As the Omicron-propelled third COVID-19 wave in India moves past its peak, the country's cumulative death toll due to coronavirus breached the 5 lakh mark on Friday, 4 February.
A total of 1,49,394 new COVID-19 cases and 1,072 fatalities were reported on Friday, taking the death toll to 5,00,055.
The grim landmark comes nearly two years after India confirmed its first SARS-CoV-2 case on 30 January 2020.
Globally, 57.3 lakh COVID-19 deaths have been recorded till date, with India contributing to 8.72 percent of these.
India's coronavirus death tally is second only to the United States, which has seen 8.95 lakh fatalities due to the infectious virus so far.
Here's a timeline to show how India reached this grave statistic.
India's cumulative death toll due to coronavirus breached the 5 lakh mark on Friday, 4 February.
Photo: Rajeshwari Dutta / The Quint
29 April 2020: COVID-19 Deaths Cross 1,000 Mark
On 29 April 2020, total COVID-19 deaths in India climbed to 1,008.
Over 400 of these deaths had been reported from Maharashtra, while 56 had been recorded in Delhi.
By this date, the country had recorded a total of 31,322 cases of coronavirus, and was observing the 36th day of its first complete lockdown.
17 August 2020: Death Tolls Pushes Beyond 50K
Nearly 3.5 months after crossing 1,000 deaths, India's tally of COVID-19 fatalities touched the 50,921 mark on 17 August 2020, when the country recorded 63,490 new coronavirus cases and 941 deaths.
Nearly a quarter of the India's total deaths at the time were reported in August, as per Health Ministry data. While Maharashtra accounted for over 20,000 of these deaths, Tamil Nadu and Delhi followed with 5,700 and 4,100 fatalities respectively.
India at the time had accounted for 6.59 percent of all deaths due to COVID-19 in the world, as compared to the present 8.72 percent.
On this date, India’s recovery rate stood at 72.51 percent, while death rate was 1.92 percent. Presently, India's recovery rate has been recorded at 95.39 percent.
2 October 2020: Over 1 Lakh COVID-19 Deaths in India
On 2 October 2020, India reached the grim milestone of 1 lakh COVID-19 fatalities.
This came nearly seven months after India reported its first case of coronavirus, and 1.5 months after the death toll reached 50,000.
While India had recorded the last 50,000 COVID-19 related deaths to reach the 1 lakh mark in a span of 47 days, it had taken 48 days for the number of deaths by the virus to jump from 0 to 1,000 as well.
India at the time had the third-highest COVID-19-related deaths in the world, with Brazil and the United States ahead of it.
28 April 2021: 2 Lakh COVID-19 Deaths Surpassed
While the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc in the country, India crossed the statistic of two lakh COVID-19-related deaths on 28 April 2021, during the peak of the outbreak.
On the day, India breached the 3,000-mark for daily COVID-19-related deaths for the first time, taking the death toll to 2,01,187.
In April 2021 alone, around 60 lakh new infections were reported across the country.
The high number of infections and deaths were attributed to the Delta variant which had emerged at the time, mass elections campaigns, super-spreader religious gatherings such as the Kumbh Mela, as well as a slacking in COVID-19 protocols.
24 May 2021: Death Toll Climbs to 3 Lakh
Less than a month after it touched 2 lakh deaths, India's toll of coronavirus fatalities hit the 3 lakh mark on 24 May 2021, at a time when the nation was mourning over the heavy losses of the second wave.
At this time, the national recovery rate had declined to 88.30 percent while the death rate was reported at 1.13 percent.
In addition to the debilitating Delta variant, an acute shortage of oxygen and other medical resources, flagged by many patients and hospitals across the country, had been understood as a contributor to the vast number of COVID-19 deaths during this period.
2 July 2021: 4 Lakh Deaths Mark Breached
While it had initially taken 15 months for India to clock 2 lakh coronavirus deaths, the next 2 lakh were reported in a mere couple of months.
India breached the grave figure of 4,00,312 deaths due to COVID-19 on 2 July 2021.
According to data provided by the Union Health Ministry, nearly 60 percent of the deaths were reported since April 1 – a period during which the harsh second wave of coronavirus had gained traction across the country.
After the United States and Brazil, India was the third country to cross the 4 lakh mark.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)