India reported the first case of coronavirus in late January.
New Delhi:
The number of coronavirus cases in India crossed 1.6 lakh on Thursday, making it the ninth country most affected by the fatal virus infection, while the number of deaths has exceeded the official count of China, according to data from state governments and the Johns Hopkins American University.
With 1,65,386 cases, India reported almost double the number of cases in China, at 84,106, according to a real-time online count from Johns Hopkins University. India also overtook China with no less than 4,711 deaths, compared to 4,638 on Thursday evening, according to the data.
The first case of the new coronavirus appeared in China last December and has since spread to almost all regions of the world, infecting more than 59 lakh people worldwide. More than 3.5 lakh have also died worldwide, but very few new cases have been reported in China in recent days.
In terms of the total number of confirmed cases, the United States is the most affected with more than 17 cases of lakh, while the other countries with more cases than India are Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. While Turkey is now ranked 10th, China ranks 14th and below Iran, Peru and Canada.
The United States also leads the number of deaths with more than 1 lakh death, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, Germany and Iran in the top 10. India is now 13th after Canada and the Netherlands in 11th and 12th places, respectively.
The number of cases increased in India this month, with a general movement of people via trains and special flights and also due to the relaxation of various restrictions during the ongoing fourth phase of national foreclosure. Many states have attributed the increase in numbers to the influx of outsiders.
The lockout has been in place since March 25, originally imposed for 21 days, but has already been extended three times and the fourth phase will end on May 31.
A decision on the future course of action regarding the lockdown is expected shortly and officials said Interior Minister Amit Shah had spoken to all chief ministers by telephone to seek their views on the extension of the locking.
Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also held a meeting with municipal commissioners and district magistrates from the 13 most affected cities in the country, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.
Delhi reported a record number of 1,024 new cases, bringing its number to 16,281, while its death rate rose to 3,165. It is the first time that the national capital has registered more than 1,000 new cases in one day.
The most affected state of Maharashtra reported 2,598 new cases, increasing to 59,546, while deaths increased to 1,982, with an additional 85 reported during the day.
Gujarat reported 367 new 19 cases, bringing its number to 15,572; while 22 other patients died, bringing the number to 960.
On Thursday, West Bengal recorded its largest peak of 344 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its number to 4,536.
More than 33 COVID-19 lakh tests have been carried out so far in India, compared to more than 1.5 crore in the United States, more than 97 lakh in Russia, almost 40 lakh in Germany, almost 38 lakh in United Kingdom, more than 36 lakh in Italy and more than 35 lakh in Spain.
Regarding the number of tests as a proportion of the population, India is not even among the top 100 countries, reported the PTI news agency.
