Covid update: India reports over 4,000 deaths, new cases above 4 lakh for fourth day

India reported a slight dip in new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours with 4,01,078 more people testing positive. The cumulative caseload in the country now stands at 2,18,92,676, said the Union health ministry on Saturday morning.

Maharashtra continues to be the biggest contributor to the daily tally as the state reported 54,022 new cases on Friday. Out of these, 3,039 cases were seen in Mumbai.

The central government has stated that Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, are showing early signs of plateauing or decrease in daily new Covid-19 cases.

However, the daily fatalities are continuing to show an upwards trend. As many as 4,187 more people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative death toll to 2,38,270.

This is the first time the country has reported over 4,000 deaths.

In addition to this, 3,18,609 people were discharged in the same duration, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,79,30,960.

As a result, the active tally saw a further jump to rest at 37,23,446. The number was 36,45,164 on Friday.

Tests conducted so far

India has tested 30,04,10,043 samples for Covid-19 until now, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Out of these, 18,08,344 samples were tested on Friday. The testing number decreased by a few thousand as it stood at 18,26,490 on Thursday.

Vaccinations in India

The country has so far administered 16,73,46,544 anti-Covid jabs.

As states flag shortage of vaccines in the third phase of the inoculation drive, the central government has promised to provide more than 10 lakh doses to the states and union territories within the next three days.

While the government has opened up Covid-19 vaccination registrations for all adults, appointment slots tend to disappear as soon as they become available due to a supply crunch.

Oxygen supply to India

The country has turned to OPEC nations particularly Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait for sourcing medical oxygen as infections reach a record high.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently consulted with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to bridge the huge deficit of medical oxygen the country is facing.

“Had close consultations during the last week with my counterparts from Saudi Arabia, UAE & Qatar on ways to increase import of LMO into India. Deeply appreciate the initial gesture of goodwill with complimentary LMO supplies particularly from UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia,” Pradhan tweeted.

He said state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and gas utility GAIL will be arranging for logistics to transport the oxygen.

Commercial supplies of oxygen into the country are being secured.