Covid-19 Factoid: India now has second-highest number of active cases

August has been a month of many grim records for India, with daily new cases crossing 60,000 several times

The global count of confirmed coronavirus cases has now reached 24.3 million, more than half of which are in just three countries – the US, Brazil, and India. Global recoveries stand at almost 17 million, while fatalities have crossed 830,000.

In India, there now are more than 3.3 million cases, of which 725,991, or 21.9 per cent, are currently active. With 2.5 people overcoming the infection, recovery rate has risen to 76.2 per cent. The mortality rate is still hovering around 1.83 per cent, with over 60,000 deaths.

Here are some data points on the spread of the virus:

1. India reports another record single-day spike in cases

With more than 75,000 confirmed cases recorded in 24 hours, India made another record of biggest single-day spike. August has been a month of many such grim records for India, with daily new cases crossing 60,000 several times. In a worrying trend, daily new recoveries have crossed daily new cases only twice this month so far.

2. India has the second-highest number of active cases globally

While its tally of total reported cases is still slightly under Brazil’s, India has now surpassed Brazil in active cases to become the second-most-affected country globally by this measure. Only one country, the US, now has more active cases than India. Russia and Peru are fourth and fifth most affected, respectively.

3. Odisha sees a fresh surge in cases

Odisha is witnessing a spike in daily new cases, with more than 3,000 fresh cases being reported on August 27, the highest single-day spike reported in the state. This is almost twice the number of daily new cases being reported by the state in early August. Odisha’s tally of confirmed cases is over 90,000, with a little less than a third currently active. Over 500 people have died from Covid-19 in the state so far.