Covid-19 Factoid: Gap between daily new cases, recoveries widening in India

Maharashtra remains worst-affected state, accounting for almost 30 per cent of the country's total case count

The global tally of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 14.6 million, of which roughly 5.3 million are currently active, 609,531 patients have lost their lives in the pandemic till now, while 8,752,107 have made successful recoveries. The US is still the worst affected country in the world, with over one-fourth of all reported cases in the world. 

In India, there are now over 1 million cases, of which 390,459 are currently active. As many as 27,497 patients have succumbed to the virus, while 700,086 managed to beat the infection. The national capital is the only state among the worst-affected ones to have bent the curve successfully. 

Here are some data points on the pandemic:

#1. Daily new cases outnumbering new recoveries in India

In a worrying trend, the gap between daily new cases and daily new recoveries is increasingly growing. In the past two weeks, new cases have grown from roughly 24,000 cases a day to 40,000. However, daily new recoveries have remained stagnant, staying between 19,000 to 23,000 in a day.

#2. Maharashtra added almost 10,000 fresh cases in a day

Maharashtra, the worst-affected state with almost 30 per cent of the country’s total case count, added over 9,000 cases on July 20. This is the highest ever single-day spike for the state and is almost twice the number of cases added on the first day of the month. Maharashtra has over 300,000 cases, of which roughly half are active at present. The state’s death toll stands at over 11,000.

#3. Thane, neighbours have greatest number of active cases

Thane has the highest number of active cases among the worst-affected districts in the country. It is followed by neighbouring Pune, and Bangalore (Urban). Thane and Pune, along with Mumbai, have emerged as one of the most worrisome hotspots in the country, with almost 90,000 active cases collectively.