India's active COVID-19 cases cross 10 lakh as record 97,894 test positive; Kerala, Delhi report over 4,000 infections each

The number of active coronavirus cases in India crossed 10 lakh on Thursday as the country recorded a single-day surge of 97,894 new infections, 1,132 fatalities and 82,719 recoveries.

However, the active cases account for less than 20 percent of the total cases in the country, showed the ministry's data.

Total cases in India cross 51 lakh

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country soared to 51,18,253 while the toll mounted to 83,198, showed the health ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The recovery rate has reached 78.64 percent while the fatality rate stands at 1.63 percent, said the ministry. Recording an increase of around 14,000, the number of active cases climbed to 10,09,976. However, the active cases comprise only 19.73 percent of the total cases reported in the country, shows the health ministry data.

Nearly half — 48.45 per cent — of the active cases are concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, said the ministry.

"Together with the states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, these states contribute nearly 60 percent of the total active infections," the ministry underlined.

According to the health ministry, Maharashtra has the highest number of active cases (2,97,506) followed by Karnataka (1,01,645), Andhra Pradesh (90,279), Uttar Pradesh (67,002) and Tamil Nadu (46,633).

However, these five states also account for 57.1 percent of total new recoveries recorded in the 24 hours between 8 am on Wednesday and Thursday.  Maharashtra accounts for 21.22 percent of the total recoveries  with 17,559 persons recuperating from the disease. The states of Andhra Pradesh (10,845), Karnataka (6,580), Uttar Pradesh (6,476) and Tamil Nadu (5,768) contributed 35.87 percent of the new recoveries, the ministry said.

With 474 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for more than 40 percent of the new deaths. The four states of Uttar Pradesh (86), Punjab (78), Andhra Pradesh (64), West Bengal (61) contributed 25.5 percent of the fatalities during the same period, the ministry added.

According to the  ICMR, a cumulative total of 6,05,65,728 samples have been tested till 16 September, of which 11,36,613 samples were tested on Wednesday.

Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Gasti dies after testing COVID-19 positive

First-time Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka Ashok Gasti, who was admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru after testing positive for COVID-19, passed away, PTI reported on Thursday.

Fifty-five-year-old Gasti, who was admitted to Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road on 2 September and diagnosed with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, passed away at 10.31 pm, hospital director Manish Rai said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled the death of the "dedicated karyakarta".

Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, who had tested positive for the virus on 15 September, said his test results returned negative on Thursday.

Khandu, who is currently in home isolation in New Delhi, tweeted that he has tested negative for coronavirus after he conducted a repeat test on Wednesday.

"I had undertaken a repeat COVID-19 RT-PCR test yesterday. Because of the wishes and prayers of each one of you, I am glad to inform that I have tested NEGATIVE. Thank you all. Wear mask, stay safe," Khandu wrote on his official twitter handle.

States report new cases

During the day, states and UTs reported newer cases and deaths. In the highest single day surge so far, Kerala on Thursday reported 4,351 COVID-19 cases, taking the total infection count to 1,22,214, while the toll touched 489 with 10 more deaths.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 case tally rose to 11,45,840 with addition of 24,619 cases, the state health department said. With 398 patients dying during the day, the death toll in the state reached 31,351, it said.

Mumbai Police extended Section 144 in the city's 'containment zones' till 30 September to restrict movement in view of rising coronavirus cases. However, this is only an extension of the existing restrictions and no new restrictions are being imposed, assured Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray.

Jharkhand's COVID-19 caseload rose to 66,074 on Thursday as 1,618 more people tested positive for the infection, while eight fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 579, a health bulletin said.

The fresh infections have taken the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state to 14,138, while 51,357 people have been cured of the disease so far, it said.

Cases in Delhi to show upward trend, says health minister

In Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that COVID-19 cases in the city will show a rise in the next 10 days as testing capacity has been quadrupled.

With 4,432 fresh coronavirus cases, Delhi's caseload went over 2.34 lakh on Thursday while the toll reached 4,877 with 38 fresh fatalities.

"Cases of COVID-19 and active cases will rise in the next 10-15 days as testing has been ramped up four times. But we will then be able to contain the spread of the infection in the long-run through effective isolation, as planned," Jain told reporters when asked about rise in daily cases and active cases.

Over 11,000 Indians abroad infected , says Centre

Over 11,600 Indians abroad have been infected with coronavirus as per details available with the country's missions, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha.

As on 10 September, the figure stood at 11,616, of which 4,618 Indians were in Singapore, 2,639 in Bahrain, 1,769 in Kuwait, 907 in Oman, 420 in Qatar, 308 in Iran, 238 in the UAE and 192 in Italy.

WHO sounds alert over alarming rates of transmission in Europe

A total of 2,99,40,411 people across the world have contracted COVID-19 and 9,42,259 have died because of it, according to John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of "alarming rates of transmission" of COVID-19 across Europe and cautioned against shortening quarantine periods. Europe set a new record last week, with some 54,000 cases recorded in 24 hours.

The WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said the September surge "should serve as a wake-up call for all of us", reported news agency AFP.

"Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region," he said during an online news conference from Copenhagen.

In Britain, new restrictions will kick-in on Friday, with residents of northeast England barred from meeting people outside their homes or their immediate social circles. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that pubs may have to close earlier to avoid a "second hump" of coronavirus cases.

In Spain, the city of Madrid backtracked on a plan for targeted lockdowns and authorities announced they would instead move to "reduce mobility and contacts" in areas with high infection rates.

Austria announced that private indoor gatherings would be limited to 10 people, including all parties, private events and meetings indoors.

With inputs from agencies