucrats and representatives of Empowered Groups.

The meet focussed on augmenting testing as well as the number of beds and services to effectively handle the peak surge of daily cases, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

Delhi surpasses Maharashtra in daily deaths for first time

According to the health ministry, of the 386 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours (till 8 am Saturday), Delhi accounted for the highest 129 fatalities followed by Maharashtra 127.

The virus is moving rapidly in Delhi, which for the first time reported over 2,000 cases on Friday, and Maharashtra, where the number of cases has crossed one lakh.

Gujarat reported 30 deaths, Uttar Pradesh 20, Tamil Nadu 18, West Bengal, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh nine each, Karnataka and Rajasthan seven each, Haryana and Uttarakhand six each, Punjab four, Assam two, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha one each.

Of the total 8,884 deaths, Maharashtra as per the health ministry figures, accounts for 3,717 fatalities followed by Gujarat with 1,415, Delhi with 1,214, West Bengal with 451, Madhya Pradesh with 440, Tamil Nadu with 367, Uttar Pradesh with 365, Rajasthan with 272 and Telangana with 174 deaths.

Maharashtra has also reported the maximum number of cases at 1,01,141 followed by Tamil Nadu (40,698), Delhi (36,824), Gujarat (22,527), Uttar Pradesh (12,616), Rajasthan (12,068) and Madhya Pradesh (10,443).

The ministry said 7,984 cases are being reassigned to states and "our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR". State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.

Loss of smell and taste among symptoms; HCQ not to be used in severe cases

Later in the day, the health ministry released the revised clinical management protocols in which it said that loss of smell (anosmia) and loss of taste (ageusia) have also been reported as symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection.

Backtracking from its earlier stance, the ministry said that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) should be used in the early course of the disease to achieve any meaningful effect and should be avoided in severe cases.

In the new set of protocols, the ministry has removed its earlier recommendation of using hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin in severe cases and requiring ICU management.

It also recommended the use of anti-viral drug remdesivir under emergency use authorisation, and off-label application of immunomodulator tocilizumab and convalescent plasma therapy for treating COVID-19 patients in moderate stage of criticality.

New cases reported in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, many states and Union Territories including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tripura reported an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Tamil Nadu reported 30 COVID-19 deaths that occurred on various dates recently together on Saturday pushing the toll to 397 while the state recorded 1,989 fresh cases, propelling the infection count to 42,687 in Tamil Nadu and 30,444 in the state capital Chennai.

State health minister C Vijayabaskar announced that 2,000 more nurses have been appointed to cater to requirements in state-run hospitals in Chennai and nearby districts of Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengelpet.

Also, he said that as many as 81 rapid response mobile medical teams have been deployed in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengelpet and Kanchpeepuram districts today in addition to the 173 mobile health teams already on the job in the Greater Chennai Corporation areas.

In Andhra Pradesh, the COVID-19 graph climbed further up to 5,676 as 222 new cases were added while fatalities increased by two to 82. In the last 24 hours, 94 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the cumulative to 3,185.

Sources told PTI that two more employees in the state Secretariat tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours even as the Andhra Pradesh government issued a directive to its staff and officers not to move out of the state, including Hyderabad, where most of the employees families are located.

In Kerala, four health workers were among the 85 people who tested positive for COVID-19, taking the infection count to 2,406. The active cases in the state touched 1,342 while 1,045 people have recovered from the infection, including 46, who were discharged today.

Maharashtra, the worst-affected state, recorded 3,427 new cases and 113 deaths. With this, the total number of cases soared to 1,04,568 and toll rose to 3,830 reported ANI quoting the state health department.

Amidst the rising cases, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that the government has reduced the rates of the COVID-19 tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200.

"Rs 2,200 will be charged for collecting the swabs through viral transport media (VTM) from hospitals, while it would cost Rs 2,800 for collection of swab from home. Earlier, the charges were Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,200 respectively," he said.

In Mumbai, four policemen succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, the worst in terms of single-day toll for any unit of the force in Maharashtra since the outbreak began. So far, 25 personnel and one officer of Mumbai Police have died of COVID-19, while several hundred are undergoing treatment for the infection at various hospitals, an official told PTI.

Odisha on Saturday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases after 225 people tested positive for the disease, taking the state's infection count to 3,723, a health department official said.

Of the fresh cases, 196 were reported from various quarantine centres where people returning from other states were lodged, while 29 others were detected through contact-tracing exercises, he said.

Punjab's case count rose to 3,063 as the state reported 77 new infections and two deaths on Saturday. Sixty-five persons have died due to the viral infection in the state so far, of which 19 deaths were reported since 1 June, according to news agency PTI.

In the meantime, the COVID-19 case count in Tripura crossed the 1000-mark as 37 people tested positive for the infection on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 1,001.

Out of 210 samples tested for #COVID19, 37 Cases found #POSITIVE. All of them have travel history.

The count includes :

🔹Sepahijala Dist : 34
🔹Gomati Dist : 03#TripuraCOVID19Count

— Biplab Kumar Deb (@BjpBiplab) June 13, 2020

In Assam, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the health department will conduct 50,000 random tests in Guwahati city, which has reported 176 cases till date. Of these, 25 patients have no travel history, he said.

The state government may consider re-imposing a lockdown in the city if a sizeable number of new cases are detected, he said.

Two-thirds of total infections from five states

Amidst the rising cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic with senior ministers and top bureaucrats. He took stock of the pandemic situation in different states and Union Territories, including Delhi, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Reviewed the COVID-19 situation across the nation during a high level meeting. We also reviewed the roadmap ahead, and steps to contain the pandemic in the parts where most cases are coming from. https://t.co/xqW6RszF21

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 13, 2020

During the meet, it was observed that two-thirds of India's COVID-19 infection load are in five states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities, the statement said.

"In view of the challenges being faced, particularly by the large cities, it was discussed to augment testing as well as the number of beds and services to effectively handle the peak surge of daily cases," added the statement.

"The present and emerging scenario of the COVID-19 disease in the capital" was also discussed and the projections for next two months was deliberated, the statement said.

Modi suggested that the home minister and the health minister convene an emergency meeting with the Lt Governor and the Chief Minister of Delhi, along with senior officials of the central and the NCT governments as also officials of municipal corporations of Delhi, to plan a "coordinated and comprehensive response" to the pandemic. The meets suggested by the prime minister are scheduled to take place on Sunday.

With inputs from agencies

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