After WHO says world sets daily record for new Covid-19 cases, India affirms its coronavirus cases per lakh population is one of the lowest globally
The world set a single-day record for new cases of Covid-19, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, with over 183,000 cases in a 24-hour period, and more than 4,700 deaths.
More than six months into the coronavirus pandemic, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns is “accelerating”.
Nearly half of the cases came from either the United States or Brazil, as cases are rising in both countries, with Brazil recently crossing 1 million cases.
There were 54,771 new cases reported in Brazil, according to the UN health agency, followed by the US with 36,617 and then India with 15,400.
The global tally of people confirmed to have had coronavirus stands at 8,708,008, according to the WHO, with the death toll at 461,715.
According to the WHO, Southern Asia and the Middle East are also recording a spike in cases.
The Union health ministry said on Monday that India has one of the lowest cases of the Covid-19 per lakh population in the world and continues to widen the gap between recovered and active cases.
The ministry cited the WHO’s report from Sunday to make the point.
“India’s cases per lakh population are 30.04 while the global average is more than its triple at 114.67,” the health ministry said in a statement.
The US has 671.24 cases per lakh population while the metric for Germany, Spain and Brazil is 583.88, 526.22 and 489.42 respectively, the statement added.
The ministry further said that the low figure is thus evidence to the graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach the Government of India along with the states/UTs took for the prevention, containment and management of the novel coronavirus.
The country’s infection tally rose to 425,282 after 14,821 infections and 445 deaths, the highest so far, were reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry data showed on Monday. The country’s death toll stands at 13,699.
The health ministry’s dashboard displayed that there are 174,384 active coronavirus cases and 237,195 people have been cured of the disease, with 9,440 Covid-19 patients been cured in the last 24 hours.
India’s recovery rate, the ratio of the number of patients recovered to the number of patients infected, also rose to 55.77 per cent from Sunday’s 55.48 per cent.
Cipla’s antiviral drug Cipremi to treat coronavirus infection
In a positive development for Covid-19 patients, pharma major Cipla Ltd has announced the launch of its generic version of antiviral drug Remdesivir for emergency use in treatment of Covid-19 patients. The new drug will be sold under the brand name Cipremi.
The pharma firm’s antiviral drug Cipremi is the latest to join Glenmark’s Fabiflu and Hetero’s Covifor to treat coronavirus patients in the country.
Remdesivir, is the only United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) treatment for adults and children hospitalised with suspected or laboratory confirmed coronavirus infection.
Gilead Sciences Inc extended a voluntary non-exclusive license to the India-based pharma major to manufacture and market the generic version of Remdesivir called Cipremi.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) gave Cipla regulatory approval for restricted emergency use in the country as part of the accelerated approval process considering the urgent medical need as a result of a spike in coronavirus cases in India.