New Delhi: A record number of new cases on Tuesday pushed the nationwide COVID-19 tally closer to the 50,000-mark and the death toll crossed 1,500 with over 200 more fatalities, even as Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said "fighting coronavirus is no rocket science" and the nation may remember the pandemic as a "blessing in disguise" if people imbibe good hygiene practices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meantime chaired a meeting of a taskforce on the coronavirus vaccine development, drug discovery, diagnosis and testing and reviewed India's efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
Vardhan told PTI that India has been able to stave off community transmission of COVID-19 and hoped that "behavioural changes" brought about by the infection could become the "new normal" for a healthy society after the pandemic abates.
In its 5pm official update on the spread of the deadly virus infection, the Union Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 has risen to 1,583 with 194 fatalities reported since Monday evening, while the number of cases saw a big jump of 3,875 to reach 46,711 cases.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 31,967 while 13,160 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the ministry's updated data on Tuesday evening.
The total number of cases include 111 foreign nationals.
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. Several other states also reported rising numbers. Ahmedabad alone reported 349 new cases and 39 more deaths.
Maharashtra reported 841 new cases and 34 more deaths during the day and its overall tally crossed 1,5500 with over 600 deaths. Delhi reported more than 200 new cases to take its tally to over 5,100, but it did not report any death for the third consecutive day.
Experts, however, said 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.
The numbers suggested that more than one-third of the confirmed cases across the country has been detected in the past one week, with only a few urban centres in a handful of states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi accounting for a bulk of it.
Fears also emerged that India's tally may increase further with the government announcing plans to bring back a large number of Indians from various countries, beginning Wednesday, in what is being called the world's biggest ever evacuation programme. Sources said over 3 lakh people have registered for the evacuation from the Gulf region itself.
While the absolute number of cases and the death toll in India is lower than many others, with more than 2.5 lakh people having lost their lives and over 35 lakh having been infected worldwide ever since the emergence of this virus in China last December, the lockdown restrictions have been lifted in several countries and many of them are now reporting few or zero cases.
China and South Korea together reported only four cases on Tuesday, while Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand were among the countries having reported no cases for two consecutive days. Also, focus seems to have shifted globally towards developing a vaccine with several world leaders committing more than USD 8 billion since Monday for this purpose.
The government officials, however, maintained 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.
The Health Ministry said the country recorded a record single-day increase of 195 deaths and 3,900 cases between Monday 8am and Tuesday 8am. These included fatalities reported from West Bengal, Maharahstra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, among other places.
At the same time, the recovery rate has improved to 28.17 per cent, joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said during a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation.
"We are very comfortable in terms of managing COVID-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level or any lack of cooperation may have its consequences, he warned. Agarwal also said that the delay in reporting of COVID-19 cases by certain states has led to the sudden spurt in figures.
The country's top medical institute AIIMS' Director Randeep Guleria also said the COVID-19 curve has remained relatively flat so far, but he cautioned that the continued rise in the number of cases at a steady rate is a cause of concern.
Different modelling experts have predicted that a peak in number of cases of novel coronavirus infection may occur in the next four to six weeks, that is by the end of May or the middle of June, Guleria said, while stressing on the need to be extra vigilant and to make efforts to reduce the number of cases in the hotspots.
He also said that the country may see a rise in COVID-19 cases during the winter again.
At the same time, Guleria said the curve has remained relatively flat so far because of the lockdown and other containment measures and this has given the authorities time to prepare the health infrastructure and ramp up testing facilities in the country.
Several state and central government officials also said that the numbers have been going up in recent days due to increased number of tests being conducted.
"However, the number of cases continue to rise at a steady rate and this is a cause of concern. Every citizen should understand his responsibility and sincerely follow the principles of lockdown and social distancing, especially if they are in hotspots or containment areas," Guleria, a pulmonologist, said.
Separately, Health Minister Vardhan also underlined the importance of the nationwide lockdown, imposed since March 24 and scheduled to remain in place till May 17, and said health should be on the radar just as much as the economy.
Several experts have already flagged the huge economic cost of the pandemic and the lockdown, while the economic activities are yet to gain any significant traction despite various relaxations given to the industrial and agriculture units from the lockdown curbs.
Several states are also looking to shore up their depleting revenues with Delhi announcing a 70 per cent 'corona fee' on liquor sales, allowed since Monday, and by increasing the local taxes on petrol and diesel. Andhra Pradesh also announced a hike in liquor prices.
But several industry organisations have expressed their inability to resume their operations due to the labour shortage and other operational issues. Lakhs of migrant labour are returning to their native places including in special trains organised by the central and the state governments after most of them were rendered jobless and homeless.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in a report that India's unemployment rate has soared to 27.11% amid the COVID-19 crisis, from below 7 per cent in mid-March.
The Mumbai-based think tank said the rate of unemployment was the highest in the urban areas, which constitute the most number of the red zones due to the COVID-19 cases, at 29.22 per cent, as against 26.69 per cent for the rural areas.
The government has to do a balancing act, Vardhan said on the need to focus on the health of people as well as on the economy.
He also said the nation in a post-coronavirus future could well look back on the pandemic period as a blessing in disguise if Indians imbibe hand, respiratory and environmental hygiene and practise it in their everyday lives.
"By now we know that fighting coronavirus is no rocket science. If behavioural changes such as hand, environmental and respiratory hygiene, which are being practiced more rigorously during this period, get imbibed in society it will become the new normal," Vardhan said.
Other than smallpox and polio, no other viral infection has been completely eradicated from this country. Other diseases keep recurring, the minister said, indicating that COVID-19 might be here for the long haul.
In the meantime, new cases that were detected on Tuesday included the serving and retired armed forces personnel in the Army's Research and Referral hospital in the national capital.
Authorities also sealed a floor of Shastri Bhavan, which houses several important ministries, after a senior official of the Law Ministry tested positive for the coronavirus. This was the second incident of a government building being partially cordoned off in the Lutyen's Delhi within a week, after the NITI Aayog building in the high-security zone was sealed on April 28 for 48 hours after a director-level officer tested positive for the virus.
Before that, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, which houses the Civil Aviation Ministry, was sealed for sanitisation.
In other such incidents, the CRPF headquarters and a portion of the BSF headquarters were also sealed recently. These buildings are in CGO Complex in the national capital.
(With PTI inputs)
