India now No. 9 among Covid-hit countries as cases cross 1.6 lakh

NEW DELHI: The country’s Covid-19 count crossed the 1.6 lakh mark, with fresh cases surging to another single-day high of 6,926 on Thursday. The death toll continued to rise, as 177 fatalities were reported during the day, the third highest number so far. India climbed to the ninth spot among countries with the highest Covid-19 caseloads, overtaking Turkey (1,60,979 cases), according to the Johns Hopkins Hospital website.


India’s case count stood at 1,61,067, with 4,708 deaths and 70,900 people recovered from the infection, as per data from state governments. While Maharashtra continued to contribute the highest number of cases — 2,598 on Thursday with Mumbai alone recording 1,467 — several other states reported a big spike in cases. Among the states that reported their highest single-day count of cases were Delhi (1,024), Ben gal (344), Telangana (158), Haryana (123) and Kerala (84). Besides, Tamil Nadu (827), Gujarat (367), Andhra Pradesh (128), J&K (115) and Assam (82) were among several other states where the surge in infections was continuing.


Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally has now risen to 59,546 and thus inching close to the 60,000 mark. Also, the state continued to add a significant number of Covid-19 deaths with 85 recorded on Thursday, its third highest count for a day so far. With this, the total deaths in Maharashtra as on Thursday were 1,982, very close to the 2,000 mark.

Tamil Nadu recorded 12 deaths on Thursday, its highest single-day toll, and the number of fresh cases continued to rise with 827 reported — 117 of them migrants coming by air and rail — taking the tally to 19,372. The number of active cases in UP on Thursday was 2,758 while it was 2,173 on May 21 — an increase of 21.2% in 7 days.