India World No. 6: Now India surpasses Italy in COVID19 Number
With India’s coronavirus curve on the rise, India has landed itself sixth in the list of the worst hit countries world-wide. In terms of number of death due to Covid-19, India is the 12th worst hit country.
The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 2.35 Lakh on Friday, 5th of June, surpassing Italy’s coronavirus tally. Over 9,887 cases were reported in last 24 hours. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, being the top contributors to the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
India also witnessed the highest number of deaths in a single day on Friday, 5th of June, with over 294 people succumbing to the disease. Maharashtra’s dire condition can be seen as the state alone witnessed over 139 deaths on Friday. Second to Maharashtra, Delhi reported 58 deaths yesterday. Over 1,14,073 people have been cured of the coronavirus in India, and there are 1,15,943 active cases in the country.
World-wide, US tops the list of the worst affected coronavirus countries with over 1,965,708 cases. Second to US are Brazil and Russia, with over 646,006 and 449,839 cases respectively.
It was just a week ago when India crossed China in the number of coronavirus cases, and yesterday it took over Italy. European countries have been successfully moving towards flattening the curve and are moving lower down the list of the worst affected countries in the world.
With the new phase of the lockdown came lots of relaxations. June 8 onwards restaurants and malls have been given a green signal to reopen. While the growing number of cases in the country may not attract people to move out of their homes, it is yet to be seen how this relaxation turns out.
Earlier last month offices reopened and lots of office towers were sealed as people started testing positive. This resulted in increase in number of cases in the country, as movement and interaction between people began. Schools and colleges reopening will be discussed in July. Surveys suggest that parents are less likely to send their kids to school or college considering the steep rise in cases.
Is this lockdown exit strategy rushed and ill implemented? The steep rise in the number of cases is evidence how India’s lockdown failed to stop mass spreading of the disease. We are yet to arrive at a peak, and the situation remains worrisome in the country.