India reports 3,129 deaths from black fungus so far: minister

India has so far reported 3,129 deaths from mucormycosis (black fungus) infections, the country's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said today.

Chairing a high-level ministerial meeting in New Delhi, Harsh Vardhan said a total 40,845 cases of mucormycosis infections have been reported across the country and the fatality stands at 3,129, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Of the total number of black fungus infections, 34,940 patients had Covid-19 (85.5 percent), 26,187 (about 64.11 percent) had co-morbidities while 21,523 (52.69 percent) of those infected were on steroids, the Indian health minister also said.

Balram Bhargava, secretary (Health Research) and director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, who was also present in the meeting, informed that the second wave of Covid-19 has not subsided yet as 80 districts in the country still have high positivity rates. 

Vaccines have been found effective against alpha, beta, gamma and delta variants of Covid-19, he added.

Sujeet K Singh, director of the National Communicable Disease Centre, said active Covid-19 cases continue to be concentrated mainly in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha states which are reporting growth rates higher than the national growth rate.

At least 19 Indian states are reporting single digit (less than 10) fatality figures for Covid-19, while four states -- Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu -- are reporting more than hundred deaths daily, he added.