The world has been battling the deadly coronavirus outbreak since December 2019, and 2,482,343 people have already been infected while 170,473 have lost the fight. However, it seems like we are on the right track to eliminate this pandemic.
If you’re feeling gloomy cooped up at home during the lockdown, here’s some hopeful news to make you feel better. India’s coronavirus cases are doubling at a slower rate. Based on analysis till April 19, India’s COVID-19 cases are now doubling on 7.5 days, with 18 states doubling even slower, the health ministry said in a briefing on Monday.
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In Delhi, the state with the second-highest number of cases, the number of cases were doubling every 8.5 days and in Kerala, new cases had slowed to such an extent that the number would double in 72.2 days, the ministry added.
However, it is also important to note that not all states are doing as well. According to Hindustan Times’ analysis, the number of cases in Maharashtra is doubling every 4.9 days, Gujarat, 3.18 days, and Madhya Pradesh, 4.22 days. In Rajasthan, the number of cases is doubling every 4.97 days.
Despite these dismal figures in a few states, 7.5 days is still a ‘significant achievement’ on a national level, because the number of cases was doubling every 3.4 days before the nationwide lockdown was enforced on March 25, the ministry said.
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“We are calculating case doubling rate in intervals and in last seven days we have found India’s doubling rate to be 7.5 days, and considering this as a national average we found till April 19 that about 18 states had a doubling rate of more than 7.5 days, highlighting the effect of effective implementation of containment measures in these states,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health, Union health ministry.
In another feat, the ministry also announced that the state of Goa now has no active cases, with all people who had previously tested positive recovering well. Isn’t that music to our ears?
And that’s not all! Three districts in India, name Mahe in Puducherry, Kodaggu in Karnataka and Pauri in Garhwal, Uttrakhand have also not reported any fresh cases during the past 28 days, Agarwal said. That takes the number of districts that have not reported new cases in the past 28 days to three.
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“There are now 59 districts from 23 States and UTs that have not reported any fresh cases during the last 14 days. The six new districts that have been included in this list are Dungarpur and Pali in Rajasthan, Jamnagar and Morbi in Gujarat, North Goa in Goa and Gomati in Tripura,” he added.
The number of COVID-19 positive cases in India has crossed the 18,000-mark as of today. A total of 18,786 people have tested positive while 593 people have died. To safeguard yourself from the virus, doctors advise that you stay indoors, wash your hands at regular intervals and contact your local authorities if you have come in contact with a person who has tested positive.
Slowly but steadily, we are on our way to win this fight against coronavirus. Until then, keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Featured Image: Government of Kerala