Coronavirus: India tops China's tally of confirmed cases, nears Iran's count
Maharashtra has the highest number of cases at 29,100, followed by Tamil Nadu and GujaratGlobally, India now ranks 11th on the list of total confirmed cases
PremiumIndia has surpassed the total number of covid-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, cases in China and is likely to cross Iran’s count in about a week if the curve does not bend downside.
While India has reported 85,940 cases so far, China, the starting point of the deadly virus, has recorded 84,038 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine's live dashboard for the disease. Iran has 116,635 confirmed cases as on Saturday.
Globally, India now ranks 11th on the list of total confirmed cases. However, the global fatality rate is 6.9%, while that of India is 3.23%, according to Harsh Vardhan, Union health minister. The recovery rate in India has also increased to 34.1%.
Maharashtra has the highest number of cases at 29,100, followed by Tamil Nadu with 10,108 cases and Gujarat with 9,931 cases as on Friday, according to the government data.
As India plans to ease curbs from 18 May to restart the economy, which has come to a grinding halt due to the nationwide lockdown, risks of further spread of covid-19 pose a challenge to the country.
“While the government was planning to introduce greater relaxations during the fourth phase of the lockdown to minimise the economic impact of the pandemic, fresh concerns about a possible re-emergence of the coronavirus have surfaced," said Savitha Kuttan, founder & chief executive officer (CEO), Omnicurius, a continuing medical education (CME) platform.
“Places which had limited positive cases earlier or were virus-free zones have reported a fresh spate of positive cases. We need to ramp up our testing, contact tracing and containment measures," she said.
A World Health Organization (WHO)-China joint mission on covid-19 report released on 28 February had said humans have no pre-existing immunity to covid-19, a newly identified pathogen.
“Based on the epidemiologic characteristics observed so far in China, everyone is assumed to be susceptible, although there may be risk factors increasing susceptibility to infection," it said.
According to the report, individuals at highest risk of severe disease and death include people aged over 60 years and those with underlying conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and cancer.
According to a survey by Agewell Foundation, an NGO working for elderly’s welfare, 70% elderly were either already facing health issues or were feared to develop some medical complexities due to the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
"Due to the current covid-19 lockdown, elderly are finding themselves at the receiving end, those who are living alone have practical problems and those who are living with families, have psychological issues," Himanshu Rath, founder and chairman of Agewell Foundation said.
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