India’s Covid-19 recoveries surpass active cases for first time, while Tamil Nadu legislator J Anbazhagan dies of coronavirus in Chennai
Tamil Nadu MLA J Anbazhagan, who had tested positive for Covid-19, died in a Chennai hospital on Wednesday morning. Anbazhagan, 61, a DMK MLA, was admitted to hospital on June 2 over “severe acute respiratory distress” and had tested positive for coronavirus at the time.
After his breathing trouble worsened on June 3, he was put on ventilator support. His condition deteriorated on the evening of June 8, as per Dr Rela Hospital.
Anbazhagan is the first top lawmaker and political leader to die of Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu.
When the DMK MLA was admitted to hospital, his party, the opposition in Tamil Nadu, stepped up its allegations that the ruling AIADMK in the state had failed in tackling the virus crisis.
Many in the state government allege he caught the virus while taking part in MK Stalin’s events to provide relief to people affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Meanwhile, India’s coronavirus tally jumped to 2,76,583 this morning with 9,985 new patients recorded in the last 24 hours as the number of those who have recovered overtook the active coronavirus cases in the country for the first time. A total of 1,35,206 patients have recovered so far, while about 1,33,000 are still under treatment. Of the total cases reported since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, 7,745 patients have died. As many as 279 patients died in the last 24 hours.
In an interview with NDTV on Tuesday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope affirmed that there is no community transmission in the state, the nation’s biggest coronavirus hotspot.
Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, crossed 51,000 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday – around 700 more than China’s Wuhan, where the global pandemic first surfaced in late last December. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Wuhan is 50,333, including 3,869 fatalities. Maharashtra, the country’s biggest Covid-19 hotspot, meanwhile, stands at 90,787 cases, way ahead of the 84,000-plus cases in China.
The state’s total includes the 42,638 people who have already recovered from the highly contagious illness.
The surge in cases comes days after the state took another cautious step towards easing the lockdown, allowing all government offices to function with 15 per cent staff strength last week. Private offices started functioning from Monday with 10 per cent employees.
An analysis by securities research firm Nomura revealed that India is among a group of 15 high-risk countries where easing of lockdown measures could lead to a spike in new infections, creating a situation where stringent curbs could be re-imposed.
The analysis that covers 45 major economies, has taken into consideration case trajectories and mobility trends to determine the impact movement of people will have on new cases.
The report stated that 17 countries are on track with respect to reopening their economies and no sign of second wave; 13 countries facing warning signs; and 15 countries in the danger zone of a second wave.
India is in the danger zone, besides several other low-to-middle income nations including Indonesia, Chile and Pakistan, and advanced economies such as Sweden, Singapore, South Africa and Canada.
Nations on track include France, Italy and South Korea, while Germany, the US and the UK face risks.