Coronavirus: India records 55,722 new COVID-19 cases; Tally reaches 75.5 lakh
New Delhi, Oct 19: Union health ministry on Monday said that India reported a daily jump of 55,722 fresh coronavirus infections in 24 hours, taking its tally to 75.5 lakh. The number of cases in the country now stand at 75,50,273.
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India, which is the second worst-hit country, in the last 24 hours, reported 579 deaths linked to the COVID-19, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,14,610.
The number of active cases remained below eight lakh for the third consecutive day at 7.72 lakh.
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Currently, India has a fatality rate of 1.53 per cent due to coronavirus. The government has said more than 70 per cent of the people recover from COVID-19 with mild or very mild symptoms. Such cases may not even require admission to COVID-19 blocks or dedicated hospitals, the Health Ministry said.
But, the onset of winter and upcoming festivals may increase susceptibility to the infection and laxity at this point can again lead to a spike by as much as "up to 26 lakh cases within a month". Only 30 per cent of the population has developed immunity so far, the committee said, underscoring the need for continued protective measures.
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"If all protocols are followed, the pandemic can be controlled by early next year with minimal active cases by February end," the panel has concluded.
The total number of infections by the time the epidemic ends, could be about 105 lakh (10.5 million).