At 90K a day, skyrocketing Covid-19 cases in India could eclipse US

Six months after the start of the pandemic-as the developed world tries to restore some semblance of normalcy-the virus is arriving with a vengeance in India’s vast hinterland

Current Affairs: The novel coronavirus seemed like a distant problem in Boisar, a small factory town about two hours from Mumbai, until Daniel Tribhuvan died. The 35-year-old tutor started feeling feverish in April, while bringing his father home from a chemotherapy appointment in the Indian financial capital. When a test confirmed Tribhuvan was infected, the local health system’s reaction was shambolic. After he checked into a public hospital, the first thing they did was try to pawn him off to a private facility in Mumbai.

The ambulance turned around halfway when they discovered he couldn’t pay. Back at the public hospital, a doctor didn’t see him for three days, and when an elderly man occupying a bed nearby died, his body wasn’t collected for 12 hours. After a week, Tribhuvan’s blood-oxygen levels were dangerously low. He died on May 17, becoming Boisar’s first confirmed fatality from Covid-19.

“I think he would have survived if the system was good,” Samuel Tribhuvan, Daniel’s older brother, said in a recent interview at Boisar’s local administrative office, inside a rundown building that also houses a liquor store and a portrait studio. “This is the worst place where we could get the coronavirus.”..

Covid-19 Factoid: India doubled case count in 29 days, fastest in the world

Total number of cases cross the 1 million mark in Russia while Jharkhand sees a fresh surge in new cases

The global confirmed case count is now at 25.7 million, with 6.8 active cases. More than 856,000 people have lost their lives in the pandemic globally. Roughly 5 per cent of all closed cases in the world have ended up as a fatality. In India, there are now over 3.7 million cases, with 785,996 cases, or roughly 21.2 per cent of the total count. Recovery rate is now at 76.9 per cent. At more than 65,000 deaths, the country’s death rate is now at 1.7 per cent, a marginal decline from 1.8 last week. India’s daily new cases are the biggest contributor to the global tally of confirmed cases.

Here are some data points on the outbreak:

1. India is the worst-performing country in the world

India took just 29 days to double its confirmed cases tally, becoming the fastest country to attain this unfortunate feat in the world. It is followed by Colombia and South Africa. Among the top 10 countries that took the shortest time to double its case count, four -Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Chile- are located in South America.

2. Russia is the latest country to cross 1 million cases

Russia is now the fourth country in the world to report over 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. However, it took a significantly higher amount of time to reach this milestone, trailing behind India by 46 days. The US was the fastest country to witness its case count rise to 1 million, at just 98 days…Read More

Centre provides over 3 cr masks, 1.28 cr PPEs, 10 cr HCQs to states, UTs

Along with augmenting the Covid-19 facilities, the Centre is also providing medical supplies to the states and Union territories for free

The government has distributed more than 3.04 crore N95 masks and over 1.28 crore personal protection equipment (PPE) kits among the states, Union territories and central institutions for free since March 11, the health ministry said on Thursday. Also, more than 10.83 crore hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets have been distributed among them, it added.

In addition, 22,533 “Make in India” ventilators have been delivered to various states, Union territories and central institutions, the ministry said, adding that the Centre is also ensuring the installation and commissioning of the machines. The central role of the government has been in strengthening the health infrastructure of the states and Union territories to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure its effective management, the ministry underlined.

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Along with augmenting the Covid-19 facilities, the Centre is also providing medical supplies to the states and Union territories for free. “Most of the products supplied by the Government of India were not being manufactured in the country in the beginning. The rising global demand due to the pandemic resulted in their scarce availability in the foreign markets,” the ministry said…Read More