Coronavirus in India is touching different peak levels with each passing day.
As of May 26, 2020, the number of positive cases has reached 1,45,354 with 6,535 in the last 24 hours.
Now, the country has 80,463 active cases, 60,722 recovered, and 4,174 COVID-19 deaths.
Meanwhile, the domestic flight operations that began after a two-month-long pause faced another challenge on May 26, 2020.
The government had announced the resumption of flight operations from today. However, a large number of flights have been canceled at major Indian airports.
This change in plan happened after States requested the Center to cancel services in view of their own set of guidelines.
A large number of cancellations happened at major Indian airports, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kochi.
Nearly 82 flights were canceled at the Delhi Airport alone upon requests from various state governments. Bengaluru also reported cancellation of more than 20 flights.
With the large number of migrants returning home, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) decided to ramp up testing from 1.4 lakh to 2 lakh samples per day.
COVID-19 Cases: State-wise Scenario
Maharashtra continues to face the horrifying situation with the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases than any other Indian state, followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Delhi.
These four states alone account for 67 percent of total COVID-19 positive cases in India.
“The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 52,667, including 1,695 deaths and 15,786 discharged,” said Maharashtra state public health department.
Tamil Nadu has the second-highest number of positive cases at 17,082, followed by Gujarat (14,460) and Delhi (14,053).
WHO Warns of Second Peak
In an online briefing, WHO emergencies head Dr. Mike Ryan said the world is currently in mid of the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ryan warned the nations that epidemics come in a phase-wise manner and may bounce back anytime, even later this year. This can happen in nations where the first wave has been controlled.
Meanwhile, the Government of Japan lifted coronavirus emergency in Tokyo and four other significant areas of the nation, allowing the business to resume their activities.
Japan is also planning a new stimulus package, supporting the businesses hit by the pandemic.
The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) said India surpassed Iran as the 10th worst-affected nation.
According to JHU data, the US tops the list followed by Russia, UK, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, and France.
Vaccine Trials Still Underway
US-based biotech firm Novavax Inc. has reportedly resumed its first round of clinical trials for its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine, and the results are expected in July 2020. If everything goes as planned, they expect the vaccine by the end of this year.
On the other hand, the Government of Japan decided not to go ahead with Fujifilm Holdings Corp’s Avigan drug after it failed efficacy tests.
The global toll of Covid-19 cases stands at 5.4 million positive cases and 3.4 lakh deaths.
