New Delhi:
With the states reporting over 92 new cases, the number of coronavirus cases has jumped to 1,071 in India, latest data from Health ministry showed.
As many as 100 patients have recovered while 29 have died from the disease.
On Monday, BSE flagship Sensex dived over 1000 points to below 28,800. NSE barometer Nifty fell about 300 points to 8,376.Asian shares slid on Monday as fears mounted that the global coronavirus shutdown could last for months although markets regained some lost ground late in the session with Australia posting a standout jump.
S&P Global Ratings has further slashed India’s growth forecast to 3.5% for the coming fiscal from a previous downgrade to 5.2%, in its report released on Monday.
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 721,000 people worldwide and killed over 33,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Italy has 10,779 fatalities, with 97,689 infections and 13,030 people recovered. Spain has recorded 7,340 fatalities, and 85,195 infections. China has to date declared 3,304 deaths and 81,470 cases. The other worst-hit countries are Iran with 2,757 deaths and 41,495 cases, and France with 2,606 deaths and 40,174 cases. The United States has the highest number of infected people with 143,055 diagnosed cases, 2,514 deaths and 4,865 recoveries.
Fresh deaths were reported from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.At present, there are over 900 active COVID-19 cases in the country.
Kerala is the worst affected by the COVID-19 crisis with 194 cases and one death. The state has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infection in the country. After Kerala, Maharashtra is the hardesh-hit state which has 193 COVID-19 patients. With the two fresh deaths reported on Sunday, the death toll in state has risen to eight.
The national capital of India witnessed a huge spike in the coronavirus cases on Sunday. A total of 23 new COVID-19 patients were reported from the state. This is the first time Delhi's coronavirus tally has crossed into double digits. The coronavirus count at Delhi stands at 53, according to health ministry data.
Gujarat has recorded 58 cases and five deaths. A 47-year-old man in Gujarat succumbed to the disease on Sunday. In Uttar Pradesh, the COVID-19 cases are rising fast too. A total of 19 people were diagnosed with coronavirus infection on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 75.
Telangana has so far confirmed 69 cases while coronavirus count in Karnataka stands at 80. The number of coronavirus cases in the Tamil Nadu has reached to 50. Rajasthan has so far reported 57 cases while Madhya Pradesh has 33 coronavirus positive patients. Haryana also confirmed 33 COVID-19 cases in the state.
The health ministry is studying data and identifying probable hotspots of Covid-19 which need to be better monitored so that the infection does not spread. Joint secretary (health) Lav Agarwal said, “We are studying emerging hot spots and these are being identified after which a rigorous containment policy is being followed.”
It took 12 days for cases to rise from 100 to 1000 in India, whereas European nations have seen manifold increase, said Agarwal.
Meanwhile, the central government today said there was no plan to extend the 21-day lockdown.
"There are rumours & media reports, claiming that the Government will extend the #Lockdown21 when it expires. The Cabinet Secretary has denied these reports, and stated that they are baseless," the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting tweeted.
He attributed the minuscule numbers in India to strict adherence to social distancing and various pre-emptive steps undertaken by the centre and the state governments.
Agarwal reiterated that technically, COVID-19 in India is still in local transmission stage, there has been no community transmission so far. Government strongly believes that words like "Community Transmission" should not used loosely used, said Agarwal.
Experts at ICMR said that there are four states of the disease. Stage one is getting imported cases, stage 2 is local transmission, stage three is community transmission and stage 4 is, when it turns into an epidemic.
A new Standard Operating Procedure issued by health ministry for transporting a COVID-19 case on Sunday refers to India’s current phase of the pandemic as ‘local transmission and limited community transmission’
“This SOP is applicable to current phase of COVID-19 pandemic in India (local transmission and limited community transmission),” reads the Union health ministry standard operating procedure document for transporting a COVID19 suspect or confirmed case.