Covid takes away 3,890 lives in 24 hrs from the country; Maharashtra daily cases drop below 40,000, 695 deaths in last 24 hours

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra recorded 39,923 fresh Covid-19 cases, 53,249 discharges and 695 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state currently has 5,19,254 active cases while the death toll stands at 79,552.

The Kerala government on Friday extended the ongoing lockdown till May 23 as the state’s positivity rate still remains high. “The positivity rate remains high, so the state government has decided to extend the present complete lockdown in Kerala till May 23,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The state has recorded 34,694 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while 93 deaths took the toll to 6,243, the chief minister added.

India counted 3.43 lakh new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, and 4,000 deaths. The country’s caseload of 2,40,46,809 now includes 37,04,893 active cases, 2,00,79,599 recoveries and 2,62,317 deaths. Maharashtra contributed 42,582 new cases, while Kerala reported 39,955. Uttar Pradesh is no longer in the top five contributors. Andhra Pradesh has stepped in with more than 22,000 cases. Of the toll reported on Thursday, Maharashtra contributed 882 deaths, while 344 came from Karnataka.

India’s coronavirus numbers over the last two weeks suggest the second wave may have reached its peak, or will in the next few days. However, the end of the second wave may still be a long distance away. India’s cases, which touched 4.14 lakh last Thursday, have dropped significantly in the last one week.

Dr Reddy’s administered the first jab of Sputnik V, a Covid-19 vaccine made by Russia, in Hyderabad on Friday. The company said the cost per imported dose would be Rs 995.40, and rates may decrease when local supply begins. Sputnik is the third vaccine to get emergency use approval in India after Covishield (Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).