India reports highest daily increase of COVID-19 cases so far

At 896, India reported its highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases so far, as per the health ministry’s update at 5 p.m. on April 10. Delhi reported 229 new cases since yesterday--the highest nationwide--followed by Tamil Nadu (96) and Rajasthan (80).

Delhi, which now has 898 cases, has initiated Operation SHIELD in COVID-19 hotspots, which includes activities such as quarantining, tracing and door-to-door checks.

Since 8 a.m. today, India reported 349 more COVID-19 cases, taking the total to 6,761. Seven more deaths have been reported, raising the total to 206, while 12 patients have recovered today, adding up to 516 discharged patients.

Punjab reported three deaths since this morning and now has the highest mortality rate (8.3%) in the country, followed by Jharkhand (7.7%) and Maharashtra (7.1%). Kerala, which reported the first COVID-19 case in India on January 30, has the lowest mortality rate (0.6%) among the 19 states that have reported deaths so far.

Maharashtra has the highest death toll (97) and the most cases (1,364) in India.

“There is no community transmission in India,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the health ministry, during a press conference today, about an Indian Council of Medical Research report that had found that around 40% of patients with severe acute respiratory illness who tested positive for COVID-19 in 21 states & union territories had no history of contact with a positive case or international travel.

Today, Punjab became the second state after Odisha to extend the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. The state will remain under lockdown and curfew until May 1. The Centre will decide on extending the 21-day lockdown after discussing with chief ministers on April 11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that several state governments were in favour of an extension, noted an April 8 press release.

A Google COVID-19 community mobility report as of April 5--11 days into the nationwide lockdown--for India noted a 77% reduction in mobility to restaurants, cafes and shopping centres, 65% reduction for groceries and pharmacies, and a 43% fall in mobility to workplaces compared with February 23. Mobility to places of residence increased 21% during this period.

(Compiled by Shreehari Paliath)