Highlights
- India has reported almost 10,000 cases in the last two days.
- Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the top three states with most cases.
- India has extended its lockdown till May 31, 2020.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, India’s Minister of Health & Family Welfare earlier on Monday told reporters, “India has about 7.1 COVID-19 positive cases per lakh [hundred thousand] population as compared to the total confirmed cases in the world, which is approximately 60 cases per lakh [hundred lakh] population.”
India saw two biggest spikes in the number of cases over the weekend. May 16 saw an increase of 4864 cases and May 17 saw 5050 cases reported across India.
As of Tuesday, India has crossed the 100,000-mark. According to the Worldometer, the country's COVID-19 tally has risen to 100,340 and 3,156 have died from the disease so far. 39,233 have recovered leaving more than 55,000 active cases.
Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital Mumbai has reported the highest number of cases with 33,053 cases of COVID-19 as of May 18, 2020, with 1,198 fatalities and 7,688 recoveries.
Indian police officer keeps watch over Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, during lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Mumbai, India. Source: AAP
Neighbouring Gujarat, another economic hotspot of the country is a close second with 11,397 cases, 659 deaths and 4,499 recoveries.
Mumbai-resident Smita Deshmukh fears the cases are much higher than being officially reported.
“My 48 hour horror experience on dealing #COVID19 in F-N ward, Mumbai - cases are on spike. It won't be exaggeration to state there is a case in every building,” she says in a tweet.
“The system has collapsed.”
Along with health and economic crisis, the country is witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with millions of internal migrants who have lost their incomes in the big cities, walking, cycling, hitchhiking to return home located thousands of km away in gruesome heat and on empty stomachs.
More than 170 people have died in accidents on their way with social media flooded with these images.
READ MORE
उसे घर जाना है
'We did our best and we did well'
Despite this, the Indian government says they have done well.
India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday told the 73rd World Health Assembly, “India took all necessary steps well in time, including surveillance at points of entry, evacuation of nationals stranded overseas, massive community surveillance through robust disease surveillance network, strengthening of health infrastructure, capacity building of over two million frontline human resources, risk communication and community involvement.
“I think we did our best and we did well. We are learning and we are confident of doing better in the months to come,” he told the gathering in response to the address of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO).
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended the world's biggest pandemic lockdown till May 31, 2020.
The largest lockdown in the world, restricting 1.3 billion people, which has been going on for more than 50 days, is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon with India rapidly making its way to the top ten list of affected countries, globally.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
Testing for coronavirus is now widely available across Australia. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
The federal government's coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe is available for download from your phone's app store.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
