For the first time ever since the pandemic hit India on January 30 last year the death toll crossed the 4,000 mark. In the last 24 hours, India officially registered 4,187 deaths, just eight short of Brazil’s April 6 figure of 4,195 which is the highest in that country. In the process India just surpassed the United States, which had witnessed a huge surge in number of cases in December and January last.
Travel during the Christmas and New Year too was responsible for the big jump in COVID-19 cases in that country. For example, on December 23, 2020, as high as 10 million, that is one crore, Americans travelled by air. This was in spite of the fact that experts repeatedly appealed to them to stay at home.
India also witnessed 4.01 lakh fresh cases of corona virus.
Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are witnessing a big rise in number of cases as well as fatalities. In the last 24 hours Karnataka officially reported 592 deaths—unofficially the toll may be higher.
However, Maharashtra with 898 deaths continues to top the list though the number of positive cases is declining. Uttar Pradesh witnessed 372 deaths while Delhi, 341. In UP, PM Narendra Modi’s constituency, Banaras, according to media reports, is witnessing a huge surge in number of corona virus cases.
The positivity rate in India is 22.17 per cent, which is a matter of great concern.
