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India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 9 lakh, death toll at 23,727; WHO chief warns leaders against ‘shortcuts’

Globally 13,070,097 people have been infected with the virus while 5,72,411 have died due to it according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.

India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 9 lakh, death toll at 23,727; WHO chief warns leaders against ‘shortcuts’

A health worker prepares to take a swab sample from a passenger for a rapid antigen tests (RAT) for the COVID-19 coronavirus at Ranip Bust Terminus in Ahmedabad on July 13, 2020. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)

India’s coronavirus tally rose to 9,06,752 on Tuesday which includes 3,11,565  active cases and 5,71,459 recovered cases according to data released by the ministry of health. The death toll due to the virus has reached 23,727

Several states have reimposed lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19as cases increase in the country. The states powering India’s cases include Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana.

In Uttar Pradesh with close to 1,500 active coronavirus patients, capital Lucknow has emerged as the biggest COVID hotspot district leaving behind Ghaziabad. On Monday, it reported 196 more cases, the highest in the state for the third straight day. To date, Lucknow has reported 5,123 cases – 14 percent of the state’s caseload – and 33 deaths. At least 1090 new cases were added in the past week.

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In the sharpest ever spike in new cases in a day, 357 new cases were reported in Punjab on Monday, driving up the total tally of persons testing positive for novel coronavirus infection to 8,178.

Globally 13,070,097 people have been infected with the virus while 5,72,411 have died due to it according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.

As the worldwide cases continue to surge WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that there would be “no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future”, adding, “There are no short cuts out of this pandemic.”

Speaking critically of leaders in countries where “mixed messages” have led to a breakdown in trust, he said that if this approach is taken, matters are going to get “worse and worse”.

“I know that many leaders are working in difficult circumstances”, he said, but that nonetheless, “There are no short cuts out of this pandemic,” he adds.

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