Active COVID-19 cases now number at 2,041,688 worldwide, with the total number of confirmed cases thus far numbering at 3,329,453.
In India, confirmed cases of COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), typically referred to just as the coronavirus – number at 35,043 to date. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country numbers at 24,821.
Of the active COVID-19 cases worldwide, fortunately, the overwhelming majority (98 percent) refer to 1,990,865 patients in mild condition. The remaining two percent of patients – translating to 50,823 – are in serious or critical condition.
The death toll due to COVID-19 worldwide stands at 234,725, including 1,154 fatalities in India. Fortunately, 1,051,994 people have recovered from COVID-19. This includes 9,068 people who have recovered in India.
India continues to be under a wholescale lockdown, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in late March. The lockdown is due to end on May 3rd, although some restrictions have been lifted. Select stores were permitted to reopen last weekend in some areas of the country and some labouring activities were permitted to resume.
Migrant labourers, whose plight amidst the lockdown was the centre of controversy, have been permitted to return home. Millions of Indians have been stranded as a result of the lockdown and the partial relaxation of restrictions have allowed the first train carrying 1,200 to leave Telangana and repatriate the workers to Jharkhand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the COVID-19 lockdown with Chief Ministers earlier this week, where he said “efforts of states should now be directed towards converting the red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones.” Red zones refer to hotspots of coronavirus infections. Fortunately, the number of ‘red zone’ hotspots has decreased from 170 to 129 in a fortnight. However, in the same period, the number of COVID-19 free ‘green zones’ decreased from 325 to 307. The number of ‘orange zones’ – non-hotspots but those with coronavirus infections – increased to 297 from 207.
