Indian coronavirus cases surpass 50,000 mark

The number of coronavirus cases in India surpassed the 50,000 mark on Wednesday, four months after the first patient was found positive in Kerala.

The last 10,000 patients were detected over a period of only three days, reports NDTV.

The biggest spike in numbers -- 3,900 over a period of 24 hours -- was reported on Tuesday morning by the health ministry.

Medical experts have said the virus is yet to peak in the country and the coming weeks can be worse.

Health ministry data on Wednesday morning showed the number of coronavirus cases in the country 49,391. Figures from nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Later in the evening, Delhi reported its biggest single day spike of 428, taking the countrywide figure so far to 53,186.

The state figures take the number of deaths up from 1,694 to 1,772. More than 14,000 people have recovered.

From around 26,000 cases as on April 26, coronavirus cases across the country have nearly doubled over the last 10 days. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the "current doubling rate is around 12 days".

The recovery rate of patients stood at 28.71 per cent on Wednesday morning.

Maharashtra currently has 16,758 cases, of which 1,233 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. A chunk of the patients is from Mumbai, which has so far reported 10,714 cases. The state has also reported 34 deaths.

Gujarat has the second highest numbers, 6,625, with 380 new deaths, followed by the national capital, which has more than 5,000 cases. Tamil Nadu has reported 771 new cases in 24 hours taking the state's total to 4,829.

Kerala has not reported any new case on Wednesday.

The highly contagious virus, which made an appearance in China's Wuhan in December and became a global pandemic in March, had reached India in January. The first case was detected in Kerala on January 30, the patient was a student who was studying at the Wuhan University.

The numbers started shooting up in March, pushing state after states to announce restrictions days before the Centre announced the countrywide lockdown on March 25.

The lockdown was extended twice – once on April 14 and once on May 3. The current spell is slated to end on May 17, though some states are considering an extension. Telangana on Tuesday declared that it would extend the lockdown till May 29.

The economy has taken a nosedive since the outbreak started and the weeks of lockdown have left the industry gasping. The government and much of the private sector have announced pay cuts. Sectors that have been the hardest hit, like aviation, have even announced lay-offs.

Millions of migrant workers, meanwhile, have been pushed to the brink of starvation as their incomes dried up overnight.

Kamruzzaman