Covid-19 Factoid: Crisis in Bengal the most fatal among all Indian states

Even as the global death toll has been rising consistently, reaching 300,000 deaths from 200,000 took longer time than reaching 100,000 to 200,000

The global count of confirmed coronavirus infections currently stands at 4,557,523; there have been 1,722,422 recoveries; and more than 300,000 people have succumbed to the disease. Among the five most affected countries, Italy and Spain are showing some signs of recovery, but Russia, the UK, and the US are still a cause for concern.

In India, there now are 83,072 confirmed cases, a little more than China’s. There have been 2,657 deaths in the country so far, and 28,604 people have recovered. Tamil Nadu has now replaced Gujarat as the second-most-affected state.

Here are a few statistics on the pandemic:

1. Rate of growth in number of fatalities is slowing down

There has been some let-up in the rate at which global death toll is increasing. The first 100,000 deaths took 92 days, but the next 100,000 came at a faster pace, in just 15 deaths. The rate has now slowed to an extent, with the third 100,000 taking 19 days. The global death toll now stands at 304,205, with the US still accounting for the highest share of total fatalities.

2. Germany is witnessing a sharp recovery

Germany has taken a sharp turn in its pandemic journey and is now firmly on its path to beat the virus. From a peak of over 6,000 cases being added daily in late March and early April, the number has now come down to less than 1,000 cases a day. The country recorded just 357 cases in a single day on May 11. Its total confirmed case count now stands at 174,975, and fatalities at 7,928. More than 80 per cent of its cases have now recovered.

3. The crisis in West Bengal is the most fatal among all Indian states

The percentage of deaths among closed cases is the highest in West Bengal, where there have been 215 deaths and more than 2,000 confirmed coronavirus infections. Delhi and Tamil Nadu, even as they have much higher number of confirmed cases, have much smaller proportion of deaths in their closed cases. Both states are among the top five in the country when it comes to confirmed case count, but they have just 3% of their closed cases resulting in fatalities.