The Koyambedu wholesale market complex, which reopened after being closed for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Chennai on September 28, 2020. IANS

India reports significantly lower COVID-19 deaths, new cases

Country registers less than 1,000 COVID deaths in a day for first time in four weeks

New Delhi, September 29, 2020

India today reported significantly lower numbers of deaths due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and fresh cases of infection -- at 776 and 70,589, respectively -- in the past 24 hours.

With these, death toll has gone up to 96,318 and the total number of cases so far has climbed to 6,145,291.

On the positive side, the number of those who have recovered from COVID-19 continued to surge and stood at 5,101,397 as of today.

The number of active cases has gone down by 15,064 since yesterday to 947,576.

India is now the top country in terms of COVID-19 recoveries, overtaking the USA, and accounts for about one-fifth of the total global recoveries.

The highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 in a single day in the country -- 1,290 -- was reported on September 16. India had reported 1,039 deaths yesterday.

The highest number of fresh cases of infection in a 24-hour period -- 97,894 -- was reported on September 17. The country had recorded 82,170 new cases yesterday.

This is the first time in 28 days that the country has recorded less than a thousand deaths or less than 75,000 new cases in a single day. It had reported 819 deaths and 69,921 new cases of infection on September 1.

The country has reported more than 1,200 deaths in a 24-hour period four times in the past 19 days. It has registered more than 1,100 deaths on 16 of the last 22 days and a thousand-plus deaths for 27 consecutive days till yesterday.

India, which has been recording more fresh cases than any other country for the past several days, has reported more than 90,000 new cases in a 24-hour period for 12 of the last 24 days and more than 80,000 cases for 24 of the last 27 days. It has reported more than 75,000 cases on 32 of the last 34 days, more than 60,000 cases on 48 of the last 49 days and more than 50,000 new cases for the 61st consecutive day today.

The world has reported a total of more than 33.279 million cases of COVID-19 so far while the global death toll has crossed a million and stood at 1,000,825 this morning, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which is tracking the pandemic.

India is placed second in the world in terms of the total number of cases of infection so far, behind the United States (more than 7.147 million cases) and ahead of Brazil (more than 4.745 million cases).

In terms of the number of deaths, the country ranks third after the US (205,062) and Brazil (142,058).