COVID-19 India Update May 4: India Records Highest Recoveries In 24 Hours

NEW DELHI: The Union health ministry on Monday said that the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 42,836, and 11,762 patients have been recovered. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 as per the ministry's update at 5 pm stood at 1,389.

Addressing press about COVID-19 situation in the country, Joint Secretary at the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that in the last 24 hours, 1,074 COVID-19 patients have recovered, the highest number of recoveries in one day.

The recovery rate stands at 27.52 per cent with 11,706 COVID-19 patients cured till now, he said.

Amid row that Indian Railways charged migrant workers for ferrying them home, he said that government has not talked about charging anything from migrant labourers as 85 per cent of the transportation cost is borne by the railways and 15 per cent by state governments.

“Based on the request given from states for particular cases, permission was given to run special trains. Be it government of India or the Railways, we have not talked about charging from workers. Eighty-five per cent of the transportation cost is borne by the Railways, while states have to bear 15 per cent of the cost,” he told reporters.

“Based on the request of the states the process that started, under which limited number of stranded migrant labourers have to be transported for a particular reason, is being coordinated by the state governments, except for one or two states,” Agarwal said.

Amitabh Kant, Chairman of the Empowered Group dealing with civil society, NGOs, industries and international partners, said in 112 aspirational districts, “we worked with the collectors and in these 112 districts only 610 cases have been reported which is two per cent of the national level infection”.

In these 112 districts, 22 per cent of India's population resides, he said.

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