COVID-19: 89,030 NEW CASES IN INDIA, HIGHEST DAILY SPIKE IN SIX MONTHS

Sat 03 April 2021:

India has confirmed 89,129 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 12,392,260, the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.

Of the total number of covid-19 cases registered so far, the active case tally stands at 6,58,909, while 1,15,69,241 people have recovered from the disease, the Union health ministry data stated.

India also reported the highest number of covid-19 fatalities on Friday since October 21. With 714 new fatalities, the country’s death toll rose to 1,64,110, officials said.

The latest jump in cases is the highest since September 20 last year when 92,605 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 24,69,59,192 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to April 2 with 10,46,605 of them being tested on Friday.

Maharashtra — home to India’s financial capital Mumbai — reported more than 248,000 new cases in just seven days, CNBC’s calculation of government data showed.

There are more than 580,000 total active cases in India, or about 4.78% of all positive cases, according to the health ministry’s daily update on Thursday. Five states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Punjab — account for 78.9% of all active cases in India, with a majority of them in the western state of Maharashtra.

While authorities are debating on further restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, local media reports said that a total lockdown of the state — similar to last year’s nationwide lockdown — may not be in the cards.

Billionaire businessman Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mumbai-based conglomerate Mahindra Group, said on Twitter this week that a lockdown would hurt “the poor, migrant workers & small businesses.” Instead, he urged Maharashtra’s chief minister to focus on building up hospitals and health-care infrastructure and to avoid Covid-related deaths.

Last year’s nationwide lockdown sent India into a technical recession, and disproportionately impacted small business owners and workers in the informal sector. In the first wave, the infection rate peaked around September.