India Breaches 63-Lakh Mark With 86K New Covid Cases, Death Toll Nears 1 Lakh; Recovery Rate Improves To 83.33 %

According to the Health Ministry, more than 7.5 crore tests have been conducted till 30th September and the recovery rate is on a continuous rise. Amid rising COVID cases, MHA issued guidelines to re-open cinema halls and schools. Read on.

(PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist)

Coronavirus in India: With 86,821 new coronavirus cases and 1,181 deaths in the last 24 hours India's Covid tally went past the 63-lakh mark, according to the data provided by the Union Health Ministry. The recorded 1,179 fatalities in 24 hours as the death toll reached 98,708. Keeping a "continuous upward trajectory", India's recovery rate has touched 83.33 per cent.

A total of 7,56,19,781 samples tested up to 30th September, for COVID 19. Of these, 14,23,052 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Total case tally stands at 63,12,585 including 9,40,705 active cases, 52,73,202 cured/discharged/migrated, according to Health Ministry's data.

A total of 7,56,19,781 samples tested up to 30th September, for #COVID19. Of these, 14,23,052 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) pic.twitter.com/mGH3jJNbkm

— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020

The country's fatality rate stands at 1.6 per cent. Maharashtra, the state with most Covid cases, reported 480 deaths. It was followed by Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, together accounting for 763 or almost 65 per cent of all deaths in the country. Maharashtra also has the highest recoveries in India. Kerala and the four worst-hit states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu reported the highest one-day increases of any state in the past 24 hours. Together they reported around 55 per cent of all new cases.

Unlock 5 guidelines

Though the country continues to witness a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday took a decisive step towards unlocking almost everything, with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) lifting restrictions on cinema halls, schools, and swimming pools as part of its fifth tranche of guidelines to revive business and other activities.

As per the new guidelines, the schools and colleges can reopen from October 15 in a graded manner but only after the states and union territories have taken “consultation with the respective school/institution management, based on their assessment of the situation”.

This relaxation comes with a set of its own conditions, one of those being: “Students may attend schools and institutions only with the written consent of parents.”

On the other hand, Cinema halls have been permitted to reopen with up to 50 per cent of their seating capacity for which SOP (Standard operating procedure) will be issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MHA).

On Wednesday, Maharashtra extended its lockdown till October 31, while also issuing relaxations on a few services such as restaurants, Mumbai local services bars, and hotel.

The Centre in its guidelines has also made it clear that all states and UT governments will not impose any lockdown outside the containment zones until consultation with the government is made.

“State/ UT Governments shall not impose any local lockdown (State/ District/ sub-division/City/ village level), outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the Central Government. No restriction on inter-state & intra-state movement,” the Ministry of Home Affairs had said in a statement.

Global Toll

The overall number of global coronavirus has surpassed 33.8 million, while the deaths have increased to nearly 10,12,900, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday, the total number of cases stood at 3,38,74,283 and the fatalities rose to 10,12,894. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 72,29,723 and 2,06,905, respectively. India comes in second place in terms of cases at 63,12,585  while the country's death toll soared to  98,708.