NEW DELHI: The number of daily Covid-19 cases in India, after hitting a peak of 1,755 just the day before, dipped slightly to 1,433 on Friday, mainly on account of Maharashtra reporting a drop of nearly 50% from Thursday’s record high of 778.However, the number of deaths related to the virus jumped to what is probably the highest single-day toll of 54, taking the total to 780 so far — which translates to a case fatality ratio of around 3.2%. Maharashtra continued to report the highest number of deaths, with 18 on Friday, Gujarat (15), Madhya Pradesh (8), Rajasthan (4) and Delhi (3). Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh recorded two deaths each while one death each was recorded in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.India’s total Covid-19 count stood close to the 25,000-mark, with 24,546 cases reported from the states at the time of going to press.On the positive side, 5,154 people — 21% of all positive cases — have recovered from the disease, the data shows.Maharashtra, the worst-affected state by a huge margin, reported 394 new cases on Friday, taking its tally to 6,817. The state now also has the highest number of recovered patients at 957, although its rate of recovery remains much lower than the national average.Delhi, in contrast, has one of the best recovery rates with 857 patients out of a total of 2,514 having been successfully treated for the disease. The city, however, continued to report a surge in the viral infection with 138 fresh cases on Friday.The Covid-19 death toll in Delhi is 53, of which 23 deaths have taken place at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital alone. Hospitals are emerging to be new hotspots for Covid-19 in the city with more healthcare workers testing positive. Three doctors of Safdarjung hospital tested positive for the disease on Friday, sources said.Gujarat showed a slight dip in new cases with 191 positive cases being confirmed. The state’s Covid-19 tally is 2,815, the second-highest in the country, and showing the fastest growth among big states over the past few days.Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, continued to show a surge in infections for the second straight day after reporting a sharp decline in the previous days. As many as 143 new cases were reported, taking the state’s tally to 1,846. Eight more deaths were also recorded — including four in Ujjain and two each in Bhopal and Indore.Uttar Pradesh also recorded 143 new cases taking its tally to 1,655. One more death was recorded in the state, where the toll now stands at 26.Like on Thursday, Bengal witnessed a surge in new infections with 58 more being added to the state’s total, taking it to 514.Karnataka reported 29 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total to 474. With two new deaths being reported on Friday, Andhra Pradesh’s Covid-19 toll rose to 29. Andhra leads the southern states in virus-related fatalities despite being behind most of the others in terms of cases. The state also recorded 62 new cases, taking overall positive tally to 955.The increased numbers have come at a time when AP has started testing more people – it has an average of 1,018 tests per million people, the highest in the country. The state has so far tested 54,338 samples.Telangana reported another 13 cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking its tally to 983. Kerala recorded only three new positive cases. To date, 450 cases have been reported in the state.