Coronavirus: India 12th worst-hit nation as cases set to cross 75,000-mark

NEW DELHI: The number of fresh Covid-19 infections from across the country fell to a three-day low on Tuesday, even as India’s total count of cases was poised to cross 75,000. However, the death toll from the virus rose by 121, the second-highest in a single day so far.


With 74,347 coronavirus cases reported so far, India overtook Canada as the 12th worst-affected country in the world, one spot below China, where the virus had originated. As many as 3,543 new cases were reported by the states, lower than the numbers in the past two days (3,613 and 4,308).

Maharashtra recorded as many as 53 Covid-related deaths on Tuesday, equalling its highest single-day toll recorded on Sunday and accounting for 44% of the nationwide deaths reported during the day. Gujarat reported 24 deaths, 21 in Ahmedabad alone, while Delhi recorded 13, including several deaths from previous days. Delhi again saw a surge of cases, with the city government confirming 406 fresh ones since the previous day’s update, taking the total count to over 7,500. Madhya Pradesh too saw a spike in cases, with 201 reported on Tuesday.

For the seventh day in the row, Maharashtra added more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases, reporting 1,026 on Tuesday to take the total in the state to 24,427. In the past six days, Maharashtra has added 8,902 cases, of which over 5,000 were in Mumbai. The city recorded 426 cases on Tuesday, its lowest in the last 11 days and a drop of nearly 46% as compared to the 782 cases recorded on Monday. The total number of cases in Mumbai on Tuesday was 14521.

The virus continues to surge in Tamil Nadu, which added another 716 cases on Tuesday. Public health authorities sat down to revise their urban containment plan on Tuesday after Chennai recorded more than 500 new cases for the third day running and the state’s Covid-19 count rose to 8,718. Eight deaths were also reported taking the toll to 61.

In Uttar Pradesh, where 112 new cases were detected, an assessment of the data revealed that 41% of the state’s Covid-affected districts had less than 10 cases each.