Coronavirus update: India’s COVID-19 death toll nears 50,000-mark

Coronavirus in India: As the novel Coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 7.5 lakh lives worldwide so far, one can expect how lethal the viral infection can be, that too for senior citizens and those with comorbid conditions. In such cases, when more deaths are being reported, with one of the highest rates in the United States, India’s mortality rate in Coronavirus infected people has reduced significantly. According to a statement by the Indian health ministry, the COVID-19 case fatality rate has come down below 2 per cent in the country and is one of the lowest mortality rates globally, news agency ANI tweeted on Sunday. The average of Coronavirus deaths, as indicated by the World Health Organisation, is around 3.5 per cent.

When compared to other countries that have seen a significant impact of Coronavirus in the past few months, it can be noted that the United States had reported 50,000 deaths due to Coronavirus in 23 days whereas Brazil saw a similar number of deaths in 95 days and Mexico in 141 days. For India, the death toll neared 50,000-mark in 156 days. As of August 16, the overall deaths in India increased to 49,980, according to data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of Coronavirus positive cases and also witnessed the maximum number of deaths. The data provided by the health ministry revealed that as many as 19,749, unfortunately, succumbed to the deadly viral infection.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases has surged to 25.89 lakh across the country, with an addition of 63,490 cases in the last 24 hours. So far, the number of testing for the infection has increased with more than 8 lakh samples being tested in a single day. The country is waiting for vaccines to fight against the Coronavirus now as three vaccines candidates are under phase 2 of human clinical trials in India.