COVID-19: Total confirmed cases are 5194, 402 have been discharged, briefs Health Ministry

NEW DELHI: Covid-19 casualties in India neared the 200-mark on Wednesday as 26 more people died, taking the toll to 198. Maharashtra recorded 16 deaths, its highest single-day casualty figure since the outbreak of the disease, while Madhya Pradesh reported seven deaths and Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka one each.Of the 16 deaths in Maharashtra, 10 were reported in Pune alone by the civic authorities. Maharashtra’s toll has now reached 80. However, eight of the 10 deaths which were confirmed by the Pune civic authorities are yet to be included in the Covid-19 count by the state, which has put the toll at 72. Exactly a month ago, it was Pune which had reported the first two cases of Covid-19 in Maharashtra on March 9.India also recorded more than 500 Covid-19 patients for the seventh straight day by reporting 582 new cases on Wednesday. Maharashtra, the worst affected state both in terms of casualties and confirmed cases, accounted for nearly one-fifth of this number with 117 cases. MP, which recorded 64 cases on Wednesday, has reported the maximum deaths — 30 — after Maharashtra, though it ranks fifth among states in terms of confirmed cases.In MP, of the seven fresh deaths on Wednesday, Indore accounted for four.Delhi reported 93 fresh cases and all of them were members of Tablighi Jamaat who have been kept at various quarantine centers. While the national capital’s tally is 669, as many as 426 or nearly 64% of these are linked to TJ. Elsewhere in the NCR, Gurgaon saw the sharpest single-day surge with 12 cases, all linked to TJ.In Rajasthan, 40 more persons tested positive, 23 of them from the state capital. The total count of cases has increased to 383 in the state. Thirteen of the 23 who tested positive in Jaipur are linked to TJ and belong to Bagalkot in Karnataka.Telangana reported 49 cases on Wednesday as the state government said it had procured more equipment and protection for its health workers.Gujarat reported 11 cases, taking the tally to 186. So far, 16 people have died of the dreaded disease, making it the third worst hit state in terms of casualties. Among those who tested positive on Wednesday was a two-year-old girl in Bodeli town of Chhota Udepur district.In Kerala, nine more cases were reported, taking the total to 345. Of them, 259 are currently under treatment.In J&K, 33 cases were reported, taking its tally to 158.