Europe and the US reported a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases, prompting authorities to issue fresh appeals for maintaining social distancing even as new infections witnessed a steady decline in India with active cases remaining below 7 lakh for the second consecutive day.
The US reported a single-day increase of 82,154 cases, the steep rise since mid-July, while 53 European nations added a million Covid-19 patients in ten days, forcing the government to announce new restrictions and shutdowns.
The sudden rise in Covid-19 cases in the US and Europe has been attributed to lapses in maintaining social distancing and reluctance to wear masks while being outdoors.
In India, 53,370 new infections were reported on Saturday, in line with the declining trend of fresh cases even as election rallies drew huge crowds in complete disregard of social distancing norms in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and elsewhere.
The ongoing festive season had prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to caution the people that the pandemic was not over yet and they needed to follow social distancing norms as they go about their daily lives.
“The active cases are less than 7 lakh for the second consecutive day and stand at 6,80,680. The active cases now comprise only 8.71% of the total positive cases of the country,” a Health Ministry official said.
The total recovered cases have crossed the 70 lakh-mark taking the national recovery rate to 89.78%.
The number of new deaths reported in a day has also seen a sharp decline, from about 1,000 new deaths in a day about a month ago to 605 reported on Saturday. Covid-19 has so far claimed 1,17,946 lives across the country.
Citing reports of a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in Europe, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged caution.
“We have constantly seen that the corona situation has deteriorated in countries which have been negligent about the disease. The death rate has remained low in places where it was dealt with by being vigilant,” Gehlot said.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said that the next three months were going to be decisive in determining the Covid situation in the country and urged people to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour during the coming festival and winter season.