India Crosses 2 lakh-Mark With 9,000 New COVID-19 Cases In Last 24 Hours

Report By: Nandika Chand | Last Updated June 3, 2020

With 9,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India has crossed the 2 lakh-mark. The country also recorded 217 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total death toll to 5,815. According to the Health Ministry’s data, the recovery rate has improved to 48.31, up from Tuesday’s 48.07 per cent, after 100,302 people were cured or discharged.

The Health Ministry and Family Welfare’s data shows that fewer people are dying in India to the novel coronavirus compared to the rest of the world. This is attributed to only 38% of the population belonging to the 60 and 74-years age group.

However, Dr Nivedita Gupta, a scientist with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the country is ‘still very far away from the peak’. “Our preventive measures have been very effective. We are in a much better position vis-a-vis other countries,” Dr Gupta said.

Moreover, new findings by ICMR’s National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) highlight that only 7 per cent of COViD-19 samples have a ‘high viral load’. This means that most people would transmit the infection to 6.25 other people. “The vast majority, i.e. 84 per cent, have a low infectiousness, transmitting to only 0.8 persons on average. Nine per cent have a moderate viral load,” it said.

The ministry has advised people above 60-years of age and those suffering from underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or respiratory illnesses to take extra care.