Need to Focus on Rural Areas in 2nd Wave, Save Every Village from Virus, PM Modi Tells District Officials

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India’s COVID-19 death toll climbed to 2,78,719 with a record 4,329 fresh fatalities, while the single day rise in coronavirus cases stood at 2.63 lakh, the lowest in 28 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated today. The country reported 2,63,533 new cases in a span of 24 hours, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,52,28,996, the data updated at 8 am showed. A total of 2,59,170 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours on April 20. The active cases further reduced to 33,53,765 comprising 13.29 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 85.60 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,15,96,512, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.10 per cent, the data stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4. According to the ICMR, 31,82,92,881 samples have been tested up to May 17 with 18,69,223 samples being tested on Monday.

The entire medical system in villages and small cities of Uttar Pradesh is at God’s mercy (“Ram bharose”), the Allahabad High Court said on Monday while hearing a PIL over the coronavirus spread and the condition of quarantine centres in the state. A High Court Bench of Justices Siddharth Verma and Ajit Kumar made the observation while taking into account the death of Santosh Kumar (64), who was admitted to an isolation ward at a Meerut hospital. The doctors there failed to identify him and disposed of the body as unidentified, according to a probe report.

Santosh had fainted at a hospital bathroom on April 22 and efforts were made to revive him but he died. The hospital staff could not identify the dead and failed to locate his file. Thus, it was taken as a case of an unidentified body. The body was packed in a bag and was disposed of, according to the probe report. Commenting on it, the High Court on Monday said if this is the state of affairs at a medical college in the city like Meerut, then the entire medical system of the state pertaining to smaller cities and villages can only be taken to be like a famous Hindi saying, ”Ram bharose”. If doctors and paramedical staff adopt such casual approach and show carelessness in the performance of their duty, then it is a case of serious misconduct because it is something like playing with lives of innocent people.