India’s coronavirus caseload hits 20 million

India’s overall Covid-19 caseload crossed the 20-million mark on Tuesday, making it the second country after the United States to pass the grim milestone.

Some 357,229 new infections were reported since Monday taking the total Covid-19 cases to 20,282,833, the Health Ministry said. Fatalities stood at 222,408, with 3,449 new deaths.

Senior health official Lav Agarwal said some of the worst-affected states like Maharashtra are showing “early signs of plateauing or a decrease” in daily cases.

But many experts have warned that India’s official figures are a significant undercount. They have cited low testing rates and a number of people dying at home, particularly in rural areas. India’s second wave of Covid-19 has caused havoc in healthcare systems, flooded hospitals with patients and overburdened cremation facilities.

New Delhi, the worst-affected city, reported as many as 18,043 new coronavirus cases and 448 deaths. While this represents the highest daily death count, it is the lowest number of new daily cases in the capital since April 15.

International aid has been pouring into India. Consignments of oxygen containers, cylinders and other medical equipment arrived on Tuesday from Germany, Britain, United States, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Several states are in lockdown and on Tuesday, eastern Bihar, among India’s poorest states, announced a similar measure to check the spread of infections in rural areas.
- (dpa), 4 May, 2021