More than 4,000 deaths, 4.01 lakh new cases reported in India
India saw more than 4,000 deaths linked to Covid in a day for the first time and over 4 lakh daily cases for the fourth time in a week. The government yesterday said a third Covid wave may not happen if strong measures are taken.
A day after reporting the world’s highest daily surge, India recorded 4.01 lakh cases today, taking the active caseload to 37,23,446. In the last 24 hours, 4,187 people died, taking total deaths to 2.38 lakh.
Many states in the last few days have announced lockdowns and curfews to break the chain of transmission. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Manipur are the latest to be added to the list. A two-week lockdown has been announced in Karnataka from Monday till May 24. Tamil Nadu has also announced a two-week curfew. In Manipur, curfew will be enforced till May 17.
India had been recording less than 20,000 cases in a day till early March after a dip in daily infections in January. In April, however, nearly 66 lakh cases were reported with the healthcare system buckling under the second wave.
The country may be able to dodge a third wave if strong measures are taken, the government said on Friday. This was just days after the centre said the third wave is inevitable.