Cases in India rise above 1.8 lakh

NEW DELHI, May 31
As the fourth phase of the lockdown ends in India from today and a phased exit begins from June 1, the total coronavirus cases in India has increased to 182,143 while the death toll has gone up to 5,164, according to figures released today morning by the Ministry of Health. In the past 24 hours, 8,380 new cases and 193 deaths were reported. The Health Ministry said that there were 89,995 active cases in the country while 86,983 have recovered.
The Government has announced a phased exit from a lockdown from tomorrow. But a complete lockdown would continue till June 30 in areas identified as COVID-19 containment zones across the country. States will be allowed to impose additional curbs as per the ground situation about the pandemic. Some States like Punjab, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have announced they would extend the lockdown by 2-4 weeks but also announced some relaxations.
From June 1, there would be no restriction on movement of people and goods within or between States while hotels, restaurants and shopping malls will be allowed to open from June 8.
More than 36 lakh people have been tested so far in the country. According to the Health Ministry data updated today morning, Maharashtra has the highest number of confirmed cases (65,168), followed by Tamil Nadu (21,184), Delhi (18,549) and Gujarat (16,343).
Of the 5,164 deaths across the country, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 2,197, followed by Gujarat (1,007) and Delhi (416).
In India, the total number of cases had hit the one-lakh mark on May 18, the day when the fourth phase of the lockdown began with several relaxations.
Globally, total Covid cases has crossed 60 lakh mark while the death toll is nearing 3.7 lakh. The US alone reported over 17 lakh cases, Brazil about 5 lakh, Russia about 4 lakh and the UK 2.74 lakh. India is the ninth worst-hit country in terms of number of cases.
The US has also reported over 1 lakh deaths from coronavirus infection, the UK (38,458), Italy (33,340), Brazil (28,834) and France (28,774). LiveMint