Coronavirus: India reports sharpest ever rise with 896 new cases in last 24 hours

India reported the sharpest ever rise in coronavirus positive cases with 37 deaths and 896 new patients in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases rose to 6,761 including 6039 active cases, the latest data by the Ministry of Health showed. While 516 were cured or discharged or migrated, 206 were reported dead, the data also showed. India has reported about 1,487 coronavirus positive cases in the past two days, the government also said.

India is under a 21-day lockdown to fight against life-threatening coronavirus. The government on Friday conducted 16,002 tests of which only 0.2 per cent cases tested positive, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said. The rate of infection is not high and rapid diagnostics kits have also been sanctioned on the basis of the samples collected, he added. India has a stock of 3.28 crore of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets, an anti-malaria drug said to be an effective antidote for treating coronavirus patients.

Meanwhile, amid rising coronavirus cases, India has begun preparations to test 1 lakh samples per day in the coming months for the worst-case scenario, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a recent statement. India currently tests nearly 18,000 samples each day at the government and private facilities across the country. The tests are being conducted at just over 190 testing laboratories, including 136 government labs and 56 private labs.