India’s coronavirus tally reached 59,92,532 on Saturday, after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported a rise of 88,600 cases in the last 24 hours. The toll rose by 1,124 to 94,503.
India now has 9,56,402 active cases. The country’s mortality rate is 1.61%, while the recovery rate is at 82.1%.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have reported the most new cases in the last 24 hours, and together account for around 55% of the country’s new infections on Sunday. The five states have more than 49,000 new cases altogether. Four of these states – all but Kerala – also reported the most deaths, led by Maharashtra with 430.
The Indian Council of Medical Research said that 9,87,861 coronavirus tests were done in India on Saturday. The number of tests done so far stood at 7,12,57,836.
The number of daily infections has been on the rise for weeks, as the country has opened up further to abate an economic crisis triggered by the lockdown that was imposed in March. Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned last week due to the virus, though they were due to be adjourned on October 1. More than two dozen MPs had tested positive for the coronavirus, including several Union ministers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India would help in vaccine production. “As the largest vaccine producing country of the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today,” he said at the United Nations General Assembly. “India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.” Modi also asked where the United Nations has been during the fight against the pandemic, and where its “effective response” was.
Read more: Covid-19: As largest vaccine producer, India will help world fight virus, says PM Modi at UNGA
Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 3.27 crore people and killed almost 1 million – the toll is currently at 9,92,984, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Several countries have seen a rise in new cases in recent days. France reported over 14,000 new cases, while there have been scattered protests against restrictions in a few places such as Marseilles, reported The Guardian. The US still has more cases than any other country, with 70.77 lakh cases so far.
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