Coronavirus pandemic: India witnesses biggest surge in COVID-19 outbreak with over 800 new cases, death toll crosses 220

Team Suno Neta Thursday 9th of April 2020 11:51 PM

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New Delhi: India witnessed a sharp rise in new coronavirus infections with 809 cases detected in a day, on Thursday. This is a hike of 30 per cent from Wednesday’s count. The day also saw a record number of single-day deaths from the infection. With 48 new deaths, the latest death toll from the new coronavirus, COVID-19, stands at 226.

Among the states, Maharashtra leads the tally with 229 fresh cases followed by Tamil Nadu, 96; Rajasthan, 80; Gujarat, 76; and Delhi, 51.

Maharashtra accounts for 20 per cent of all the COVID-19 cases and 40 per cent of the total deaths caused due to the viral infection. The state’s case fatality rate (CFR) rose from 6.2 per cent on Wednesday, which is more than double the average CFR of the country, which is 2.9 per cent.

‘Don’t stigmatize sections of populations’

On Wednesday, the Union health ministry issued an advisory asking people not to label any community or area for the spread of COVID-19. In the wake of vilifying the Muslim community after the spike in positive cases across the country was traced to a March congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, the ministry issued an advisory Wednesday said public health emergencies during an outbreak of communicable diseases may cause fear and anxiety leading to prejudices against people and communities, social isolation and stigma and such behaviour may cause communal tensions, chaos and unnecessary social disruptions.

This comes a day after the United Nations representative in India urged the government to fight “stigmatization of certain sects of people”. According to a source-based Indian Express report, on Tuesday, Renata Lok-Dessallien, the UN resident coordinator in pndia, “pointed out the need to address the issues of migrant labourers and fighting stigmatization of certain sects of people” during a meeting with the private sector, NGOs and international organizations. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant had chaired the meeting.

Many Bharatiya Janata Party supporters, especially on social media, cited Tablighi Jamaat link to fuel campaigns like “#CoronaJihad” and “Markaz Conspiracy”. Right-wing vigilante groups were also seen threatening and forcing Muslim fruit and vegetable vendors in some states to shut their business while allowing their Hindu counterparts to continue.

The latest coronavirus India stats: