India recorded another uptick in COVID-19 cases on Friday, 6 May, with 3,545 infections in the last 24 hours – an increase by 8.2 percent compared to the previous day's figures. The total cases rose to 4,30,94,938 in the country with Friday's additions.
The country also reported 27 deaths due to the virus, with the death toll reaching 5,24,002.
With a daily positivity rate of 1.07 percent, the active cases in the country stood at 19,688. The Health Ministry also reported a weekly positivity rate of 0.70 percent.
Also, 3,549 people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,25,51,248.
Around 16.5 lakh vaccine doses against COVID-19 were also administered in the country in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the national capital reported 1,656 new cases, and 1,306 recoveries on Friday. Active cases are currently at 6,096, while the cumulative positivity rate is 4.98 percent.
Mumbai on the other hand reported 117 new infections of COVID-19, with 93 recoveries. Active cases currently at 706.
India Rebuts WHO's Claim of 'Excess' Deaths
This comes amid claims made by the the World Health Organization (WHO) on 5 May that India witnessed 4.7 million "excess" COVID-19 deaths, which is 10 times the official value. India, it said, accounted for a third of COVID-19 deaths worldwide.
In its response, India rebutted WHO's use of a mathematical model to calculate the number of COVID-19 deaths, saying that the "figure is totally removed from reality."
The health ministry further said that India has an "extremely robust" system of births and deaths registration and called the WHO's system of data collection "statistically unsound and scientifically questionable".
"India has consistently questioned WHO's own admission that data in respect of seventeen Indian states was obtained from some websites and media reports and was used in their mathematical model," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said.
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