The Covid-19 cases in India saw the biggest spike for the second consecutive day on Saturday with 6,654 new infections in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to over 1.25 lakh, while the toll rose to 3,720 after 137 more deaths, the Union health ministry said.
The active cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) rose to 69,597, while 51,783 people have recovered and a patient has migrated, according to the ministry bulletin.
'Thus, around 41.39 percent patients have recovered so far,' a health ministry official said.
The total of 1,25,101 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus pandemic includes foreigners.
Of the 137 deaths reported since Friday morning, 63 were in Maharashtra, 29 in Gujarat, 14 each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, six from West Bengal, four from Tamil Nadu, two each from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, and one from Haryana.
Of the total toll of 3,720, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,517 deaths, followed by Gujarat at 802, Madhya Pradesh at 272, West Bengal at 265 and Delhi at 208.
The number of deaths due to the contagion in Rajasthan is 153, while 152 people died in Uttar Pradesh, 98 in Tamil Nadu and 55 in Andhra Pradesh.
The Covid-19 death toll reached 45 in Telangana, 41 in Karnataka and 39 in Punjab. There are 20 fatalities in Jammu and Kashmir, 16 in Haryana and 11 in Bihar.
Seven people have succumbed to the disease in Odisha, and four each in Kerala and Assam so far.
Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh each have recorded three deaths each, while there is a fatality each in Meghalaya and Uttarakhand, the ministry said.
More than 70 percent of the deaths are due to comorbidities, according to the ministry website.
The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 44,582 followed by Tamil Nadu at 14,753, Gujarat at 13,268 and Delhi at 12,319.
There are 6,494 coronavirus cases Rajasthan, 6,170 in Madhya Pradesh and 5,735 in Uttar Pradesh. The number of infections has gone up to 3,332 in West Bengal, 2,709 in Andhra Pradesh and 2,177 in Bihar.
As many as 2,029 people have been infected with the virus in Punjab, 1,761 in Telangana, 1,743 in Karnataka, 1,489 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1,189 in Odisha.
In Haryana, 1,067 people are afflicted with the deadly disease, while Kerala has 732 cases, followed by Jharkhand with 308 and 259 in Assam. Chandigarh has reported 218 cases, while 175 people have tested positive in Tripura and 172 Chhattisgarh.
There are 168 cases of the pathogen in Himachal Pradesh, 153 in Uttarakhand and 54 in Goa. Ladakh has reported 44 Covid-19 cases, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 33 infections.
Manipur and Puducherry have registered 26 cases each, followed by Meghalaya with 14. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each so far.
- Maharashtra: 44,582
- Tamil Nadu: 14,753
- Gujarat: 13,268
- Delhi: 12,319
- Rajasthan: 6,494 (*6,542)
- Madhya Pradesh: 6,170
- Uttar Pradesh: 5,735
- West Bengal: 3,332
- Andhra Pradesh: 2,709
- Punjab: 2,029
- Telangana: 1,761
- Bihar: 2,177
- Jammu and Kashmir: 1,489
- Karnataka: 1,743
- Haryana: 1,067
- Odisha: 1,189 (*1,269)
- Kerala: 732
- Jharkhand: 308
- Chandigarh: 218
- Tripura: 175
- Assam: 259
- Uttarakhand: 153
- Chhattisgarh: 172
- Himachal Pradesh: 168
- Ladakh: 44
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: 33
- Goa: 54
- Meghalaya: 14
- Puducherry: 26
- Manipur: 26
- Mizoram: 1
- Arunachal Pradesh: 1
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli: 1
'1,899 cases are being reassigned to states,' the ministry said on its website adding: 'Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR.'
State-wide distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.
One death, 47 fresh cases reported in AP; toll touches 56
With 47 fresh infections, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh climbed to 2,714 while one death due to the virus was reported, taking the toll in the state to 56, a bulletin from the government said on Saturday.
The lone death was reported in Krishna district.
Of the fresh cases in the past 24 hours ending 9 AM on Saturday, five were linked to the Koyambedu market in Chennai, the bulletin said.
Samples of 9,136 people were tested and 47 have been discharged from various hospitals after treatment, taking the cumulative recoveries to 1778.
