India's COVID-19 count rose to 15,31,669 after 48,513 people tested positive on Tuesday, while the death count increased by 768 to reach 34,193, figures from the Union Health Ministry showed. 9,88,029 patients across the country have recovered so far, taking the recovery rate to 64.50 per cent. India is the country with the third-highest coronavirus caseload in the world after the United States and Brazil. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases, followed by Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus:
Maharashtra has recorded 3,91,440 cases, including 14,165 deaths so far. A medical survey of nearly 7,000 people in Mumbai has found that one in six or about 16 per cent of residents in the city had contracted the coronavirus. In slum areas, where lakhs of people live in cramped spaces usually sharing toilets, the number was a whopping 57 per cent. Mumbai recorded 717 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, its lowest one-day rise in more than two months, taking the tally to 1,10,846, while 55 more patients died taking the total to 6,184, authorities said.
In Tamil Nadu, 6,972 people tested positive on Tuesday as the state's overall tally touched 2,27,688.
Delhi on Tuesday recorded 1,056 fresh cases, taking the tally to 1,32,275. The death count climbed to 3,881 with 28 more fatalities reported in the last 24 hours. The daily spike was higher than the previous day when there were 613 cases, the lowest daily spike in two months.
Andhra Pradesh has reported the highest spike in the number of coronavirus patients in the last 24 hours, going past that of Maharashtra. The state, which has reported 1,10,297 COVID-19 cases, has seen a doubling of cases in eight days. The state government is not unduly worried and say that is the natural course of the viral disease as testing is high in the state. Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has said a bed should be provided within 30 minutes to any patient who asks for it at any hospital, otherwise the collector and joint collector will be held accountable.
Assam on Tuesday crossed the eight lakh mark in conducting COVID-19 tests. Assam has also started testing shopkeepers and office-goers in Guwahati. Assam has 34,947 COVID-19 positive, including 88 deaths.
In Kerala, while a lockdown in Thiruvananthapuram city will continue, several relaxations have been announced to ensure the livelihoods and revival of day-to-day activities, according to the latest order issued by the District Collector. Kerala's capital city has been under a strict lockdown for the last three weeks. Kerala has reported 20,894 COVID-19 cases, including 67 deaths.
The government on Wednesday said it has allowed the export of four crore surgical masks and 20 lakh medical goggles every month, weeks after giving a nod to the monthly export of 50 lakh units of PPE (personal protection equipment) medical coveralls.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said India is in a "better position than other countries" because of the "right decision at the right time".
The coronavirus figures in the United States surged to a level not seen since mid-May in the country, the world's hardest-hit country, with nearly 1,600 deaths recorded in 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University reported on Tuesday.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed over 6.6 lakh people globally since it emerged in China late last year. Over 1.67 crore people have been infected with the highly contagious virus.
