4,529 new deaths recorded in India, highest single-day toll in any country

India — India recorded 267,334 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, and the number of new fatalities stood at 4,529, according to the Union health ministry dashboard. With this, the country’s cumulative infection tally went up to 25,496,330 while the death toll was pushed to 283,248.

As the second wave of Covid-19 dies down in the country, the number of fatalities has been projected to go up. According to experts, people who were infected during the peak of the second wave and are now battling for their lives, are likely to add to the toll in the coming weeks if they do not recover.

The country recorded over 4,000 deaths for the fifth time in the row on Wednesday even as the number of new cases went down in the past week. The fall in new cases of Covid-19 can be attributed to fresh restrictions and extended lockdowns, especially in the hot spot states, experts said.

Delhi, for instance, saw a downward trend in the average positivity rate in last 10 days, which fell by over 14% from May 8 to May 18. Chhattisgarh, too, saw its positivity rate drop around 13% in the same time period and in Haryana, it dropped over 10%.