The number of active patients are now at 727. Cumulative positive cases from other states stood at 153 with 127 active ones, it added.
20 new cases in Uttarakhand, one more dies
Twenty more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand on Saturday in the highest single day spike in cases so far taking the state's coronavirus tally to 173 while one more person infected with the deadly virus died at AIIMS, Rishikesh.
The latest cases were reported from Almora, Champawat, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi, a state health department bulletin said.
Champawat which falls in the green zone reported the highest number of cases at seven followed by Almora and Uttarkashi (three each), Pithoragarh, Nainital and Dehradun (two each) and Haridwar (one), it said.
With migrants returning home in large numbers there has been a sudden rise in the number of cases being reported daily.
Meanwhile, another Covid-19 patient died at AIIMS, Rishikesh late on Friday night with authorities attributing her death to respiratory failure/ carcinoma oesophagus and not coronavirus
This is the second instance of a Covid-19 patient dying in the state since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The patient was also suffering from cancer and had undergone an operation recently, Covid-19 nodal officer for corona cases at AIIMS, Rishikesh Madhur Uniyal said.
A migrant worker's child waits with an adult outside a railway station hoping to be able to travel to their home states, in Jammu, ,on Friday, May 22, 2020. AP
Chhattisgarh identifies 44 containment zones
The Chhattisgarh government has classified four development blocks in the state as red zones and 80 as orange zones to contain the spread of coronavirus, an official here said on Saturday.
Apart from this, it has also declared 44 areas, from where Covid-19 cases were recently detected, as containment zones, the official said.
The state's health secretary Niharika Barik Singh had issued a notification regarding the classification of Covid-19 zones on Friday evening, and based on this, activities, including business, will be permitted or restricted in these areas, he said.
In keeping with the Union Health and Family Welfare ministry's guidelines, the state health department has classified development blocks and urban areas based on the number of active Covid-19 cases, doubling rates and samples tested per 1 lakh population of the area, he said.
'The state government has demarcated four development blocks- Doundilohara (Balod district), Takhatpur and Masturi (Bilaspur district) and Korba (Korba district) as red zones,' he said.
Similarly, at least 80 development blocks and cities in 25 districts were marked as orange zones, he said.
Some areas were classified as orange zones despite not reporting a single Covid-19 case so far, after it was found that the testing rate per 1 lakh population was less there, he said.
As many as 146 development blocks in the state were categorised as green zones, he said, adding that these classifications will be reviewed every Monday.
The state government has also demarcated 44 containment zones, which include villages and areas in cities, the official said.
Delhi toll rises to 231; 591 new cases
The novel coronavirus death toll in Delhi rose to 231 on Saturday, while the number of infections climbed to 12,910 with 591 new cases, authorities said.
This is the fifth consecutive day when 500 or more new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were recorded in Delhi. It registered the highest spike on Friday with 660 new cases.
In a bulletin issued on Saturday, the Health Department said the death toll due to the pandemic had risen to 231 and the total number of cases mounted to 12,910 after 591 more people tested positive.
It, however, added the cumulative death figures referred to fatalities where the primary cause of death was found to be Covid-19, as per the report of the Death Audit Committee on the basis of case sheets received from various hospitals.
On Friday, the number of cases were 12,319, including 208 deaths.
Sharp spike in Karnataka; 196 new cases, one death
In the biggest ever spike, Karnataka has reported 196 new Covid-19 cases and a related fatality, taking the total number of infections in the state to 1,939 and the death toll to 42, the health department said on Saturday.
It said 172 out of the new cases reported were returnees from neighbouring Maharashtra.
The others include two from Gujarat, one each from Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, 15, who are contacts of patients who have already tested positive and three with Influenza like illness (ILI).
With 42 deaths and 598 discharges, there are 1,297 active corona cases in the state, the department said in its mid-day bulletin.
A 32-year-old man from Bengaluru Urban became the 42nd Covid-19 related fatality in the state.
He was admitted to a designated hospital on May 19 with complaints of breathing difficulty and comorbid conditions, the bulletin said, adding that he died today due to cardiac arrest.
Another patient died due to non-Covid reasons, taking the number of such deaths to two, it added.
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Yadgir accounted for the highest of 72, followed by Raichur 39, Mandya 28 and Gadag-15.