Covid-19 tally crosses 1.5 lakh

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India has crossed 1.5 lakh, nine days after it surpassed one lakh on May 19. As on May 27, the count was 1,51,767, of which 64,426 persons (42 per cent) have recovered and 4,337 persons (2.85 per cent) have died.

According to data obtained from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), close to 32,42,160 throat and/or nasal swab samples have been tested till date, with 1,16,041 samples tested in the last 24 hours.

Between May 26 and 27, 6,387 new Covid-19 cases have been recorded, and the highest surge in cases in a day has been in Maharashtra, which has added 2,091 cases, around a third, to the tally. Maharashtra’s total count stands at 54,758 now, of which 16,954 (31 per cent) have recovered and 1,792 persons have died.

Migrants add to case count

States like Bihar, which had earlier not recorded many cases, have now started reporting cases en masse, mostly because of migrants returning home and testing positive. For instance, Bihar on May 16 had 1,018 cases, when India had recorded 85,940 cases in all, which consists of 1.18 per cent of all cases countrywide. On May 27, after ten days, the cases have increased to 2,983, making up 2 per cent of the national count of 1,51,767. Also, between May 26 and 27, Bihar added 253 cases, while other predominantly rural States like, say, Chhattisgarh witnessed a fewer number, at 70 new cases; while Uttar Pradesh recorded 16 and Odisha 79 new cases. Cases in these States are below 10,000 — Chhattisgarh (361), Uttar Pradesh (6,548), and Odisha (1,517).

Gujarat (14,821) and Delhi (14,465) have added 361 and 412 cases over the past 24 hours.

In the North-East, with total cases in Assam hovering at 616, the hilly State has added 90 cases in the past 24 hours. All other States in the region, except Tripura, have reported low case counts. Tripura recorded 207 cases, with 13 new infections in the past 24 hours.