More on Covid-19

NEW DELHI: In a massive surge in fresh cases led by 82 in Maharashtra and 57 in Tamil Nadu, 315 new coronavirus infections were reported in the country on Tuesday — nearly double the previous day’s number — taking the total number of cases detected in India galloping to 1,618.The number of deaths among Covid-19 cases too rose by nine to 52 so far.As many as 626 new cases have been reported in the past three days, accounting for nearly 40% of all cases so far.Delhi, which has become one of the worst affected states with at least two major hotspots, Nizamuddin and Dilshad Garden area of the city, confirmed 23 new cases taking its total tally to 120. This, however, doesn’t include any fresh case of Covid-19 among the people taken out from Nizamuddin mosque as the government claimed their test reports were awaited.The Delhi government said, of the 23 new cases, eight had travel history, seven had come in contact with infected persons and the details of eight others were under investigation. Sources said the Delhi figures may shoot up exponentially in the coming days as 441 out of 1,548 followers members of Tablighi Jamaat, who were taken out from the mosque on Sunday and Monday, are highly symptomatic of Covid-19.With the rush of new cases on Tuesday, Maharashtra now has recorded 302 Covid-19 infections, the third hundred for the state coming in two days as opposed to the first hundred that took a fortnight and second that took six days. The state also reported two more deaths, one from Mumbai and the other from Palghar, taking the total toll to 12.With tens of new infections linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi earlier in the month, Tamil Nadu’s count of coronavirus cases nearly doubled in a single day, going from 67 to 124 on Tuesday. Apart from Tamil Nadu, three more states — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka — joined Maharashtra and Kerala in registering more than 100 cases so far.In Maharashtra, of the cases reported on Tuesday, 59 were from Mumbai, 13 from Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five from Pune, three from Ahmednagar and two from Buldhana. The state attributed the sharp single-day spike to book-keeping adjustments and said that reports from private laboratories received over the last few days had been added to the count. With 151 cases, Mumbai now is on the top of the state list, followed by 48 cases in Pune rural and city and 25 cases in Sangli.Also, Jharkhand and Assam which had remained untouched from the Covid-19 crisis so far, reported their first cases. A Malaysian woman, 22, who was found staying at Badi Masjid at Hindipri locality in state capital Ranchi as part of Tablighi Jamaat group, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.In Assam, a 52-year-old man admitted to Assam’s Silchar Medical College in Assam tested positive for the disease. He is a cancer patient and had returned from Delhi recently. State authorities said the man is suspected to have attended the religious congregation at Tablighi Jamaat.As many as 17 patients tested positive for Covid-19 in Indore on Tuesday, more proof that Central India’s commercial hub is also Madhya Pradesh’s coronavirus hotspot.With 19 more patient testing positive for Covid-19, Madhya Pradesh’s total cases shot up to 66 on Tuesday. Indore alone accounts for nearly 70% of MP’s tally, officials said. Total five Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed in the states, including two deaths confirmed one Tuesday.West Bengal also reported three more deaths and 15 new novel coronavirus cases. The death toll in the state has now risen to five. In Bihar, a 35-year-old man from Gopalganj in north Bihar tested positive for Covid-19 virus on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 16 in the state.Gujarat reported only six new cases of Covid-19, taking the state tally to 74. Ahmedabad, its capital, has been identified as one of the Covid-19 hotspots in the country with 23 cases. Noida and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Bhilwara in Rajasthan, and Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra are the other hotspots along with the Kasargod district of Kerala.UP confirmed seven new cases, taking the Covid-19 tally in the state to 103 on Tuesday. Five of the new cases were reported from Bareilly, while one each from Noida and Ghaziabad. J&K Government on Tuesday said six new positive cases of Covid-19 had been recorded taking their tally to 55.