India Coronavirus Dispatch: Daily cases cross 200,000 for the first time

Mumbai's 5-star hotels may take patients with mild Covid, top virologist says daily caseload may hit 300,000, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Over 200,000 fresh cases reported in new record high

India reported 200,739 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 14 million infections, according to a report in The News Minute. The country saw 1,038 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 173,123, according to central health ministry data.

Active cases jumped by 106,173 infections to 1.4 million. This is the fifth straight day when India has recorded over 150,000 new cases. The death toll is the highest since October 2. Read more here

Double mutant variant a cause for concern: India's principal scientific adviser

India’s principal scientific adviser K VijayRaghavan thinks the "double mutant" variant of the coronavirus found in India can be treated as a variant of concern due to its significant spread and the behaviours of some of the mutations, a report in the Hindustan Times said. VijayRaghavan’s remarks mark the first time a top government official has said the variant is a cause for concern. “It’s reasonable to say that the variant is of concern because it has been found in a significant number of people. And it’s not just because it’s been found in a certain number of people but we know that these particular mutations have (also) got physiological effects on our context,” he said. Read more here

Mumbai: 5-star hotels may accommodate patients with mild Covid

Mumbai's administration has said the city's hospitals will use luxury hotels to treat Covid-19 patients that have a milder form of the infection in an effort to ramp up facilities for patients that need critical care, a report in NDTV said. Starting today, two hotels will start functioning as extensions of private hospitals. Those not needing critical care are likely to be moved from hospitals to hotels. Private hospitals will tie up with four-star or five-star hotels to accommodate more patients. Such transfers have to be approved by doctors. Read more here

Daily caseload may hit 300,000: Top virologist

Top virologist Dr Shahid Jameel believes the second wave of Covid-19 could continue till the end of May and the daily caseload may soar to 300,000, a report in News18 said. “What is really scary is the rate at which cases are increasing,” Dr Jameel told News18. “If you look at the growth in active cases, that’s about 7% per day. That’s a very high rate of increase. Unfortunately, if this rate keeps on, we will be looking at somewhere around 3 lakh (300,000) cases per day. And this is what some modellers are suggesting.” Read more here

Delhi: Crematoriums, graveyards struggle to keep up as Covid deaths spike

As Covid-19-related deaths in the national capital continue to spike, the number of cremations in the region's biggest crematorium, Nigambodh Ghat, has gone up from 15 per day to over 30, a report in NDTV said. At Delhi's biggest graveyard near ITO, a JCB excavator could be seen being used to constantly dig up more graves but it is also fast running out of space, the report said. Read more here