58 die of Covid infection, highest in a day; cases inch close to 30,000

NEW DELHI: India’s Covid-19 count inched close to the 30,000-mark as a late-night rush of cases reported from Indore in Madhya Pradesh took the day’s count to 1,709 and the total cases to 29,571. Monday’s death toll from the virus zoomed to 58, the highest reported so far in a single day.

While Maharashtra and Gujarat continued to reported high numbers, 522 and 247 new cases, respectively, the attention was shifting to cities where the infection rates remain a matter of concern.

Indore reported 196 new cases, taking its total to 1,372. Mumbai added as many as 369 new cases. Delhi went past the 3,000-mark in Covid cases, with 190 more people testing positive, lower than Sunday’s 293, but nearly double of last week’s daily average.

Maharashtra tops list with 27 more deaths

Bihar and Jharkhand, two states that had managed to keep the infection under control so far, recorded their highest single day tallies of 68 and 20 new cases, respectively. Maharashtra recorded 27 new Covid-19 deaths, its highest single-day toll, followed by Gujarat (11), Rajasthan (9), Madhya Pradesh (7) and West Bengal (2).

One death each was reported from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as well. The number of deaths caused due to Covid-19 in the country has now risen to 937, with more than 50 deaths being for the third consecutive day. Of the 369 deaths recorded in Maharashtra, 219 have occurred in Mumbai alone, as per government data. The state reported 522 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking its tally to 8,590. Of the new cases added in the state, Mumbai contributed to 70% or 369 cases. Mumbai case tally now stands at 5,776.

Ahmedabad too is emerging as a cause of concern as the city’s Covid-19 death rate is 4.7%, much higher than Mumbai’s (3.8%). Ahmedabad also accounts for 67.5% of Gujarat’s total deaths in the pandemic. Nine Covid-19 deaths were reported in Rajasthan, taking the state’s toll to 50. The state also recorded 77 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking its cumulative total to 2,262.