Increased Covid-19 fatality rate to 3.36 per cent from 2.8 per cent on 3 June.

Agencies, New Delhi: 155227 Active Cases: 10974 new cases, 2003 deaths and 6922 recoveries in last 24 hours.

More than 3,54,065 cases have been reported in India, with 1,55,227 active novel coronavirus cases, in the thirteenth week of the nationwide lockdown.

The addition of over 2,003 deaths in one day has sharply increased India’s Covid-19 fatality rate to 3.36 per cent from 2.8 per cent on 3 June.

So far, 11,903 people have died, while 1,86,934 have recovered since the first case was recorded in Kerala in January. One Covid-19 patient has been recorded as a migrated case, according to the Union health ministry.

This is still lower than the global Covid-19 death rate of over 5 per cent, but as more and more states reconcile death figures retrospectively, some with the help of audit committees, the percentage is expected to keep rising in the coming days.

The number of deaths as a percentage of closed cases — which includes cases that have either recovered or succumbed to the disease — is even higher at 5.9 per cent.

Based on these numbers, the recovery rate also shoots up dramatically to 94 per cent if calculated on closed cases. The government’s current figure stands at 52.8 per cent, calculated on the total reported cases.

The government began its phased ‘unlockdown’ from 8 June, with extensive relaxations including opening of religious places, shopping malls and restaurants. Public transport, except metro services, have also resumed operations.

Containment zones will, however, remain in strict lockdown till 30 June.

In a meeting with chief ministers last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the focus should now be on reducing the transmission rate of the SARS-CoV-2 virus while gradually increasing public activity.

The states that account for most of India’s 2,003 deaths are Maharashtra (1,409),

Delhi (437), Tamil Nadu (49) and Haryana (18).

• Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 2,701 new coronavirus cases and 1,409 fatalities, taking the tally to 1,13,445 and the death toll to 5,537
• The increased number of deaths in Maharashtra on Tuesday came as previously unaccounted for fatalities were added to the toll
• Delhi on Tuesday recorded 1,859 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to more than 44,000

(Sources: The Wire, The Quint, The Print)