Record jump of 5,242 COVID-19 cases in 24 hrs; death toll touches 3,029

As the country steps into fourth phase of nationwide lockdown, India registered an increase of 157 deaths and a record jump of 5,242 cases in the last 24 hours.

According to the Union Health Ministry on Monday (May 18), the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 3,029 and the number of cases to 96,169 across the country.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 56,316, while 36,823 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. “Thus, around 38.29 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. The total confirmed cases include foreign nationals too, the ministry said.

Of the 157 deaths deaths reported since Sunday morning, 63 were in Maharashtra, 34 in Gujarat, 31 in Delhi, six in West Bengal, five each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, four in Tamil Nadu, three in Punjab and one each from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Odisha.

Of the 3,029 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,198 deaths. Gujarat comes second with 659 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 248, West Bengal at 238, Delhi at 160, Rajasthan at 131, Uttar Pradesh at 104,Tamil Nadu at 78 and  Andhra Pradesh at 50. The death toll has reached 37 in Karnataka, 35 in Punjab and 34 in Telangana.

Haryana has reported 14 fatalities due to the disease. Jammu and Kashmir has 13 deaths, while Bihar has registered eight and Kerala and Odisha each have reported four deaths. Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh each have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each, while Assam has reported two deaths. Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Puducherry have reported one fatality each, according to the data shared by the ministry.

According to the ministry’s website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities, the existence of multiple disorders in the same person.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 33,053, followed by Gujarat at 11,379, Tamil Nadu at 11,224, Delhi at 10,054 Rajasthan at 5,202, Madhya Pradesh at 4,977 and Uttar Pradesh at 4,259.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,677 in West Bengal, 2,407 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,964 in Punjab. It has risen to 1,551 in Telangana, 1,262 in Bihar, 1,183 in Jammu and Kashmir, 1,147 in Karnataka and 910 in Haryana. Odisha has reported 828 coronavirus infection cases so far, while Kerala has 601 cases.

A total of 223 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 191 in Chandigarh. Tripura has reported 167 cases, Assam 101, Uttarakhand 92, Chhattisgarh 86, Himachal Pradesh 80 and Ladakh 43.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Goa have reported 29 COVID-19 cases, while Meghalaya and Puducherry have registered 13 cases each. Manipur has seven cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each till how.

“410 cases are being reassigned to states,” the ministry said on its website, adding “our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR”. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued guidelines of COVID-19 lockdown 4.0 on May 17 which will continue till May 31 across the country with significant relaxations.

(With inputs from PTI)