Coronavirus cases in India cross 18,000-mark; death toll at 590. Check state-wise list

India coronavirus confirmed cases have crossed 18,000-mark taking positive cases toll to 18,601 including 590 deaths and 3,252 have recovered, according to the health ministry's figures on Tuesday. Till Monday evening, the total confirmed positive cases in the country stood at 17,656 including 559 deaths while 2,842 patients have recovered so far. Though positive cases are rising with an average of 1,000 to 1,100 cases per day, India's doubling rate has seen a declining graph. During the initial days of the lockdown, the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the country was somewhere around 6 to 6.5 per cent but has now declined to 3 to 3.2 per cent. The nation is under an extended lockdown period that will remain imposed till May 3 after PM Modi announced on April 14 in his televised address to the nation that the situation was not feasible to lift the lockdown if the spread of the virus has to be contained.

 

The Union Health Ministry has also said that the rate at which the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was doubling in the last one week improved to 7.5 days, as against 3.4 days before the nationwide lockdown was imposed. Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal provided the latest data at the daily media briefing citing the rate of doubling of infection across the country. He, however, provided the data of only 18 states and UTs. The rates of doubling of infection as provided by him were between 8.5 and 72.2 days. It could not be immediately known which states had registered the doubling time of 7.5 or less.

 

Giving details of state-wise doubling time of infection, he said as per data on April 19, 18 states and UTs have shown an improvement over the national average doubling rate. Addressing reporters, Agarwal said the states and UTs where the doubling rate is less than 20 days are Delhi with 8.5 days, Karnataka 9.2 days, Telangana 9.4 days, Andhra Pradesh 10.6 days, Jammu and Kashmir 11.5 days, Punjab 13.1 days, Chhattisgarh 13.3 days, Tamil Nadu 14 days and Bihar 16.4 days.