COVID-19 death toll rises to 1,218, cases to 37,336

As the country’s second phase of lockdown is nearing an end, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,218 and the number of cases climbed to 37,336 in the country on Saturday (May 2), according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 26,167, while 9,950 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said. The total cases include 111 foreign nationals.

A total of 66 deaths were reported since Friday evening of which 26 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 22 from Gujarat, eight from Madhya Pradesh, four from Rajasthan, two from Delhi and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Union government on May 1 announced the extension of the ongoing countrywide lockdown for two more weeks. The decision to extend the lockdown beyond May 4 was taken after a ‘comprehensive review,’ a press statement released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Of the 1,218 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 485 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 236, Madhya Pradesh at 145, Rajasthan at 62, Delhi at 61, Uttar Pradesh at 42 and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at 33 each. The death toll reached 28 in Tamil Nadu, 26 in Telangana, while Karnataka has reported 22 deaths.

Punjab has registered 19 fatalities. The disease has claimed eight lives in Jammu and Kashmir, four each in Kerala and Haryana while Jharkhand  and Bihar recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the Health Ministry data updated Saturday morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra (11,506) followed by Gujarat (4,721), Delhi (3,738) and Madhya Pradesh (2,719). Rajasthan has reported 2,666 cases, Tamil Nadu 2,526 and Uttar Pradesh 2,328. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,463 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,039 in Telangana.

The number of cases has risen to 795 in West Bengal, 639 in Jammu and Kashmir, 589 in Karnataka, 497 in Kerala, 480 in Punjab and 471 in Bihar. Haryana has reported 360 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 149 cases. A total 111 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 88 in Chandigarh.

Uttarakhand has reported 58 cases, Assam and Chhattisgarh have 43 cases each while Himachal Pradesh has registered 40 infections each. Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 33 COVID-19 cases while Ladakh has reported 22 infections. Meghalaya has reported 12 cases, Puducherry has eight cases while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases. Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said on its website, adding, “179 cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing.” States-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.