Covid deaths spiking despite fall in cases; 4,157 die in 24 hours

NEW DELHI: India has recorded over 19 lakh Covid cases since May 19. Over 28,000 people have died in the same time period. The daily cases dropped below the 2 lakh-mark on Tuesday for the first time after April 14.

"Our planet will not be the same after COVID-19. We have a better understanding of the pandemic now. We have the vaccine. India is proud of our scientists," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this morning.

PM Modi further said: "I salute our frontline healthcare workers, doctors, nurses who selflessly risk their lives every day to serve others in need, to those who have suffered & lost their dear ones. I extend condolences."

The overall case count has surged to 2.71 crore even as the number of active cases dropped by 91,191 cases in the last 24 hours with 2.95 lakh patients recovering. Active caseload this morning stood at 24,95,591 and positivity rate at 9.42 per cent.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu are witnessing a worrying surge in cases; Maharashtra, with the highest overall case count, has been registering a drop in cases. While Maharashtra logged 24,136 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, Kerala logged 29,803 cases and 34,285 cases were recorded in Tamil Nadu.

After weeks of lockdown, Delhi on Tuesday logged 1,568 fresh infections.

The central government on Tuesday told states to accelerate the pace of vaccination. "Whereas states have been urged repeatedly to keep vaccine wastage below 1%, many states such as Jharkhand (37.3%), Chhattisgarh (30.2%), Tamil Nadu (15.5%), Jammu and Kashmir (10.8%), Madhya Pradesh (10.7%) are reporting much higher wastage than the national average (6.3%)," an official statement read.

India has administered 20 crore doses of vaccines so far. The government aims to vaccinate all adults by year-end.

Odisha and Bengal are on high alert as Cyclone Yaas is expected to make landfall soon. This is the second cyclone India is witnessing this year amid the second wave after Cyclone Tauktae hit the country's west coast last week.

Worldwide, 16.78 crore cases have been logged so far, 34.85 lakh deaths have been recorded.