With nearly 10K coronavirus cases in 24 hours, health agencies find the going tough

New Delhi: Another day another high: Close to 10,000 novel coronavirus cases and 300 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours raising alarm bells among health agencies. This comes as India prepares to ease lockdown further by opening up offices, restaurants, malls and religious places after two days.

There were 9851 fresh cases and 273 deaths reported till Friday morning by health ministry taking the total tally of cases to 1, 26, 770 and deaths to 9, 851. However, according to updated data by COVID19India.org the overall figures were 2,33,555 cases and 6,440 deaths while worldometers.info said there were 2,30, 113 cases in India and 6393 deaths.

Health ministry said during the last 24 hours, 5,355 COVID-19 patients have been cured taking the total number of cured persons to 1,09,462. The recovery rate is now 48.27%. Presently, there are 1,10,960 active cases under medical supervision.

Maharashtra recorded 139 deaths on Friday --  highest in a single day so far – while 2,436 persons tested positive for COVID-19. The total cases in the state are now at 80,229, including 2,849 deaths.

Covid-19 numbers continued to rise in Delhi where on Friday 1,359 new cases and 44 deaths were reported taking total cases to 25,004 and deaths to 650. The number of cases could have been possibly higher on Friday had Delhi government not halted testing by eight private labs over allegations of not following protocols and delay in giving results. Delhi on an average has been recording over 1,000 new cases on a daily basis for the last one week.

Several people took to social media to raise this issue while many complained that getting bed in a COVID-19 hospital was getting difficult. On his part Delhi chief minister has urged people not to rush to get themselves admitted in hospitals if they have mild symptoms. Union health ministry claimed health infrastructure has been strengthened and there are enough beds for patients.

Among the latest to test positive in Delhi is an employee of Delhi Fire Services' control room  and around 20 employees of Delhi Metro. They are learnt to be asymptomatic and recovering well. In fact, the virus that has infected many in the union government establishments in Delhi has even reached the rooms of union health and family welfare ministry taking into its grip 5 employees, including a director, and an under-secretary who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last seven days.

Uttar Pradesh recorded its biggest single-day jump of 496 COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the state's tally to 9,733, while 12 more people succumbed to the disease. With the fresh deaths, the toll in the state has risen to 257. Karnataka too registered its highest single-day spike of more than 500 new cases, taking the total number of infections in the state to 4,835. In Goa, 7 frontline workers from the health department tested positive for COVID-19.