Over 357,000 fresh cases reported
India reported 357,229 fresh coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 20.2 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 3,449 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 222,408. The active caseload is at 3.4 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 16.6 million. As many as 159.9 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 1.7 million were given on Monday.
NIMHANS helpline sees 40% jump in calls amid second wave
Distress calls at the 24x7 helpline run by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru have surged by 40 per cent in recent weeks, a report in ThePrint said. Furthermore, calls from those needing critical consultancy—where people might have probable mental health and psycho-social issues—have nearly doubled. “People are in distress. The calls for quality consultancy have gone up from 1,085 calls in March to 2,078 calls in April,” K. Sekar, head of the Department of Psychosocial Care and Disaster Management at NIMHANS said.