India sees biggest single-day spike with 1,553 Coronavirus cases, takes total to 17,265; 543 dead

New Delhi, 20 Apr 2020 [Fik/News Sources]: Registering the biggest single-day spike in the number of Coronavirus cases, India saw 1,553 infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 17,265, including 543 deaths.

36 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

According to Union Health Ministry, India has seen an improvement in the recovery rate that indicates the number of people who have successfully fought off the illness.

The rate stood at 14.75 per cent Monday morning, an improvement over 14.19 per cent on Sunday, 13.85 per cent on Saturday, 13.06 per cent on Friday, Thursday’s 12.02 per cent, Wednesday’s 11.41 per cent and Tuesday’s 9.99 per cent. More than 2,500 patients across the country have recovered from the highly infectious illness so far.

More than 4,000 cases reported across India have been linked to the congregation held in south Delhi’s Nizammudin last month by the Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat, the government said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit with 4,203 cases and 223 deaths, followed by Delhi with 2,003 cases and 45 fatalities, Rajasthan (1,478 cases and 14 deaths) and Tamil Nadu (1,477 cases and 15 deaths).

The positive cases in Delhi are increasing at a rapid rate since the last 20 days. The total positive cases in Delhi were 97 with two deaths on March 30. By April 10, there were 903 cases with 14 deaths. There were 1,578 cases on Wednesday with a total of 32 deaths reported.

So far, Delhi has declared 79 containment zones across the city. Containment zones, also known as red zones, are the areas sealed by the district administrations after at least three coronavirus cases are found in the locality.

After the administration sealed the area naming it ‘containment zone’, the Delhi government started ‘Operation SHIELD’ in the area.

Considering the situation, the Delhi government led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided not to permit any relaxation in the lockdown even after April 20, announced Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, adding that the government will review the situation again after a week on April 27.

“In view of the grim situation where all the 11 districts of the state capital are declared hot spots. Delhi, where two per cent of the country’s total population lives but 12 per cent of the total cases in India are from the national capital. Therefore, there will not be any relaxation in the lockdown,” the chief minister said.

The nationwide lockdown, which began on March 25 to arrest the spread of the highly infectious novel Coronavirus or COVID-19, has been extended till May 3.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to LinkedIn – a social networking site for professionals in various fields – to share a motivational message for the people. He said the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone equally.

“COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together,” PM Modi said in a post on LinkedIn.