India Covid cases. For 4th straight day, India reports more than 4 lakh cases

India continued to report more than 4 lakh daily Covid cases with as many 4,03,738 people tested  positive during the last 24 hours till Sunday morning, taking the total number of active cases in the country to 37,36,648. During the same period 4,092  succumbed to the viral infection, taking the total death toll due to Covid-19 to 2,42,362. The total confirmed cases of Covid-19 in India is close to 2.23 crore of which over 1.83 crore recovered till date.

According to data released by Health Ministry on Sunday, 10 States reported 71.75 per cent of the new cases with Maharashtra registering the highest daily new cases at 56,578, followed by Karnataka with 47,563 and Kerala with 41,971 new cases.

The country’s active caseload is among the highest in the world. In terms of total reported cases,  India is second after the US and it recently surpassed Brazil in terms of fatalities occurred due to coronavirus infection, as per the Covid-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The government has provided 17.56 crore anti-Covid jabs to States for free, of which, the total consumption including wastage is 16,83,78,796 doses, as per the Ministry data. “More than 72 lakh Covid vaccine doses (72,42,014) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered. States with negative balance are showing more consumption (including wastage) than vaccine as they have not reconciled the vaccine they have supplied to the Armed Forces,” it said in a statement on Sunday. It further added that more than 46 lakh vaccine doses will be received by States within the next three days.

States and UTs have administered 16,94,39,663 vaccine doses so far of which 20,23,532 shots were given in the last 24 hours. In the age group 18-44 years, 2,94,912 beneficiaries received their first dose of COVID vaccine today and cumulatively 17,84,869 across 30 States/UTs during the last 24 hours. The government opened up inoculation for people between 18-44 from May 1 as part of its liberalised phase 3 vaccination drive.

“A total of more than 30.22 crore tests have been conducted so far across the country while the daily positivity rate stands at 21.64 per cent,” the government said. Meanwhile, a total of 18,65,428 tests were done during the previous day.

The government said on Sunday that the global aid it received in its fight against the  pandemic. Major items the country received on May 8 are from Canada, Thailand, the Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Israel, USA, Japan, Malaysia, US (GILEAD), US (Salesforce) and Indian community in Thailand. The items included oxygen concentrators (2,404), remdesivir vials (25,000), ventilators (218) and testing kits (6,92,208).

Mucormycosis advisory

Meanwhile, the government also released an advisory on the treatment of mucormycosis, a fungal disease that affects people who are on medication for other health problems. The disease, which can be fatal, if left untreated, is normally found in Covid-19 patients who have comorbidities, prolonged stay in ICU and are taking immunosuppressants as part of the treatment. Apart from listing dos and donts for such patients, the advisory has provided detailed clinical management guidelines for medical professionals.