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23-05-2021
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: India’s tally of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has reached 26,528,846, and the death toll stands at 299,296. India continues to be second-most-affected globally.
The six most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (5,527,092), Karnataka (2,367,742), Kerala (2,293,632), Tamil Nadu (1,770,988), Uttar Pradesh (1,659,265), and Andhra Pradesh (1,542,079).
Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe, with more than 167 million infected by the deadly contagion. While 147,944,323 have recovered, 3,468,045 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 33,695,883, followed by India, Brazil, France and Turkey. However, in terms of the total number of active cases, US tops the charts, followed by France, UK, Brazil and Belgium.
India recorded 2,40,766 new COVID-19 cases and 3,736 deaths on May 22. The country has so far reported a total of 2,65,28,846 cases and 2,99,296 deaths.
Tamil Nadu reported 35,873 new infections, followed by Karnataka (31,183) and Kerala (28,514). Maharashtra recorded 682 casualties over the past 24 hours, followed by Karnataka (451) and Tamil Nadu (448). Maharashtra’s fatalities include backlog deaths which were missed in the previous reports.
As many as 20,66,285 samples were tested in the country on May 21 (the results of which were made available on May 22), the highest number of tests conducted in a single day in the country since the beginning of the pandemic. This is the fourth instance when daily tests in India have crossed the 2 million-mark.
India’s average daily test positivity rate (TPR or positive cases identified for every 100 tests) continues to decline. It was 22.7% on May 9 and reduced to 14.2% as on May 21.
However, not all the States are following this declining trend.
Among major States, in Tamil Nadu both average daily tests and average daily TPR are increasing, suggesting that testing needs to be augmented to capture more infections.
In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the average daily TPR is showing signs of plateauing. The average number of daily tests being conducted in these States has also reduced since the first week of May. This is not an optimal strategy for the States as reported infections have been kept low due to low testing and an “artificial” peaking of cases has been depicted. The average daily tests in Andhra Pradesh have increased marginally over the past few days.
The figures do not include cases and deaths from Ladakh. The data are sourced from the respective States’ health bulletins till 12.44 a.m. IST on May 23.
According to a press release from the Health Ministry, 1.458 million vaccine doses were administered in the country in the 24 hours ending 7 a.m. on May 22, which is around 24,000 doses less than what was recorded in the previous 24 hours. However, it is 300,500 doses more than what was recorded in the same period, one week ago.
Daily vaccinations in the country have slowed down in May compared to April. During May 01 to 21, 1.667 million doses were administered in the country daily on an average which is significantly lower than the average daily doses given April which stood at 2.996 million.
As on May 21, around 16% of India’s adult population, 35.7% of the country’s 45+ population and 41.3% of the 60+ population have received at least one dose of a vaccine. In Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, less than 10% of the adult population has been vaccinated with at least one dose.
