India's coronavirus caseload rose to 42,80,422 on Tuesday, with 75,809 instances of the viral infection recorded in the last 24 hours, while a record 1,133 fatalities took the death toll to 72,775, the Union health ministry data showed. During the same period, the number of recoveries surged to 33,23,950 pushing the recovery rate to 77.65 per cent.
India's single-day rise in cases dipped on Tuesday, after recording over 80,000 cases daily for five days in a row. India recorded a spike of over 90,000 cases on Sunday and Monday. The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection stands at 1.7 per cent.
According to the data, there are 8,83,697 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 20.65 per cent of the total caseload. India's infection tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, reached 30 lakh on August 23 and went past 40 lakh on September 5.Â
The Centre had earlier asked 5 states and one UT from where 35 districts have been reporting high active COVID-19 caseload and fatality rate to strengthen containment measures and scale up testing to bring down positivity rate below five per cent. These 35 districts comprise all 11 districts in Delhi, Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and 24 South Parganas in West Bengal; Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Raigad, Jalgaon, Solapur, Satara, Palghar, Aurangabad, Dhule and Nanded in Maharashtra; Surat in Gujarat; Pondicherry in Puducherry and East Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
In a review meeting held on Saturday, they were asked to ensure strict perimeter control, strengthen the active case search focusing on comorbids and elderly population, early identification by ramping up testing and optional utilization of RT-PCR testing capacity to break the chain of transmission of the disease, the Health ministry said on Sunday. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan held the review meeting through video conference (VC) with health secretaries of five states and one UT on the containment and management of COVID-19 in 35 districts under their jurisdiction.
The district collectors and other functionaries were advised to prepare and update district specific plans to continue their efforts to manage the pandemic.
The states were also advised to effectively monitor home isolation cases and early hospitalisation in case of disease progression, seamless hospitalisation and early admission for patients requiring medical support, especially in cases of comorbid and elderly population, besides following effective infection control measures in hospitals to safeguard healthcare workers from contracting the infection.
-Inputs from PTI
