A record number of new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday pushed the nationwide tally closer to the 50,000-mark and the death toll crossed 1,600.
In its 5 pm update on the spread of the deadly virus infection on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said that the death toll due to Covid-19 has risen to 1,583 with 194 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours. The number of cases saw a big jump of 3,875 to reach 46,711 cases, it said.
Maharashtra reported 841 new cases and 34 more deaths during the day and its overall tally crossed 1,5500 with over 600 deaths.
Tamil Nadu reported more than 500 new cases on Tuesday, which took its tall past 4,000, while Gujarat also tested 441 more people positive for the virus, taking its total to more than 6,200.
Delhi too reported another big jump of 206 cases on Tuesday, with the total infections doubling to 5,104. About 1,500 cases have been added to the Delhi tally in the last five days. The national capital accounts for 10.3 per cent of the total cases in the country.
Till Tuesday, 64 deaths were recorded in the city-state.
Experts said that the peak of this deadly virus outbreak was yet to come and may be witnessed in India over the next 4-6 weeks, while another spurt might be seen later during the winter season.
However, the absolute number of cases and the death toll in India is still lower than many other countries.
The government officials said on Tuesday that India has managed to stave off a community transmission risk and the country remains in a “comfortable” position in terms of managing the Covid-19 crisis, though they cautioned against any laxity at the field level.
India’s recovery rate has improved to 28.17 per cent, joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
