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India records over 32,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time

Last updated on: July 16, 2020 16:50 IST

COVID-19 cases in India in a day crossed the 30,000 mark for the first time pushing the tally to 9,68,876 on Thursday, while the death toll climbed to 24,915 with 606 people succumbing to the disease, according to the Union health ministry data.

IMAGE: A boy reacts as a healthcare worker takes a swab from him for a rapid antigen test to tackle the coronavirus disease outbreak, at a check-up point on a national highway in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

The country saw a record increase of 32,695 cases of coronavirus infections in a day, with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Telangana, West Bengal and Bihar contributing to around 80 per cent of the single-day spike, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Maharashtra added 7,975 new cases to the tally, followed by Tamil Nadu 4,496, Karnataka 3,176, Andhra Pradesh 2,432, Uttar Pradesh 1,659, Delhi 1,647, Telangana 1,597, West Bengal 1,589 and Bihar 1,328.

The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.

However, the number of recoveries also saw a steady rise with 6,12,814 people recuperating from the viral disease, leaving 3,31,146 active cases, which is a little more than a third of the country's total COVID-19 tally.

"So far, 63.25 per cent of the patients have recovered," the ministry said, adding the number of recovered cases exceed active COVID-19 cases by 2,81,668 as on date.

"Just two states -- Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu -- constitute 48.15 per cent of the country's total active caseload while 10 states contribute to 84.62 per cent of the total active cases," the ministry said.

IMAGE: A devotee wearing personal protective equipment walks next to the burning pyre of Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, head priest of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, who died due to the coronavirus disease at Smruti Temple premises in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a cumulative 1,27,39,490 samples have been tested up to July 15 of which 3,26,826 were tested on Wednesday.

Of the 606 deaths reported in 24 hours, 233 are from Maharashtra, 86 from Karnataka, 68 from Tamil Nadu, 44 from Andhra Pradesh, 41 from Delhi, 29 from Uttar Pradesh, 20 from West Bengal, 11 each from Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana, 10 from Gujarat and nine from Madhya Pradesh.

Punjab has reported eight fatalities followed by Haryana with seven deaths, Assam and Bihar six each, Rajasthan five, Odisha and Puducherry three each, Jharkhand two, while Chandigarh, Kerala, Tripura and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have registered a fatality each.

Of the 24,915 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 10,928 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,487 deaths, Tamil Nadu 2,167, Gujarat 2,079, Uttar Pradesh 1,012, West Bengal 1,000, Karnataka 928, Madhya Pradesh 682 and Rajasthan 530.

IMAGE: A nurse gives the baby to a woman on her discharge from Krishna Hospital after she recovered from COVID-19, during Unlock 2.0, in Karad. Photograph: PTI Photo

So far, 452 people have died of COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh, 386 in Telangana, 319 in Haryana, 221 in Punjab, 206 in Jammu and Kashmir, 180 in Bihar, 77 in Odisha, 50 in Uttarakhand, 46 in Assam, 38 in Jharkhand and 35 in Kerala.

Chhattisgarh has registered 20 deaths, Puducherry 21, Goa 18, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh 11 each, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura three each, Meghalaya and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two each, while Ladakh has reported one fatality.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 2,75,640 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,51,820, Delhi at 1,16,993, Karnataka at 47,253, Gujarat at 44,552, Uttar Pradesh at 41,383 and Telangana at 39,342.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 35,451 in Andhra Pradesh, 34,427 in West Bengal, 26,437 in Rajasthan, 23,306 in Haryana, 20,612 in Bihar and 19,643 in Madhya Pradesh.

Assam has instances of 18,666 infections, Odisha 14,898 and Jammu and Kashmir 11,666 cases. Kerala has reported 9,553 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Punjab has 8,799 cases.

IMAGE: Health workers sanitize Santipur State General Hospital premises after a doctor was tested positive with COVID-19, in Shantipur. Photograph: PTI Photo

A total of 4,539 have been infected by the virus in Chhattisgarh, 4,320 in Jharkhand, 3,785 in Uttarakhand, 2,951 in Goa, 2,268 in Tripura, 1,700 in Manipur, 1,596 in Puducherry, 1,341 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,142 in Ladakh.

Nagaland has recorded 902 COVID-19 cases, Chandigarh 625 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 539 cases.

Arunachal Pradesh reported 462 cases, Meghalaya 346, Mizoram 238, Sikkim has registered 220 infections so far, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has recorded 176 cases.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding that 1,285 cases are being reassigned to states.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.