Coronavirus Outbreak: Death toll in India rises to 1075; total cases cross 33,000

The death toll due to COVID-19 touched 1,075 on Thursday with the number of infected cases rising above 33,000 in the country, according to the Union Health Ministry.

As per the latest update provided by the ministry, the number of active COVID-19 cases in India stands at 24,162 as 8,372 people were cured and discharged, and one patient migrated. A total of 33,610 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in India.

In the last 24 hours, 1,823‬ cases have been recorded across the country. 65 deaths due to COVID-19 were also recorded in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 9,915 cases and 432 deaths. 1593 people have been cured and discharged in the state. (Latest update by the state health department puts the number of confirmed cases at 10,498 and death toll at 459).

Gujarat is just behind Maharashtra in terms of both the number of cases and fatalities. As per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry, 4,082 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus while 197 succumbed to the disease. (As per latest state govt data, 4395 cases and 214 deaths are confirmed in Gujarat).

Delhi has reported 3,439 cases of coronavirus with 56 deaths and 1092 people have been discharged after the treatment.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 2660 positive cases including 461 patients recovered/discharged and 130 fatalities.

A nationwide lockdown is imposed across the country till May 3 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The government on Wednesday relaxed the guidelines to allow the inter-state movement of migrant labourers, students and tourists stuck in various parts of the country.

The Ministry of Health on Thursday said that the analysis of deaths has revealed that the case fatality rate is 3.2%; 65% of deaths were of males and 35% of the deceased were females. A study of the age distribution of deaths shows that 14% deaths occurred in the age–group of below 45 years, 34.8% in the age group 45 to 60 years and 51.2% in those aged above 60 years.

Further, 42% of deaths occurred in the age-group of 60-75 years, while 9.2% of the deaths have been recorded in above 75 years age group. It is important to note that when it comes to COVID-19, both age and co-morbidities are risk factors, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, said.