Health

India’s total coronavirus deaths almost 300,000 as daily cases dip

New Delhi, May 23 (EFE).- India’s total coronavirus deaths has almost touched 300,000 after daily fatalities fell below 4,000 after two days, while daily infections continued its downward trend seen over the last few days.

The South Asian country reported 3,741 deaths in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 299,266 since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health ministry data.

The number of daily cases reported was 240,842 in the last 24 hours, as against the 400,000 cases registered almost regularly some two weeks ago.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 26.5 million, making it the world’s second most affected nation by the coronavirus, behind the United States.

Moreover, more than two million PCR tests were conducted for the detection of the highly infectious virus for the fourth consecutive day in the country.

The western state of Maharashtra, hardest hit by the disease, recorded 682 daily deaths, while the number of cases was less than 30,000.

The national capital of New Delhi, which for weeks reported severe oxygen problems, continued to show signs of recovery, with just over 2,260 daily cases and 182 deaths.

Despite a relative improvement in the situation, experts have cast doubt on the official data because the virus outbreak has hit the rural areas that lack the testing and healthcare infrastructure.

The vaccination campaign reached some 195 million inoculations after a total of 1.6 million doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

Some 43 million people have received two doses of the vaccines.

India’s vaccination drive, the world’s largest, has also hit a roadblock after an acute shortage of jabs.

Several states have put on hold the vaccination drive due to the unavailability of the stock. The country had aimed to immunize 300 million people by July, which seems highly impossible given the current inoculation pace. EFE

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