Total COVID-19 recoveries reach over 48.4 lakh with 93,420 cured in a day; recovery rate 82.14%
New Delhi: The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 surged to 48,49,584 on Saturday with 93,420 patients recuperating from the disease in a day which is more than the number of fresh cases recorded during the same period, the union health ministry said.
With the recovery rate rising to 82.14 per cent, the ministry said India has maintained its top global ranking in total recoveries with such high successive single-day numbers.
"As India records more recoveries than new cases, the gap between recovered and active cases is continuously widening. The recoveries are more than five times the active cases of coronavirus infection," it said.
The recovered cases exceed the active cases (9,60,969) by nearly 39 lakh.
"This has also ensured that active cases account for merely 16.28 per cent of the total caseload. This has sustained on its steady declining path," the ministry said.
Following the national lead, 24 states and Union Territories are also reporting higher number of new recoveries than new cases.
The ministry said 10 states and UTs account for nearly 73 per cent of the new recovered cases. Maharashtra has maintained this lead with 19,592 new recoveries.
"These sustained encouraging results have been made possible with the Centre-led proactive and calibrated strategy of 'test, track and treat' with a sharp focus on 'Chase the Virus' approach," the ministry said.
States and Union Territories have effectively identified positive cases at an early stage through high and aggressive levels of countrywide testing. This has been supplemented with prompt surveillance and tracking to identify the contacts to curb spread of the infection, it said.
The Centre has issued a Standard of Care protocol to ensure uniform and high-quality medical care for those in home and facility isolation, and hospitals. These have been upgraded periodically drawing from the emerging global and national evidences.
The Government is supporting the efforts of the states and UTs through technical, financial, material and other resources, the ministry said.
India's COVID-19 tally sprinted past 59 lakh on Saturday with 85,362 fresh cases being recorded in a day, while the death toll mounted to 93,379 after 1,089 people succumbed to the disease in 24 hours.
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Trump administration says its war in Iran has been 'terminated' before 60-day deadline
Washington (AP): The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb 28 have terminated.” The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran's oil tankers from getting out to sea.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the law that sought to constrain a president's military powers, President Donald Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorisation or cease fighting. The law also allows an administration to extend that deadline by 30 days.
Democrats have pushed the administration for formal approval of the Iran war, and the 60-day mark would likely have been a turning point for a swath of Republican lawmakers who backed temporary action against Tehran but insisted on congressional input for something longer.
“That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” said Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted Thursday in favour of a measure that would end military action in Iran since Congress hadn't given its approval. She added that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close."
Richard Goldberg, who served as director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the National Security Council during Trump's first term, said he has recommended to administration officials to simply transition to a new operation, which he suggested could be called “Epic Passage,” a sequel to Operation Epic Fury.
That new mission, he said, “would inherently be a mission of self-defence focused on reopening the strait while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.”
“That to me solves it all,” added Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth said it was the administration's “understanding” that the 60-day clock was on pause while the two countries were in a ceasefire.
Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on war powers, said that interpretation would be a “sizeable extension of previous legal gamesmanship” related to the 1973 law.
“To be very, very clear and unambiguous, nothing in the text or design of the War Powers Resolution suggests that the 60-day clock can be paused or terminated,” she said.
Other presidents have argued that the military action they've taken was not intense enough or was too intermittent to qualify under the War Powers Resolution. But Trump's war in Iran would certainly not be such a case, Ebright said, adding that lawmakers need to push back against the administration on that kind of argument.
