Highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases; 4,971 deaths

New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,971 and the number of cases climbed to 1,73,763 in the country registering a record single-day spike of 265 deaths and 7,964 cases till Saturday 8 am, according to the Union health ministry.
India is the ninth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood to 86,422 while 82,369 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. In the last 24 hours, 11,264 patients have recovered.
“Thus, around 47.40 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said.
More than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities, the ministry said.
It also said that there are 942 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals with 1,58,908 isolation beds, 20,608 ICU beds and 69,384 oxygen supported beds in the country.
“A total of 2,380 dedicated Covid Health Centres with 1,33,678 isolation beds, 10,916 ICU beds and 45,750 oxygen supported beds have been operationalisd. As many as 10,541 quarantine centres and 7,304 Covid Care Centres with 6,64,330 beds are now available to combat coronavirus in the country,” it said.
The Centre has also provided 119.88 lakh N95 masks and 96.14 Lakh Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the states/UTs/Central institutions.
“It is imperative that all guidelines on physical distancing are followed at public places and workplaces; hand hygiene including frequent hand washing and respiratory hygiene is maintained; mask or face covers are used in public places; and coughing/respiratory etiquettes are followed,” the Ministry said. (PTI)